Ahura Mazda

The faravahar, also called farohar or froohar, is the emblem of the Zoroastrian faith. The early Persian kings embraced this ancient religion, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions and the foundation upon which many tenets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam were built.

In the center of the figure is a circle which represents the soul of the individual. For the soul to evolve and progress, it has two wings. In each wing there are five layers of feathers. The two long curved legs on either side of the circle represent the two opposing forces of good and evil. To help the soul balance itself between these two forces, the soul is given a tail with three layers of feathers, representing the creed of  Humata (Good Thoughts), Hukhta (Good Words), and Hvarasta (Good Deeds), or Manashni, Gavashni, and Kunashni. The head of the figure represents the free will each individual has to choose either to obey divine universal natural laws or to disobey them. Finally, the circular ring represents the cycle of birth and death defining the soul’s progress.

The image above represent the faravahar as it appears at the city of Persepolis, the Persian capital founded by Darius I as a tribute to Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian deity.