was introduced into Persia by Phoedima, widow of Smerdis, and
wife of Gushtasp darawesh, usually called Hystaspes (B.C.
521-485). It is not the sun that is worshipped, but God, who is
supposed to reside in it; at the same time they reverence the sun, not
as a deity but as the throne of deity. (See Parsees.)
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
