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or is the Avestan language word for both the moon and for the Zoroastrian divinity that presides over and is the hypostasis of the moon. The names 'Maonghah' and ''Mah'' derive from an Indo-European root that is also the origin of the English language word "moon." The Zoroastrian divinity has however no Vedic equivalent. Maonghah retains the name ''Mah'' in the 9th-12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, and continues with that name into New Persian. In ''Histories'' 7.3.7, Herodotus states that the moon was the tutelary divinity of the Iranian expatriates residing in Asia Minor. ==In scripture== Although there are two Avestan hymns dedicated to the Moon, she is not a prominent divinity. In both the third ''Nyaish'' as well as in the seventh ''Yasht'', the 'moon' more commonly spoken of is the physical moon. In these hymns, the phases of the moon are described at length. Ahura Mazda is described to be the cause of the moon's waxing and waning, and the Amesha Spentas evenly distribute the light of the moon over the earth (''Yasht'' 7.3, ''Nyaish'' 3.5). In ''Yasht'' 13.14-16, the Fravashis are said to be responsible for keeping the moon and stars on its appointed course. The sun, moon, and stars revolve around the peak of Hara Berezaiti (''Yasht'' 12.25). The Moon is however also "bestower, radiant, glorious, possessed of water, possessed of warmth, possessed of knowledge, wealth, riches, discernment, weal, verdure, good, and the healing one" (Dhalla, 1938:214; ''Yasht'' 7.5, ''Nyaish'' 3.7). "During the spring, the Moon causes plants to grow up out of the earth" (''Yasht'' 7.4, ''Nyaish'' 3.6). In the litany to the Moon, she is described as the "queen of the night." The Moon is repeatedly spoken of as possessing the ''cithra''〔The precise meaning of this word in this context is unknown. It is traditionally translated as "seed", which in the sense of "prototype" carries the connotation of a particular physical form or appearance. But the word can also mean "seed" in the sense of "race, stock".〕 of the primeval bull. This is an allusion to a cosmological drama that is however only properly attested in the texts of Zoroastrian tradition (see below). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mah」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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