---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is in the context of this mid-Sasanian…"
description: "\"“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 centu..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/jenny-rose-34865_creator-god_it-is-in-the-context-of-this-mid-sasania_775667.jpg"
---

#  It is in the context of this mid-Sasanian era edict…

![“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…” quote by Jenny Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/jenny-rose-34865_creator-god_it-is-in-the-context-of-this-mid-sasania_775667.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/jenny-rose-34865_creator-god_it-is-in-the-context-of-this-mid-sasania_775667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/jenny-rose-34865_creator-god_it-is-in-the-context-of-this-mid-sasania_775667.jpg)

> ““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.””

[Jenny Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-rose/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

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.

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[Creator god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator-god/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

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