Faravahar
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The Faravahar (Avestan), Farohar (middle Persian), Foroohar or Forouhar is one of the best known symbols of the Zoroastrian religion.
What the figure symbolizes is disputed. While it is currently thought to represent a Fravashi (c. an individual's guardian angel), what it represented in the minds of those who adapted it from earlier Mesopotamian and Egyptian reliefs is unclear. Historically, the symbol is influenced by the "winged sun" hieroglyph appearing on Bronze Age royal seals (Luwian SOL SUUS, symbolizing royal power in particular).
It is speculated that - just as the fire symbolizes the Truth of Ahura Mazda - the Faravahar may be a representation of Ahura Mazda Himself, or perhaps of His Fravashi. Since the symbol primarily appears on royal inscriptions, it is also thought to represent the 'Divine Royal Glory', the Fravashi of the king, or represented the divine mandate that was the foundation of a king's authority.
Although the Faravahar is generally believed to represent a Fravashi, it must be noted that there is no physical description of the Fravarshi in the Avesta. Moreover, in Avestan grammar, the Fravashi are unmistakably female.
In "modern" Zoroastrianism, the Faravahar is used as a reminder of one's purpose in life, which is to live in such a way that the soul progresses towards Frasho-kereti, or union with Ahura Mazda. Although there are a number of interpretations of the individual elements of the symbol, none of them are older than the 20th century.
Prior to the reign of Darius I, pictorial representations of a Faravahar did not have a human form above the wings. In the early depictions with a human form, the face is thought to be that of Darius himself.
[edit] See also
- Zoroastrianism
- Fravashi
- Winged sun symbols
