016 - The Legacy of the Magi

The Persian Empires of antiquity were vast and powerful, and many of their subjects were devout Zoroastrians - a monotheistic religion that worshiped Ahura Mazda and abhorred his opposite, the evil Ahriman. Ahriman was the creator of all the impurity of the world, including the powers of witchcraft. Yet despite this zealous hatred of magic, the priesthood of Zoroaster, the Magi, gave the west an ironic legacy...   Today's episode primarily relied on: The Book of Arda Viraf The Sixteen Perfect Lands of Ahura Mazda, and the Many Plagues of Ahriman For a full show bibliography, please see the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Witches didn't exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.