Anahita is the ancient Persian goddess of fertility, water, health and healing, and wisdom. Owing to her association with life-giving properties, she also came to be connected with ancient Persian warfare as soldiers would pray to her for their survival before battle.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 700 BCE - c. 300 BCEProbable dates for the development of the worship of the goddess Anahita in ancient Persia.
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404 BCE - 358 BCEStatues of Anahita are erected in temples throughout the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Artaxerxes II.
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247 BCE - 224 CEAnahita becomes a warrior goddess during the Parthian Period.
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224 CE - 651 CEAnahita continues as a warrior goddess during the Sassanian Period but is equally popular in her traditional role as goddess of water, fertility, health, and wisdom; frequently depicted in art.
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651 CEWorship of Anahita suppressed by Muslim Arabs after the fall of the Sassanian Empire; she is then replaced by Muslim heroines at shrines.
