Portrait: Zoroaster, a 19th-century Parsi image after the Taq-e Bostan relief, printed in 1906. Unknown artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Philosopherdates uncertain, c. 1500 to 500 BC

Zoroaster

Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, was the prophet of ancient Iran whose hymns, the Gathas, are among the oldest religious texts still recited. He taught that the world is a battleground between truth and the lie, between the Wise Lord, Ahura Mazda, and the forces of destruction, and that every person takes a side through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Nietzsche borrowed his name for the prophet of the death of God.