Ahura Mazda

Ahura Mazdā (/ahura mazdaː/ anglicised as /əˌhʊərə ˈmazdə/; also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hourmazd, Hormazd, and Hurmuz) is the creator and highest Deity of Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the Yasna. The literal meaning of the word Ahura is "lord", and that of Mazda is "wisdom". "Ahura" is synonymous with the Vedic word "Asura" which means "lord".

Ahura Mazda first appeared in the Achaemenid period (c. 550 – 330 BCE) under Darius I's Behistun Inscription. Until Artaxerxes II of Persia (405–04 to 359–58 BCE), Ahura Mazda was worshipped and invoked alone in all extant royal inscriptions. With Artaxerxes II, Ahura Mazda was invoked in a triad, with Mithra and Anahita. In the Achaemenid period, there are no known representations of Ahura Mazda at the royal court other than the custom for every emperor to have an empty chariot drawn by white horses, to invite Ahura Mazda to accompany the Persian army on battles. Images of Ahura Mazda, however, were present from the 5th century BCE, but were stopped and replaced with stone carved figures in the Sassanid period and later removed altogether through an iconoclastic movement supported by the Sassanid dynasty. Greeks often equated Ahura Mazda with Hermes (Hurmuz) and Zeus, Romans did the same with Mercury and Jupiter. But he is not even close to Zeus and Jupiter, and he is kind of fusion of Hermes, Hephaestus, and Ouranós.