Cyrus the Great, Zoroaster, Sacred Fire Jars

Persia Unit Study - Week 1 - We made sacred fire jars.

Cyrus the Great united the Persians and Medians and became the first great king of Persia. He was an incredibly just ruler and was known to the Greeks as Cyrus the Law-Giver. He freed the Jews in Babylon and declared human rights for all people. The human rights were even written down on a cylindrical rock which now resides at the British Museum in London.

The Engineering an Empire series is wonderful and they have an episode on Persia. The Royal Road discussed in the video still exists today.

During the time of Cyrus the Great many people practiced the religion of Zarathustra. The religion has a lot in common with modern Hinduism. The people were taught to think good thoughts, do good deeds and use kind words. Since they held fire sacred and purified themselves in the smoke of the sacred fire we made sacred fire lanterns for our craft.

 The kids began by painting the inside of a glass jar.

Then the jars were decorated with glitter glue. 

That's it! I love simple projects.

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!: A Palestinian Tale is a story that comes from the Persian Empire. A woman who really wants a child ends up with a pot which does some stealing. The story is resolved when the pot is filled with something quite undesirable. 

To see our projects from this area of the world before the Persian Empire, please visit our History Page.