#indo Hellenic

[a-wick-with-no-candle]

I’ve just been thinking a lot about cycles recently. As a devotee of Hekate and as a member of the Covenant of Hekate, I try my best every day to follow the 5 Virtues.

But today it just struck me how similar the 5 Virtues are to the 5 Mindfulness Trainings of Tibetan Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

I was first introduced to Thay when I was 16 and in the deepest depression of my life. His teachings on Zen Buddhism helped me so much, and I feel, led me to Hekate in my spiritual journey now in my 30’s.

The stropholos and the Wheel of Dharma just resonate to me in a complimentary way. And the Ancient Greeks did have a similar stance on reincarnation to Buddhism at least through a few mystery cults. I know that they are not perfectly parallel or syncretic, but I think the boddhisatva Avalokiteshvara and goddess Hekate are a good balance to each other.

We do know that there was cross-cultural blending through the representation of Greco-Buddhist art primarily in Gandhara (parts of modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan).

I was wondering if there are any others here who also follow an eclectic spiritual path?

[yvanspijk]

Just because two words look alike and have a similar meaning doesn't mean they're etymologically related. There has to be a common ancestor. For example, much looks like Spanish mucho, yet they stem from *mekilaz and multum respectively. Here are twelve pairs of false cognates.

[faith-of-the-wheel]

Ares/Thracian "Dionysos", A cognate of Rudlos?

This is one I will add for a more personal reason, but I think he has some connections. I'll explain but bare with me and acknowledge I consider more a UPG association than anything else. Perhaps someone here will find my shot in the dark interesting.

One of the twelve Olympians, son of Zeus, god of war, battlelust, courage and civil order. He is also associated Masculinity in general and modern Hellenists/Hellenic Polytheists often share the Personal Gnosis that he is a patron of mental health and one's struggle with it.

Now first, let me lay out a few facets of Ares I consider notable to this list. Although he is sometimes depicted as a mature, bearded man, especially after his syncretization with Mars, he is also often depicted as a spear-wielding(a common symbol to the cognates of Rudlos), nude, beardless youth, an ephebe. This brings to mind the connections between the ephebes and nude fighting, and the Koryos.

He was and is often shown diametrically opposed to Athena, Goddess of strategy, craftsmanship, and wisdom. Many misconstrue this as characterizing the "strategic and humane" warfare of Athena to the "savage and cruel" warfare of Ares. This could not be more wrong, as we have many stories of Athena encouraging, well, warcrimes, and Ares respecting another's honor.

The more accurate dichotomy is a much older, pan Indo-European one. One of defensive vs aggressive warfare. I have written earlier about the idea that Rudlos was the god of aggressive war, the marauding Koryos, counter-posed to the defensive Perkwunos, who protects the people and village from such raiders, and humanity at large from the demons of chaos, like Wṛ́tros. It is also widely accepted that Athena was formed from lesser, individual cults of palace goddesses, patrons of the individual homes of rulers, and later the cities they ruled, who later melded together into the panhellenic Athena, who likely takes her name from Athens and not the other way around as myth relates to us.

The crux of my theory is that rather than be actually being descended from the original PIE gods associated with these two forms of war, Ares and Athena sort of stepped into the molds they left behind, Ares particularly so.

The etymology of the name Ares is traditionally connected with the Greek word ἀρή (ar��), the Ionic form of the Doric ἀρά (ara), "bane, ruin, curse, imprecation". Walter Burkert notes that "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war." Beekes has suggested a non-IE, Pre-Greek origin of the name. The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean 𐀀𐀩, a-re.

The epithet, Areios ("warlike") was frequently appended to the names of other gods when they took on a warrior aspect or became involved in warfare: Zeus Areios, Athena Areia, even Aphrodite Areia ("Aphrodite within Ares" or "feminine Ares"), who was warlike, fully armored and armed, partnered with Athena in Sparta, and represented at Kythira's temple to Aphrodite Urania. In the Iliad, the word ares is used as a common noun synonymous with "battle."

He was also known by the name/epithet Enyalius. In Mycenaean times Ares and Enyalius were considered separate deities. Enyalius is often seen as the God of soldiers and warriors from Ares' cult. It has been suggested that the name of Enyalius ultimately represents an Anatolian loanword, although an alternative hypotheses treat it as an inherited Indo-European compound. The meaning is still unknown however.

Now, while it is indeed possible that Ares was a Pre-Greek(or perhaps even foreign) deity adopted by the Greeks, his character lines up closely with the IE idea of deified abstractions. The PIE's believed that if any idea exists, their must be a god who rules over it. In the absence of assigning it to a previously worshiped deity, they would deify the abstraction itself, this is the origin of the PIE god Xaryomen, Roman Fortuna, the various female night personifications throughout the IE world(Nyx, Nott, etc), among many others.

