Unusual Zoroastrian funerary practice: outdoor exposure

[guy]

There have been several previous posts about the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism (see below). There has not, however, been a previous post about their unusual practice of exposing the dead outdoors.

Some background information first. The two major enemies of Rome, the Parthian and the Sasanian Empires, had connections to Zoroastrianism. The Parthians (247 BCE - AD 244) supported and promoted Zoroastrianism without making it a centralized religion. The Sassanians (AD 224-651), however, turned it into an organized state religion with a strong priesthood and formal doctrine.

Both practiced outdoor exposure of the dead, although the Sassanians were more consistent in the practice.

Outdoor exposure (leaving bodies in the open for scavengers) was the orthodox method of caring for the dead. Actual burial in the ground was considered ritually polluting unless special precautions were taken.

A core funerary principle in Zoroastrianism is that the corpse is nasā (ritually polluting) and must not contaminate earth, fire, water, or air, which were considered sacred.

The dead, therefore, were placed outdoors on raised surfaces or platforms (called dakhmas or “Towers of Silence,” as shown above). Dogs and birds, especially vultures, consumed the flesh. The bones were later collected and placed in ossuaries or pits lined with stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8 by guy

[Crispina]

I have never heard or read of the Zoroastrian practice.  Very interesting.

However, native American peoples practiced this type of burial in that they placed bodies atop wooden platforms exposed to the elements.  Prompts me to do some reading on the subject.

[guidoLaMoto]

23 hours ago, Crispina said:

I have never heard or read of the Zoroastrian practice.  Very interesting.

However, native American peoples practiced this type of burial in that they placed bodies atop wooden platforms exposed to the elements.  Prompts me to do some reading on the subject.

That immediately popped into my head too on reading the OP.....(In reading Livy's account of "wars" in the days of the Roman kingdom, I always got the impression these were more like Am Indian villages vexing each other periodically with small raiding parties, as opposed to Hollywood style, large, pitched battles among fully armored soldiers.)

While we moderns have funeral processions displaying a closed casket, the Etruscan/Roman tradition involved posing the corpus dilecti in a reclining position on one elbow, like dining on a triclinium, on a litter and proceeding to the funeral pyre for cremation.