Avesta of particular manuscripts. A pre-Sasanian history of the Avesta, if it had one, is in the realm of legend and myth. The oldest surviving versions of these tales are found in the ninth to 11th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition (i.e. in the so-called "Pahlavi books"). The legends run as follows: The twenty-one "nask"s ("books") of the Avesta were created by Ahura Mazda and brought by Zoroaster to his patron Vishtaspa ("Denkard" 4A, 3A). Supposedly, Vishtaspa ("Dk" 3A) or another Kayanian, Daray ("Dk" 4B), then had two copies made, one of which was stored in the treasury, and the other
Teocalli of the Sacred War hold a more historical and less allegorical interpretation––reading the symbols as cosmograms. He argued that these cosmograms did not represent mythology, but rather represent the sacred nature of the Mexica as a whole. Palacios' interpretation of this Teocall received wide acclaim from scholars, and served as the foundation of his broader assessments on Mexica religion. According to historian Richard Townsend, the earth zoomorph featured on the platform of the Teocalli represents Mexica land held by force of arms. Teocalli of the Sacred War The Teocalli of the Sacred War ("teocalli" is Nahuatl for "temple;" Spanish: "El Teocalli de la Guerra