However there are two issues. First, his name is not IE in origin. It's seemingly a common noun, one widely adopted by IE people but still strange nonetheless. The second is his breadth of myth and variety of cultic practice, which is extremely strange for a supposed abstraction. For example, in parts of Anatolia, he had an oracular cult.

Consider his mythic origin for a moment. His birthplace was said to be Thrace, and he was believed by the Greeks to be the progenitor of their people. There is no well known obvious cognate of Ares is Thrace, so it is likely an association made by the Greeks because of the Thracian's martial skill and perceived warlike nature. However the cult of a Thracian god referred to as "Dionysus" was very widespread. Most believe him to be a separate deity. His connections to prophecy, poetry, war, and his identification with Apollon could indicate some connection to Rudlos, but his association with a solar cult feels potentially contradictory, at the very least could go either way because Apollonian influence and Rudlos-Dyeus identification in neighboring Anatolia.

Okay, enough rambling, let's get to personal, 100% UPG crackpot theory. When the IE Greeks encountered the Pre-Greek, Anatolian, and Minoan cultures, we know they adapted much of their culture and religion. Consequently, many IE deities were lost or altered beyond recognition. Rudlos's cult started to disappear before the Mycenaean age, and was then re-adopted/altered via Anatolian Apollon. During Rudlos's initial disintegration, most of his war-related aspects may have jumped ship and been given over to a newly formed/adopted deity, Ares/Enyalius. His aspect/son Leudhero may have influenced Dionysus in a similar manner.

To be clear, we will not considered Ares a cognate of Rudlos moving forward but I thought I would give you something I've been pondering while I continue to work on the next parts for the Rtkona series.

[inthedivine]

Proto-Indo-European Paganism?

I haven't really heard anyone else speak about this but are there any other pagans out there interested in the Proto-Indo-European pantheon? I'm fascinated with those gods and was curious if anyone else was also, or if anyone else has even heard of them.

[loki-was-framed]

Interesting. I would say that animism is the natural religious impulse, and that what we call paganism is much closer to that than modern monotheism. It seems to me that the Abrahamic religions, while descended from polytheism, seek to deny or destroy that natural religious impulse, for reasons that have more to do with the rise of hierarchical state structures than any philosophical or "theological" superiority.

“Paganism is the natural religious impulse manifesting naturally in human beings.”

- Thomas Rowsell

[gemsofgreece]

Mycenaean Greek

(and examples of lexical evolution to Modern Greek)

Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions of Linear B, a script first attested on Crete before the 14th century BC. The tablets long remained undeciphered and many languages were suggested for them until Michael Ventris, building on the extensive work of Alice Kober, deciphered the script in 1952. This turn of events has made Greek officially the oldest recorded living language in the world.

What does this mean though? Does it mean that a Modern Greek could speak to a resurrected Mycenaean Greek and have an effortless chat? Well obviously not. But we are talking about the linear evolution of one single language (with its dialects) throughout time that was associated with one ethnic group, without any parallel development of other related languages falling in the same lingual branch whatsoever.

Are we sure it was Greek though? At this point, yes, we are. Linguists have found in Mycenaean Greek a lot of the expected drops and innovations that individualised the Hellenic branch from the mother Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). In other words, it falls right between PIE and Archaic Greek and resembles what Proto-Greek is speculated to have been like. According to Wikipedia, Mycenaean Greek had already undergone all the sound changes particular to the Greek language.

Why was it so hard to decipher Linear B and understand it was just very early Greek? Can an average Greek speaker now read Linear B? No. An average Greek speaker cannot read Linear B unless they take into account and train themselves on certain rules and peculiarities that even took specialized linguists ages to realise and get used to. Here's the catch: Linear B was a script inspired by the Minoan Linear A, both of which were found in the Minoan speaking Crete. (Minoan Linear A inscriptions have yet to be deciphered and we know nothing about them.) The Mycenaeans (or was it initially the Minoans???) made only minimal modifications to produce the Linear B script and used it exclusively for practical purposes, namely for accounting lists and inventories. Linear B however was an ideographic and syllabic script that stemmed from a script that originally was not designed to render the Mycenaean Greek language, and thus it could not do it perfectly. In other words, the script itself does not render the Greek words accurately which is what made it extremely hard even for the linguists to decipher these inscriptions. Due to its limited use for utility and not for prose, poetry or any other form of expression, the Mycenaean Greeks likely did not feel compelled to modify the script heavily into some more appropriate, accurate form to cover the language's needs.

Examples of the script's limitations:

I won't mention them all but just to give you an idea that will help you then read the words more easily:

In the syllabic script Linear B, all syllable symbols starting with a consonant obligatorily have a vowel following - they are all open sylllables without exception. Linear B can NOT render two consonants in a row which is a huge handicap because Greek absolutely has consonants occuring in a row. So, in many cases below, you will see that the vowel in the script is actually fake, it did not exist in the actual language, and I might use a strikethrough to help you out with this.

