EPISODE 8: The Prophet at Court

Teaching & Legacy Building (Age 42-77)

“Zarathustra spent 35 years at the royal court of Vishtaspa before he passed away at the age of 77.”
— Zoroastrian Tradition

Zarathustra Spent 12 Years Being Rejected

And 35 Years Building the Structures That Would Preserve His Vision for Millennia

The Transformation (Age 42)

After 22 years of loneliness—

10 years searching on the mountain.

12 years wandering in exile.

Finally, at age 42, Zarathustra found home.

Not just refuge. Not just protection.

Home.

The new religion seems to have gained more converts fairly quickly and Zarathustra was honored with a place at Vishtaspa’s court. He lived there in the company of the king for the rest of his life.

35 years.

From age 42 to age 77.

More than three decades of stability, security, and structure-building.

The Prophet’s Mission at Court

While establishing the precepts of the faith and proper observance of rituals which, notably, did not include blood sacrifice.

Zarathustra’s role:

Court prophet (trusted spiritual advisor)
Teacher (instructing new converts)
Composer (writing the Gathas)
Ritualist (establishing proper worship)
Institution-builder (creating lasting structures)

He received further revelations and saw a vision of the seven Amesha Spenta, and his teachings were collected in the Gathas and the Avesta.

The Gathas—his own words—were composed during this period.

Some during the 12 years of exile (the laments, the questions).

Most during the 35 years at court (the teachings, the hymns, the liturgy).

The Gathas: Zarathustra’s Own Words

The five Old Avestan Gathas (Gāthās), “songs,” are part of a collection of liturgical texts, the Avesta, composed by Iranians living in an area north of modern Afghanistan, probably in the second half of the second millennium BCE.

The Gathas consist of seventeen hymns arranged into five groups based on their meter:

Ahunavaiti Gatha (Yasna 28-34)
Ushtavaiti Gatha (Yasna 43-46)
Spenta Mainyu Gatha (Yasna 47-50)
Vohu Khshathra Gatha (Yasna 51)
Vahishta Ishti Gatha (Yasna 53)

What Are the Gathas?

The Gathas are devotional in character, expounding on the divine essences of truth (Asha), the good-mind (Vohu Manah), and the spirit of righteousness.

They are:

Poetry (psalmodic, meditative)
Prayer (invoking Ahura Mazda)
Philosophy (explaining cosmic order)
Theology (defining good vs evil)
Ethics (teaching right living)

As Helmut Humbach notes, “Zarathushtra did not compose the Gathas to teach people, but to invoke and glorify Ahura Mazda in a predominantly psalmodic way, very far from any dogmatic systematizing.”

They were composed to glorify God, not to create doctrine.

But in glorifying God, they created the foundation of ethical monotheism.

The Form

Their poetic form is a very ancient one, which has been traced back (through Norse parallels) to Indo-European times. It seems to have been linked with a mantic tradition, that is, to have been cultivated by priestly seers who sought to express in lofty words their personal apprehension of the divine.

This is the oldest form of philosophical poetry in human history.

The Gathas are also filled with word plays and deliberate ambiguities, and they were likely intended to be used by initiates as meditative instruments to enlightenment.

Not mere doctrine. Meditative instruments.

Tools for consciousness transformation.

The Main Messages

In spite of the obscurities, the main messages of the Gathas seem fairly clear:

The struggle between good and evil
People of truth (ashavans) who worship Ahura Mazda
Fighting against the people of the lie (drugvants) who worship the daevas
The benevolence/friendship of Ahura Mazda
The importance of Asha, Vohu Manah, etc.
The reciprocal relationship/partnership with Ahura
Importance for future reward

The Golden Sheets

Legend states that King Vishtaspa had these hymns recorded on golden sheets.

Inscribed on gold.

Why? Because Vishtaspa recognized their cosmic importance.

These weren’t just pretty poems. These were revelations of ultimate reality.

And a wise king preserves truth for posterity.

The Family: Integration Into the Royal Court

Zarathustra is said to have had six children, three boys and three girls. This is not exact information, since the number and gender equals that of the six Amesha Spentas and may be only symbolic.

Whether symbolic or literal—Zarathustra had family.

After 22 years of loneliness, wandering, rejection—

He found love, marriage, children, and a home.

