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>Although the word here is 'earthly', rather than 'mortal', in my opinion the divs' great stature, their superior intelligence and their alleged supernatural capabilities made them prime candidates for the role of progeny of the daevic race, comparable with the Nephilim of Judaic tradition
>Belief in the physical reality of divs and Peri persisted in Iran right through to the early twentieth century. For instance, in the remote border region between Iran and Afghanistan, close to the Amu Darya (Oxus) river, the Tajik tribesmen spoke of the divs, or divy, as coming 'down from their mountain lairs during winter to remain near settlements, returning only in spring'. Of equal mystery was the belief among the Tajik tribesmen of the lowlands that beautiful Peri could tempt mortal beings into sin and 'take the form of snakes, turtles and frogs', all creatures under the dominion of Angra Mainyu
>More importantly, there appeared to be some indication from early Zoroastrian sources that a kind of fall of the ahuras, or 'shining ones', had preceded the appearance of Zoroaster on earth, for according to one commentator the prophet 'dashed to pieces the bodies of the angels, because they had made an evil use of them for wandering on the earth, and especially for amatory dealings with earthly women'. These were the words of nineteenth-century biblical scholar Franz Delitzsch, who fully recognized the extraordinary similarity between this account and the improprieties committed by the Watchers in the Book of Enoch
>The Amesha Spentas of Iranian lore are undoubtedly to be equated, not just with the seven archangels, but also with the seven adityas, or suryas, found in the Hindu Rig Veda; one of whom, the sun god, is named as Surya. Ancient Indian myth and legend records that the suryas' evil enemies were the ahuras (spelt asuras), who were giants, skilled in the magical arts
