He fled to the mountains and gave himself to God. Sometime between the ages of thirty and forty an angel appeared to him and brought him to the throne of the highest God, Ahura Mazda. After this occurred, the prophet tried for twelve years to convert people, but to no available. During this period many visions were revealed to him. A milestone in the progression of the religion occurred when Zoroaster converted Vishtaspa, the king of Persia. He also converted the king's son, brother, counselor, and grand vizier. Zoroaster married, along with two other women, the counselor's daughter. Zoroaster was killed at the age of seventy-seven by Ardshataspa, a neighboring prince, who invaded Vishtaspa's capital. According to the Parsees, Vishtaspa is the father of Darius, who reigned from 521-485 B.C. Another view holds that Zoroaster lived 258 years before Alexander the Great; he would have therefore lived between 570 and 500 BC. The Greeks tend to place him six thousand years before Plato. Ahura Mazda, while not necessarily discovered by Zoroaster, was found on an inscription dating around 714 BC. In ancient Persia, before Zoraoster's reforms, religion was polytheistic. Zoroaster objected to these dieties and referred to them as demons. Many of the rituals and Gods that he removed were later reinstated due to the fact that the people were still emotionally attached to them. We can see this from the fact that on the epigraphs of Artaxerxes II Mnemon (404-358 BC.) the Mithras and Anahita, ancient gods, are mentioned. Temples and images of God were also introduced into the religion at a later date. Zoroastrian Beliefs The Zoroastrian religion is based on the fundamental concept of a constant battle of good against evil. Ahura Mazda represents the good while Ahriman represents the bad. Ahura Mazda created this world as a trap for Ahriman. Human beings draw Ahriman into this world; he will jump at any chance to cause others to do evil.