Under the great Ormazd were a number of subordinate deities, the principal of whom were Mithra and Serosh, Mithra, the Sun-God, had been from a very early date an object of adoration in Persia, only second to Ormazd.  The Achaemenian kings joined him occasionally with Ormazd in their invocations.  In processions his chariot, drawn by milk-white horses, followed closely on that of Ormazd.  He was often associated with Ormazd, as if an equal, though a real equality was probably not intended.  He was “great,” “pure,” “imperishable,” “the beneficent protector of all creatures,” and “the beneficent preserver of all creatures.”  He had a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes.  His worship was probably more widely extended than that of Ormazd himself, and was connected in general with a material representation.

In the early times this was a simple disk, or circle; but from the reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon, a human image seems to have been substituted.  Prayer was offered to Mithra three times a day, at dawn, at noon, and at sunset; and it was usual to worship him with sacrifice.  The horse appears to have been the victim which he was supposed to prefer.

Sraosha, or Serosh, was an angel of great power and dignity.  He was the special messenger of Ormazd, and the head of his celestial army.  He was “tall, well-formed, beautiful, swift, victorious, happy, sincere, true, the master of truth.”  It was his office to deliver revelations, to show men the paths of happiness, and to bring them the blessings which Ormazd had assigned to each.  He invented the music for the five most ancient Gathas, discovered the barsom or divining-rod, and first taught its use to mankind.  From his palace on the highest summit of the Elburz range, he watched the proceedings of the evil genii, and guarded the world from their attempts.  The Iranians were his special care; but he lost no opportunity of injuring the Powers of Darkness, and lessening their dominion by teaching everywhere the true religion.  In the other world it was his business to conduct the souls of the faithful through the dangers of the middle passage, and to bring them before the golden throne of Ormazd.

Among minor angelic powers were Vayu, “the wind,” who is found also in the Vedic system; Airyanam, a god presiding over marriages; Vitraha, a good genius; Tistrya, the Dog Star, etc.  The number of the minor deities was not, however, great; nor do they seem, as in so many other polytheistic religions, to have advanced in course of time from a subordinate to a leading position.  From first to last they are of small account; and it seems, therefore, unnecessary to detain the reader by an elaborate description of them.