According to tradition, he was a zaotar (Yašt 33. 16), that is, a sacrificing priest and chanter (cf. Sanskrit hotṛ), and his gāthās take their place in an old Indo-European tradition of sacred poetry. He belonged to the clan named Spitāma (“of the brilliant attack”), breeders of horses; his father’s name was Pouruśaspa (“of the spotted horse”). Zarathustra was married, and the names of his two children are known, the younger being his daughter Pouručistā (Yasna 53. 3). He was poor. When, in a famous gāthā, he begs for the help and protection of Ahura Mazdā, he exclaims: “I know, O Wise One,
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