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=Angels and Demons.=--Over against Ormuzd, the god and the creator, is
Ahriman, wicked and destructive. Each has in his service a legion of
spirits. The soldiers of Ormuzd are the good angels (yazatas), those
of Ahriman the evil demons (devs). The angels dwell in the East in the
light of the rising sun; the demons in the West in the shadows of the
darkness. The two armies wage incessant warfare; the world is their
battleground, for both troops are omnipresent. Ormuzd and his angels
seek to benefit men, to make them good and happy; Ahriman and his
demons gnaw around them to destroy them, to make them unhappy and
wicked.
=Creatures of Ormuzd and Ahriman.=--Everything good on the earth is
the work of Ormuzd and works for good; the sun and fire that dispel
the night, the stars, fermented drinks that seem to be liquid fire,
the water that satisfies the thirst of man, the cultivated fields that
feed him, the trees that shade him, domestic animals--especially the
dog,[30] the birds (because they live in the air), among all these the
cock since he announces the day. On the other hand everything that is
baneful comes from Ahriman and tends to evil: the night, drought,
cold, the desert, poisonous plants, thorns, beasts of prey, serpents,
parasites (mosquitoes, fleas, bugs) and animals that live in dark
holes--lizards, scorpions, toads, rats, ants.
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