Subproject A04

Metaphorizing the Metaphors: The Development of the Zoroastrian Language of Eschatology

Focusing on Zoroastrian eschatology, this project asks, to what extent the construction of religious meaning relies on the transformation of existing metaphors rather than the production of entirely new ones. By doing so, it will make a fundamental contribution to the ongoing debate on the development of eschatological ideas in Zoroastrianism and the history of other Eurasian religions, particularly, to the discussion on the absorption of Zoroastrian eschatological ideas in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic traditions. To that end, the project will investigate five historical layers of Zoroastrian literature from 12th cent. BCE to 17th cent. AD.