Arimanius

Arimanius (Greek: Areimanios; Latin: Arīmanius) is a name for an obscure deity found in a few Greek literary texts and five Latin inscriptions. In Greek texts, Areimanios, with variations, seems to refer to the Persian Ahriman, in the context of "Zoroastrianism" as it was understood by the Greeks and Romans. The Latin inscriptions occur in a Mithraic context that suggest a redefined or different deity.

The most extended passage in classical literature on Areimanios is found in the treatise Isis and Osiris (46–47) by Plutarch, who presents him as the dark or evil side in a dualistic opposition with Oromazes (for Ohrmuzd or Ahura Mazda). He is also mentioned in other texts as an evil daimon, "the worst spirit," or even equated with Satan as the adversary. In the Mithraic context, the name seems unlikely to refer to an evil entity.

The name

The most common form of the name in its few occurrences among Greek authors is Ἀρειμανιος (Areimanios), presumably rendering an unattested Old Persian form *ahramanyu, which, however, would have yielded a Middle Persian ahrmen. The name is given as Ἀριμάνης (Arimanēs) by Agathias, and Ἀρειμανής (Areimanēs) by Hesychius, rendering the Middle Persian Ahreman. Variations of the name not explicable by scientific linguistics may be attributed to its similarity to Greek words meaning "warlike" (see Names and epithets of Ares).