Something we have often had cause to make reference to is the fact that this most prominent of Indo-European mythemes, the Smiting of the Demon-Dragon, is NOT exclusive in commissioning to the Striker/Thunderer deific. But is, rather, a case of 'Like Father - Like Son'. As with, perhaps uncoincidentally, the wielding of Thunder in various … Continue reading On The Sky Father As Dragon Destroyer
Zeus Ikmaios
A Thunderbolt For The Sky Father – Amidst The Burning Branches Of Demon-Smiting Lightning
It seems the most logical, natural thing in the world - and certainly, we have amply attested acknowledgement for this in and about multiple Indo-European spheres. Yet somehow , the situation of the Thunderbolt has become something of a 'cudgel' with which some have sought to 'beat' deifics such as Odin and Shiva out of … Continue reading A Thunderbolt For The Sky Father – Amidst The Burning Branches Of Demon-Smiting Lightning
Prayer As Petitioning – A Lesson In Piety From ‘The GodsFather’
The conception many people have of 'Prayer' is that it constitutes of 'asking' - often for things that might be thought of as 'for personal gain', or for the assistance of others. Now, as we've recently discussed, there's quite a bit more to prayer than that, and effectively the broad meaning to the concept is … Continue reading Prayer As Petitioning – A Lesson In Piety From ‘The GodsFather’
On Indo-European Divine Refraction
Last week, we ran a post in reaction to yet another wave of Very Online Christian Triumphalism about Zeus having long ago been 'replaced' as the major deity worshipped in the Greek sphere. We pointed out that as Zeus Pater = Jupiter = Dyaus Pitar, with Dyaus Pitar quite directly (and in Shruti) being hailed … Continue reading On Indo-European Divine Refraction
A People Of Ash And Fury – On The Divinely Arboreal Genesis Of The Indo-Europeans
In recent days, our attention had been drawn to a most remarkable occurrence within the Þorleifs þáttr jarlaskálds wherein, as our learned associate, Gottfried Yann Karlssohn (who had drawn our attention to it in the first place) had phrased it - we find "a Norse king using incantations to animate a trémaðr (treeman), giving him a … Continue reading A People Of Ash And Fury – On The Divinely Arboreal Genesis Of The Indo-Europeans
Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres
Something a perspicacious associate [O.R.] observed is that even though each Indo-European mythic sphere may have its Sky Father deific in prominent pride of place … it is only amidst the Hellenic and Roman perspectives that we actually find 'Dyaus Pitar' (or, if we are being properly PIE : *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) theonymics in prominent usage and … Continue reading Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres