Angra Mainyu
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For the Warhammer 40,000 character of Ahriman, go to Ahriman (Warhammer 40,000)
Angra Mainyu or Ahriman was the "evil spirit" in the dualistic strain of Zoroastrianism. Angra Mainyu is the adversary of Ahura Mazda, the god of good.
The name does not occur in the Old Persian inscriptions. In the Avesta he is called the twin-brother of the Holy Spirits, and contrasted either with the Holy Spirit of Ahura Mazda or with Ahura Mazda himself. He is the all-destroying Satan, the source of all evil in the world and, like Ahura Mazda, exists since the beginning of the world. Ahriman chose evil consciously, and by this act he created death. Eventually, in the great world catastrophe, he will be defeated by Ahura Mazda and disappear. The later sect of the Zurvanites held that both were visible manifestations of the primeval principle zruvan akarana (infinite time).
The central subject of Zoroastrian teaching and theology is the constant ongoing battle between Angra Mainyu and Ahura Mazda.
Ahriman is held by many to be the source of the Judeo-Christian belief in Satan as being the chief agent of evil. Before the Babylonian captivity Judaism held the belief that Satan was an agent of God and that he tested man's loyalty to God. After that captivity Satan became God's rival, and the lord of evil. It is believed that the Israelites may have encountered Zoroastrianism by being freed by the Persians under Cyrus the Great and that this view of Ahriman changed their belief in Satan and made Satan into the enemy of God.
Final Fantasy
Both Ahriman and Angra Mainyu are the names of monsters in Square Enix's Final Fantasy series of computer role-playing games. Ahriman resembles a winged eyeball, and its signature attack involves inflicting a variety of status ailments (most commonly petrification) on its opponents. Ahriman has appeared in multiple Final Fantasy titles, starting with Final Fantasy III. Angra Mainyu, on the other hand, first appeared as a optional boss in the game Final Fantasy X-2. The two monsters look completely different. Also, in Final Fantasy XI, Angra Mainyu is the "Boss" of the area called Dynamis - Beaudecine. He looks like a demonic Ahriman.
Ahriman
Ahriman Mighty fallen angel, dark force whose domain is the material world. Ahriman's main action on humanity is to promote materialism – thought systems which deny the existence of the Divine and of spiritual realms. Main points and mechanisms
- For a master study on the topic, see Rudolf Steiner's short (and very readable) book, Lucifer and Ahriman.
- Ahriman, king of this world: "He is the Prince of Darkness. His domain is the material world, which is why he is called 'the king of this world'. He knows that if he could isolate the material world from the spiritual kingdoms, then he would rule down here totally unchallenged." (Atlantean Secrets, S.Sagan 13.14) Also see this scene for the fire of Ahriman: "A horrible fire which seems to consume everything... if Ahriman wins, that's all that will be left of this world in the end."
Origin of the term The term comes from the Zoroastrian religion, where Ahura Mazda, principle of light, and Ahriman, principle of darkness, fight each other on the stage of the world. This dualistic vision is said to have been a seminal influence on the Book of Revelation and on Apocalyptic literature in general, with scholars pointing to the Babylonian captivity (Jewish people taken in exile to Babylon, 586-538 BC), as a period of contact with Zoroastrian influence. One also finds reference to Ahriman in Neoplatonism, and in several other streams of western spirituality.
