Subproject A04

Metaphorizing the Metaphors: The Development of the Zoroastrian Language of Eschatology

Focusing on Zoroastrian eschatology, this project asks, to what extent the construction of religious meaning relies on the transformation of existing metaphors rather than the production of entirely new ones. By doing so, it will make a fundamental contribution to the ongoing debate on the development of eschatological ideas in Zoroastrianism and the history of other Eurasian religions, particularly, to the discussion on the absorption of Zoroastrian eschatological ideas in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic traditions. To that end, the project will investigate five historical layers of Zoroastrian literature from 12th cent. BCE to 17th cent. AD.

Publications

• Mohtashami, Neda. Forthcoming. “Eschatologia Iranica VII. The Metaphorical Landscape of Darkness in the Young Avesta: A CMT-based Study.” In The Final Frontier: Unveiling the Ancient Iranian Language of Eschatology, ed. by Kianoosh Rezania, Neda Mohtashami, and Yusef Saadat. Dynamics in the History of Religions. Leiden: Brill.
• Mohtashami, Neda, Yusef Saadat, and Kianoosh Rezania. 2025. “Eschatologia Iranica III: WAY Metaphors as CONDUCT OF LIFE in Selected Iranian Languages: A CMT-Based Case Study.” In Conceptualizing CONDUCT OF LIFE through WAY Metaphors, edited by Kianoosh Rezania, Neda Mohtashami, and Roman Seidel. Metaphor Papers 19. https://doi.org/10.46586/mp.430.519.
• Mohtashami, Neda, Yusef Saadat, and Kianoosh Rezania. 2024. “Eschatologia Iranica I: From Zoroastrian Cosmos to Abbasid Madīnat Al-Salām. A Journey Through Utopia and Heterotopia.” Religions 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101170.
• Mohtashami, Neda, Yusef Saadat, and Kianoosh Rezania. 2025a. “Die Genese eines Religionsbegriffs im iranischen Feld des Religionskontaktes.” In Religionswissenschaft: Aktuelle Annäherungen, edited by Michael Stausberg and Katharina Wilkens, 73–83. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111458892-007.
• Mohtashami, Neda, Yusef Saadat, and Kianoosh Rezania. 2025b. “Hādoxt Nask.” The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa (Malden, MA). https://doi.org/0.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00879.
• Mohtashami, Neda, Yusef Saadat, and Kianoosh Rezania. Forthcoming. “Eschatologia Iranica VI. Depiction of Afterlife in Old Avestan Texts? A Metaphorological Approach to Cinuuatō Pərətu-.” In The Final Frontier: Unveiling the Ancient Iranian Language of Eschatology, ed. by Kianoosh Rezania, Neda Mohtashami, and Yusef Saadat. Dynamics in the History of Religions. Leiden: Brill.
• Rezania, Kianoosh, and Neda Mohtashami. 2025. “The WAY as a Metaphor for CONDUCT OF LIFE: An Introduction.” In Conceptualizing CONDUCT OF LIFE through WAY Metaphors, edited by Kianoosh Rezania, Neda Mohtashami, and Roman Seidel. Metaphor Papers 19. https://doi.org/10.46586/mp.430.517.
• Rezania, Kianoosh, Neda Mohtashami, and Roman Seidel, eds. 2025. Conceptualizing CONDUCT OF LIFE through WAY Metaphors. Metaphor Papers 19. https://doi.org/10.46586/mp.430.
• Saadat, Yusef. Forthcoming. “Eschatologia Iranica V. Weighing the Girl Called Dēn to Determine One’s Eschatological Destiny.” In The Final Frontier: Unveiling the Ancient Iranian Language of Eschatology, ed. by Kianoosh Rezania, Neda Mohtashami, and Yusef Saadat. Dynamics in the History of Religions. Leiden: Brill.
• Saadat, Yusef, and Kianoosh Rezania. Forthcoming. “Eschatologia Iranica II. Some Unnoticed Aspects of the Zoroastrian Afterlife River of Tears as the Continuation of the Indo-European Afterlife River.” Journal of Indo-European Studies.

