Anahita

Anahita /ɑːnəˈhiːtə/ is the Old Persian name of an Iranian goddess. The complete and earlier form of the name is Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā). She is the Indo-Iranian goddess of "the Waters" (Aban), This makes her associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. There is a temple named Anahita in Iran.

Lotus flower is The symbol of goddess Anahita

Taq-e Bostan high-relief of the investiture of Khosrow II (r. 590 to 628). The king (center) receives the ring of kingship from Mithra (right). On the left, apparently sanctifying the investiture, stands a female figure generally assumed to be Anahita (but see remark, below).

Aredvi Sura Anahita is Ardwisur Anahid (اردویسور آناهید ) or Nahid (ناهید) in Middle and Modern Persian. She is Anahit in Armenian.^[1] A cult of Aredvi Sura Anahita was "introduced apparently in the 4th century BCE and lasted until it was suppressed in the wake of an iconoclastic movement under the Sassanids."^[2] The symbol of goddess Anahita is the Lotus flower. Lotus Festival (Persian: Jashn-e Nilupar) is an Iranian festival. It is held on the sixth day of July.

References

Sources

• Boyce, Mary (1975b), "On the Zoroastrian Temple Cult of Fire", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 95 (3), Ann Arbor: AOS/UMich. Press: 454–465, doi:10.2307/599356, JSTOR 599356
• Boyce, Mary (1983b), "Anāhīd", Encyclopædia Iranica, vol. 1, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 1003–1009

Refernces

1. Boyce 1983b, p. 1003.
2. Boyce 1975b, p. 454.