For the same reason, when there are consonants together, at least one of them is often casually skipped in Linear B!

There were no separate symbols for ρ (r) and λ (l). As a result, all r and l sounds are rendered with the r symbol.

Exactly because many Greek words end in σ, ς (sigma), ν (ni), ρ (rho) but in Linear B consonants must absolutely be followed by a vowel, a lot of time the last letter of the words is skipped in the script!

Voiced, voiceless and aspirate consonants all use the same symbols, for example we will see that ka, ha, gha, ga all are written as "ka". Pa, va, fa (pha), all are written as "pa". Te, the are written as "te".

There are numerous other limitations but also elements featured that were later dropped from the Greek language, i.e the semivowels, j, w, the digamma, the labialized velar consonants [ɡʷ, kʷ, kʷʰ], written ⟨q⟩, which are sometimes successfully represented with Linear B. However, that's too advanced for this post. I only gave some very basic, easy guidelines to help you imagine in your mind what the word probably sounded like and how it relates to later stages of Greek, and modern as is the case here. That's why I am also using simpler examples and more preserved vocabulary and no words which include a lot of these early elements which were later dropped or whose decoding is still unclear.

Mycenaean Linear B to Modern Greek vocabulary examples:

a-ke-ro = άγγελος (ágelos, angel. Notice how the ke symbol is representing ge, ro representing lo and the missing ending letter. So keep this in mind and make the needed modifications in your mind with the following examples. Also, angel actually means "messenger", "announcer". In the Christian context, it means "messenger from God", like angels are believed to be. So, that's why it exists in Mycenaean Greek and not because Greeks invented Christianity 15 centuries before Jesus was born XD )

a-ki-ri-ja = άγρια (ághria, wild, plural neuter. Note the strikethrough for the nonexistent vowel)

a-ko-ro = αγρός (aghrós, field)

a-ko-so-ne = άξονες (áksones, axes)

a-na-mo-to = ανάρμοστοι (anármostoi, inappropriate, plural masculine. Note the skipped consonants in the script)

a-ne-mo = ανέμων (anémon, of the winds)

a-ne-ta = άνετα (áneta, comfortable, plural neuter, an 100% here, well done Linear B!)

a-po-te-ra = αμφότερες (amphóteres, or amphóterae in more Archaic Greek, both, plural feminine)

a-pu = από (apó, from)

a-re-ka-sa-da-ra = Αλεξάνδρα (Alexandra)

de-de-me-no = (δε)δεμένο (ðeðeméno, tied, neuter, the double de- is considered too old school, archaic now)

do-ra = δώρα (ðóra, gifts)

do-ro-me-u = δρομεύς (ðroméfs, dromeús in more Archaic Greek, runner)

do-se = δώσει (ðósei, to give, third person singular, subjunctive)

e-ko-me-no = ερχόμενος (erkhómenos, coming, masculine)

e-mi-to = έμμισθο (émmistho, salaried, neuter)

e-ne-ka = ένεκα (éneka, an 100%, thanks to, thanks for)

e-re-mo = έρημος (érimos, could be pronounced éremos in more Archaic Greek, desert)

e-re-u-te-ro-se = ελευθέρωσε (elefthérose, liberated/freed, simple past, third person)

e-ru-to-ro = ερυθρός (erythrós, red, masculine)

e-u-ko-me-no = ευχόμενος (efkhómenos or eukhómenos in more Archaic Greek, wishing, masculine)

qe = και (ke, and)

qi-si-pe-e = ξίφη (xíphi, swords)

i-je-re-ja = ιέρεια (iéreia, priestess)

ka-ko-de-ta = χαλκόδετα (και όχι κακόδετα!) (khalkóðeta, bound with bronze, plural neuter)

ke-ka-u-me-no = κεκαυμένος (kekafménos, kekauménos in more Archaic Greek, burnt, masculine)

ke-ra-me-u = κεραμεύς (keraméfs, kerameús in more Archaic Greek, potter)

ki-to = χιτών (khitón, chiton)

ko-ri-to = Κόρινθος (kórinthos, Corinth)

ku-mi-no = κύμινο (kýmino, cumin)

ku-pa-ri-se-ja = κυπαρίσσια (kyparíssia, cypress trees)

ku-ru-so = χρυσός (khrysós, gold)

ma-te-re = μητέρα (mitéra, mother)

me-ri = μέλι (méli, honey)

me-ta = μετά (metá, after / post)

o-ri-ko = ολίγος (olíghos, little amount, masculine)

pa-ma-ko = φάρμακο (phármako, medicine)

pa-te = πάντες (pántes, everybody / all)

