In Persian mythology, Anahita is the only goddess t o have her name immortalised next to Ahura Mazda and Mithra – the two overarchin g Zoroastrian deities. The first written evidence stems from fourth-century BCE insc riptions in Susa and Hamadan. In Persia, Anahita was the deity assigned to water, as well as fertility and prosperity. She was also the protectress of the righteous kings , a tradition starting with the Abstracts VIII Achaemenian empire and lasting until the end of the Sasanian dynasty. The cultic syncretism developing in the vast Persian empires i s as much part of the scrutiny of our authors as the Avestan origins of the Anahita c ult