The Three Wives

Zarathushtra had three wives (in sequence):

First wife (name uncertain, possibly from his youth)
Second wife (during the exile years?)
Hvovi (“Good Cattle”) – daughter of King Vishtaspa’s prime minister

The last was Hvovi (Good Cattle) the daughter of King Vishtaspa’s prime minister. Thus Zarathushtra married into the king’s court.

Complete integration.

The wandering exile became family to the royal house.

The Six Children

The two would have six children:

Three Daughters:

Freni
Friti
Pourucista (“Full of Wisdom”)

Three Sons:

Isat Vastar
Uruvat-Nara
Hvare Cithra

Pourucista’s Marriage

But the last Gatha is composed for the marriage of Zarathushtra’s daughter Pouruchista (Full of Wisdom) so he is known to have had at least one child.

Yasna 53—an entire Gatha dedicated to his daughter’s wedding.

Pouruchista, in turn, married the prime minister.

Zarathustra’s daughter married Jamaspa—the king’s son and prime minister.

The prophet’s family and the royal family became one.

This wasn’t just political alliance. This was kinship.

The man rejected by his own blood relatives—found a new family.

The Institutional Legacy

Zarathustra understood something crucial:

Truth without structure dies with the prophet.

Truth with institutions outlives empires.

So for 35 years, he built:

1. The Fire Temples

Worship services were conducted outdoors at shrines known as Fire Temples.

But the fire in Zoroastrian temples is not worshipped.

This is critical. Zarathustra explicitly taught that fire is a symbol of Asha (truth, order, light), not a deity itself.

The fire represents:

Light (illumination, wisdom)
Purity (refining, cleansing)
Truth (what remains when lies are burned away)
Ahura Mazda’s presence (divine order made visible)

Fire temples became centers of:

Daily prayer (five times: dawn, noon, afternoon, dusk, midnight)
Community gathering
Teaching and instruction
Ritual purification
Sacred texts preservation

2. The Magi (Priestly Class)

A priestly class (the magi).

Wait—didn’t Zarathustra oppose priests?

Yes. He opposed:

Karapans and Kavis (exploitative priests who demanded blood sacrifice)
Priestly mediation (you don’t need them to reach God)
Ritual for profit (sacrifices that enriched priests while harming animals)

But he created:

Magi (teachers of ethics and keepers of fire)
Service-oriented priesthood (maintaining temples, preserving texts, teaching truth)
Non-sacrificial ritual (prayer, not blood)

The difference:

Old priests: Exploiters (demanding blood for wealth)
New priests (Magi): Servants (teaching ethics, preserving truth)

The Magi that Zarathustra trained would later:

Spread Zoroastrianism across the Persian Empire
Visit Jesus at his birth (Matthew 2) – recognizing their own prophecy
Teach Greek philosophers (Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Plato)
Preserve the Gathas and Avesta through oral tradition for centuries

The Magi became the most influential priestly class in ancient history.

3. The Ritual Structures

At first Zoroastrianism was as much a military order as a religion, since its members were forced to fight persecution and fend off attacks from other tribes.

But at court, Zarathustra established:

The Five Daily Prayers (Gah System):

Havan (sunrise)
Rapithwin (noon)
Uziren (afternoon)
Aiwisruthrem (dusk/evening)
Ushahin (midnight/pre-dawn)

This became the model for Islamic five daily prayers 2,000+ years later.

Ritual Purity:

Washing before prayer (padyab) – became Islamic wudu
Facing direction during prayer – became Islamic Qibla
Ritual cleanliness standards

The Navjote (Initiation Ceremony):

Age 7-15
Receiving the sacred shirt (sudreh)
Receiving the sacred cord (kusti)
Taking vows of “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds”

This became the model for Christian Confirmation centuries later.

Marriage Rites:

White garments
Exchange of vows
Unity symbolism (fire ceremony)
“Till death do us part”

Modern Western weddings copied this Zoroastrian structure.

4. The Theological Framework

Zarathustra clarified and systematized:

The Nature of God:

Ahura Mazda = One supreme creator
The Six Amesha Spentas (Holy Immortals) = Aspects/emanations of Ahura Mazda
Not polytheism, but emanationism (one source, multiple manifestations)

The Nature of Evil:

Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) = Independent destructive force
Not equal to God (dualism, not di-theism)
Will be ultimately destroyed (Frashokereti)

The Nature of Humanity:

Free will (you choose)
Personal responsibility (you’re accountable)
Moral duty (“Good thoughts, words, deeds”)
Cosmic significance (your choices matter universally)

The Nature of Existence:

Linear time (history → goal)
Frashokereti (final renovation, triumph of good)
Resurrection (the dead will rise)
Final judgment (all souls evaluated)

All of this systematized at Vishtaspa’s court.