Presentations

• Mohtashami, Neda: A Primordial or an Infinite Hell? The Case of a Young Avestan Metaphor. CRC Plenary Session, 20.06.2022, Bochum, Germany.
• Mohtashami, Neda: The Path to the Hereafter: The Development of the Source Domain WAY in the Avesta. Domain in Focus WAY Workshop, 02.09.2022, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Die Brücke zur transzendenten Welt in Bild- und Verbalsprache in der iranischen Antike und Spätantike. Metapher und Materialität, Museum Rietberg, 25.–26.04.2023, Zurich, Switzerland.
• Saadat, Yusef: Bridge as a Way Which Can Make or Break the Connection to the Transcendence. Finding Our Way: The Source Domain WAY in Constructing Religious Concepts, 30.06.2023, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: The Economization of the Afterlife in Zoroastrian Eschatology. 10th European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS10), 21.–25.08.2023, Leiden, Netherlands.
• Saadat, Yusef: Unnoticed Aspects of the Afterlife River of Tears in Iranian Mythology and its Indo-European Origin. 10th European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS10), 21.–25.08.2023, Leiden, Netherlands.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Annotating Allegory and other relations between Linguistic and Conceptual Metaphors. CRC Plenary Session, 22.01.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Mohtashami, Neda: Annotation Session V. 19.29. CRC Plenary Session, 03.06.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: From Zoroastrian Cosmos to Abbasid Baghdad: A Journey through Utopia and Heterotopia. Zoroastrian Studies Seminar Series, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, 10.05.2024, Toronto, Canada.
• Mohtashami, Neda: Exploring Eschatological Origin: An Analysis of anaγra- təmah-. Final Frontier: Exploring the Language of Eschatology, 12.–14.06.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Depiction of Afterlife in Old Avestan Texts? A CMT-Based Approach to an Age-Old Question. Final Frontier: Exploring the Language of Eschatology, 12.–14.06.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Saadat, Yusef: How Can Deeds Be Weighed to Determine One’s Eschatological Destiny in Zoroastrianism? Final Frontier: Exploring the Language of Eschatology, 12.–14.06.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Relations between Linguistic and Conceptual Metaphors. CRC Plenary Session, 15.07.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Saadat, Yusef: The Way Činwad Bridge Gets Reshaped: A Possible Reflection of a Bridge Technology in Sasanian Era. Ērān Research Forum, 15.–19.07.2024, Lille, France.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Metaphorisation of Metaphors: From Indo-European Afterlife to Old Avestan Ritual Communication. Winged Words: Diachronic and Comparative Perspectives on Conceptual Metaphors, 30.09.–1.10.2024, Leiden, Netherlands.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Metaphor and Etymology: How literal is the literal meaning? CRC Plenary Session, 18.11.2024, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: A Metaphorical-Narratological Approach to a Philological Problem: The Case of Avestan pərətu- ‘Ford’ or ‘Bridge’?” Philology and the Narrative Heritage: Biennial Conference of the World Philology Union, 4.–6.12.2024, Uppsala, Sweden.
• Saadat, Yusef: Theoretical Pattern for the Structure of a Sasanian Metropole as Reflected in the Middle Persian Text of Dēnkard 3. Abandoned Cities – Resilience in Perceptions and Interpretations. 16.–18.06.2025, Munich, Germany.
•  Rezania, Kianoosh: Philology, Conceptual Metaphors, and Comparative Study of Religion: An Introduction to CRC 1475 Metaphors of Religion. Taxonomy, Differentiation Processes, and Metaphor in the History of Knowledge, Including Religion, 26.–27.06.2025, Bochum, Germany.
• Saadat, Yusef and Neda Mohtashami: From the ‘Straight Path’ to the ‘Perfect Path’: Conceptual Metaphor, Linguistic Transition, and Theological Refinement in Zoroastrian Exegesis. XXIII International Association for the History of Religions World Congress, 29.08.2025, Kraków, Poland.
• Mohtashami, Neda: The Path None May Escape: Death Metaphor in the Avestan and Pahlavi Aogəmadaēčā. Metaphors of Religion: Comparative Perspectives, Theoretical Potential, and Methodic Innovation, 28.10.2025, Bochum, Germany.
• Rezania, Kianoosh: Conceptual Metaphors in the Verbal and Visual Representations of Achaemenian Country Lists. The Line and the Circle: Comparative Perspectives in Ancient Poetic Traditions, 3.–5.11.2025, Naples, Italy.