Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
Name	ZoroasterZaraϑuštra Spitāma
Known for	Founder of Zoroastrianism
Honorific	Ashu or Asho ''(i.e. Ashu Zarathushtra)''
Spouse	Hvōvi ''(traditional)''
Children	Freni, Pourucista, Triti;Isat Vastar, Uruvat-Nara, Hvare Ciϑra ''(traditional)''
Parents	Pourušaspa Spitāma, Dughdova ''(traditional)''}}

Zoroaster ( )(Avestan: ''Zaraϑuštra'') was an ancient prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who lived in the North-Western Persia, todays Iran & Kurdistan. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism. There is no consensus among scholars about the period of life, as the dates of his birth range from 3000 BCE to 600 BCE. The majority of his life is known through the Avestan texts.

Etymology

Zoroaster's name in his native language, Avestan, was ''Zaraϑuštra''. The English name, "Zoroaster", and the derivatives from a later (5th-century BCE) Greek transcription, ''Zōroastrēs'' (Ζωροάστρης), as used in Xanthus's ''Lydiaca'' (Fragment 32) and in Plato's ''First Alcibiades'' (122a1). This form appears subsequently in the Latin ''Zōroastrēs'' and, in later Greek orthographies, as ''Zōroastris''. The Greek form of the name appears to be based on a phonetic transliteration or semantic substitution of the Avestan ''zaraϑ-'' with the Greek ''zōros'' (literally "undiluted") and the Avestan ''-uštra'' with ''astron'' ("star"). The Avestan ''-uštra'' is accepted to mean or relate to "light".

In Avestan, ''Zaraϑuštra'' is generally accepted to derive from an Old Iranian ''*Zaratuštra-''. While ''zarat-'' is strongly referenced to mean "golden" (from the old Eastern-Iranian ''zar-'' [-زر], meaning "gold") it does not itself appear in Avestan. The second half of the name (''-uštra-'') is universally accepted to mean "camel". These factors combined open the door for reconstructing the name's meaning, though there have been other alternative etymologies proposed.

Reconstructions from later Iranian languages—particularly from the Middle Persian (300 BCE) ''Zardusht'', which is the form that the name took in the 9th- to 12th-century Zoroastrian texts—suggest that ''*Zaratuštra-'' might be a zero-grade form of ''*Zarantuštra-''.

Subject then to whether ''Zaraϑuštra'' derives from ''*Zaratuštra-'' or from ''*Zarantuštra-'', several interpretations have been proposed.

Following ''*Zaratuštra-'' are: "[owner of the] golden camel": this is derived from old Eastern Iranian word ''*zar-'' for gold and ''ushtra'' for camel, further corresponding to an Eastern Iranian origin (the Old Persian word ''dar'' as a Western-Iranian dialect would be the equal term of Eastern Iranian ''zar''; Modern Persian uses the Eastern Iranian word for gold). "driving camel": related to Avestan ''zarš-'', "to drag". Mayrhofer (1977) proposed an etymology of "desiring camels" or "longing for camels" and related to Vedic ''har-'', "to like", and perhaps (though ambiguous) also to Avestan ''zara-''. "yellow camel": parallel to younger Avestan ''zairi-''.

Following ''*Zarantuštra-'' are: "angry camel": from Avestan ''*zarant-'', "angry, furious". "old/aging camels": related to Avestic ''zarant-''. (''cf.'' Pashto ''zorr'' and Ossetic ''zœrond'', "old"; Persian ''zāl'', "old")

A folk etymology of the name is from ''zaraϑa'', "golden", and the ''*uštra'', "light" (from the root ''uš'', "to shine"). In yet another etymological variation, ''Zaraϑuštra'' is split into two words: ''zara'', "gold", and ''ϑuštra'', "friend". Several more etymologies have been proposed, some quite fanciful, but none is factually based.

The interpretation of the ''-ϑ-'' () in Avestan ''zaraϑuštra'' was for a time itself subjected to heated debate because the ''-ϑ-'' is an irregular development: As a rule, ''*zarat-'' (a first element that ends in a dental consonant) should have Avestan ''zarat-'' or ''zarat̰-'' as a development from it. Why this is not so for ''zaraϑuštra'' has not yet been determined. Notwithstanding the phonetic irregularity, that Avestan ''zaraϑuštra'' with its ''-ϑ-'' was linguistically an actual form is shown by later attestations reflecting the same basis. All present-day, Iranian-language variants of his name derive from the Middle Iranian variants of ''Zarϑošt'', which, in turn, all reflect Avestan's fricative ''-ϑ-''.

Date

The date of Zoroaster, i.e., the date of composition of the Old Avestan gathas, is unknown. Scholarly mainstream opinion mostly places him near the 11th or 10th century BCE, but dates proposed in scholarly literature diverge widely, between the 18th and the 6th centuries BCE.

Until the late 17th century, Zoroaster was generally dated to about the 6th century BCE, which coincided with both the "Traditional date" (see details below) and historiographic accounts (Ammianus Marcellinus xxiii.6.32, 4th century AD). However, already at the time (late 19th century), the issue was far from settled, with James Darmesteter pleading for a later date (''c.'' 100 BCE). Some ancient authors also give a mythological "date" corresponding to about 6000 BCE.

The "Traditional date" originates in the period immediately following Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BCE. The Seleucid kings who gained power following Alexander's death instituted an "Age of Alexander" as the new calendrical epoch. This did not appeal to the Zoroastrian priesthood who then attempted to establish an "Age of Zoroaster." To do so, they needed to establish when Zoroaster had lived, which they accomplished by counting back the length of successive generations until they concluded that Zoroaster must have lived "258 years before Alexander." This estimate then re-appeared in the 9th- to 12th-century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, which in turn gave the date doctrinal legitimacy. In the early part of the 20th century, this remained the accepted date (subject to the uncertainties of the 'Age of Alexander') for a number of reputable scholars, among them Hasan Taqizadeh, a recognized authority on the various Iranian calendars, and hence became the date cited by Henning and others.

By the late 19th century, scholars such as Bartholomea and Christensen noted problems with the "Traditional date," namely in the linguistic difficulties that it presented. The Old Avestan language of the Gathas (which are attributed to the prophet himself) is still very close to the Sanskrit of the Rigveda. Therefore, it seemed implausible that the Gathas and Rigveda could be more than a few centuries apart, suggesting a date for the oldest surviving portions of the Avesta of roughly the 2nd millennium BCE.

This 11th/10th century BCE date is now widely accepted among Iranists, who in recent decades found that the social customs described in the Gathas roughly coincide with what is known of other pre-historical peoples of that period. Supported by this historical evidence, the "Traditional date" can be conclusively ruled out, and the discreditation can to some extent be supported by the texts themselves: The Gathas describe a society of bipartite (priests and herdsmen/farmers) nomadic pastoralists with tribal structures organized at most as small kingdoms. This contrasts sharply with the view of Zoroaster having lived in an empire, at which time society is attested to have had a tripartite structure (nobility/soldiers, priests, and farmers). Although a slightly earlier date (by a century or two) has been proposed on the grounds that the texts do not reflect the migration onto the Iranian Plateau, it is also possible that Zoroaster lived in one of the rural societies that remained in Central Asia.

Place

''Yasna'' 9 & 17 cite the Ditya River in Airyanem Vaējah (Middle Persian ''Ērān Wēj'') as Zoroaster's home and the scene of his first appearance. The Avesta (both Old and Younger portions) does not mention the Achaemenids or of any West Iranian tribes such as the Medes, Persians, or even Parthians.

