Zarthushtra or Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism, was born in Medea (Modern Iran) about 660 B.C. He thought that life was struggle between the forces of good and evil. The sprit of good was Ahura Mazda with its helper Mithras, the light. The evil sprit was Angra Mainyu or Ahriman, the Lie Demon. Man could not be neutral in the struggle. He had to fight for right and live a righteous life. Those who lived righteously went to paradise, which was a state of immortal holiness in thought, word and deed. The impious were condemned to an eternal hell of evil thoughts and deeds and physical torment. By 500 B.C. Zoroastrianism had become the leading faith in Persia and Medea.

The sayings of Zoroaster were gathered into a book, called Avesta or Zend Avesta, which became the Bible of the Persians. The Zoroastrians who fled to India during the 8 the century, are the ancestors of the present Parsi community in India.