Home›Sources›The AvestaSourcesThe AvestaCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "The Avesta." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-avesta.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Avesta. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-avestaCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-the-avesta, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {The Avesta}, year = {2026}, url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-avesta}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXThe Avesta is the primary Zoroastrian scriptural corpus, composed across a very long and layered period with the Gathas forming its oldest stratum, and this record leaves the year unset rather than assigning one false date to a text with no single moment of composition. As a primary text it is authoritative for what the Avesta itself states in a given passage, not for a settled account of exactly when that passage was composed relative to the rest of the corpus, which remains a genuinely contested question in Zoroastrian textual scholarship. Use it to establish the content of a named Avestan passage; a claim resting on relative dating within the corpus needs a dedicated scholarly source on that specific textual question.FactsClaims Backed By This Source (166 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsAssessmentReliability TierWell-attested1The primary Zoroastrian scriptural corpus, composed over a very long period with the Gathas forming its oldest layer; no single publication year is given here since none can honestly be assigned to a text assembled across centuries.NotesWell-attestedNo year given: composed over a very long period, the Gathas forming the oldest layer.CitationAuthorWell-attestedAnonymous (Zoroastrian tradition)URLWell-attestedhttps://www.avesta.org/Source TypeWell-attestedprimary-textClaims Backed By This Source (166 claims)This source backs 166 claims across the atlas. As facts: 93 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 28 holds. Plus 44 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicMythical Creatures, 26 claims: 17 well-attested, 3 holds, 6 general references.Deities, 22 claims: 12 well-attested, 3 holds, 7 general references.Articles, 20 claims: 16 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 general references.Doctrines, 18 claims: 1 well-attested, 11 holds, 6 general references.Figures, 18 claims: 13 well-attested, 1 holds, 4 general references.Scriptures & Texts, 17 claims: 5 well-attested, 8 holds, 4 general references.Prayers, 13 claims: 8 well-attested, 5 general references.Beliefs & Restrictions, 9 claims: 6 well-attested, 3 general references.Myths & Sacred Narratives, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 general references.Sources, 6 claims: 6 well-attested.Languages, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 1 general references.Hymns & Liturgical Texts, 2 claims: 2 general references.Cultures, 1 claims: 1 general references.Denominations, 1 claims: 1 general references.Sacred Sound, 1 claims: 1 general references.Well-attested93ArticlesA Later, More Legalistic LayerA Prayer Book Drawn From A Larger CorpusDaeva, When a Word for God Became a Word for DemonHow A Devotional Anthology Differs From The Liturgical CoreLaw, Purity And The Story Of YimaPreserving the Gathas Through Priestly Oral TransmissionTen Forms, and the Last Is a SoldierThe Glory That Chooses a KingThe Serpent of the AvestaTwenty One Hymns To Twenty One BeingsUneven Age Under A Uniform SurfaceYazata, Thirty Names for Thirty DaysBeliefs & RestrictionsAhura Mazda as the one supreme creatorGood thoughts, good words, good deedsDeitiesAhura MazdaAnahitaAngra MainyuAtarMithraVerethragnaDoctrinesKhvarenahFiguresFeridunVishtaspaZahhakLanguagesAvestanMythical CreaturesAži DahākaDaevaYazataMyths & Sacred NarrativesYima and the VaraPrayersAshem VohuKem Na MazdaThe Warrior's Invocation of VerethragnaYatha Ahu VairyoYenghe HatamScriptures & TextsGathasVendidadYasnaSourcesThe AvestaScholarly debate1LanguagesAvestanHolds28ArticlesDaeva, When a Word for God Became a Word for DemonYazata, Thirty Names for Thirty DaysDeitiesAngra MainyuVerethragnaDoctrinesAhura MazdaAngra MainyuDrujGood Thoughts, Good Words, Good DeedsKhvarenahFiguresFeridunMythical CreaturesAži DahākaDaevaYazataScriptures & TextsAvestaGathasVendidadYasnaGeneral References44ArticlesDaeva, When a Word for God Became a Word for DemonYazata, Thirty Names for Thirty DaysBeliefs & RestrictionsAhura Mazda as the one supreme creatorGood thoughts, good words, good deedsThe cosmic struggle of good and evilCulturesPersiansDeitiesAhura MazdaAnahitaAngra MainyuAtarMithraSraoshaVerethragnaDenominationsIrani ZoroastrianismDoctrinesAhura MazdaAngra MainyuAshaDrujGood Thoughts, Good Words, Good DeedsKhvarenahFiguresAngra Mainyu (Ahriman)FeridunVishtaspaZahhakHymns & Liturgical TextsMihr YashtUshtavaiti GathaLanguagesAvestanMythical CreaturesAži DahākaDaevaVritraYazataMyths & Sacred NarrativesYima and the VaraPrayersAshem VohuKem Na MazdaThe Warrior's Invocation of VerethragnaYatha Ahu VairyoYenghe HatamSacred SoundGathic Recitation (Avestan Manthra Chanting)Scriptures & TextsAvestaGathasVendidadYasnaComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year