However, in ''Yasna'' 59.18, the ''zaraϑuštrotema'', or supreme head of the Zoroastrian priesthood, is said to reside in 'Ragha'. In the 9th- to 12th-century Middle Persian texts of Zoroastrian tradition, this 'Ragha'—along with many other places—appear as locations in Western Iran. While Medea does not figure at all in the Avesta (the westernmost location noted in scripture is Arachosia), the ''Būndahišn'', or "Primordial Creation," (20.32 and 24.15) puts Ragha in Medea (medieval Rai). However, in Avestan, Ragha is simply a toponym meaning "plain, hillside."

Apart from these indications in Middle Persian sources which are open to interpretations, there are a number of other sources. The Greek and Latin sources are divided on the birth place of Zarathustra. There are many Greek accounts of Zarathustra, referred usually as Persian or Perso-Median Zoroaster. Moreover they have the suggestion that there has been more than one Zoroaster. On the other hand, in post-Islamic sources Shahrastani (1086–1153) an Iranian writer originally from Shahristān, present-day Turkmenistan, proposed that Zoroaster's father was from Atropatene (also in Medea) and his mother was from Rey. Coming from a reputed scholar of religions, this was a serious blow for the various regions who all claimed that Zoroaster originated from ''their'' homelands, some of which then decided that Zoroaster must then have then been buried in their regions or composed his Gathas there or preached there. Also Arabic sources of the same period and the same region of historical Persia consider Azerbaijan as the birth place of Zarathustra.

By the late 20th century, some scholars had settled on an origin in Eastern Iran and/or Central Asia (to include present-day Afghanistan): Gnoli proposed Sistan (though in a much wider scope than the present-day province) as the homeland of Zoroastrianism; Frye voted for Bactria and Chorasmia; Khlopin suggests the Tedzen Delta in present-day Turkmenistan. Sarianidi considered the BMAC region as "the native land of the Zoroastrians and, probably, of Zoroaster himself." Boyce includes the steppes of the former Soviet republics. The medieval "from Media" hypothesis is no longer taken seriously, and Zaehner has even suggested that this was a Magi-mediated issue to garner legitimacy, but this has been likewise rejected by Gershevitch and others.

The 2005 ''Encyclopedia Iranica'' article on the history of Zoroastrianism summarizes the issue with "while there is general agreement that he did not live in western Iran, attempts to locate him in specific regions of eastern Iran, including Central Asia, remain tentative."

Life

The ''Gathas'' contain allusions to personal events, such as Zoroaster's triumph over obstacles imposed by competing priests and the ruling class. They also indicate he had difficulty spreading his teachings, and was even treated with ill-will in his mother's hometown. They also describe familial events such as the marriage of his daughter, at which Zoroaster presided. In the texts of the Younger ''Avesta'' (composed many centuries after the ''Gathas''), Zoroaster is depicted wrestling with the ''daeva''s and is tempted by Angra Mainyu to renounce his faith (''Yasht'' 17.19; ''Vendidad'' 19). The ''Spend Nask'', the 13th section of the Avesta, is said to have a description of the prophet's life. However, this text has been lost over the centuries, and it survives only as a summary in the seventh book of the 9th century ''Dēnkard''. Other 9th- to 12th-century stories of Zoroaster, as in the ''Shāhnāmeh'', are also assumed to be based on earlier texts, but must be considered as primarily a collection of legends. The historical Zoroaster, however, eludes categorization as a legendary character.

Zoroaster was born into the priestly family of the ''Spitamids'' and his ancestor ''Spitāma'' is mentioned several times in the Gathas. His father's name was ''Pourušaspa'', his mother's was Dughdova (''Duγδōuuā''). With his wife, Huvovi (''Hvōvi''), Zoroaster had three sons, Isat Vastar, Uruvat-Nara and Hvare Ciϑra three daughters, Freni, Pourucista and Triti. His wife, children and a cousin named Maidhyoimangha, were his first converts after his illumination from Ahura Mazda at age 30. According to ''Yasnas'' 5 & 105, Zoroaster prayed to Anahita for the conversion of King Vištaspa, who appears in the ''Gathas'' as a historical personage. In legends, Vištaspa is said to have had two brothers as courtiers, Frašaōštra and Jamaspa, and to whom Zoroaster was closely related: his wife, Hvōvi, was the daughter of Frashaōštra, while Jamaspa was the husband of his daughter Pourucista. The actual role of intermediary was played by the pious queen Hutaōsa. Apart from this connection, the new prophet relied especially upon his own kindred (''hvaētuš'').

Zoroaster's death is not mentioned in the ''Avesta''. In ''Shahnameh'' 5.92, he is said to have been murdered at the altar by the Turanians in the storming of Balkh.

Philosophy

In the Gathas, Zoroaster sees the human condition as the mental struggle between ''aša'' (truth) and ''druj'' (lie). The cardinal concept of ''aša''—which is highly nuanced and only vaguely translatable—is at the foundation of all Zoroastrian doctrine, including that of Ahura Mazda (who is ''aša''), creation (that is ''aša''), existence (that is ''aša'') and as the condition for Free Will, which is arguably Zoroaster's greatest contribution to religious philosophy.

The purpose of humankind, like that of all other creation, is to sustain ''aša''. For humankind, this occurs through active participation in life and the exercise of constructive thoughts, words and deeds.

Elements of Zoroastrian philosophy entered the West through their influence on Judaism and Middle Platonism and have been identified as one of the key early events in the development of philosophy. Among the classic Greek philosophers, Heraclitus is often referred to as inspired by Zoroaster's thinking.

Iconography

thumb|250 px|Detail of The School of Athens by Raphael, 1509, showing Zoroaster (left, with star-studded globe).

Although a few recent depictions of Zoroaster show the prophet performing some deed of legend, in general the portrayals merely present him in white vestments (which are also worn by present-day Zoroastrian priests). He often is seen holding a ''baresman'' (Avestan, MP ''barsom''), which is generally considered to be another symbol of priesthood, or with a book in hand, which may be interpreted to be the Avesta. Alternatively, he appears with a mace, the ''varza''—usually stylized as a steel rod crowned by a bull's head—that priests carry in their installation ceremony. In other depictions he appears with a raised hand and thoughtfully lifted finger, as if to make a point. Zoroaster is rarely depicted as looking directly at the viewer; instead, he appears to be looking slightly upwards, as if beseeching. Zoroaster is almost always depicted with a beard, this along with other factors bear similarities to 19th century portraits of Jesus.

A common variant of the Zoroaster images derives from a Sassanid-era rock-face carving. In this depiction at Taq-e Bostan, a figure is seen to preside over the coronation of Ardashir I or II. The figure is standing on a lotus, with a ''baresman'' in hand and with a gloriole around his head. Until the 1920s, this figure was commonly supposed to be a depiction of Zoroaster, but in recent years is more commonly interpreted to be a depiction of Mithra. Among the most famous of the European depictions of Zoroaster is that of the figure in Raphael's 1509 The School of Athens. In it, Zoroaster and Ptolemy are having a discussion in the lower right corner. The prophet is holding a star-studded globe.

Western perceptions

In classical antiquity

Although, at the core, the Greeks (in the Hellenistic sense of the term) understood Zoroaster to be the "prophet and founder of the religion of the Iranian peoples" (e.g. Plutarch ''Isis and Osiris'' 46-7, Diogenes Laertius 1.6-9 and Agathias 2.23-5), "the rest was mostly fantasy." He was set in the impossibly ancient past, six to seven millennia before the Common Era, and was variously a king of Bactria, or a Babylonian (or teacher of Babylonians), and with a biography typical for every Neopythagorean sage, i.e. a mission preceded by ascetic withdrawal and enlightenment.

