The Persian prophet Zoroaster founded the faith that bears his name circa 1,000 BCE. Zoroastrianism is based on the struggle between the good and evil, characterized by the upper world's god of light, Ahura Mazda, and his angels, pitted against the dark forces of the god of the lower world, Angra Mainyu, and his demons. This conflict is paralleled within the human consciousness.
Zoroastrianism is a religion that emphasizes judgment, and its followers are urged to do good deeds and live their lives well.
After death, it is believed that the soul remains in the body for three days, during which a moral reckoning takes place. All of the deceased's actions, good and bad, are tallied and the soul progresses to the Chinvat, the bridge where the judgment is meted out. Those whose sins outweigh their good deeds will be struck by a sword and fall from the bridge into Hell, a realm of hideous torment.
The souls of those whose sins and virtuous actions cancel each other out are sent to Hammistagan (the region of the mixed), where they wait, neither content nor miserable, nor capable of any further transition, for the final apocalypse.
For the souls of the virtuous, "the blessed", the reward is resurrection in immortal, eternally youthful physical bodies.
Zoroastrianism's notion of resurrection represents an early concept of striving for immortality and a different approach to death. The prophet's vision of the epic struggle between light and dark, and judgment of human life as a component of an afterlife has had a lasting influence on other religions. Judaism's concept of judgment may have evolved from Zoroastrianism, and later faiths, such as Islam and Christianity in turn drew some of their fundamental beliefs from Judaism.
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