But to what effect? The empire founded by Cyrus was certainly no theocracy; it was never, in any real sense, ‘Zoroastrian’ at all. The Persians continued to worship their ancient gods, to honour mountains and flowing streams, and to sacrifice horses before the tombs of their kings. But if the Achaemenid court remained pagan in much of its practice, it was also, in its dominant sensibility, not entirely removed from Zoroaster’s teachings.