Most importantly however, was their picture of Zoroaster as the sorcerer-astrologer ''non-plus-ultra'', and indeed as the "inventor" of both magic and astrology. Deriving from that image, and reinforcing it, was a "mass of literature" attributed to him and that circulated the Mediterranean world from the 3rd century BCE to the end of antiquity and beyond. "The Greeks considered the best wisdom to be exotic wisdom" and "what better and more convenient authority than the distant—temporally and geographically—Zoroaster?"

The language of that literature was predominantly Greek, though at one stage or another various parts of it passed through Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic or Latin. Its ethos and cultural matrix was likewise Hellenistic, and "the ascription of literature to sources beyond that political, cultural and temporal framework represents a bid for authority and a fount of legitimizing 'alien wisdom'. Zoroaster and the magi did not compose it, but their names sanctioned it." The attributions to "exotic" names (not restricted to magians) conferred an "authority of a remote and revelation wisdom."

Once the magi were associated with magic in Greek imagination, Zoroaster was bound to metamorphose into a magician too. The 1st century Pliny the elder names Zoroaster as the inventor of magic (''Natural History'' 30.2.3). "However, a principle of the division of labor appears to have spared Zoroaster most of the responsibility for introducing the dark arts to the Greek and Roman worlds." That "dubious honor" went to the "fabulous magus, Ostanes, to whom most of the pseudepigraphic magical literature was attributed." Although Pliny calls him the inventor of magic, the Roman does not provide a "magician's persona" for him. Moreover, the little "magical" teaching that is ascribed to Zoroaster is actually very late, with the very earliest example being from the 14th century.

One factor for the association with astrology was Zoroaster's name, or rather, what the Greeks made of it. Within the scheme of Greek thinking (which was always on the lookout for hidden significances and "real" meanings of words) his name was identified at first with star-worshiping (''astrothytes'' "star sacrificer") and, with the ''Zo-'', even as the ''living'' star. Later, an even more elaborate mytho-etymology evolved: Zoroaster died by the living (''zo-'') flux (''-ro-'') of fire from the star (''-astr-'') which he himself had invoked, and even, that the stars killed him in revenge for having been restrained by him.

Similar ideas about Zoroaster also appear in early Christian literature, beginning with the ''Clementine Homilies'' 9.4-5, which identifies him with a parallel series of traditions about Nimrod having been the founder of astrology. In this account, Nimrod is killed by lightning and posthumously deified by the Persians as "Zoroaster, on account of the living (''zosan'') stream of the star (''asteros'') being poured upon him."

The second, and "more serious" factor for the association with astrology was the notion that Zoroaster was a Babylonian. The alternate Greek name for Zoroaster was Zaratas/Zaradas/Zaratos (''cf.'' Agathias 2.23-5, Clement ''Stromata'' I.15), which—so Cumont and Bidez—derived from a Semitic form of his name. The Pythagorean tradition considered the mathematician to have studied with Zoroaster in Babylonia (Porphyry ''Life of Pythagoras'' 12, Alexander Polyhistor apud Clement's ''Stromata'' I.15, Diodorus of Eritrea, Aristoxenus apud Hippolitus VI32.2). Lydus (''On the Months'' II.4) attributes the creation of the seven-day week to "the Babylonians in the circle of Zoroaster and Hystaspes," and who did so because there were seven planets. The Suda's chapter on ''astronomia'' notes that the Babylonians learned their astrology from Zoroaster. Lucian of Samosata (''Mennipus'' 6) decides to journey to Babylon "to ask one of the magi, Zoroaster's disciples and successors," for their opinion.

While the division along the lines of Zoroaster/astrology and Ostanes/magic is an "oversimplification, the descriptions do at least indicate what the works are ''not''." They were not expressions of Zoroastrian doctrine, they were not even expressions of what the Greeks and Romans "''imagined'' the doctrines of Zoroastrianism to have been." The assembled fragments do not even show noticeable commonality of outlook and teaching among the several authors who wrote under each name.

Almost all Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha is now lost, and of the attested texts—with only one exception—only fragments have survived. Pliny's 2nd/3rd century attribution of "two million lines" to Zoroaster suggest that (even if exaggeration and duplicates are taken into consideration) a formidable pseudepigraphic corpus once existed at the Library of Alexandria. This corpus can safely be assumed to be pseudepigrapha because no one before Pliny refers to literature by "Zoroaster," and on the authority of the 2nd century Galen of Pergamon and from a 6th century commentator on Aristotle it is known that the acquisition policies of well-endowed royal libraries created a market for fabricating manuscripts of famous and ancient authors.

The exception to the fragmentary evidence (i.e. reiteration of passages in works of other authors) is a complete Coptic tractate titled ''Zostrianos'' (after the first-person narrator) discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. A three-line cryptogram in the colophones following the 131-page treatise identify the work as "words of truth of Zostrianos. God of Truth [''logos'']. Words of Zoroaster." Invoking a "God of Truth" might seem Zoroastrian, but there is otherwise "nothing noticeably Zoroastrian" about the text and "in content, style, ethos and intention, its affinities are entirely with the congeners among the Gnostic tractates."

Among the named works attributed to "Zoroaster" is a treatise ''On Nature'' (''Peri physeos''), which appears to have originally constituted four volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The framework is a retelling of Plato's ''Myth of Er'', with Zoroaster taking the place of the original hero. While Porphyry imagined Pythagoras listening to Zoroaster's discourse, ''On Nature'' has the sun in middle position, which was how it was understood in the 3rd century. In contrast, Plato's 4th century BCE version had the sun in second place above the moon. Ironically, Colotes accused Plato of plagiarizing Zoroaster, and Heraclides Ponticus wrote a text titled ''Zoroaster'' based on (what the author considered) "Zoroastrian" philosophy in order to express his disagreement with Plato on natural philosophy. With respect to substance and content in ''On Nature'' only two facts are known: that it was crammed with astrological speculations, and that Necessity (''Ananké'') was mentioned by name and that she was in the air.

Another work circulating under the name of "Zoroaster" was the ''Asteroskopita'' (or ''Apotelesmatika''), and which ran to five volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The title and fragments suggest that it was an astrological handbook, "albeit a very varied one, for the making of predictions." A third text attributed to Zoroaster is ''On Virtue of Stones'' (''Peri lithon timion''), of which nothing is known other than its extent (one volume) and that pseudo-Zoroaster ''sang'' it (from which Cumont and Bidez conclude that it was in verse). Numerous other fragments (preserved in the works of other authors) are attributed to "Zoroaster," but the titles of whose books are not mentioned.

These pseudepigraphic texts aside, some authors did draw on a few genuinely Zoroastrian ideas. The ''Oracles of Hystaspes'', by "Hystaspes", another prominent magian pseudo-author, is a set of prophecies distinguished from other Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha in that it draws on real Zoroastrian sources. Some allusions are more difficult to assess: in the same text that attributes the invention of magic to Zoroaster, Pliny states that Zoroaster laughed on the day of his birth, although in an earlier place (VII, I), Pliny had sworn in the name of Hercules that no child had ever done so before the 40th day from his birth. This notion of Zoroaster's laughter (like that of "two million verses") also appears in the 9th-11th century texts of genuine Zoroastrian tradition, and for a time it was assumed that the origin of those myths lay with indigenous sources. Pliny also records (VII, XV) that Zoroaster's head had pulsated so strongly that it repelled the hand when laid upon it, a presage of his future wisdom. The Iranians were however just as familiar with the Greek writers. The provenance of other descriptions are clear, so for instance, Plutarch's description of its dualistic theologies: "Others call the better of these a god and his rival a daemon, as, for example, Zoroaster the Magus, who lived, so they record, five thousand years before the siege of Troy. He used to call the one Horomazes and the other Areimanius" (''Isis and Osiris'' 46-7).

