Reflecting the importance of fire therapy in ancient Iran (centered on Zoroastrian texts)

Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under (CC BY-NC 4.0) license

Authors

1 Traditional Medicine and Hydrotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

2 Department of History, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. Medical Philosophy and History Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

10.22034/ihc.2025.19260

Abstract

The importance of fire therapy in ancient Iran should be explained by the importance and sanctity of the element of fire in the religion of Mazdasna or Zoroastrianism, the name of the religion of the Iranian prophet Ashozartasht. Iranian Zoroastrians, who have always tried to preserve fire for many years, and have attached special importance to the four elements of water, wind, earth, and especially fire, and considered fire as a healing and purifying element. that this element is never contaminated and they even tried to ensure that the food eaten had enough moisture and heat (the element of fire) so that the coldness and dryness of the body, which causes disease, would disappear. The texts of Dinkord and his servant, which in Sasanian Pahlavi language, fire is mentioned as a means of healing and eliminating pain. In the Avesta, fire is mentioned with the adjective full of healing. Among the remaining ancient works, we can mention a stonework in Persepolis from the time of Darius, which was placed in front of the king with two executioners who poured medicinal herbs into the fire to protect the king from demons and diseases. do All these cases indicate the connection between the element of fire in treatments and medicine as a whole. In this research, an attempt has been made to examine the discussion of fire therapy in ancient Iran, fire with a disinfecting and therapeutic approach, the physicians of Pahlavi-Sassanian texts, and their treatment methods in relation to fire.

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Volume 1, Issue 2
Autumn & Winter
August 2024
Pages 175-187
  • Receive Date: 14 January 2025
  • Revise Date: 04 February 2025
  • Accept Date: 05 February 2025
  • Publish Date: 22 September 2024