Page:Next-of-kin Marriages in Old Iran.djvu/42

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
IN OLD IRÂN.
27

It must also be remembered that the works of some of those Greek philosophers who were wellknown for their somewhat authentic description of the Zoroastrian religion and customs, viz., Democritus (f. B. C. 460), Deinon the contemporary of Ctesias, Plato, Eudoxus, Hermippos, Theopompos, and Aristotle, do not contain the slightest trace or hint as to the alleged practice of next-of-kin marriages in ancient Irân.

Thus a majority of opinions may be cited to prove that the reports of classical writers on the subject of consanguineous marriages in old Irân, are not at all beyond question. Moreover, I do not mean to deny that some of those Greek writers who have ascribed the marriage practices in question in the case of individuals to the old Irânians may have had some grounds for their averment; but who can reconcile their conflicting evidence? Who can decide between the two inconsistent statements upon this subject by Xanthus and Agathias, where the former charges the Magi with the crime of marrying their parents, while the latter puts into

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.