In the post-classical era

Zoroaster was known as a sage, magician, and miracle-worker in post-Classical Western culture. Although almost nothing was known of his ideas until the late 18th century, his name was already associated with lost ancient wisdom. However as early as 1643 Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici wrote-

''I beleeve, besides Zoroaster, there were divers that writ before Moses (R.M.Part 1:23)

whilst in The Garden of Cyrus of 1658 he speculated-

''And if Zoroaster were either Cham,Chus,or Mizraim, they were early proficients thereof''....

These statements by Sir Thomas Browne are the earliest recorded references to Zoroaster in the English language.

Zoroaster appears as "Sarastro" in Mozart's opera ''Die Zauberflöte'', which has been noted for its Masonic elements, where he represents moral order (''cf.'' Asha) in opposition to the "Queen of the Night."

He is also the subject of the 1749 opera Zoroastre, by Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire promoted research into Zoroastrianism in the belief that it was a form of rational Deism, preferable to Christianity. With the translation of the Avesta by Abraham Anquetil-Duperron, Western scholarship of Zoroastrianism began.

In his seminal work ''Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)'' (1885) the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche uses the native Iranian name Zarathustra (i.e. ''the Persian Zarathustra'', as opposed to the Greek-Latin name Zoroaster) which has a significant meaning as he had used the familiar Greek-Latin name in his earlier works. In particular that Nietzsche states explicitly "I must pay tribute to Zarathustra, a Persian (): Persians were the first who thought of history in its full entirety." It is believed that Nietzsche creates a characterization of Zarathustra as the mouthpiece for Nietzsche's own ideas against morality. Nietzsche did so because—so says Nietzsche in his autobiographical ''Ecce Homo'' (IV/''Schicksal''.3)—Zarathustra was a moralist ("was the exact reverse of an immoralist") and because "in his teachings alone is truthfulness upheld as the highest virtue." Zarathustra "created" morality in being the first to reveal it, "first to see in the struggle between good and evil the essential wheel in the working of things." Nietzsche sought to overcome the morality of Zarathustra by using the Zarathustrian virtue of truthfulness; thus Nietzsche found it piquant to have his Zarathustra character voice the arguments against morality.

Richard Strauss's Opus 30, inspired by Nietzsche's book, is also called ''Also sprach Zarathustra''. Its opening theme, which corresponds to the book's prologue, was used to score the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick's movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey''.

Zoroaster was mentioned by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. His wife and he were said to have claimed to have contacted Zoroaster through "automatic writing".

The protagonist and narrator of Gore Vidal's 1981 novel ''Creation'' is described to be the grandson of Zoroaster, with whom the narrator has several philosophical discussions and whose death he is a witness of.

Zoroaster mentioned in Don Quixote [1605]: "...in spite of all the black magic possessed by the first inventor Zoroaster..." (p. 398...?)

In chapter CX of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick [1851], the sickly Queequeg is briefly compared to Zoroaster. "''An awe that cannot be named would steal over you as you sat by the side of this waning savage, and saw as strange things in his face, as any beheld who were bystanders when Zoroaster died''."

In 1973 Roxy Music released their "Stranded" album with the song "Mother of Pearl" which has lyrical reference to Zarathustra at approximately 3:09 seconds into the song.

In other religious systems

In Islam

Citing the authority of the 8th century al-Kalbi, the 9th/10th century historian al-Tabari (i.648) reports that Zaradusht bin Isfiman (an Arabic adaptation of "Zarathustra Spitama") was an inhabitant of Palestine, and a servant of one of the disciples of the prophet Jeremiah. According to this tale, Zaradusht defrauded his master, who cursed him, causing him to become leprous (cf. Elisha's servant Gehazi in Jewish Scripture). The apostate Zaradusht then eventually made his way to Balkh where he converted Bishtasb (i.e. Vishtaspa), who in turn compelled his subjects to adopt the religion of the Magians. Recalling other tradition, al-Tabari (i.681-683) recounts that Zaradusht accompanied a Jewish prophet to Bishtasb/Vishtaspa. Upon their arrival, Zaradusht translated the sage's Hebrew teachings for the king and so convinced him to convert (Tabari also notes that they had previously been ''Sabi''s) to the Magian religion.

The 10th/11th century heresiographer al-Shahrastani describes the Majusiya into three sects, the ''Kayumarthiya'', the ''Zurwaniya'' and the ''Zaradushtiya'', among which Al-Shahrastani asserts that only the last of the three were properly followers of Zoroaster. As regards the recognition of a prophet, the Zoroaster has said: "They ask you as to how should they recognize a prophet and believe him to be true in what he says; tell them what he knows the others do not, and he shall tell you even what lies hidden in your nature; he shall be able to tell you whatever you ask him and he shall perform such things which others cannot perform." (Namah Shat Vakhshur Zartust, .5-7. 50–54) Shortly before the advent of the prophet of Islam, [Muhammad], Persia was under the sovereignty of Sasan V. When the companions of the Prophet, on invading Persia, came in contact with the Zoroastrian people and learned these teachings, they at once came to the conclusion that Zoroaster was really a Divinely inspired prophet. Thus they accorded the same treatment to the Zoroastrian people which they did to other "People of the Book." Though the name of Zoroaster is not mentioned in the Qur'an, still he was regarded as one of those prophets whose names have not been mentioned in the Qur'an, for there is a verse in the Qur'an: "And We did send apostles before thee: there are some of them that We have mentioned to thee and there are others whom We have not mentioned to Thee." (40 : 78). Accordingly the Muslims treated the founder of Zoroastrianism as a true prophet and believed in his religion as they did in other inspired creeds, and thus according to the prophecy, protected the Zoroastrian religion. James Darmestar has truly remarked in the translation of Zend Avesta: "When Islam assimilated the Zoroastrians to the People of the Book, it evinced a rare historical sense and solved the problem of the origin of the Avesta." (Introduction to Vendiad. p. 69.)

Ahmadiyya view

Ahmadi Muslims view Zoroaster as a Prophet of God and describe the expressions of Ahura Mazda, the God of goodness and Ahraman, the God of evil as merely referring to the coexistence of forces of good and evil enabling humans to exercise free will.

In Manichaeism

Manichaeism considered Zoroaster to be a figure (along with Jesus and the Buddha) in a line of prophets of which Mani (216–276) was the culmination. Zoroaster's ethical dualism is—to an extent—incorporated in Mani's doctrine, which viewed the world as being locked in an epic battle between opposing forces of good and evil. Manicheanism also incorporated other elements of Zoroastrian tradition, particularly the names of supernatural beings; however, many of these other Zoroastrian elements are either not part of Zoroaster's own teachings or are used quite differently from how they are used in Zoroastrianism.

In the Bahá'í Faith

Zoroaster appears in the Bahá'í Faith as a "Manifestation of God", one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Gautama Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, saw Bahá'u'lláh as the fulfillment of a post-Sassanid Zoroastrian prophecy that saw a return of Sassanid emperor Bahram: Shoghi Effendi also stated that Zoroaster lived roughly 1000 years before Jesus or 3500 years before present.

