Light, Time, Motion and Impulse in the Zoroastrian Pahlavi Texts

Abstract

The present investigation concerns the category of “Time” in its dialectical relation between a limitless eternity and the limited period of the direct antagonism with Ahreman’s forces. The eternal time being co-substantial with God is an ontological force a priori, which results determinant in the preventive fight against Ahreman, whose perception of time, on the contrary, seems to be absent, at least until he does not enter into the visual space of Ohrmazd. In particular, the article deals with the metaphysic development of the idea of time in the Zoroastrian theological tradition with special regard to the treatment of the relation between the beginning of the cosmic motion and the aggression of Ahreman, discussing some different, sometimes contradictory, doctrines attested in the sources. These alternative, sometimes antagonist, solutions reflect archaic Iranian traditions, but also the reception of new Western philosophical doctrines. The problem of the “visibility” of the limited time (in terms of its measurability) only after Ahreman’s invasion shows that the limited time in its mēnōg dimension had the same character of the eternal time, because it was perceived only by Ohrmazd, and despite that absence of any celestial motion, it was advancing as an abstract tempus mathematicus. The study also emphasizes the close relation among time, space and light as co-present in the divine ontology.