Vishtaspa

Vishtaspa (Avestan: 𐬬𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬁𐬯𐬞𐬀 Vištāspa; Old Persian: 𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱 Vištāspa; Persian: گشتاسپ Guštāsp; Ancient Greek: Ὑστάσπης Hustáspēs) is the Avestan-language name of a figure appearing in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early follower of Zoroaster, and his patron, and instrumental in the diffusion of the prophet's message. Although Vishtaspa is not epigraphically attested, he is – like Zoroaster – traditionally assumed to have been a historical figure, although obscured by accretions from legend and myth. In Zoroastrian tradition, which builds on allusions found in the Avesta, Vishtaspa is a righteous king who ruled from Bactria (present-day Afghanistan), and helped propagate and defend the faith. In the non-Zoroastrian Sistan cycle texts, Vishtaspa is a loathsome ruler of the Kayanian dynasty who intentionally sends his eldest son to a certain death. In Greco-Roman literature, Zoroaster's patron was the pseudo-anonymous author of a set of prophecies written under his name.