Creator god Quote by Jenny Rose
““It is in the context of this mid-Sasanian era edict reported by Elishe that the myth of Zurvan as hypostatized “Time” is outlined. Another fifth century CE Armenian, Eznik of Kølb, narrates the myth in more details and with some variations. It describes Zurvan as progenitor of both Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. This myth of a common progenitor seems to have been one way that Zoroastrians in the Sasanian period understood the separate origins and natures of good and evil. Although in this schema Zurvan is the source of both, he is not a creator god—that role belongs to Ahura Mazda. The Zurvanite “twinning” of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu as “brothers” from a common origin is rejected as a false teaching in the Middle Persian Denkard.””
About This Quote
Source Historical Text: Middle Persian Denkard, 9th‑10th century
The passage explains that Zurvan, a personified Time, was considered the ancestor of both the good deity Ahura Mazda and the evil spirit Angra Mainyu, but not the creator, a view later rejected as heretical.
In simple terms: Zurvan was seen as a common ancestor of good and evil, but not the creator, a belief later denied.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how mythic narratives shape religious dualism.
Themes
religion
myth
dualism
history
theology
Mood
analytical
thoughtful
Type
historical
explanatory
When to use this quote
- scholarly study
- comparative religion
- teaching about religious evolution
Key Concepts
Zoroastrianism
cosmology
heretical doctrine
Questions to Reflect On
- How do societies reinterpret mythic origins?
- What impact does labeling a belief heretical have?
A Different Perspective
Later Zoroastrian orthodoxy rejected Zurvanite twinning as false.
![“The whole of the Sermon [Matt 5-7] is framed within Jesus's announcement that what his fellow Jews had longed for over many generations was now at last coming to pass - but that new kingdom didn't look like they had thought it would. Indeed, in some ways it went in exactly the other direction. No…” quote by N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2e3/n-t-wright-1173_creator-god_the-whole-of-the-sermon-matt-5-7-is-fram_511367.jpg)
