One of the more seizing figures to have captured the imagination - both ancient and modern - is the Griffin (occasionally, and to my mind superiorly, spelled 'Gryphon'). Almost everybody knows it - a creature that is simultaneously leonine and aquiline. Part Lion, part Eagle. And usually pictured by us in its heraldic form, something … Continue reading The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
#GangSteppe
On The World-Spear of the Sky Father – Trishula, Gungnir, Pinaka
One of the most iconic identifying attributes of the Indo-European Sky Father deific is His Spear. Whether Gungnir of Odin, the Trishula of Mahadeva, or the javelin-like Thunderbolt of Zeus Pater/Jupiter (interestingly frequently depicted as three-pronged), as soon as we think of these deific expressions, the Weapon is never far from His Hand. Indeed, 'ShulaPani' … Continue reading On The World-Spear of the Sky Father – Trishula, Gungnir, Pinaka
The Scythian Idanthyrsus As Fundamentally Indo-European Man
As is widely-known by now, one of my favourite portions of Herodotus' Persian Wars is the exchange between the Scythian king Idanthyrsus, and Darius the would-be world-emperor. There are some obvious reasons why this is so, and in previous posts I have gone into some detail explicating them. But for today, I thought we would … Continue reading The Scythian Idanthyrsus As Fundamentally Indo-European Man
ARYAN – IRMIN – UGRA MAN ?
It often seems that everybody knows, and is correspondingly keen to claim the mantle of "Aryan". And it is understandably so. The term is the most archaic Indo-European ethnonym we readily have directly available to us. Which should not be confused for its being a general nor generalized Indo-European ethnonym - as it is a … Continue reading ARYAN – IRMIN – UGRA MAN ?
An Indo-European Pale Horseman
[Author's Note: Following on from the success of the Indo-European Horsemen of the Apocalypse article we ran earlier this week, it seemed only apt to take a brief closer look at the mytholinguistics of a 'Pale Horseman'. Particularly the 'Pale' bit. This is not to directly infer that the figure from the Book of Revelation … Continue reading An Indo-European Pale Horseman
The Indo-European Horsemen Of The Apocalypse
[Author's Note: We are, of course, aware that the Book of Revelation is not an Indo-European scriptural source. However, as can be seen in this fine art-work - this does not stop it from consciously drawing upon a veer-y Indo-European set of concepts. With that in mind, it seemed appropriate to pen a commentary bringing … Continue reading The Indo-European Horsemen Of The Apocalypse
“An Image, Frozen In Time” – What Pazyryk Scythian Tombs Can Tell Us About Our Indo-European Ancestors
This is quite simply one of the most chad-looking images I have seen; a representation of one of the Scythian nobles buried at Pazyryk in the Siberian East, about two and a half thousand years ago. Now, the Pazyryk find itself is quite fascinating - in no small part because the freezing of the site … Continue reading “An Image, Frozen In Time” – What Pazyryk Scythian Tombs Can Tell Us About Our Indo-European Ancestors
A Message Even A Persian Could Understand
It has been said that the language of international diplomacy is one of subtle, implied threats delivered alongside cocktail-sticks, in foreign, exotic locales. This might seem an altogether modern maxim, yet as we shall soon see, it is one that is almost equally (if not, frequently, far further) applicable to the relations of the Ancient … Continue reading A Message Even A Persian Could Understand
A Cut Off Horse-Head Delivers The Message
(Y)Our Ancestors, Ladies & Gentlemen!* "Most tellingly, perhaps, at the site of Potapovka (N. Krasnoyarsk Dst., near Kuybyshev on the N. Volga steppe), a unique burial has been found.6 It contains a human skeleton whose head has been replaced by a horse head; a human head lies near his feet, along with a bone pipe, … Continue reading A Cut Off Horse-Head Delivers The Message
Ancient Aryan Meath & Modern Afghani Meth – A Remembrance?
I found this rather ... disconcerting, because it is arguably an instance of #NAS meme magic in action. You see, many years ago now, when I was getting interested in Indo-European ethnobotany, I happened across the academic debate over the identity of Soma. Which - to my mind at least - has now been solved … Continue reading Ancient Aryan Meath & Modern Afghani Meth – A Remembrance?