I'm writing something atm that's tangentially to do with the First Anglo-Afghan War; and in the course of my research, happened across this quote from the eventual victor of the conflict, Dost Mohammed: He said of the British - "I have been struck by the magnitude of your resources, your ships, your arsenals, but what … Continue reading On Pausanias At Plataea And Dost Mohammed In Afghanistan – The Recurrence Of The Incomprehensibility Of Imperial Over-Extension
Month: August 2020
Yama Iamso Coin of the Kushans, And What This Means For Central Asian Indo-European Religion – Arte-Facts #7
I've had this coin in my head for some days now - a golden coin of the Kushan king Huviska (who appears on the obverse), featuring what appears to be Yama on the deity side. Why? Because of the iconography with which Yama - here hailed as 'Iamso' - is displayed. He's holding a Spear … Continue reading Yama Iamso Coin of the Kushans, And What This Means For Central Asian Indo-European Religion – Arte-Facts #7
Foe-Slayer Claims Our Eulogy – Understanding RigVeda VIII 100: Indra, Vak
Every so often, we come across a Hymnal that really really deserves a broader audience. In this case, RV VIII 100 - which details a rather lesser-known element to the Slaying of Vritra by Indra. Namely, the salient role of Vak Devi (Saraswati) in this conflict. It therefore seemed most appropriate to prepare a brief … Continue reading Foe-Slayer Claims Our Eulogy – Understanding RigVeda VIII 100: Indra, Vak
On Reclaiming ‘Barbarian’
The time has come, I think, to 'reclaim' the term "Barbarian". Now, in some circles this has already happened - it is utterly uncontroversial, because there is the implicit recognition that what "Barbarian" refers to , is one's own ancestors … the negative, fearful connotations thereof, being those affixed by the other people who had … Continue reading On Reclaiming ‘Barbarian’
ON THE HORSE TWINS – The Savior Sons of the Sky Father [Part 1 – Introductions, Inceptions, And Asvins]
One of the more pervasive, yet perplexing of the elements of the Indo-European mythology must surely be the Heroic Horse-Twins. Whether the Asvins / Nasatyas / Divo Napata of the Vedas, the Dioscuri of the Greeks (Castor & Pollux / Polydeuces), the Asvieniai / Dievo Suneliai of the Lithuianians, or Hengist and Horsa of the … Continue reading ON THE HORSE TWINS – The Savior Sons of the Sky Father [Part 1 – Introductions, Inceptions, And Asvins]