pe-di-ra = πέδιλα (péðila, sandals)

pe-ko-to = πλεκτό (plektó, woven, neuter)

pe-ru-si-ni-wo = περυσινό / περσινό (perysinó or persinó, last year's, neuter)

po-me-ne = ποιμένες (poiménes, shepherds)

po-ro-te-u = Πρωτεύς (Proteus)

po-ru-po-de = πολύποδες (polýpoðes, multi-legged, plural)

ra-pte = ράπτες (ráptes, tailors)

ri-me-ne = λιμένες (liménes, ports)

ta-ta-mo = σταθμός (stathmós, station)

te-o-do-ra = Θεοδώρα (Theodora)

to-ra-ke = θώρακες (thórakes, breastplates)

u-po = υπό (ypó, under)

wi-de = είδε (íðe, saw, simple past, third person singular)

By the way it's killing me that I expected the first words to be decoded in an early civilisation would be stuff like sun, moon, animal, water but we got shit like inappropriate, salaried and station XD

Sources:

gistor.gr

Greek language | Wikipedia

Mycenaean Greek | Wikipedia

Linear B | Wikipedia

John Angelopoulos

Image source

[mapsontheweb]

Indoeuropean languages in Europe

Historical Roots: The Indo-European language family is believed to have originated in the Eurasian Steppe around 4000-2500 BCE. From there, groups of speakers migrated to various parts of Europe, contributing to the linguistic diversity of the continent.

by hunmapper

Language Diversification: Indo-European languages in Europe have evolved into numerous branches and sub-branches. Some of the major branches include:

Romance Languages: Descendants of Latin, including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian.

Germanic Languages: Including English, German, Dutch, Swedish, and others. Slavic Languages: Such as Russian, Polish, Czech, and Bulgarian. Celtic Languages: Including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. Hellenic Languages: Mainly Greek. Baltic Languages: Such as Lithuanian and Latvian. Indo-Iranian Languages: Including Hindi, Bengali, and Persian. Cultural Significance: Indo-European languages have played a pivotal role in shaping European culture, history, and literature. Greek and Latin, for instance, have had a profound influence on science, philosophy, and the development of the Roman Empire.

Language Revival: Some Indo-European languages in Europe, such as Irish and Welsh, have experienced language revival efforts in recent decades. These efforts aim to preserve and revitalize languages that were declining in usage.

Language Contact: Due to centuries of contact and migration, many Indo-European languages have borrowed words and phrases from each other. This phenomenon, known as linguistic borrowing, has enriched the vocabulary and expressions of these languages.

[theanic-devotion]

Reminder

You can worship A Great Goddess/Mother Earth sort of entity without it being based off an ancient or prehistorical religion. There doesn't need to be a paleolithic indo-european goddess worshipping culture for you to believe in a goddess figure.

There is no need to make up history or speculate about the so-called "Venus Figurines" in order to validate your religion/spirituality.

I have recently realized I believe in a Mother Goddess (Though I believe she is all genders and none, She just feels mothery to me) and have been working toward venerating her. It isn't Hellenic/Greek or Kemetic/Egyptian or Norse or Celtic or anything earlier.

Love,

A pagan and a history enthusiast

[hubristicwizard]

c'mon guys i just got this new OCULAR SYMBIOTE that allows me to absorb full pages of information at NEAR-INSTANT SPEEDS. i need an excuse to use it

Ask ME any Wizard Question in my Arcane Inbox and I will uncover for you an Answer from my Vast Stores of Literature

[sag-dab-sar]

Day 4 of Hellenic Polytheism

Are there any deities you don’t currently worship but want to learn about? by @wisdom-devotee

I have realized I know basically nothing about Poseidon. I don't have any inclination to worship him but I was shocked with how little I knew. I had no clue how connected to horses he was or how "old" he possibly is, nor his connections to Desponia or Peloponenese. [Disclaimer: I have not read all the sources]

Met Museum:

Poseidon, Herakles, and Hermes fishing. The immortals of Mount Olympos were not exclusively engaged in momentous feats. Here three of them are shown fishing, each perched on a rock. Poseidon holds his catch in one hand, his trident in the other; Herakles tries his luck with a rod; and Hermes gesticulates at the right." Terracotta lekythos (oil flask) ca. 515 BCE Greek, Attic. Met Museum — Link

Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Poseidon by Ioannis Mylonopoulos — Link

Theoi Project Poseidon — Link

Boeotian Black Figure. Bowl, Three-Handled. ca 5th Century BCE. The Gorgon Medusa lies dead, beheaded by the hero Perseus. On the left, the god Poseidon strides forward with a trident in one hand and a dolphin at his feet. One of the Gorgons rushes towards him with arms outstretched. She is crowned with a pair of serpents and wears two snakes tied as a girdle about the waist. Behind her, Medusa lies dead with blood squirting from the severed stump of her neck. The winged, horse Pegasus flies just above her, born in the gout of blood. — Link

