Ameretat- Persian AngelAngel"Immortality"
Also known as: Amərətāt, Amurdad, and Amerodad
Description
Guardian of all vegetation and inseparable twin of Haurvatat, Ameretat holds the promise Zoroastrianism makes to the righteous — that at the world's final renovation, a drink brewed from white Haoma will confer immortality on resurrected humanity.
Mythology & Lore
Immortality and Plants
Each Amesha Spenta guards one of the seven creations. Ameretat's charge is vegetation, all plants that grow upon the earth. When Angra Mainyu attacked creation, he sought to wither and poison them. Ameretat preserves and restores them.
She is always paired with Haurvatat. In the Gathas (Yasna 34.1, 45.10), Zoroaster promises both to the righteous as rewards for following Asha. Their demonic opponents are likewise paired: the Bundahishn names Tarev and Zarich as the archdaevas who attack them, bringing hunger, thirst, and the poisoning of plants.
The Drink of Immortality
At the Frashokereti, the dead will rise and all things will be restored to their original perfection. The Greater Bundahishn describes a drink brewed from white Haoma and the fat of the bull Hadayosh. Whoever drinks it becomes deathless. The physical world itself becomes imperishable, no longer subject to decay.
Sacred Cultivation
The month of Amurdad in the Zoroastrian calendar is dedicated to Ameretat. The faithful honor her through the cultivation and care of plants. Every garden, orchard, and cultivated field participates in her work: sustaining creation against corruption.
Relationships
- Enemy of
- Created by