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’
#GangSteppe
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
To Ride The Steppe Of Stars
So one of the more … unexpected-yet-then-falls-into-place concepts I've come up with in the course of my writing, is the "Steppe of Stars"; Literally up there with the "Sea of Stars"/"Seas of the Sun" 'Space Is An Ocean' typology - which also has a perhaps surprising Indo-European precedency, and which forms a patina far closer … Continue reading To Ride The Steppe Of Stars
“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
Aesir-Vanir, Asura-Deva, but also A’Sura, Daeva
There's a few comparative mythographic ideas out there that are simple, intuitive, comfortable, persistent ... and downright wrong. One of these is the thorny thicket of presumptions which have grown up around three not-unrelated sets of terminology from the Vedic, Eddic, and Zoroastrian corpuses. The core of which is basically that as there was an Aesir-Vanir … Continue reading Aesir-Vanir, Asura-Deva, but also A’Sura, Daeva
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?
arya-akasha 