Now *this* is interesting - quite a familiar shape, you'll see the various Christian depictions of St George engaged in a spot of dragon-slaying, for instance. However, what's depicted here is Bellerophon (mounted upon Pegasus) slaying the Chimaera, from a floor mosaic on Rhodes, circa 300-270 BC. I am not saying that various much more … Continue reading On Bellerophon – Echoes Of A Coronation Rite And Slayer Of The Demon Of Enclosure ?
Kingship
On The Archaic Notion Of The Indo-European Demigod
Recently, in the course of a discussion elsewhere, an occasional correspondant - 'Indian History' on twitter - made mention of a most intriguing Sanskrit term he'd observed in a Hymnal of the RigVeda. We were discussing 'Demigods', and whether these were a more exclusively Greek / Classical phenomenon or something of a broader Indo-European provenance. … Continue reading On The Archaic Notion Of The Indo-European Demigod
On Odin As Agni
Part One: Kindling The Flame In a number of my previous works now, I have established the fundamental equation of the Odin of the Eddic mythology with the Shiva of the Vedic sphere. I have also shown how the Rudra, the Brihaspati, the Agni, the Vayu, the Parjanya of the Vedas - are also all Faces, … Continue reading On Odin As Agni
The Solar Asva – The Shining-Maned Horse Amidst The Sea Of Stars
As it is a salient Solar occasion today, here is an excerpt from my earlier work - 'The Sea Horse Of Sovereignty - On Hellenic Poseidon , Vedic Varuna, Scythian Thagimasidas , And The Essential Equine Elevator-Empowerer Of The Ancient Indo-European King' In it, we examine part of the underlying reasoning for the Horse's involvement … Continue reading The Solar Asva – The Shining-Maned Horse Amidst The Sea Of Stars
The Apple of Odin to Rerir, The Fire-Seed of Agni, The Egg of Nemesis, The Paternity of Alexander, And The Asvamedha of Dasharatha – On The Equine Investiture Of The Divine Essence In A King’s Heir-To-Be In The Indo-European Mytho-Religious Sacro-Political Tradition
It is curious how things align. During the course of my research, looking over the ancient scriptural materials of two cultures in order to demonstrate that Odin is Agni - I happened across a potent potential explication for an otherwise rather curious phenomenon encountered in the Greek mythos. And then one of my devotees asked … Continue reading The Apple of Odin to Rerir, The Fire-Seed of Agni, The Egg of Nemesis, The Paternity of Alexander, And The Asvamedha of Dasharatha – On The Equine Investiture Of The Divine Essence In A King’s Heir-To-Be In The Indo-European Mytho-Religious Sacro-Political Tradition
The Sea Horse Of Sovereignty – On Hellenic Poseidon , Vedic Varuna, Scythian Thagimasidas , And The Essential Equine Elevator-Empowerer Of The Ancient Indo-European King
Something that has long puzzled commentators is the strong association of the Greek figure of Poseidon with the Horse. This is incredibly prominent within the Poseidonic mythology - the form taken by Poseidon in His pursuit of Demeter Erinyes, for instance, or that of the Son born to that union, Arion (The Pegasus, likewise, is … Continue reading The Sea Horse Of Sovereignty – On Hellenic Poseidon , Vedic Varuna, Scythian Thagimasidas , And The Essential Equine Elevator-Empowerer Of The Ancient Indo-European King
The Indo-European Cosmology – A Brief Guided Tour : Part One – Ritual Space And The Radiating Law
Two areas I have long intended to direct more effort towards extolling - are Indo-European Cosmology and Ritual. Both are fascinating, and as it happens, quite fundamentally coterminous much of the time. However, they're also both huge - and so instead of a series of five-to-fifty-thousand wor(l)d plus megaliths, I thought I'd try something a … Continue reading The Indo-European Cosmology – A Brief Guided Tour : Part One – Ritual Space And The Radiating Law
On Scythian Tabiti Invoked As Protector Goddess For The King ? A Further Illumination Of The Might Of The Radiant Queen Of The Indo-Europeans Via The Light Of Vedic Aditi ; The Scythians As Storm-Borne Host Of Her Children
[Author's Note: This piece resulted from a digression in my earlier work illustrating the strong parallel expression of Scythian Tabiti with Vedic Vak Saraswati / Aditi - and distancing the oft-encountered spurious speculationism around a potential connection with Hindu Tapati (Who is instead, Helen of Troy). I excised it from the original piece due to … Continue reading On Scythian Tabiti Invoked As Protector Goddess For The King ? A Further Illumination Of The Might Of The Radiant Queen Of The Indo-Europeans Via The Light Of Vedic Aditi ; The Scythians As Storm-Borne Host Of Her Children
Shaivite Coin Of Kushanshah Peroz II – A Hindu God In Hindu Garb – Arte-Facts #9
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
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