The Indo-European Attribute of Poseidon as the Water God by Nobuo Komita — Link (Link to Google Scholar and PDF is a download)

Abstract: Generally Poseidon is regarded as the Greek sea god; however, besides his maritime attribute, he seems to have closely associated with fresh water. As the myth of Amymone indicates, Poseidon produced springs which formed the Lerna River; in addition, Amymone is concerned with water as the river and springs of her name imply. And as the myth of the Alban Lake suggests, Neptunus, the Roman equivalent of Poseidon, is also closely associated with fresh water. The etymology of Neptunus is interpreted as 'Nephew of Water'. The etymology of Poseidon also indicates that Poseidon seems to be concerned with warer; the *da-component of Poseidon is explained as proto-1-E 'fowing water'. In eastern and central Europe, major river names such as the Don, the Dnieper, the Doniester, and the Donau have the * da- component. These features imply that the etymology of Poseidon can be interpreted as 'Husband of Waters' indicating Poseidon as a fertility god, and similarly his seismic attribute is related with water (earth water'). The Indo-European sky god Zeus is also associated with water sending the rain to fertilize the earth, which indicates that Zeus and Poseidon share the same role as a fertility spirit. Originally Poseidon was the Indo-European water god associated with fertility, and Poseidon seems to have acquired his maritime aspect in Greece. However, his etymology and various features concerning water designate that Poseidon firmly retained his original Indo-European attribute. (sorry if this is wonky copy/paste was weird)

Pu-ro, pa-ki-ja-na/-ne, and the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Pylos By Barbara Montecchi — Link

From Article: the hypothesis is put forward that the temple of Poseidon (po-si-da-i-jo), which is linked to both pu-ro and pa-ki-ja-ne (PY Tn 316), should be identified with the central megaron of the Palace, the religious role of which is well known. Poseidon indeed appears as the most prominent god of the Pylos kingdom

Continuity From the Mycenaean Period in a Historical Boeotiam Cult of Poseidon (And Erinys) by Thomas Palaima — Link

From Article: ...in the full range of Mycenaean culture and its place within the Hellenic tradition, past and present. He has also been interested in detailing the archaeological evidence for what leading researchers call 'the horse of Poseidon', i.e., the terrible earthquake damage that might have contributed to the demise of Mycenaean palatial culture. I offer this exploration into continuity of an unusual cult of Poseidon in Boeotia from the Bronze Age into the classical period

Mythical and ritual landscapes of Poseidon Hippios in Arcadia by Julie Baleriaux — Link

Abstract: Poseidon has recently benefited from renewed scholarly attention, contributing to re-evaluate his role in ancient Greek imaginary. By opening the research previously limited to literary evidence to the archaeological and topographical evidence, new perspectives on “Poseidonian landscapes” have emerged. Arcadia, a land-locked region where Poseidon Hippios is celebrated with fervour, is here taken as a case study to try and go further in identifying the god’s realm of action. Areas with floods seem to be his preferred worship places, while in other areas he plays a crucial part in myths but is hardly worshipped alone. There also seems to be a connection between his patronage over freshwater and horses. Overall, natural observation seems to have been instrumental in choosing the location of his worship places.

From Polis to Borders: Demarcation of Social and Ritual Space in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Greece by Pakkanen Petra — Link

Abstract: This article focuses on three interrelated themes in the study of ancient Greek religion, looked at through the material evidence from the sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia on the island of Poros, Greece. First, I look at the so-called polis model and its applicability to an interpretation of Kalaureian material related to the cultic life of the sanctuary from the point of view of the 'historiography' of Greek religion. I then discuss the historical context of the archaeological material, with particular emphasis on the topic of the sanctuary as a known place of asylum particularly during the Hellenistic period. Thirdly, I examine the archaeological material related to eating and dining and its potential connection to the demarcation between sacred and profane activities and between sacralised and profane space in the sanctuary, with special interpretative attention to the significance of border(s) and boundaries. Drawing attention to these issues may help us understand the dynamics and interplay between 'official' and 'private' aspects of ancient Greek religion, within both the tradition of the scholarship of ancient Greek religion and the so-called 'archaeology of cult'.

Further Insights on the Cult of Poseidon Helikonios in Helike (IV)* by Dora Katsonopoulou — Link , PDF

From Article:

The cult statue in Poseidon's temple probably showed the god seated, holding trident in one hand and dolphin (fish) in the other. This type of Poseidon enthroned is represented on coinage of a number of cities associated with his worship (Fig. 3a-c); more interestingly, a similar depiction of the god, even identified as Helikonios, is preserved on early 3rd century BC coins from Sinope, where he was strongly worshipped. On the reverse of these coins, Poseidon is shown seated on throne to left, holding dolphin in his right hand and leaning with his left hand on trident; on the countermark of the coin illustrated, a diademed radiant head of a god (Zeus or Poseidon) to the left is depicted (Fig. 3d).

