Twelve Olympians
Ananda Coomaraswamy suggested that Devas and Asuras can be best understood as being similar in concept to the Twelve Olympians and the Titans of Greek mythology; both are powerful but have different orientations and inclinations, the Devas representing the powers of Light and the Asuras representing the powers of Darkness in Hindu mythology. According to Coomaraswamy, "the Titan [Asura] is potentially an Angel [Deva], the Angel still by nature a Titan" in Hinduism.