RLG347H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Gathas, Daena, Zoroastrianism
Document Summary
The gathas: consists of seventeen hymns traditionally attributed to zoroaster. The texts are composed in a syllable form. Each verse line has a fixed number of syllables and a caesura. Each stanza contains the same number of verse lines. Several hymns of the gathas are characterized by the ring composition. This is a type of arrangement of a hymn around its center: each other themes the central verse has correspondences with the first and last verse or the verses at the same distance from the center have correspondences with. For ex. , these verses share sounds, words, disposition of the words, or. : the topic of the last hymn of a gatha is taken up at the beginning of the next. These characteristics of the gathas reflect their originally oral nature. They were probably composed to accompany a ritual (we do not know which message one) Some scholars object to the identification of zoroaster as the author of the.
