As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the ideals that shaped the nation — liberty, justice, ethical leadership, and religious tolerance. Less widely recognized, however, is the fascination many Enlightenment thinkers and America’s Founding Fathers held for the ancient world, including Persia and the legacy associated with Zoroastrian thought.
Figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson admired the reputation of Cyrus the Great, whose rule came to symbolize enlightened governance, magnanimity, and tolerance. For much of early American history, Cyrus the Great was a household name, celebrated in schools and popular literature as the benevolent ruler who freed the Jews from Babylon.[1] The names Xerxes and Darius rolled comfortably off the tongues of schoolchildren in a way difficult to imagine today. Generations of young Americans learned their ABCs through the rhyming verses of The New England Primer, where the letter X was memorably taught through the line: “Xerxes the Great did die, and so must you and I.”[2]
Persian rulers also occupied a surprising place in nineteenth-century American education. Abbott’s Histories, a widely read series of biographical sketches of great leaders, devoted several volumes to ancient Persian kings. Three were Persian monarchs — Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes — underscoring the respect ancient Persia commanded in the American imagination.[3]
For Zoroastrians, these themes feel especially familiar. The timeless principle of Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta — Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds — continues to resonate across cultures and generations as a guide for ethical living, civic responsibility, and moral leadership. The Zoroastrian emphasis on truth, justice, and the triumph of light over darkness parallels many of the values celebrated in America’s founding ideals.
These echoes continue well beyond history books. Themes associated with Zoroastrian thought and ancient Persian imagination — particularly the enduring tension between good and evil, moral choice, and cosmic order — continue to surface in modern literature, fantasy, film, and gaming. Across contemporary storytelling, creators repeatedly draw upon the symbolism, mythology, and philosophical legacy of ancient Persia to shape narratives for new generations.
As America marks 250 years of independence, it is fitting to recognize how ideas rooted in ethics, truth, and the pursuit of enlightenment (this would be Jefferson’s terminology) continue to illuminate both history and culture. In many ways, these enduring echoes remind us that Zoroastrian values are not simply ancient relics of the past — they remain timeless contributions to humanity’s shared moral and cultural heritage.
[1] Ghazvinian, Ghazvinian, America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present (New York: Knopf, 2021), 33
[2] Ghazvinian, America and Iran, 33
[3] Ghazvinian, America and Iran, 34
