Nor is this all.

They go a step further, and personify the two parties to the struggle.

One is a "white" or holy "Spirit" (_cpento mainyus_), and the other a "dark spirit" (_angro mainyus_).

But this personification is merely poetical or metaphorical, not real.

The "white spirit" is not Ahura-mazda, and the "dark spirit" is not a hostile intelligence.