Zoroastrianism and sexual orientation Zoroastrianism and sexual orientation Homosexuality in Zoroastrianism is, as in many other religions, a controversial topic. The most sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism is called the Avesta. The oldest portion of the Avesta are the writings of Zarathustra himself and called the Gathas. Traditionalist Zoroastrians argue that the Vendidad, one of the books of the Avesta, is an inherent part of Zoroastrian oral tradition even if it was compiled far later than other parts of the Avesta. This passage has been interpreted to mean that homosexuality is a form of demon worship, and thus sinful. Ancient commentary on this passage suggests
Avesta in the royal archives ("Dk" 4B, 5). Following Alexander's conquest, the Avesta was then supposedly destroyed or dispersed by the Greeks after they translated the scientific passages that they could make use of ("AVN" 7–9, "Dk" 3B, 8). Several centuries later, one of the Parthian emperors named Valaksh (one of the Vologases) supposedly then had the fragments collected, not only of those that had previously been written down, but also of those that had only been orally transmitted ("Dk" 4C). The "Denkard" also transmits another legend related to the transmission of the Avesta. In that story, credit for collation and