Читать книгу An Angel in Your Pocket - Rosemary Guiley Ellen - Страница 10

We can only guess at the age of the angel. Images of supernatural winged creatures have been found in ancient Mesopotamia and Sumeria. The Assyrians had their karibu (the source of the word ‘cherubim’), which were fierce, winged beasts possessing features both animal and human. The role of the angel as protector can perhaps be traced to these ancestors, which acted as temple guards in Babylon and Sumeria.

The Greeks made a big contribution to angel lore with their gods, such as Hermes, the winged messenger. Hermes is often credited as being the source of archangel Michael. (Many of the Greek gods were molded into angels by the Church in its attempt to convert the pagans.) The Greeks also had daimones, spirits who came in both good and evil forms, the good ones being protectors. Socrates spoke of his daimon, who constantly whispered in his ear. Daimones evolved into ‘demons’ in Christianization, and in the process they lost their good-natured brethren.

The Aryans who came to India and Persia around 2500 B.C. believed in devas (meaning ‘shining ones’), who were deities subordinate to their supreme god, Dyeus. Perhaps it was from them that angels inherited their most salient characteristic – the ability to shine, or radiate light. The ‘el’ suffix so common in angels’ names is understood in several languages to mean ‘shining’ or ‘radiant.’

The devas made their way into the Veda, a collection of early sacred Hindu writings, where they were depicted in a hierarchical (but still polytheistic) arrangement. According the Veda, devas existed in the three worlds – Earth, Heaven and a spiritual realm in between. They were closely aligned with the elements of nature – fire, water, earth and air – which were considered expressions of their existence. Devas of water, for example, were assigned the feminine role of caretakers, or nourishers, of all living things.

Devas also found their way into Zoroastrianism, the religion founded by the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) in sixth-century Persia. It was through Zoroastrianism that devas evolved into angels. In founding this monotheistic faith, Zoroaster rejected the pantheism of the Hindus and offered instead a single, supreme deity, Ahura Mazda, locked in an eternal struggle against his evil enemy Ahriman. Ahura Mazda is aided in this struggle by the good deeds of humans. He is also aided by seven archangels, the amesha spenta, who are the gods of Babylon and Assyria recycled into more roles more appropriate to a monotheistic religion. They represent the concepts of wisdom, truth, immortality, deserved good luck, piety, salvation, and obedience.

Zoroaster’s brand of angels took hold and was handed down to Judaism, Christianity and finally Islam. Islam’s malaika (again, ‘messengers’) are androgynous beings made of light who act as guardians of humans. Their names and personalities are borrowed from Judeo-Christian angels – for example, Mika’il (Michael) and Djibril (Gabriel).