5. The Sacred Texts

At the royal court of Vishtaspa, Zarathushtra wrote parts of the holy Zoroastrian book called Avesta which is some of the oldest literature of mankind.

The Avesta would eventually include:

Yasna (liturgy, including the Gathas)
Visperad (extensions to the Yasna)
Vendidad (law code, purity regulations)
Khordeh Avesta (“Little Avesta” – prayers for daily use)
Yashts (hymns to yazatas/angels)

But initially—at court—only the Gathas.

The rest would be added over centuries by later priests.

But Zarathustra’s own words—the Gathas—were preserved from the beginning.

Daily Life at Court

For 35 years, Zarathustra lived as:

Morning:

Rise at dawn (Havan prayer time)
Ritual purification (washing)
Tend the sacred fire
Compose poetry (Gathas)
Morning prayers and meditation

Midday:

Teach new converts
Debate with visiting scholars
Answer theological questions
Train Magi (priestly students)
Noon prayers (Rapithwin Gah)

Afternoon:

Meet with King Vishtaspa (counsel on governance)
Discuss ethical disputes
Instruct royal family
Afternoon prayers (Uziren Gah)

Evening:

Family time (wife Hvovi, children)
Evening prayers (Aiwisruthrem Gah)
Compose hymns by firelight
Reflect on the day’s teachings

Midnight:

Wake for pre-dawn prayer (Ushahin Gah)
Deep meditation
Receive visions and guidance
Return to sleep

This was his rhythm. For 35 years.

Not spectacular. Not dramatic.

Disciplined. Consistent. Dedicated.

Building the structures that would outlast him by millennia.

The Ongoing Revelations

As Zarathustra traveled toward his kingdom, he was in continual prayer with Ahura Mazda, asking questions and receiving guidance, and these conversations would later be included in the Avesta.

The visions didn’t stop.

Throughout his 35 years at court:

Questions would arise
Problems would emerge
New situations would require guidance

And Zarathustra would pray, meditate, and receive answers.

These dialogues between Zarathustra and Ahura Mazda became:

The theological framework of Zoroastrianism
The liturgical texts of the Yasna
The ethical teachings of the Gathas
The ritual structures of the faith

35 years of ongoing revelation.

Not one vision at age 30—decades of continuous divine communication.

The Spread of the Faith

This turning point resulted in the spreading of Zoroastrianism to neighboring lands and the establishment of Zoroastrianism as a world religion during ancient times.

With King Vishtaspa’s protection and patronage:

Within Bactria:

Fire temples established in multiple cities
Royal family fully converted
Nobility follows the king’s example
Common people gradually adopt the faith

Beyond Bactria:

Neighboring kingdoms hear of the new faith
Trade routes spread the message
Magi travel as missionaries
The religion expands territorially

By the time of Zarathustra’s death (age 77):

Zoroastrianism established across eastern Iran
Institutional structures in place
Trained priests (Magi) carrying on the work
Sacred texts preserved (Gathas on golden sheets)
Rituals standardized
Theological framework clarified

The foundation was laid for what would become:

The Persian Empire’s official religion (Achaemenid, 550-330 BCE)

And through that empire—the influence on Judaism, Greek philosophy, and eventually Christianity and Islam.

Why 35 Years Matters

1. Truth Requires Time to Take Root

After 12 years of rejection, Zarathustra could have been bitter:

“Finally, one king believes. That’s enough.”
“Let the faith spread on its own.”
“My work is done.”

But he stayed. For 35 years.

Because he understood: Conversion is fast. Transformation is slow.

It takes years to train priests properly
It takes decades to establish rituals that last
It takes a lifetime to write scripture that endures
It takes patience to build institutions that outlive you

35 years of patient, disciplined legacy-building.

2. The Pattern for Institution-Building

Every major religion follows Zarathustra’s pattern:

Jesus: 3 years teaching → Paul spends 30+ years building church structure → Christianity endures

Buddha: Years teaching → Monastic order established → Buddhism spreads

Muhammad: 10 years in Mecca (rejected) → 10 years in Medina (building) → Islam endures

But Zarathustra pioneered the model:

Get royal patronage (King Vishtaspa)
Establish physical structures (fire temples)
Train successors (the Magi)
Standardize rituals (five daily prayers)
Preserve teachings (Gathas written down)
Build family/community (integration into royal family)

This pattern—truth + time + structure = lasting legacy—started with Zarathustra.

3. The Magi: His Greatest Legacy

The Magi that Zarathustra trained at Vishtaspa’s court would become:

In the Persian Empire:

Advisors to kings (Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes)
Keepers of sacred knowledge
Interpreters of dreams and signs
Astronomers and scientists

In the Biblical Narrative:

The “Wise Men” who visit Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12)
Recognizing the fulfillment of Zoroastrian prophecy (the Saoshyant)
Bringing gold, frankincense, myrrh (royal, priestly, sacrificial symbolism)

In Greek Philosophy:

Teachers of Pythagoras in Babylon
Influences on Heraclitus (“fire as cosmic principle”)
Sources for Plato’s forms and metaphysics
Origins of “philosophia” (love of wisdom = Mazda-yasna)

The Magi trained by Zarathustra spread his ideas across the ancient world.

And when those ideas were adopted by Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Greek philosophy—

No one credited the source.

The Theft: How 35 Years of Building Was Erased

What Zarathustra Built at Court (Age 42-77):

✅ Fire temples (sacred spaces for worship)
✅ The Magi (trained priestly class)
✅ Five daily prayers (Gah system)
✅ Ritual purity (washing before prayer)
✅ Navjote ceremony (initiation at age 7-15)
✅ Sacred texts (Gathas preserved)
✅ Theological framework (Ahura Mazda, Amesha Spentas, Asha vs Druj)
✅ Ethical code (“Good thoughts, words, deeds”)
✅ Marriage rites (white garments, vows, unity ceremony)
✅ Institutional structures (that would outlast empires)

What Later Religions Adopted:

Judaism (Post-Exile, 539 BCE+):

Synagogue structure → Fire temple model
Daily prayers → Gah system simplified
Ritual washing → Mikvah (from padyab)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah → Navjote ceremony
Ethical monotheism → Zarathustra’s framework

Christianity:

Church structure → Fire temple model
Liturgical hours → Gah system influence
Baptism → Zoroastrian purification
Confirmation → Navjote ceremony
Wedding ceremony → Zoroastrian marriage rites
Eucharist symbolism → Haoma ritual echoes

Islam:

Five daily prayers → Direct copy of Gah system
Ritual washing (wudu) → Padyab
Qibla direction → Zoroastrian facing direction
Ethical monotheism → Zarathustra’s teaching
Final judgment → Zarathustra’s Frashokereti

Every institutional structure these religions use was pioneered by Zarathustra at Vishtaspa’s court.

None acknowledge the source.

The Modern Question

If Zarathustra spent 35 years building the institutional structures that every major religion would later adopt—

Why don’t textbooks teach this?

Why don’t the billions who:

Pray five times daily (Muslims: 1.9 billion)
Undergo confirmation ceremonies (Christians: 2.4 billion)
Practice ritual washing before prayer
Attend worship services in sacred buildings
Believe in one God and ethical living

—know that these structures were pioneered 3,700 years ago by a Persian prophet?

Answer: Because acknowledging Zarathustra’s institutional legacy means acknowledging that:

The “church model” didn’t originate with Christianity
The “five daily prayers” didn’t originate with Islam
The “ritual purity” practices didn’t originate with Judaism
The priestly class (Magi) became the teachers of Greek philosophers
Everything modern religion claims as “original” was actually copied from Persia

So the 35 years are forgotten. The building is erased. The structures remain—but the architect’s name is lost.

NEXT: Episode 9 – The Sacred Fire & The Assassin

Whether Zarathustra died by sword or by age, his death changed nothing. His ideas were already immortal. The fire he lit would never go out.

“Zarathustra spent 35 years at the royal court of Vishtaspa before he passed away at the age of 77.”

12 years being rejected.

35 years building the structures that would preserve truth for millennia.

That’s the pattern: Truth needs time. Legacy requires discipline. Immortality demands institutions.

For the complete Zarathustra series and more on the systematic theft of Persian contributions to human civilization, visit efiretemple.com

The man who spent 35 years building gave you every religious structure you know.

The least we can do is know his name.