Fravashi

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FRAVASHI

In Zoroastrianism, the name of the protective spirits, one of which is assigned to each man or woman belonging to the camp of Ahura Mazda and fighting for him against the forces of evil. Originally they seem to have been rather like the Marutah in India or the Teutonic Walküren. In the Yasht (see avesta) dedicated to them, they are invoked not only for victory in battle but more often for fecundity. They survive man's earthly existence, but they are believed to have existed even before he was born. As surviving spirits of the dead they, like the Roman manes, are supposed to come back to earth at a given time of the year, when festivals are held to welcome them.

Bibliography: j. duchesne-guillemin, La Religion de l'Iran ancien (Paris 1962).

[j. duchesne-guillemin]