Religious Research

Religious Research

The Material World and the Ontological Status of Human Beings in the Religious and Mythological Worldviews of Ancient Iranians and Greeks

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
hamid kavyanipooya 1
tayebe khajeh 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Iranian Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran
2 . PhD Candidate in Ancient Iranian History, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jrr.2026.542442.2293
Abstract
The nature of existence, the creator of the material world, and the place of human beings within it have not been conceived in the same way across all civilizations, and fundamental differences can sometimes be found in different religions and systems of belief with regard to these concepts. Examining the views of the ancient Iranians and Greeks, as two ancient civilizations that influenced one another, concerning the universe, the place and status of human beings in material life (the gētīg), and the similarities and differences between the mythological and religious thought of these civilizations constitutes an important area of inquiry. This study seeks to address these questions through a descriptive-analytical approach, based on an examination of major Iranian and Greek sources and conducted through library research. The findings indicate that, although similar conceptions of the nature of the material world and the earth can be observed in some narratives, fundamental differences exist between these two worldviews concerning such issues as the existence of a creator, the finitude or infinitude of the material world, whether it is created or eternal, and the place and destiny of human beings. The findings further indicate that the Iranian worldview, particularly within the framework of Mazdayasnian beliefs, exhibits greater coherence and teleological orientation. In this worldview, the gētīg, or material world, is understood as being connected and corresponding to the mēnōg, or spiritual world, while the human being, as the “microcosm” (ʿālam al-ṣaghīr), is regarded as an effective and meaningful constituent of the totality of existence, namely, the “macrocosm” (ʿālam al-kabīr). By contrast, the Greek worldview, owing to the diversity and, at times, contradictions among mythological and philosophical views from the Homeric period through the age of the philosophers, lacks a single and coherent conception of the origin, telos, and place of human beings within existence. Accordingly, in this worldview, human beings generally do not occupy a determining role in explaining the emergence and structure of the material world.



Keywords
Iran
Greece
gētīg
existence
Mazdayasnian
Subjects
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