Zoroaster his subjects to adopt the religion of the Magians. Recalling other tradition, al-Tabari (i.681–683) recounts that Zaradusht accompanied a Jewish prophet to Bishtasb/Vishtaspa. Upon their arrival, Zaradusht translated the sage's Hebrew teachings for the king and so convinced him to convert (Tabari also notes that they had previously been "Sabi"s) to the Magian religion. The 12th-century heresiographer al-Shahrastani describes the Majusiya into three sects, the "Kayumarthiya", the "Zurwaniya" and the "Zaradushtiya", among which Al-Shahrastani asserts that only the last of the three were properly followers of Zoroaster. As regards the recognition of a prophet, Zoroaster has said: "They ask you
Zoroaster with Plato on natural philosophy. With respect to substance and content in "On Nature" only two facts are known: that it was crammed with astrological speculations, and that Necessity ("Ananké") was mentioned by name and that she was in the air. Pliny the Elder names Zoroaster as the inventor of magic ("Natural History" 30.2.3). "However, a principle of the division of labor appears to have spared Zoroaster most of the responsibility for introducing the dark arts to the Greek and Roman worlds." That "dubious honor" went to the "fabulous magus, Ostanes, to whom most of the pseudepigraphic magical literature was