ancient Iranian religion: References & Edit History

Émile Benveniste, The Persian Religion According to the Chief Greek Texts (1929), is the first effort to analyze the Greek texts. William W. Malandra, An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion (1983), is an anthology of texts from the Avesta and the Achaemenian inscriptions with an introduction and extensive commentary. Margaret Cool Root, The King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art (1979), provides a thorough and insightful analysis of the imperial use of visual symbols. M. Schwartz, “The Religion of Achaemenian Iran,” in Ilya Gershevitch (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 2 (1985), pp. 664–697, is also informative. Geo Widengren, Die Religionen Irans (1965), is a good handbook. A more up-to-date handbook is Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism (1975– ), which contains a rich bibliography and takes a different approach from that of Widengren.