- Customs, Traditions, and Daily Life

The Persians had a custom for everything. For example, while eating they did not hold conversations as it was viewed as a sin. According to Persians lying was above all the worst thing anyone could do. Also, all Persian boys were taught how the arts of horsemanship and archery. Hunting was a royal sport and polo originated in a game played by the Sasanian kings. Chess and backgammon were popular, as well.
Persians practiced consanguineous marriages, and by the Sanaian period, this had become common among the population. According to Zoroastrian tradition, the ages of nine and fifteen were the ideal age for a girl and boy to be married.

According to the Zoroastrian relgion, once a person dies his body is deemed polluted and not to be touched by human, earth, nor water. Because of this, the bodies of the dead were fed to vultures and dogs in designated enclosures. The bones are then collected and placed in a recepracle called a astodan.