PERSIAN MYTHOLOGY. 27 
resemblance. He seems to emerge out of a circle formed by the bodies of 
two serpents folded around his body; in his left hand he holds a ring, while 
the right is lifted up and open, anda huge pair of wings are spread out as if 
to support him in his flight. A similar representation of a Feruer is seen 
in fig. 5. 
When Ahriman, who was originally a good spirit, had fallen and rebelled, 
the Supreme Being set aside 12,000 years as the time during which the 
contest between darkness and light was to last, after which the empire of 
the former was to be destroyed. 
‘ During the first quarter of this period Ormuzd was to retain the supreme 
rule over the universe, during the second the contest was to begin, during 
the third the contending parties were to have equal power over the world, 
and during the fourth Ahriman was to have apparently the victory over 
his adversary, which would inevitably lead to the destruction of the 
whole visible world with the empire of evil, by a general conflagra- 
tion, in order that the pure and the good might reign undisturbed and 
supreme. 
As soon as Ahriman saw the world of good spirits which Ormuzd had 
created, he sought to fortify himself by creating a rival world composed of 
evil ones, Devs. The highest among these, over which he presided in 
person, were the Arch-devs, intended to oppose the Amshaspands. The 
Devs were the personifications of all vices, impurities, and noxious things. 
While Ahriman was still confined with his creatures to the realms of 
darkness, Ormuzd created the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars. He 
then made the fire, the wind, and the clouds, separated the solid part of the 
earth from the waters, bade the mountains to raise up their heads, and 
planted among them <Albordj, the father of mountains, from which the sun 
and moon start each on its respective tour. The earth he after that divided 
into seven Kashvars, and called forth the vegetable world ; first of all Hom, 
the type of all trees. Having thus prepared it to support animal life he 
created Abudad the great bull, from whose blood all the living things of 
earth have sprung. 
As soon as Ahriman was released from his captivity, he attempted with 
his hosts to storm heaven, but was repulsed by Ormuzd, who continued his 
work of creating the terrestrial world. Repulsed from heaven Ahriman 
visited the newly made earth and killed Abudad; but the body of the bull 
became the germ of all kinds of animals and of the first man Hajamorz ; 
him also the Devs slew, but Ormuzd then made a plant fewwas (man and 
woman combined) to grow out of the body. It gained its maturity in 
fifteen years, and bore as its fruits fifteen pair of human beings, the first of 
which were Meshia and Meshiana, the parents of the present race. After 
each period in the creation of the world and all that is therein Ormuzd 
rested and celebrated the festival Gahanbar. 
Ahriman, disappointed by his previous failures, sought now to destroy 
the new creation. He blackened the fire with smoke, created different 
-kinds of noxious animals and reptiles, and finally succeeded in seducing man 
from his allegiance to virtue. In the course of the fourth period he had 
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