The Name of Hystaspes

The name Vištāspa -, which the Greeks represented by Hystaspes , belongs to a number of personages in Iranian history: the East Iranian ruler who was Zoroaster's first royal convert, the father of Darius the Great, and several minor princely descendents of Darius. That Zoroaster's patron was identical with Darius's father is most unlikely, though it has been and is still maintained by some scholars; but that problem lies outside the field of the present discussion. Only so far does it at the moment interest me, that the name Vištāspa appears to have gained prestige from the fact that it was the name of Zoroaster's patron, and therefore enjoyed a vogue in the line of Achaemenian princes

Linguistics · Ancient Near East History · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy