The _character_ of Indra, then, is, as we find it in the Vedas, more like that of a supreme Zeus than of any other divinity of the parallel Aryan religious systems. But his _deeds_, the mythology connected with his name, remind us of the deeds of Apollo. For he is the great serpent-or dragon-slayer, like the Greek Apollo and the Northern Thor. Heracles, too, as we remember, is a serpent-slayer. The ‘enemy’ whom Indra is most constantly implored to strike are two serpents, Ahi and Vritra. These are serpents of darkness, but they are also the concealers of the water, and this water Indra sets free. ‘Him (the serpent) the god struck with Indra-might, and set free the all-gleaming water for the use of man.’ Therefore these serpents must also typify the clouds. In going forth to fight, Indra is accompanied by a band of supernatural heroes, who have no exact counterpart in any of the other Aryan mythologies, and who are certainly beings, children we might say, of the storm. Their name is the Maruts. And some of the many hymns dedicated to them have a fine martial ring, like the tramp of armed men-- HYMN TO THE MARUTS. ‘Where is the fair assemblage of heroes, The men of Rudra,[62] with their bright horses? For of their birth knoweth no man the story, Only themselves, their wondrous descent. ‘The light they flash upon one another; The eagles fought, the winds were raging; But this secret knoweth the wise man, Once that Prishna[63] her udder gave them. ‘Our race of heroes, through the Maruts be it Ever victorious in reaping of men. On their way they hasten, in brightness the brightest, Equal in beauty, unequalled in might.’ [Sidenote: Agni.] The god who is most peculiar to the Vedic pantheon is Agni, the Fire-god. The word _Agni_ is allied to the Latin _ignis_. No doubt Agni has his representatives in the creeds of other Aryan peoples, in the Hephæstus of the Greeks, or in the Vulcan of the Romans; probably in the Loki of the Scandinavians. But these are all quite secondary beings: Loki cannot be called a god at all. Agni, on the other hand, is one of the very greatest of the Vedic deities. Only Indra has more hymns dedicated to him than Agni. This shows how great was the reverence which fire commanded among the Indians, and it is consistent with much that has been said in an earlier chapter of the importance which primitive people always attach, and which the native Indians to this day still attach, to the sacred house-fire in their midst. It reminds us too of the fire-worship of the Persians.[64]