Reflections on the gems depicting the contest of Athena and Poseidon by Hadrien Rambach — Link

From Article:

This article examines the depiction on engraved gems - with essential detours to marble sculpture and numismatics - of the "dispute of Athena and Poseidon", or rather the presentation of the gifts, with the gods facing each other. The most famous is a cameo in Naples (plate 1), [...] engraved gems, this large cameo measures over 50mm in height. Believed to date from the late 1st century BCE. [...] Part of the attraction - and mystery - of the cameo is the unexplained series of engravings in the exergue: two palm trees, two shells, two wheels (?), the IY monogram, and another, unidentified object (plate 2)

The Sanctuary of Poseidon at Onchestos from Onchestos Excavation Project — Link

From website: Sanctuary of Poseidon at Onchestos has left its mark in the literary works of the ancient Greek civilization as a longstanding religious and political hub in Boeotia. From the 1960s on, sporadic archaeological investigations at the site provided tantalizing glimpses at the extent of the sanctuary and its influence over the region.

Site A of Sanctuary

Louvre Museum:

Fragment. Poseidon (remains, standing, headband, chiton, himation, holding, trident); framing net. Late Corinthian 6th Century BCE ca. 550-525 BCE . — Link

Paywalled: Poseidon's Festival at the Winter Solstice by Noel Robertson — Link

[tissitpoispaita]

Which language family does your native language belong to?

I like the idea of this poll by @akozuheiwa, but Indo-European skews the results way too much with its massive online prevalence and number of speakers. So, I'm wondering if the poll could be improved by breaking IE into its extant branches. Probably not much, since English speakers will just make this a Germanic sweep, but it could be a step in the right direction.

Out of all the non-IE families, I added Uralic as a separate option because it was by far the most often listed family in the previous poll's tags*, and "other, list in tags" so far has more answers than all the biggest non-IE families combined. Plus, the majority of its speakers are Europeans and thus more likely to be on English-speaking Tumblr.

*(Many people also listed Finno-Ugric, which is a Uralic group)

IE branches containing a single extant language (Albanian, Armenian, and Hellenic/Greek) were combined to make room for two more poll options out of the four biggest families besides IE: Afro-Asiatic & Niger-Congo and Austronesian & Sino-Tibetan. Please tell me if these groupings don't make sense.

People with more than one native language, please choose "other" if multiple categories apply.

As always, please reblog for a bigger sample size.

[thinkinthoughtsalot]

Interestingly, Elain and Elaine are actually two separate names with different etymologies. They are not cognates and they don't have the same meaning.

Elain is a Welsh name that means "fawn." It comes from a Proto-Indo-European root word that has evolved into the words for deer, doe, hind, and fawn in many languages.

Etymology

From Middle Welsh elain / elein, from Proto-Brythonic elẹn, from Proto-Celtic *elanī, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el-en-i-/h₁él-h₁n-ih₂, from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁el- (“yellow-brown”). For cognates see *h₁el-.

Elaine/Helene

Etymology

Most likely from Proto-Hellenic *Ηwelénā, from a pre-Hellenic or late Proto-Indo-European *Swelénā (a solar deity), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to shine, warm, smoulder, burn”). In that case, related to εἵλη (heílē, “sunshine, sun's heat”) and unrelated to ἑλένη (helénē), σέλας (sélas) or σελήνη (selḗnē).[1]

[yvanspijk]

The words galaxy and latte are etymologically related. Galaxy stems from Ancient Greek Galaxíās (Milky Way), from gála (milk), which has the same ancestor as Italian latte (milk). The Milky Way was named after its milky glowing band in the night sky. Click the image for a further explanation.

[faith-of-the-wheel]

Part 3: Leudheros, Aspect or Son?

From Proto-Indo-European *h₁leudʰero ('belonging to the people', hence 'free'). God of viticulture, alcohol, fertility, and freedom. He also typically has a female counterpart, Leudhera, who is essentially, perhaps even literally, his twin in all aspects. The Senowera Document lists him as both an epithet of Rudlos and an entirely separate god with a separate lineage.

His cognates include the Roman deities Liber & Libera, The Norse Lóðurr, and the Greek words ’Ελεύθερος & Έλευθέρα, referring to the concept of freedom and island respectively. She may also cognate with Greek Dionysus, who resembles Liber and was later syncretised with him into his Roman characterization as Bacchus, and Gallo-Roman Sucellus. I'm unable to find any Indo-Iranian cognate, so he/they may not have existed in earlier PIE stages.

