e mixed religious system of which an account has been given in
the second volume of this work, the Persians in their wilder country,
less exposed to corrupting influences, maintained their original faith
in undiminished purity, and continued faithful to their primitive
traditions. The political dependence of their country upon Media during
the period of the Median sway made no difference in this respect; for
the Medes were tolerant, and did not seek to interfere with the creed of
their subjects. The simple Zoroastrian belief and worship, overlaid by
Magism in the now luxurious Media, found a refuge in the rugged Persian
uplands, among the hardy shepherds and cultivators of that unattractive
region, was professed by the early Achaemenian princes, and generally
acquiesced in by the people.

The main feature of the religion daring this first period was the
acknowledgment and the worship of a single supreme God--"the Lord God of
Heaven"--"the giver (i.e. maker) of heaven and earth"--the disposer of
thrones, the dispenser of happiness. The foremost place in inscriptions
and decrees was assigned, almost universally, to the "great god,
Ormazd." Every king, of whom we have an inscription more than two lines
in length, speaks of Ormazd as his upholder; and the early monarchs
mention by name no other god. All rule "by the grace of Ormazd." From
Ormazd come victory, conquest, safety, prosperity, blessings of every
kind. The "law of Ormazd" is the rule of life. The protection of Ormazd
is the one priceless blessing for which prayer is perpetually offered.

While, however, Ormazd holds this exalted and unapproachable position,
there is still an acknowledgment made, in a general way, of "other
gods." Ormazd is "the greatest of the gods" (_mathista baganam_). It is
a usual prayer to ask for the protection of Ormazd, together with that
of these lesser powers (_hada bagaibish_). Sometimes the phrase is
varied, and the petition is for the special protection of a certain
class of Deities--the _Dii familiares_--or "deities who guard the
house."

The worship of Mithra, or the Sun, does not appear in the inscriptions
until the reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon, the victor of Cunaxa. It is,
however, impossible to doubt that it was a portion of the Persian
religion, at least as early as the date of Herodotus. Probably it
belongs, in a certain sense, to primitive Zoroastrianism, but was kept
in the background during the early period, when a less mat