Beautiful rendition of the Kouretes (Curetes) carrying out Their Dance about the newborn youthful Zeus (the infant at the base - there's a tripartite Thunderbolt behind Him also). Their Dance with its noise was undertaken to shield Zeus from Kronos - It was a … Safety Dance Now, I didn't just post this in order … Continue reading The Kouretes And The Rudras
Theology
Psychopompi Germanica – And Why It’s Not Odin
In recent days I have run into a rather recurrent skein of assertions about Odin purportedly being a "Psychopomp". Now as for why this has kept coming up - the context has been fairly much what you'd expect. Namely, people looking to affirm an accuracy for that well-known 'Interpretatio' from Tacitus, whereby Odin is inferred … Continue reading Psychopompi Germanica – And Why It’s Not Odin
“Apollo Khshathrapati”? “Apollo Kshetrapati” – An Unfinished Draft In Relation To The Theology Of The Trilingual Stele of Letoön
[Author's Note: The following is an incomplete draft of an article that had been intended as an answer to a query received some three years prior with relation to an academic article looking at Apollo, Mithra, and an (Indo-)Iranian hailing upon a most remarkable trilingual stele from what was once Lycia. I am perhaps unlikely … Continue reading “Apollo Khshathrapati”? “Apollo Kshetrapati” – An Unfinished Draft In Relation To The Theology Of The Trilingual Stele of Letoön
The ‘Golden Hair’ Of Indra – The Reality To An Oft-Cited RigVedic Verse
I've seen this RigVedic verse - RV X 96 8 - come up several times in the past few weeks; quoted (in English only) by persons seemingly looking to assert that Indra was purportedly in possession of both hair and beard of blond, in the manner of some rather particular stereotype of Northern European (or, … Continue reading The ‘Golden Hair’ Of Indra – The Reality To An Oft-Cited RigVedic Verse
Halloween, Diwali, Kali Puja, Amavasya Syzygy
Interesting Syzygy tonight : it's Halloween and Diwali. And also, if you're in Bengal and/or my house, Kālī Pūjā. These latter two being because it's also an Amāvasyā [Night of No Moon] tonight, as well. As for what that is, the Amāvasyā of each month [where the Sun and Moon 'dwell (-vāsya) together (amā-)'] has … Continue reading Halloween, Diwali, Kali Puja, Amavasya Syzygy
On The Symbolism Of The Gigantes & Gigantomachy [Part One: He Shall Tread]
We had earlier received a question as to the iconography of the Gigantes of Classical myth - more specifically, what was up with the Serpents they so prominently feature instead of legs in an array of renderings. And, because it's a very, very cool illustration for the concept - here's a beautiful 2nd-3rd Century (BC) … Continue reading On The Symbolism Of The Gigantes & Gigantomachy [Part One: He Shall Tread]
Why We Offer To The Gods [Part One: The Integral Performance]
It is occasionally intriguing how various elements 'turn up'. I had been looking for a particular quotation on an unrelated matter (from G.K. Chesterton, as it happens), and had somehow happened across the following passages from Lucian's "Zeus Tragoedus" (Ζεὺς Τραγῳδός) (often translated somewhat loosely as "Zeus Rants"). And, at just about the same time, … Continue reading Why We Offer To The Gods [Part One: The Integral Performance]
Dawn & Dyaus
I'd recently been tagged in a post commenting upon the (Proto-)Indo-European Dawn Goddess [said deific underpinning the Hellenic figure of Eos - beautifully rendered here by Yliade], which had borne the following line: "She was probably the child of the Dyēus Phter, the Sky-Father ." And, me being me, this precipitated a rather … extended … Continue reading Dawn & Dyaus
On Algiz, Alcis, Ullr, The Germanic Iteration Of Indo-European Sacred Space, And Its Dread Protector
The following was initially an exploration for what I consider to be the likely meaning for the Rune *Algiz ᛉ (beautifully illustrated there by 'Automatic Moon'), featuring discussion also upon the theology for Ullr. It then … grew rather significantly - and now seems to feature a rather expansive hypothesis viz. a 'working model' for … Continue reading On Algiz, Alcis, Ullr, The Germanic Iteration Of Indo-European Sacred Space, And Its Dread Protector
Further Points Upon The ‘Refraction’ Of The Sky Father – With Particular Emphasis Upon Zeus, Hades, Poseidon
I should clarify that I'm not posting this with an intent of having a go at the gentleman who'd raised the counterclaim (hence, in part, why I've anonymized his comment in the cap below) - but rather, because various of the elements in my reply might be of a broader interest (the situation as to … Continue reading Further Points Upon The ‘Refraction’ Of The Sky Father – With Particular Emphasis Upon Zeus, Hades, Poseidon