The main argument here is whether or not Leudheros and his domains are aspects of Rudlos, or separate deity. Keep in mind that in IE thought, the existence of a concept implies a deity of said concept, creating many gods that are deified abstractions. Xaryomen is an example of such deities formed from abstractions, albeit Xaryomen is likely much older, as he much better attested.

Let's take a look at these cognates.

Lóðurr:

Not much is known about Lóðurr. His name occurs only once, attested to in the Poetic Edda. He is mention alongside Hoenir and Odin in the creation of mankind. It's says the while Odin gave the first man and woman breath, and Hoenir gave sense/spirit, it was Lóðurr who gave flesh and blood.

"Lóðurr's friend" is used as a kenning for Odin.

It is possible that his name appears on one of the Nordendorf fibulae as Logaþore, along side Wodan and Wigiþonar(Thor). I personally find it interesting that he is the first of the three but that may not indicate much.

Many scholars considered Lóðurr to another name for Loki.

Liber Pater:

He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of their Aventine Triad. His festival of Liberalia (March 17) became associated with free speech and the rights attached to coming of age. Before his official adoption as a Roman deity, Liber was companion to two different goddesses in two separate, archaic fertility cults; Ceres, an agricultural and fertility goddess of Rome's Hellenized neighbors, and Libera, his female equivalent(and sister in several sources).

Leudheros is primarily reconstructed from Liber. Latin Liber means "free", or "free one"; when coupled with "Pater", it means "The Free Father", who personifies freedom and champions its attendant rights, as opposed to dependent servitude. His patronage of Rome's underclass associated with plebian civil disobediance against the patricians, and his worship seems to have been associated with republicanism/the famous roman anti-monarchism of the republican era.

Liber also personified male fertility, which was "ejaculated as the "soft seed" of human and animal semen". His temples held the image of a phallus. The rites ensured the growth of seeds and repelled any malicious enchantment (fascinatus) from fields.

I could into detail about his syncretism with Dionysus but i'm just gonna copy-paste the wikipedia section on it because I feel it is more than sufficient.

"Liber's associations with wine, inebriation, uninhibited freedom and the subversion of the powerful made him a close equivalent to the Greek god Dionysus, who was Romanised as Bacchus. In Graeco-Roman culture, Dionysus was euhemerised as a historical figure, a heroic saviour, world-traveller and founder of cities; and conqueror of India, whence he had returned in the first ever triumph, drawn in a golden chariot by tigers, accompanied by a retinue of drunken satyrs and maenads. In some cults, and probably in the popular imagination, Liber was gradually assimilated to Bacchus and came to share his Romanised "Dionysian" iconography and myths. Pliny calls him "the first to establish the practice of buying and selling; he also invented the diadem, the emblem of royalty, and the triumphal procession."[10] Roman mosaics and sarcophagi attest to various representations of this exotic triumphal procession. In Roman and Greek literary sources from the late Republic and Imperial era, several notable triumphs feature similar, distinctively "Bacchic" processional elements, recalling the supposedly historic "Triumph of Liber".[11]"

Other Alcohol Gods

Dionysus presents a strong cause due to his fundamental connections to viticulture, wine, rebellion, individualism, and even frenzied violence. There is some solid linguistic evidence connecting them given that one of his most popular epithets is Dionysus Eleutherius, "The Liberator", derived from Ελεύθερος, shown above to be cognate with Liber. Eleutherius is also the aspect Dionysus specifically associated with rebellion against authority and freedom of personal expression, lining up closely with Liber's character as patron of the plebians.

Rugatis is a Lithuanian god of beer. He has a tentative etymological link to Rugiaevit, and thus Rudlos. We know he had very strong fertility ties, evidenced by etymology potentially relating his name to the "heat" of animals, and some rituals related to marriage, but not much else is known of him. We do known he had a wife whose name was the feminine form of his.

Earlier I said their were no Indo-Iranian cognates. But there just might be one. This is a BIG stretch though. The Vedic god Varuna, who we will talk about a lot more in the next part of the series, has a daughter named Varuni(Note: his wife, and the personification of his shakti are both also called Varuni, and the three are sometimes said to be one goddess) is a goddess of wine. I want to make note of this because we have shown a pattern of Leudheros' cognates having sister-wives who bear a feminine form of their name, and act as a female equivalent with all the same domains and characteristics.

Obviously, Varuna himself is not particularly associated with Alcohol in any surviving work, but in the next part of the series, I intend to show a potential link between him and Rudlos through yet another reconstructed PIE deity, Worunos. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I feel this could either way. I think that what we have proven most concretely is the preponderance of alcohol deities in IE cultures(we haven't covered them because those had little to nothing indicating them as potential cognates. Vedic Soma, for example), and perhaps some common-ish formats for their characterization.

That said I personally believe that Leudheros should probably be reconstructed separately, most likely as Rudlos' son, alongside his sister-wife, Leudhera. Perhaps one could even use that as an epithet of his, Rudlosunu. I believe they are related for the following reasons:

Rudlos has very clear connections to alcohol, they madness that it brings, and it's origin. But none of his descendants are considered gods of alcohol, the closest is Odin, who is known to prefer foreign wines over mead.

Rudlos' cognates often work closely with sources of alcohol or gods of alcohol, cognate with Leudheros or not.

Dionysus is an excellent example of the overlap between the domains of frenzied violence and war, and that of alcohol and civil disobedience.

Rudlos is connected to alcohol because it enables(especially if laced with something fun) the induction of madness and frenzy in a person. He is associated with it, but not patron of it. But it would make sense for the patron of alcohol to be associated closely with Rudlos.

I'm going to create a separate post for information on the worship of Leudheros and Leudhera at a later date, at which point I'll just link this post to it for simplicity so stayed tuned for that.

[gwendolynlerman]

Most commonly spoken language in each country

I had to separate the legend from the map because it would not have been legible otherwise. I am aware that the color distinctions are not always very clear, but there are only so many colors in the palette.

The legend is arranged in alphabetical order and languages are grouped by family (bullet points), with branches represented by numbers and followed by the color palette languages within them are colored in, as follows:

Afroasiatic

Chadic (Hausa) — ocher

Cushitic (Oromo and Somali) — light yellow-green

Semitic (from Arabic to Tigrinya) — yellow

Albanian — olive green

Armenian — mauve

Atlantic-Congo

Benue-Congo (from Chewa to Zulu) — blue-green

Senegambian (Fula and Wolof) — faded blue-green

Volta-Congo (Ewe and Mooré) — bright blue-green

Austroasiatic (Khmer and Vietnamese) — dark blue-purple

Austronesian

Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (from Fijian to Wallisian) — dark brown

Malayo-Polynesian (Palauan) — bright brown

Western Malayo-Polynesian (from Malagasy to Tagalog) — light brown

Eastern Sudanic (Dinka) — foral white

Hellenic (Greek) — black

Indo-European

Germanic (from Danish to Swedish) — light blue (creoles in medium/dark blue)

English-based creoles (from Antiguan and Barbudan to Vincentian Creole)

Indo-Aryan (from Bengali to Sinhala) — purple

Iranian (Persian) — gray

Romance (from Catalan to Spanish) — red (creoles in dark red)

French-based creoles (from Haitian Creole to Seychellois Creole)

Portuguese-based creoles (from Cape Verdean Creole to Papiamento)

Slavic — light green (from Bulgarian to Ukrainian)

Inuit (Greenlandic) — white

Japonic (Japanese) — blanched almond

Kartvelian (Georgian) — faded blue

Koreanic (Korean) — yellow-orange

Kra-Dai (Lao and Thai) — dark orange

Mande (from Bambara to Mandinka) — magenta/violet

Mongolic (Mongolian) — red-brown

Sino-Tibetan (Burmese, Chinese*, and Dzongkha) — pink

Turkic (from Azerbaijani to Uzbek) — dark green

Uralic

Balto-Finnic (Estonian and Finnish) — light orange

Ugric (Hungarian) — salmon

* Chinese refers to Cantonese and Mandarin. Hindi and Urdu are grouped under Hindustani, and Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian are grouped under Serbo-Croatian.

[akcugrai]

I stumbled across foresight while trawling through ao3 and I kinda just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed it! It was a wild ride and once I was strapped in I didn’t stop until I had reached the end. It was exhilarating, and had just the right balance of tension to keep me interested without making me feel overwhelmed. I normally gravitate towards plotless fluff because plot-heavy fics stress me out, so I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed reading your fic. So it was a really nice change of pace from what I normally read as well! Anyway I hope you’re having a great day! ^_^ (also sorry I don’t actually have a question ^^; but just so that I feel like I’ve asked something because I’m pedantic like that: what’s a random fun fact about anything that interests you?)

thanks :) i'm glad that you enjoyed it

anyway, fun fact: english is actually an incest language. there was an original Proto-Indo European (PIE) language that split into Germanic and Italic branches (~5500 years back). English is directly descended from the Germanic root, and the Italic split into Latin to French/Spanish/etc. When the Anglo-French wars happened in 1200s the French victors dumped a bunch of their language into the Old English that was developing in the British Isle in the time, which gave us a shitton of French and Latin* words

So that's why the English language's family tree looks like a circle and why words like 'father' and 'patriarch' have the same 6000 year old PIE root word but only have existed in the same language for a few hundred years

*but also a very similar thing happened with PIE splitting into Hellenic and Italic but the Romans were obsessed with the Greeks so that also they stole a bunch of words they liked, so we got a bunch of Greek stuff with the Roman via the French