Susan Fletcher - Alphabet of Dreams

by Susan Fletcher

  According to scholar Mary Boyce, Zoroaster, in a departure from the old polytheistic Indo-Iranian tradition, proclaimed Ahura Mazda, the All Wise, to be “the one uncreated God … creator of all else that is good” and “from whom all other beneficent divine beings emanated.” On the other hand was Angra Mainyu, “equally uncreated, but ignorant and wholly malign.”

  Zoroaster’s ethical code requires good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Paradise may be attained by women as well as men, servants as well as masters. Judgment occurs at the end of life and is determined by the sum of people’s thoughts, words, and deeds.

  Boyce says that in offering the hope of heaven to everyone—not just the upper classes—Zoroaster was breaking with the ancient tradition of his time and place, in which the priests and aristocrats got special treatment by God. In addition, Zoroaster threatened the mighty with the prospect of hell. His doctrines “were thus doubly calculated to outrage the privileged,” says Boyce.

  I am intrigued by Zoroaster’s inclusiveness, because this story concerns the birth of Jesus, who also favored the humble and outraged the powers-that-be. Of course, this can be said as well of the great prophets of many religions!

  What actual places might the Magi have visited?

  I wanted to travel along a portion of the route the Magi might have taken, so late in 2002 I went with my sister Laura Clemens to Iran. (Iraq was not a possibility. The United States was moving toward an invasion of Iraq at the time. Our Iranian guide, when asked by my intrepid sister if we might go there, assured us that we would be shot at the border.) Here are a few notes on specific places mentioned in Alphabet of Dreams.

  Rhagae. Located on the site of modern-day Rey, a suburb of Tehran, Rhagae was a flourishing city during the time in which this book takes place. Today there is an ongoing excavation in Cheshmeh Ali, a site with Parthian and other ruins, on the grounds of ancient Rhagae. There is no large complex of caves resembling the City of the Dead at this site at present, but Iranian archaeologist Jafar Mehr Kian says it’s plausible that there may have been such caves two thousand years ago.

  The marsh. Many thousands of years ago, an inland sea covered a large area to the south of Tehran. Today it’s a vast salt desert. During Parthian times most of the lake was gone, but according to Mehr Kian, it’s probable that there were large marshy areas in the vicinity. The geography of Iran during Parthian times was, he says, significantly wetter than today.

  Sava, or modern Saveh. According to The Travels of Marco Polo, “In Persia is the city called Saveh, from which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Jesus Christ.”

  The fortress. The idea for this fortress came from Paul William Roberts’s In Search of the Birth of Jesus. Roberts, having read about a castle of the “Fire Worshippers” in Polo’s Travels, went to the area near Saveh and found a stunning ancient fortress with architectural elements suggestive of Zoroastrianism.

  While my sister and I were in Saveh, we could not find anyone who knew of this fortress. However, its presence was later supported by Mehr Kian, who says that it’s likely the site known in Iran as Kaleh Dasht.

  Qanats. Traveling across the Iranian plateau, we saw what looked like giant anthills strung out across the desert. These are openings into qanats, underground irrigation systems. Qanats are constructed by digging a vertical well into a mountain spring, then creating a horizontal underground tunnel that transports the water into dryer areas. Vertical shafts are dug all along the course of the tunnel—like the shaft into which Babak escapes. There are hundreds of miles of qanats in Iran, many of them thousands of years old.

  Ecbatana. Modern-day Hamadan. Although many of Ecbatana’s ancient treasures reside in museums far from Iran, today visitors can still stroll through the site of the old palace and, elsewhere in the city, view Parthian-era stone sculptures.

  Anahita’s temple and Bisitun. Anahita’s temple is located in modern Kangavar. We found mostly a field of broken stone columns there, hints of lost ancient splendor.

  Near Bisitun I was surprised to see—far below the ancient bas-relief carvings of Persian kings high up on the side of a mountain—a sculpture of the Greek hero-god Hercules. Somehow, in the intermingling of Greek and Persian culture and religion after Alexander the Great, Hercules had become identified with an ancient Persian deity, a sort of patron saint for travelers.

  The Village of the Red Mountain. Finally, in one of those fortuitous incidents that sometimes befall travelers, my seatmate on the plane into Tehran, an Iranian professor, insisted that we must see the ancient village of Abyaneh. Although this seemed to have nothing to do with the story of the Magi, I asked our guide if we might swing by there, and she agreed. I was charmed by Abyaneh—by the stream that gurgled through the village, by the ancient red mud-brick dwellings that nestled into the mountainside, by the lovely carved doors, by the bright traditional clothing of the inhabitants. Abyaneh lodged in my imagination and emerged as Koosha’s “Village of the Red Mountain,” and as the answer that comes to Mitra in her final dream.

  Matthew’s Magi remain mysterious figures. While all certain knowledge of them has been veiled by the passage of millennia, human imagination has brought them vibrantly to life. I have enjoyed continuing in this tradition, and dreaming of the children who might have joined them on their journey.

  WORKS CITED in AUTHOR’S NOTE and BOOKS for FURTHER READING

  Bowersack, G. W., Peter Brown, and Oleg Graber. Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, Belknap Press, 1999.

  Boyce, Mary. Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London: Routledge, 1979.

  Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

  Bulliet, Richard. The Camel and the Wheel. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.

  Campbell, Joseph. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. New York: Penguin, 1976. First published 1962 by Viking.

  Colledge, Malcom A. R. The Parthians. Ancient Peoples and Places 59. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967.

  Comay, Joan, and Ronald Browinrigg, eds. Who’s Who in the Bible. New York: Bonanza, 1980.

  Frye, Richard N. The Heritage of Persia. London: Cardinal, 1976.

  Herodotus. The History: Herodotus. Translated by David Grene. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

  Hughes, David. The Star of Bethlehem Mystery. London: J. M. Dent, 1979.

  Isidore, of Charax. Parthian Stations. Translated by Wilfred H. Schoff. Chicago: Ares, 1914.

  Martin, Ernest L. The Star That Astonished the World. Portland, OR: ASK Publications, 1991.

  Milani, Abbas. Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir. Washington, DC: Mage, 1996.

  Oates, Joan. Babylon. Rev. ed. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986.

  Polo, Marco. The Travels of Marco Polo. Translated by Ronald Latham. London: Penguin, 1958.

  Roberts, Paul William. In Search of the Birth of Jesus. New York: Riverhead, 1995.

  Sanders, E. P. Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE-66 CE. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992.

  Seymour, P. A. H. The Birth of Christ: Exploding the Myth. London: Virgin Publishing, 1998.

  Van Dyke, Henry. The Story of the Other Wise Man. Orleans, MA: Paraclete Press, 1984.

  Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods. Vol. 3, The Cambridge History of Iran. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

  * Acknowledgments *

  Many wise men and women came to my aid as I wrote this book! They deserve credit for what I got right; any mistakes I may have made are mine alone. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Hossein Ebrahimi (Elvand), founder of the House of Translation in Tehran, Iran, for his valuable and generous assistance. He vetted the manuscript twice; made insightful suggestions; answered many rounds of questions; provided me with relevant books, maps, and a CD-ROM; and consulted experts on my behalf. Thanks, to
o, to historian Saeed Vaziry and archaeologist Jafar Mehr Kian, who provided information through Mr. Ebrahimi.

  I am once again indebted to Abbas Milani of Stanford University, who graciously vetted the manuscript, offered information, suggested references, and came up with brilliant insights. What’s more, the idea of a child who dreams for others came from Dr. Milani’s remarkable book Tales of Two Cities.

  And many thanks to J. Ross Wagner of the Princeton Theological Seminary, who also vetted the manuscript and offered suggestions, citing passages from numerous scholarly texts and referring me to many Web sites for further information. I am so grateful to have received the benefit of his wisdom, expertise, and kindness.

  I am grateful as well to my sister Laura Clemens for her support, encouragement, and courage on our journey to Iran. And I appreciate the knowledge and patience of our Iranian guide, Leili Shahabi Haghighi. My appreciation goes as well to my friend Zohre Darai Bullock, who gave me warm support and excellent suggestions, including Mitra’s name.

  I am very grateful to Ginee Seo for the painstaking care she took with the manuscript, her wise editorial guidance, and her penetrating insight. Many thanks go to my agent, Emilie Jacobson, for her patient and judicious shepherding of this project over many years, and to Dave Barbor for his hard work and faith in the book. Also, heartfelt thanks to my dear friends Margaret Bechard and Ellen Howard for reading the manuscript and offering much-needed encouragement and inspired advice.

  Much, much gratitude to my husband, Jerry, for steadfastly being there through all the challenges and for being a wonderful sounding board!

  Jim Todd, Manager of the Murdock Planetarium at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, shared his knowledge, suggested references, and gave me a CD showing the positions of the stars over Bethlehem on the date in question. Eric Kimmel, ever supportive, entrusted me with precious books from his personal library. My aunt, Lois Dowey, kindly expended much energy and influence to come to my aid. Todd Feinman, reference librarian at the Lake Oswego Library, spent untold hours digging up invaluable information. Nancy Borman of Mary Woodward Elementary School lent me a fascinating glimpse into the world of five-year-olds. Jeffrey Arnold generously gave me the benefit of his wide knowledge and suggested many books and references. Writer Laura Greene directed me to valuable references as well. Julie Olson gave me insight into the experience of riding camels in the Middle East, and Cynthia Whitcomb offered a very unusual perspective on the setting of the novel. Amy Hultzman and Terry Moore shared their extensive knowledge of camels, led me on an adventure in the desert, and taught me how to ride the gentle giant, Clyde.

  Last but not least, many thanks to the perpetrators of “donkey day”: the organizers, Winifred Morris and Margaret Bechard; the intrepid pilot, Lee Boekelheide; the encouraging companion, Dorothy Morrison; the donkey owners, Claudia Layman and Veronica (Ronnie) Johnson; and the donkeys themselves, Cochatopa Ruby and Jenny.

  Thank you, one and all!

  * ABOUT the AUTHOR *

  SUSAN FLETCHER is the acclaimed author of the Dragon Chronicles, which is composed of Dragon’s Milk, Flight of the Dragon Kyn, and Sign of the Dove, as well as the award-winning Shadow Spinner and Walk Across the Sea. Ms. Fletcher lives in Wilsonville, Oregon.