See also

List of founders of major religions

Zartosht Bahram e Pazhdo (author of a Persian epic biography on Zoroaster)

Notes

{| |- |valign="top"|a:||Originally proposed by Burnouf |- |valign="top"|b:||For refutation of these and other proposals, see Humbach, 1991. |- |valign="top"|c:||The ''Bundahishn'' computes "200 and some years" (''GBd'' xxxvi.9) or "284 years" (''IBd'' xxxiv.9). That '258 years' was the generally accepted figure is however noted by al-Biruni and al-Masudi, with the latter specifically stating (in 943/944 AD) that "the Magians count a period of two hundred and fifty-eight years between their prophet and Alexander." |- |valign="top"|d:||"258 years before Alexander," is only superficially precise, and thus debated. ''What'' in Zoroaster's life happened 258 before Alexander? His birth? His enlightenment? His conversion of Vistaspa? His death? Similarly, before Alexander's ''what''? His accession to the Macedonian throne? His invasion? His death? The beginning of the "Era of Alexander" (which began 10 years after his death)?

It has been suggested that this "traditional date" is an adoption of some date from foreign sources, from the Greeks or the Babylonians for example, which the priesthood then reinterpreted. A simpler explanation is that the priests subtracted 42 (the age at which Zoroaster is said to have converted Vistaspa) from the round figure of 300. |- |valign="top"|e:||The "extravagant," "fantastic" and "extraordinary" 6000 BCE date (or thereabouts) appears in several classical sources: Pliny the Elder (1st c.), Plutarch (1st c.), a Scholion to the (Pseudo-)Platonic ''Alcibiades Major'', Diogenes Laertius (3rd c.), Lactantius (3rd c.) and Syncellus (8th c.). The date is typically described as "5,000 years before the Trojan war" or "6,000 years before Plato" (or "before Xerxes"). "Their chief claim to any consideration" is that these sources cite the authority of (variously) Hermippus (5th c. BCE), Xanthus of Lydia (5th c. BCE), Eudoxus of Cnidus (5th/4th c. BCE), Aristotle (4th c. BCE) and Hermodorus (4th c. BCE, a student of Plato's). In general, the 6000 BCE date is assumed to be based on a Greek misunderstanding of the (Zoroastrian) "great-year" cycles, which foresees recurring 12,000-year periods of three 3,000-year segments each.

Other classical sources—again on the authority of Xanthus of Lydia—consider "600 years before Xerxes" (i.e. before his invasion of Greece), i.e. 1080 BCE, which would then coincide with the linguistic dating of the Gathas. Similarly, the tenth c. Suda, which cites no one but provides a date of "500 years before Plato" for one of its two Zoroasters. |- |valign="top"|f:||''Ecce Homo'' quotations are per the Ludovici translation. Paraphrases follow the original passage (''Warum ich ein Schicksal bin'' 3), available in the public domain on page 45 of the Project Gutenberg EBook. |- |valign="top"|s:||By choosing the name of 'Zarathustra' as prophet of his philosophy, as he has expressed clearly, he followed the paradoxical aim of paying homage to the original Aryan prophet and reversing his teachings at the same time. The original Zoroastrian world view interprets being essentially on a moralistic basis and depicts the world as an arena for the struggle of the two fundamentals of being, Good and Evil, represented in two antagonistic divine figures. |- |valign="top"|z:||From a letter of the Universal House of Justice, Department of the Secretariat, May 13, 1979 to Mrs. Gayle Woolson published in :. p. 501. |}

References

Bibliography

. . . Cf. especially Chapter IV: ''Prophets Outside Israel''

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009.

Category:Ancient Iranian poets Category:Founders of religions Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Year of death unknown Category:6th-century BC philosophers

af:Zoroaster als:Zarathustra am:ዞራስተር ar:زرادشت an:Zoroastres az:Zərdüşt bn:জরথুস্ত্র zh-min-nan:Zarathuštra be:Заратуштра be-x-old:Заратустра bg:Зороастър ca:Zaratustra cv:Саратуштра cs:Zarathuštra cy:Zarathustra da:Zarathustra de:Zarathustra el:Ζωροάστρης es:Zoroastro eo:Zaratuŝtro eu:Zoroastro fa:زرتشت fr:Zoroastre ga:Sorastar gl:Zoroastro gan:左羅阿斯特 ko:자라투스트라 hy:Զրադաշտ hi:ज़रथुश्त्र hr:Zarathuštra id:Zarathustra ia:Zoroastro is:Saraþústra it:Zarathustra he:זרתוסטרה jv:Zoroaster ka:ზარათუშტრა ku:Zerdeşt la:Zoroaster lv:Zaratustra lt:Zaratustra hu:Zarathustra mk:Заратустра mzn:زرتشت ms:Zarathustra mwl:Zaratustra mdf:Зороастор nl:Zarathustra ja:ザラスシュトラ no:Zarathustra nn:Zarathustra pnb:زرتشت nds:Zarathustra pl:Zaratusztra pt:Zaratustra ro:Zarathustra ru:Заратустра scn:Zoroastru simple:Zoroaster sk:Zaratustra sl:Zaratustra ckb:زەردەشت sr:Заратустра sh:Zaratustra fi:Zarathustra sv:Zarathustra tl:Zoroaster ta:சரத்துஸ்தர் th:ซาราธุสตรา tg:Зардушт tr:Zerdüşt uk:Заратуштра ur:زرتشت vi:Zarathushtra fiu-vro:Zarathustra yo:Zoroaster diq:Zerduşt zh:查拉圖斯特拉

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
Name	Emeli Sandé
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Adele Sandé
Birth date
Birth place	Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Genre	Soul, R&B;, trip-hop
Occupation	Singer, musician
Years active	2009–present
Label	Virgin (2010–present)
Publisher	EMI Music Publishing (2010-present)
Associated acts	Chipmunk, Wiley, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32
Website	http://www.emelisande.com/ }}

Adele Sandé, known by her stage name Emeli Sandé , is a Scottish R&B; and Soul recording artist and songwriter, born and raised in Alford, Scotland. Before pursuring her musical career, Sandé studied medicine at University of Glasgow.

Sandé first became known to the public eye after she featured on rapper Chipmunk's debut single, "Diamond Rings", which gained herself and Chipmunk a first top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart. In 2010, she appeared again on Roll Deep star, Wiley's "Never Be Your Woman", which became another top ten hit. Simon Cowell called her "his favourite songwriter at the minute". She has written for a number of artists, including Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle, Preeya Kalidas, Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah.

In 2010, she signed a publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing. She later announced that Virgin Records had given her a record deal. Sandé released her first solo single "Heaven" in August 2011, and her debut album, ''Our Version of Events'', is set to be released in November 2011. She also appears as a guest artist on Professor Green's single "Read All About It".

Early life

Sandé studied medicine at Glasgow University. She said that education was one of the most important things to her, stating that if her music career failed, she has education to fall back on. Sandé said that her manager, Adrian Sykes, waited patiently since she was 16, saying "Adrian really respects that I want to get an education behind me. He also knows my parents are keen that I finish university."

Career

2009–2010: Career beginnings

Sandé began writing tracks for artists such as Alesha Dixon, Chipmunk, Professor Green, Devlin, Preeya Kalidas, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah. She soon signed a record deal with Virgin Records and EMI Records. In an interview, she said "I was doing a show in London for 1Xtra and I met this guy called Naughty Boy. We got in the studio and we clicked work wise. We just started writing, not necessarily for me, we just thought ‘lets write a pop tune’ and experiment. And we wrote the Chipmunk track and I thought nothing of it. Naughty Boy sent it off to Chipmunk who really liked it and wrote his stuff around it." She signed a record deal with Virgin Records in 2010. She later signed another deal with EMI Records in early 2011. Sandé made her singing career debut in 2009 after appearing on the track she wrote for Chipmunk's first debut single, "Diamond Rings". The single charted at No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts, making it Chipmunk and Sandé's first ever Top 10 Hit. She later appeared on another single singing guest vocals, after collaborating with Wiley on his come back single "Never Be Your Woman", the single charted at number-eight on the UK Singles Charts becoming Sandé's second consecutive Top 10 Single.

