Vedic Mythology c6.s4.8

c6.s4.8

On the whole it seems probable that the Aṅgirases were originally conceived as a race of higher beings intermediate between gods and men, as attendants of Agni, who is so often described as a messenger between heaven and earth (p. 96), and that their priestly character was a later development⁵. They may possibly have been personifications of the flames of fire as messengers to heaven (cp. RV. 7, 3³). This view is borne out by the etymological connexion of *aṅgiras* with the Greek ἄγγελος, ‘messenger’⁶. Weber, however, is of opinion that they were originally priests of the Indo-Iranian period⁷.