Ahriman

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

Angra Mainyu (Avestan) or Ahriman (Middle Persian اهريمن) is the Evil equivalent of the deity Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.

The name does not occur in the Old Persian inscriptions. In the Avesta he is called the twin-brother of the Holy Spirit, and contrasted with Spenta Mainyu. He is the all-destroying Satan, the source of all evil in the world and like Ahura Mazda, existed since the beginning of the world. Ahriman chose evil consciously, and created disease in order to bring death early. He did his greatest evil deed by adding colour to fire, which was pure when created by Ahura Mazda, and gave it the harsh character of smoke. Thus it is said he polluted the holy fire made by Ahura Mazda. On Judgment Day he will be defeated by Spenta Mainyu and will disappear from the present world forever. The later sect of the Zurvanites held that both were visible manifestations of the primeval principle zruvan akarana (infinite time).

Some scholars believe the Zoroastrian belief in Angra Mainyu was passed onto Judeo-Christian beliefs through the concept of Satan, the chief agent of evil. According to this view, prior to Babylonian captivity (586-538 BC), Judaism held the belief that Satan was an agent of God and that he tested man's loyalty to God. After Cyrus the Great permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem, some Jewish groups came to regard Satan as God's rival and the lord of evil.

The dualism of Zoroastrianism was a seminal influence on the Book of Revelation and on Apocalyptic literature. Neoplatonism also references Ahriman.

Angra Mainyu is not equivalent to the Christian Satan (but see below). By contrasting Angra Mainyu with Spenta Mainyu, Zoroaster distinguished the two poles of a particular dynamic, that of creation and destruction, which was whole within Ahura Mazda. One can see similar sentiments in the Dravidian and later Hindu conception of Shiva.

Rudolph Steiner, the initiator of the anthroposophy movement, has published detailed and elaborate studies on the zoroastrian Ahriman. He claims that Ahriman, the biblical Satan (distinct from Lucifer) and the Hebrew demon Mephistopheles can be considered as the same spiritual entities, with the biblical demons Mammon and Beelzebub as his associates. Ahriman's assignment is to alienate humanity from its spiritual roots and to inspire materialism and heartless technical control. As such, his influence is highly relevant to present-day Western culture. His great opponent is the archangel Michael, equal to the Babylonian god Marduk/Merodach. The zoroastrian Ahura Mazda, equivalent to Persian Ormuzd and the vedic Vishva Karman, would in fact represent Christ's spiritual aura around the Elohim, the spirits of the Sun sphere.

In pop culture, a monster called Angra Mainyu appears in Final Fantasy X-2. Final Fantasy is known for using mythical names with only a loose connection to the original myths. However, a monster called Angra Mainyu also appears in Final Fantasy XI, and is an Ahriman type monster.