As we'd noted towards the outset of Part One, the Scythian religion is endlessly, fascinatingly frustrating. We know so little - and yet we can seemingly 'piece together' a few elements from the scant textual (and usually virtually third hand) viewpoints of their faith that have come down to us from Antiquity. One figure in … Continue reading In Search Of Scythian Ares – Part Two : The Swords Of The Sky Father
Zoroastrianism
On Ongoing Memetic Annoyances Concerning The Canardic Conflation Of Dasas / Dasyus With The IVC And/Or ‘Dravidians’
Every. Dang. Time. Where to begin with this. Now we shall leave aside the words of Wikipedia (for the moment) and just go for the tweeter's intended sentiment. Which, going by some comments, would appear to be some sort of Indra contra Dasyu thing … as insistently misapprehended by some sorts on the internet to … Continue reading On Ongoing Memetic Annoyances Concerning The Canardic Conflation Of Dasas / Dasyus With The IVC And/Or ‘Dravidians’
In Search Of Scythian Ares – Part One : Mapping The Terrain
Now before we begin, we consider it of some importance to set out a few 'preliminary considerations' - sketch out how these things have been generally thought about previously, and why we are departing on a rather different trajectory with our own quest for this most scintillatingly shrouded of Sword-Gods. This shall also serve as … Continue reading In Search Of Scythian Ares – Part One : Mapping The Terrain
On The ‘Herakles-Artagnes-Ares’ Of The Commagene – A Cautionary Tale In Interpretatio Mistranslation
A very cool shot - although there are some … curious points to it. Depicted is the Commagene ruler Antiochus I meeting with Hercules (… more on that in a moment). For those unaware, the Commagene kingdom was a most curious combination Greek / Iranic / Armenian (and later also Romanized) polity located in what's … Continue reading On The ‘Herakles-Artagnes-Ares’ Of The Commagene – A Cautionary Tale In Interpretatio Mistranslation
On Becoming Rudra – The Indo-European Investiture Of The Divine Essence In Ritual And Beyond
It is Wednesday ! Odin's Day ! And so therefore, some absolutely excellent (A)Art-i and accompanying commentary upon the relevant Indo-European theological precept, in His Name - quite literally, as it should happen. The art is by HC - and was initially destined to evocatively illustrate a section of my ongoing RUDRAGANIKA series.Yet it … … Continue reading On Becoming Rudra – The Indo-European Investiture Of The Divine Essence In Ritual And Beyond
Against Verethragna / Indra Equivocation
We frequently encounter perceptions that the Zoroastrian figure of Verethragna is 'their' Indra. This is … not exactly the case. For a start, the Zoroastrian Indra is, conveniently enough, also called Indra. And, just as Indra (our Indra) is a Deva (God), we find that the Zoroastrian Indra is a Daeva - in their heretical … Continue reading Against Verethragna / Indra Equivocation
‘Nomads’, ‘Murmurers’, & ‘Death-Seekers At the Border’ – Three Further Perspectives On Barbarians Drawn Into The Broader Indo-European Sphere
Following on from our earlier piece looking at 'Barbarian' in Vedic understanding - here are several further examples .. along with broader Indo-European comparanda contextualizing each. Two of these were furnished by the same associate [A.P.] whom I had been discussing with in the excerpt posted earlier. I have not independently tracked them down in … Continue reading ‘Nomads’, ‘Murmurers’, & ‘Death-Seekers At the Border’ – Three Further Perspectives On Barbarians Drawn Into The Broader Indo-European Sphere
A Brief Point On “Barbarian” Labelling In Sanskrit
Earlier, I'd been discussing with associates the curious co-occurrence of Barbaros / Barbara in Sanskrit and Ancient Greek respectively. This lead to the following - presented here for a broader audience. "as applies the linguistics, I think from memory that earliest attested occurrences in Ancient Greek are some centuries prior to earliest attested occurrences in … Continue reading A Brief Point On “Barbarian” Labelling In Sanskrit
Sirius In Central Asia – Soma, Tisya, Tishtrya, Rudra
It is Wednesday - Odin's Day - and so therefore, as has become our custom, some fine devotional (a)art-i. Except this exquisite piece is not from the Northlands of Scandinavia - rather, its provenance is that most mysterious of Indo-European lands … far-flung Central Asia. Khotan, amidst the deserts and mountains fringing China's western edge in … Continue reading Sirius In Central Asia – Soma, Tisya, Tishtrya, Rudra
Vedic Dragon-Slaying In Sogdian Armour ? A Mural Of Panjikent
Something that has truly given me cause for wonder as we've been delving further into the mysteries of Indo-European Central Asia … is just how immediately recognizable certain myths, certain figures, certain truths remain even 'midst seemingly unfamiliar overlay. This fine rendering from Penjikent in modern-day Tajikistan is just such an instance. A Sogdian depiction, … Continue reading Vedic Dragon-Slaying In Sogdian Armour ? A Mural Of Panjikent
arya-akasha 