2011–present: ''Our Version of Events'' and songwriting

While making her debut album, Sandé began to work with Tinie Tempah. She co-wrote "Let Go" which she provided guest vocals. She also stated working with Devlin after recording a song titled "Dreamer". Sandé later revealed she would be working on Alesha Dixon's upcoming album, ''The Entertainer''. She co-wrote the hit single "Radio" along with Shahid Khan. and co-wrote tracks on Cheryl Cole's albums as well as Professor Green's album, which Sandé gave guest vocals on. Sandé revealed her first solo single would be released in early 2011. There was some speculation surrounding what track she would release, after many newspapers stated that it would be "Daddy". The first official single from her upcoming debut album was "Heaven" and was released on 14 August 2011. The song has received positive reviews from blogs such as This Must Be Pop and Robot Pigeon.

She revealed that she is Simon Cowell's favourite song-writer at the moment; due to her writing songs for Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle and Cher Lloyd. Sandè stated in an interview; she said that she would love to meet Boyle after writing songs for her saying, "I haven’t met her yet. I just sent her the song. I’d love to meet her because I think she is a bit of a rock star. Leona had heard a couple of songs so we had a week in the studio with her. Leona and I got along really well. Then we had another week together. It was very natural. She recorded a song called Trouble and another called Mountains, so I look forward to hearing them on her album." It was revealed after Professor Green announced his album tracking list for his album, ''At Your Inconvenience'', that Sandé would feature on the first single from the album, "Read All About It". The single is set to be released in October 2011, a week before the album is released.

Discography

Studio albums

Album Title	Album details	Chart positions
		! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"
''Our Version of Events''		*Released: 30 January 2012	*Label: EMI Records	Music download>Digital download

Singles

scope="col" rowspan="2"	Year	Single	Peak chart positions			Album
! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"	! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"		! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"
rowspan="2"	2011	! scope="row"	2	1	38	rowspan="2"	''Our Version of Events''
scope="row"	"Daddy"	—	—	—

As featured artist

scope="col" rowspan="2"	Single	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"
"Diamond Rings (song)	2009	6	4	''[[I Am Chipmunk''
scope="row"	"Never Be Your Woman"(Wiley featuring Emeli Sandé)	2010	8	6
scope="row"	"Read All About It"(Professor Green featuring Emeli Sandé)	2011	—	—	''At Your Inconvenience''

Guest appearances

Single	Year	Album
"Kids That Love to Dance"(Professor Green featuring Emeli Sandé)		''Alive Till I'm Dead''
"Let Go"(Tinie Tempah featuring Emeli Sandé)	''Disc-Overy''
! scope="row"	''Bud, Sweat and Beers''

References

External links

Official Website

Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow Category:Year of birth uncertain Category:Living people Category:Scottish female singers Category:Scottish soul singers Category:People from Aberdeen

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Kid Cudi
background	solo_singer
birth name	Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi
birth date	January 30, 1984
birth place	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
genre	Hip hop, Alternative Hip Hop alternative rock, neo-psychedelia
occupation	Rapper, singer, songwriter, actor
years active	2006–present
label	GOOD Music, Universal Motown, Wicked Awesome
Associated acts	2 Be Continuum, Dot da Genius, Kanye West, Chip tha Ripper, Ratatat
website	kidcudi.com }}

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), sometimes stylized KiD CuDi, is an American rapper, singer and actor. He first gained major attention after the release of his debut mixtape ''A Kid Named Cudi''. In 2009, his single "Day 'n' Nite" reached the top five of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs charts. "Day 'n' Nite" is part of Cudi's debut album ''Man on the Moon: The End of Day''. Kid Cudi has sold over 4.6 million digital singles and has worked with Kanye West, Common, David Guetta and other artists signed to the GOOD Music label.

Early life

Kid Cudi was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Shaker Heights and Solon. His father, a house painter, substitute teacher and World War II Air Force veteran was Mexican-Native American, while his mother, a middle-school choir teacher at Roxboro Middle School, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, is African-American. When he was eleven years old, Mescudi's father died of cancer; his passing would have a significant effect on Mescudi's personality and subsequently his music. Mescudi attended Shaker Heights High School for two years, then transferred to Solon High School, and later earned his GED. Eventually, Mescudi studied film at the University of Toledo then dropped out after a year.

Music career

It was towards the end of high school that Mescudi first began rapping, inspired by alternative hip hop groups such as The Pharcyde and A Tribe Called Quest. He moved to Brooklyn in New York City to pursue a music career. In July 2008, Kid Cudi released his first mixtape, ''A Kid Named Cudi'', in collaboration with New York street-wear brand 10.Deep as a free download. The mixtape quickly caught the attention of Kanye West, which in turn spawned his signing to GOOD Music later that year.

Kid Cudi was featured on Kanye West's 2008 album, ''808s & Heartbreak'', singing with West on the track "Welcome to Heartbreak", and helping with songwriting on "Heartless" and "Paranoid". "Welcome to Heartbreak" peaked at #87 on the Pop 100, and music videos for both songs have been released. Cudi was then tipped as an artist to watch for in medias such as ''Rolling Stone'', ''Vibe'', ''The Source'', ''XXL'' and BBC News's Sound of 2009 poll of up-and-coming acts. MTV News also reported on Cudi on a series of reports ''MCs To Watch In 2009''.

His first television appearance was at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, alongside Travis Barker and DJ AM. On February 17, 2009, he appeared on Snoop Dogg's MTV talk show ''Dogg After Dark'' performing "Day 'n' Nite" at the end of the show. Two days later on February 19, 2009, Cudi appeared on BET's ''106 & Park'' with Kanye West to debut the video of "Day 'n' Nite". On March 16, 2009 Kid Cudi performed on mtvU's Spring Break special, and the next day he performed three songs on NBC's ''Last Call with Carson Daly''. He has also appeared as a musical guest on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' and ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''.

Kid Cudi also made a cameo appearance next to Solange in the video for the song "T.O.N.Y." in February 2009, and later in The Black Eyed Peas' video for "I Gotta Feeling", with David Guetta. He has also been on two magazine covers, ''Complex'' (August/September 2009) and ''URB'' (August 2009). Bape awarded Cudi his own t-shirt in September 2009, in reward for his music and past employment there when living in New York City.

2009–present: ''Man on the Moon'' series

Cudi's debut album ''Man on the Moon: The End of Day'' was released on Universal Motown Records on September 15, 2009 and sold 104,419 copies in the first week and charted at #4. The album's first single was Day 'N' Nite, and is Kid Cudi's greatest commercial success thus far, the song charting well both in the U.S. and in Europe. The next single was "Make Her Say" (originally titled "I Poke Her Face"), which features a sample from Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" and performances by Kanye West and Common.

On February 25, 2009, Cudi self-leaked a "teaser trailer" for the upcoming ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' film using his song "Sky Might Fall" in the background, later he posted that he made the trailer himself and now was in talks to possibly make it official.

With Emile Haynie, Cudi produced an exclusive single called "Switchin Lanes" for the video game ''Midnight Club: Los Angeles'', part of its "South Central Premium Upgrade" downloadable content (DLC) which came out March 19, 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and March 27, 2009 for the Xbox 360.

