Every so often, we happen across an artefact that seems to demand its own commentary-piece - both because of its sheer visual or historic impressiveness, yet also because it illustrates something … indeed several somethings … quite important for our ongoing work. This fine coin of Peroz II, the King of the Kushano-Sasanians, is just … Continue reading Shaivite Coin Of Kushanshah Peroz II – A Hindu God In Hindu Garb – Arte-Facts #9
Indo-European
Skanda , Heimdall , Kumara – The Star-Borne Son Of The Sky Father
A brief Indo-European observation inspired by the SkandaMata Night of NavRatri - Skanda, the War God Son of Shiva, has Six Heads. This is due to the rather unique manner of His Birth - wherein the embryonic Skanda is transplanted to six mothers via Agni, the Krittika Stars (we would know these in the West … Continue reading Skanda , Heimdall , Kumara – The Star-Borne Son Of The Sky Father
ON THE INDO-EUROPEAN TYPOLOGY OF IOLAUS – THIRD DRAGONSLAYER Part Three – Academics And Anaryas : The Wrongful Reconstruction Of The Myth
Amongst the Zoroastrians, the dragon-slayer is known as Fereydun, or more archaically as Thraetaona. Who is, curiously, the son of the Zoroastrian figure of Tritas / Thrita. Now, for the Zoroastrians, there is no Indra - except in their lists of demons. As is well known, when they began their heresy against the previously prevalent … Continue reading ON THE INDO-EUROPEAN TYPOLOGY OF IOLAUS – THIRD DRAGONSLAYER Part Three – Academics And Anaryas : The Wrongful Reconstruction Of The Myth
ON THE INDO-EUROPEAN TYPOLOGY OF IOLAUS – THIRD DRAGONSLAYER Part One – Indra And Iolaos : Hydras, Helpers, Heroes, Hercules
If you were to ask somebody the question "Who slayed Vritra", you would be presented with quite a simple answer. "I don't know, who's Vritra", probably. But for those even cursorily aware of the Indo-European mythology - more specifically its Vedic formulation - the reply would almost certainly come "Indra". And that is not (necessarily) … Continue reading ON THE INDO-EUROPEAN TYPOLOGY OF IOLAUS – THIRD DRAGONSLAYER Part One – Indra And Iolaos : Hydras, Helpers, Heroes, Hercules
Red Bull – The Indo-European Sky Father And A Certain Empowering Brew
Something I have often taken a bit of pleasure in, is finding the 'echoes' of underlying archaic Indo-European symbolism amidst the wreckage of the modern world. In various cases, these are 'traces' that were probably not consciously intended as such by their contemporary authors - and yet which nevertheless have some fundamental, recurring resonancy back … Continue reading Red Bull – The Indo-European Sky Father And A Certain Empowering Brew
On The Indo-European ‘Interpretatio’ Of Dionysus – A Roaring Exaltation Of The Sky Father Comparatively Considered
Dionysus is a deservedly fascinating figure. And also a badly misunderstood one. As are many Greek deities, especially in their comparative Indo-European situation. I have written upon the linkages of Dionysus to various facings - dramatic masques, we may perhaps say - in other Indo-European pantheons in the past, and shall not seek to repeat … Continue reading On The Indo-European ‘Interpretatio’ Of Dionysus – A Roaring Exaltation Of The Sky Father Comparatively Considered
Shiva Is Not Indra – A Response To A Grave Mythunderstanding
It has come to my attention that there is a curious misbelief out there - that Shiva is somehow Indra. As in, the post-Vedic Deity Shiva is a 'continuation' of the Vedic Indra under a somewhat different name. I thought that this was merely a matter of some people being a bit misinformed - yet … Continue reading Shiva Is Not Indra – A Response To A Grave Mythunderstanding
On The Indo-European Symbolism Of The Ash Tree – And The Ensuing Origins Of The Spear-Race Of Man
Often in the course of work, we begin writing about one topic - only to find that it has serious and substantial bearing upon another. Thus was the case when I sat down to pen "WORLD-SPEAR", looking at the iconic weapon of the Sky Father. I'd known that there would be significant salience for the … Continue reading On The Indo-European Symbolism Of The Ash Tree – And The Ensuing Origins Of The Spear-Race Of Man
The Cyclopes And The Ribhus Elves – Solar Smiths of the Sky Father
One of the most iconic creatures from Greek mythology must surely be the Cyclopes. Best known from Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemus during the course of the Odyssey, the Cyclopes is one of those classic mythic tropes - the big, brutish monster who must be defeated via cunning and guile lest he devour the hero and … Continue reading The Cyclopes And The Ribhus Elves – Solar Smiths of the Sky Father
On Disregarding The Puranic Mythology For Allegedly Denigrating Vedic Gods
Quite frequently, we hear it said that people may like Vedic religion, Vedic mythology - but they balk at the later developments upon same. Often because they claim that these subsequent scriptures "denigrate" various Vedic - and therefore Indo-European - Gods. I have already addressed elsewhere the arguments that the Puranas contain all manner of allegedly "non-Aryan" elements … Continue reading On Disregarding The Puranic Mythology For Allegedly Denigrating Vedic Gods