Persian Angel of Power

"Khshathra Vairya" means "Chosen Dominion," or "Chosen Power," in ancient Persian. The name of this Immortal refers to Zarathushtra's concept of moral power and the right use of power, especially in political matters. In his founding text, the Gathas, Zarathushtra introduces the still-revolutionary concept of right use of power and morally good rulership. In his day, as in ours, political and religious leadership was in the hands of unscrupulous and corrupt people. He created an ideal that matched goodness with political power, something which was almost unthinkable more than 3000 years ago and is still very rare now.

This figure of Khshathra also represents the sector of Creation of metals and the sky. Metals are a constant motif in the history of power, whether they be precious like gold or silver, or useful like copper, bronze, and iron. Metal makes weapons, transportation, and defense, as well as currency, thus it is essential to maintaining any political or social power. Thus I show a broadsword as well as a silver ring which symbolizes dominion in Persian art.

I used gold and silver and bronze as the colors for my portrayal of Khshathra. I also made his image as an elder King, the third age of manhood in my set of six allegorical characters. His royal costume and crown is taken from depictions of Persian rulers from the Sassanian era (225-650 A.D.).

"Khshathra Vairya" is acrylic on illustration board, 8" x 14", October 1997.