He revealed information about his future plans via his blog, saying that a possible collaboration with Chip Tha Ripper could be followed with a collaboration project with electrorock duo Ratatat. During the summer of 2009, Cudi joined rapper Asher Roth for the Great Hangover concert tour. Kid Cudi featured on the highly anticipated Jay-Z album ''The Blueprint 3'', on the song "Already Home". In a recent interview, Cudi announced that the follow-up to his debut album will be a collaboration album called ''Cudder and the Revolution of Evolution''. He stated he has already recorded songs with Snoop Dogg, Travis Barker, Clipse, Cage and Pharrell and would also like to work with Drake, Green Day, Kings of Leon, Robin Thicke, The Killers and The Postal Service on the album. Also it's rumored that "Man On The Moon: The End Of Day" will be followed up by a sequel titled "Man On The Moon: The Ghost in the Machine" and that the ''Man on the Moon'' will be a trilogy, but has not been confirmed. Kid Cudi was nominated for three 2010 Grammy Awards for his singles, "Day 'n' Nite" and "Make Her Say". Kid Cudi was recently featured on Snoop Dogg's ''More Malice'' deluxe album, in the song "That Tree". Kid Cudi also teamed up with Johnny Polygon to remix Johnny's "Riot Song" which appears on Johnny's album, ''Rebel Without Applause'' On April 20, 2010, Kid Cudi announced that the name of his second album has been changed from ''Cudder and the Revolution of Evolution'' to ''Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager''. On June 11, 2010, Kid Cudi was arrested in the Chelsea neighborhood of the Manhattan borough New York City and charged with felony criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance. Despite his arrest, he was released and made it to Manchester, Tennessee in time to play at Bonnaroo.

On June 30, "Erase me" featuring Kanye West was released through the radio. The song was produced by Jim Jonsin.

In October 2010, Cudi announced that he would be forming a rock band with Dot da Genius called Wizard. However, in early 2011, he announced that he would be making a new mixtape followed by a rock album.

In March 2011, Cudi announced that a music video for "Marijuana" will be released in the spring, followed by a music video of "Mr. Rager" in the summer of 2011. Also, the short film for "Maniac" directed by Shia LaBeouf will be released in October 2011.

In April 2011, while performing at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom Kid Cudi announced the new name for his label. The new label, which he will be releasing his third studio album on is called “Wicked Awesome Records”. He also announced the name of his new band, “2 Be Continuum” renaming it from the original Wizard. Kid Cudi explained the reason he changed the name of the band saying, “I needed something more original, something different, but it’s still wizardry at its finest”.

On August 12, 2011, Kid Cudi released the music video for "No One Believes Me", directed by Fright Night director Craig Gillespie. Although the song was recorded as a 2 Be Continuum song, the single was released under Kid Cudi's name. On August 21, Cudi announced that he is no longer releasing the mixtape ''A Man Named Scott'' so that he can focus on the 2 Be Continuum project ''Wizard'' and his third solo album ''Man on the Moon III''.

Acting career

Kid Cudi is currently starring in the new HBO comedy series ''How to Make it in America'', produced by Mark Wahlberg.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Man on the Moon: The End of Day'' (2009)

''Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager'' (2010)

''Man on the Moon III'' (Fall 2012)

;Collaboration albums ''WiZaRd'' (2011) – with 2 Be Continuum

;Mixtapes

''A Kid Named Cudi'' (2008)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:African American singers Category:American rappers of Mexican descent Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:American people of Native American descent Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Shaker Heights, Ohio Category:People from Solon, Ohio Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Rappers from Ohio Category:University of Toledo alumni Category:Wonky Pop acts Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio

cs:Kid Cudi da:Kid Cudi de:Kid Cudi es:Kid Cudi fa:کید کادی fr:Kid Cudi gl:Kid Cudi ko:키드 커디 hr:Kid Cudi it:Kid Cudi he:קיד קאדי lv:Kid Cudi hu:Kid Cudi nl:Kid Cudi ja:キッド・カディ pl:Kid Cudi pt:Kid Cudi ro:Kid Cudi ru:Кид Кади simple:Kid Cudi fi:Kid Cudi sv:Kid Cudi th:คิด คัดดี้ tr:Kid Cudi

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
Name	Chris Patrick
Width	100
Currentteam	Edmonton Eskimos
Currentnumber	65
Currentpositionplain	Offensive tackle
Birth date	August 22, 1984
Birth place	Ithaca, Michigan
Heightft	6
Heightin	4
Weight	310
College	Nebraska
Undraftedyear	2007
Debutyear	2008
Debutteam	Philadelphia Eagles
Pastteams	New York Giants ()* New England Patriots ()* Green Bay Packers (–)* Detroit Lions ()* San Francisco 49ers ()* Philadelphia Eagles () Kansas City Chiefs ()* San Francisco 49ers () San Francisco 49ers ()* Virginia Destroyers ()* Edmonton Eskimos (–present) :
Status	Active
Highlights	None
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Games played
Statvalue1	3
Statlabel2	Games started
Statvalue2	0
Statlabel3	Fumble recoveries
Statvalue3	0
Nfl	PAT190685 }}

Chris Patrick (born August 22, 1984) is an American football offensive tackle for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at the University of Nebraska.

Patrick has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Virginia Destroyers.

Professional career

He was added to the Eagles' 53-man roster for the final seven (4 regular season and 3 playoff) games of the 2008 NFL season, but saw no game action. After starting the 2009 NFL season with the Chiefs as a member of that team's practice squad, Patrick signed with the 49ers in late October to add depth to the offensive line. He made his first NFL regular-season appearance on November 22 against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Patrick appeared in two more games in the 2009 season, December 14 against the Arizona Cardinals - his Candlestick Park debut - and January 3 at the St. Louis Rams. All three appearances came on special teams.

Patrick was waived by the 49ers on August 18, 2010.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:American football offensive guards Category:American football offensive tackles Category:Detroit Lions players Category:Edmonton Eskimos players Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:Kansas City Chiefs players Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Category:New England Patriots players Category:New York Giants players Category:People from Gratiot County, Michigan Category:Philadelphia Eagles players Category:Players of American football from Michigan Category:San Francisco 49ers players Category:Undrafted National Football League players Category:Virginia Destroyers players

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Jennifer Holliday
background	solo_singer
birth name	Jennifer-Yvette Holliday
also known	The Queen of Broadway
birth date	October 19, 1960
origin	Riverside, Texas, USA
instrument	Vocals
genre	R&B;, soul, pop, house, club/dance, gospel
occupation	Singer, actress
years active	1980–present
label	Geffen (1982-1990), Arista (1990-1996) }}

Jennifer-Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960, Riverside, Texas) is an African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'', and later became a successful recording artist. She is best known for her debut single, the ''Dreamgirls'' showstopper and Grammy Award-winning R&B;/Pop hit, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."

Biography

Career

Broadway actress

Jennifer landed her first big role on Broadway in 1979. At age 19, she landed a part the same day she auditioned for the Broadway production of ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.'' Her performance in that musical earned her a 1981 Drama Desk nomination. Her next role, which she began to act out at 21, was the role for which she became best known: the role of Effie Melody White in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls.'' Jennifer originated the role of Effie and remained with the show for nearly four years after its December 20, 1981 opening. Her performance in the role was widely acclaimed, particularly in her iconic performance of the musical number that ends Act I, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."

Among the acclaim was Holliday's sweep of awards in 1982, including the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, a Grammy award for her recorded version of the song, and Drama Desk and Theater World awards for her acting performance itself. Holliday also performed in the touring company of ''Sing, Mahalia, Sing'' in 1986. In 1998 Holliday was featured on the album "My Favorite Broadway Ladies" notice as one of "The Queens Of Broadway."

