the role of elamite gods in the formation of the divine triad: hormazd-mithra-anahita

a survey and analysis of the ancient iranian religion calls for a profound familiarity with the elamite religion and its gods. elamite beliefs played an important role in forming the iranian religion between the 4th millennium bc and the advent of the indo-iranians on the iranian plateau. in this paper, we examine the elamite religious background and the major gods and goddesses that were worshipped in elam. the central motif of the serpent in elamite rites is also discussed. pinikir, the goddess of heaven, corresponds to the babylonian ishtar. she was later replaced by the mother goddess kiririsha. humban and hutran were worshipped in the 2nd millennium bc and inshushinak, great god of susiana, formed a divine triad with these two deities. this triad bears remarkable similarity to the iranian godly triad of hormazd-mithra-anahita, recorded in later avesta and achaemenid inscriptions. the character of inshushinak undoubtedly helped shape the iranian figure of mithra. other elamite religious influences include kidenn or the divine aura, which influenced the formation of the iranian xvarənah