Recording artist

Jennifer Holliday's version of the song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" made Holliday a star on Broadway. The version of the song was liked by many fans so much that Holliday was encouraged to transform the song into a hit on Billboard charts. In 1982, a pop version of the song was released as a single. The song became very successful, peaking at number-one on the Billboard R&B; Singles chart, and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. She continued to have success as a recording artist through the rest of the decade. Her follow-up song, "I Am Love", became another hit in 1983. Holliday's later R&B; hits included. "Hard Time For Lovers" (1985), "No Frills Love" (1985), "Heart on the Line" (1987), "I'm on Your Side" (1991) and "A Woman's Got the Power" (2000). "A Woman's Got the Power" charted at #7 in summer of 1999. However, it recharted the following year, peaking at #1. She continued to appear on the charts throughout the 1990s, but never had the same level of success she had in the 1980s. Holliday was a featured vocalist on the #1 single "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner in 1985. A number of her songs became hits on the US Dance charts as well. In fact, a dance version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" would peak at #6 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2001.

Gospel singer

On October 30, 1986, Paul Simon hosted a Ken Ehrlich-Produced "Gospel Session" originally televised as part of a series of "Cinemax Sessions" featuring Holiday, Luther Vandross, The Oak Ridge Boys, Andrae Crouch, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy. The show began with Holiday singing "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." Later, she returned to collaborate with Simon and Vandross on "Still Waters Run Deep," followed by an Aretha Franklin arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," with the finale consisting of all the participants joining in "Gone At Last," followed by "Amazing Grace."linda A reviewer, whose identity was not known by late February 2011, wrote:

Holliday became popular with LGBT events and fundraisers, which she acknowledged on her gospel album ''On and On.'' Because of this, the Atlantic Entertainment Group's Director of Live Talent, Scott Sherman, produced and promoted many Jennifer Holliday events for several years, acting as both Holliday's de facto agent and road manager. Under Sherman's aegis, Holliday went on a series of special tours and promotions, one-night-only performances, LGBT pride appearances and special fund raising events. Her fans commenced to wait patiently for her to release new singles, and perhaps even a full-length club/dance-style album, and to assume that this might happen once she was re-signed to another record label.

Health concerns and career renewal

In the 1990s, Holliday lost a substantial amount of weight and talked about her health struggles with depression during promotional interviews. Initially, the weight loss was attained strictly by diet. Eventually, in an effort to avoid regaining the weight, Holliday had gastric bypass surgery. After the initial weight loss, she released an LP and video titled ''I’m On Your Side.'' The video, unlike most videos, was recorded live. In 1995, Holliday released the gospel album ''On & On.'' In a March 2008 interview, she revealed that she was in the studio working on a new album, to be released later that year.

In April 2011, Holliday will release a Christian CD titled ''Goodness & Mercy'' on her own Euphonic Records label. She produced it in conjunction and cooperation with the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock.

Television appearances

Apart from her career in the music industry and on the stage, Holliday has also made appearances on primetime television. In addition to appearances on ''Touched By An Angel'' and ''Hang Time,'' she had a half dozen appearances in a recurring guest star role on ''Ally McBeal,'' where she acted out the role of choir director Lisa Knowles.

In 2001, she sang ''America The Beautiful'' on the first WWE pay-per-view to be held after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

On June 26, 2007, Holliday made a surprise appearance at the BET Awards, singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in a duet with Jennifer Hudson, who had played Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of ''Dreamgirls'', and won an Oscar for her performance. Holliday had not been offered a cameo role in the film and, feeling snubbed, had repeatedly expressed displeasure with the movie in the media. (Another original ''Dreamgirls'' cast member, Loretta Devine, did have a cameo in the film.) More recently, it became possible to see Holliday in a YouTube video, singing a duet with Hudson. The two actresses-singers performed their live duet at a concert Hudson gave on April 16, 2009. The YouTube video had been viewed over 700,000 times as of late February of 2011.

Personal life

Holliday has been married twice. In March 1991, just two months after she met keyboardist Billy Meadows in a nightclub where she was singing, they married. "He had a great sense of humor and he made me laugh all the time," Holliday says of her first husband. "I had been feeling bad for so long, I wanted to laugh." But in December 1991, just nine months later, they divorced; the marriage, according to Holliday, "ran out of steam." She explained of Meadows: "We just didn't know each other well enough."

The second time around, she married a man much like her father. Her second marriage, which began on March 21, 1993 and ended in 1994, was to Rev. Andre Woods, a minister in Michigan. ''Jet'' magazine covered the marriage in one of its issues. Though Woods was a charismatic Detroit preacher, she subsequently said that even so, he was a player who also ran through her money. Still, Holliday was devastated when, in 1994, that marriage, too, ended, just four months after her mother died of cancer. "It was like experiencing two deaths at the same time," Jennifer remembered. "The grief was overwhelming." As of late February 2011, she was residing in Atlanta, Georgia.

Holliday received a Doctor of Music ''honoris causa'' from Berklee College of Music, Boston in 2000. In 2001 she was presenter for the tap dance show "21 Below" at Town Hall in NYC and also headlined Equity Cares/Broadway Fights Aids' "Nothing Like a Dame" show at the St. James Theatre where she was accompanied by teenage tap dance sensation Michela Marino Lerman and Hannah Leah Dunn.

Discography

Albums

1983 ''Feel My Soul'' #31 U.S. Billboard 200, #6 U.S. Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums

1985 ''Say You Love Me'' #110 U.S., #34 U.S. R&B;

1987 ''Get Close to My Love''

1991 ''I'm On Your Side'' #184 U.S., #29 U.S. R&B;

1995 ''On & On'' #10 U.S. Top Gospel Albums

1996 ''The Best of Jennifer Holliday'' #50 U.S.

2000 ''20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Jennifer Holliday''

2006 ''Duet with Najiyah - Through The Storm''

2011 ''Goodness & Mercy''

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions	Album
!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"
	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"					rowspan="2"
"I Am Changing"
	"I Am Love"
"Just Let Me Wait"
	"Hard Time for Lovers"					rowspan="2"
"No Frills Love"
1987	"Heart on the Line"					''Get Close to My Love''
	"I'm on Your Side"
"Love Stories"
1996	"No Frills Love"					''The Best of Jennifer Holliday''
	"A Woman's Got the Power"					''Breaking Through''
"Think It Over"					''Divine Divas''
2001	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Rosabel with Jennifer Holliday)
	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holliday with Rosabel)
"Givin' Up"					''Why Did I Get Married?'' soundtrack

Awards and nominations

;Awards

1982 Theatre Awards Outstanding Broadway Debut – ''Dreamgirls''

1982 Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical – ''Dreamgirls''

1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical – ''Dreamgirls''

1983 Grammy Award Best Female Performance, Rhythm & Blues – "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from ''Dreamgirls''

1985 Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance, Gospel – "Come Sunday"

;Nominations

1981 Drama Desk Award or Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical – ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God''

1983 Grammy Award Best New Artist

See also

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

External links

Jennifer's Official MySpace Page

Performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the 1982 Tony Awards

Reference 1:Essence June 1999: Jennifer Holliday On Her 2 Failed Marriages

Reference 2: Nov 1991 Ebony Magazine: Jennifer Holliday About Her Weight Loss

Reference 3: USA Today February 22, 2007: Jennifer Holliday On the "Dreamgirls" Movie and Jennifer Hudson

TonyAwards.com Interview with Jennifer Holiday

The Official Net-Site Of Jennifer Holliday

Category:African American musicians Category:American female singers Category:American house musicians Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul singers Category:American gospel singers Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Theatre World Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:People from Walker County, Texas

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