Indo-European religion

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The term Indo-European or Indo-European religion was coined shortly after the discovery of the Indo-European language family, when a linguistically and factually quite close relationship between Latin Jupiter / Diēspiter , Greek Zeus pater and ancient Indian Dyaus Pita became apparent. However - despite numerous attempts and considerations, partly by means of incorrect comparisons (Germanic Hel = ancient Indian Kali ; Germanic Wodan = ancient Indian Vata) - no larger connection could be reconstructed.

Paul Thieme provided groundbreaking insights when he discovered that the Indo-European gods are not personifications of natural elements, but of ethical terms. Georges Dumézil made an important contribution to a comparative Indo-European religion with his view of the structural tri-functionality of the dominant gods in the Panthea of the Indo-European peoples.

The three-function theory

The structural theory of the French religious scholar Georges Dumézil is based on the thesis that the heaven of gods is an image of society, the social order. Many Indo-European cultures consisted of the three free classes of teaching, military and nutritional status. Dumézil derived the following scheme from this:

function   India Rome Germanic peoples Celts
1a. Hell-Juridisch Miter Dius Fidius Tyr Teutates Judges, legislators - stay in the background
1b. Dark magic Varuna Jupiter Odin Esus Ruler - is often seen as unjust
2. Strength Indra Mars Thor Taranis Hero - primitive weapon (club, hammer) - kills water snake
3. Fertility Nasatya Quirinus Njord & Freyr   often a couple - benefactors of the people

The system proved to be a suitable model and gave comparative religious studies a boost in development. The names (and their etymology) took a back seat in favor of sagas , myths, and structural properties that link certain deities together. So a heroic god of thunder became more tangible than before: The Germanic Thor and the Indian Indra drink and eat abundantly, are hot-tempered and fight, like the Baltic Perkunas (Slavic: Perun), a dragon-like creature.

criticism

The system has many weaknesses, however, the Greeks are excluded (too strong Semitic / Asia Minor influences) and the primitive religion of the Baltic Sea does not really fit into the scheme. Furthermore, critics, such as the Indologists and Indo-Europeanists such as Paul Thieme and Bernfried Schlerath, object to Dumézil that in particular the oldest Indo-European sources, those of the Indo-European and Iranological philologies, are entirely in the sense that they cannot be divided into three parts especially the Indian caste system is of a later nature. Together with them and others, they show Dumézil a superficial and eclectic use of the sources and accuse him of untenable linguistic interpretations. Another point of criticism is that there is currently no evidence from the archaeological material. The third function is not differentiated enough, and the deities Nasatya, Quirinius and Freyr have nothing in common and act spontaneously to arbitrarily in the combination. The feminine aspect was neglected by Dumézil, although almost all Indo-European religions have several goddesses with clear character traits. That is why the thought arose that deities and especially goddesses who represent love and fertility come from a pre-Indo-European (matriarchal) substrate, a thesis strongly advocated by the archaeologist Marija Gimbutas , which transforms the Baltic pantheon into an Indo-European (= gods) and a pre-Indo-European (= goddesses) split (" Old Europe ").

Furthermore, a three-way division is a very trivial scheme on which in principle any number of deities can be mapped. Since the number of deities in traditional Indo-European religions is far larger than the available categories, there is a duplication or division of functions. In addition, an exact, unambiguous function cannot be determined for most figures.

Fantalov's reduction

A similar system is presented by the Russian Alex Fantalov , who assumes five archetypes in the Indo-European pantheon:

The first two would be representatives of the ruling class and the earth god and the cult hero representatives of nature, agriculture and handicrafts. The cultural hero should also be more of a mediator of the two opposites, while the Great Goddess should be thought of as the wife of the main god. With the development of finer social structures, these archetypes would have split up into more and more deities. As a criticism, it should be noted that, in contrast to Dumézil's system and its improved successor models, this system does not bring about any real progress in the understanding of the Indo-European religious history.

linguistics

This paragraph cannot do without abbreviations: ie .: Indo-European ; ai .: Old Indian ; agr .: ancient Greek ; phryg .: Phrygian ; Latin: Latin ; Gall .: Gallic ; lit .: Lithuanian ; Lat .: Latvian ; an .: Old Norse ; ae .: Old English ; wgerm. West Germanic . - m .: male; f .: female; Dl .: dual, plural: plural

Linguistics offers another possibility of approaching an Indo-European religion. But this only allows something to be said about the naming and basic function of the reconstructed deities, but not about their nature.

In the worldview of all Indo-European cultures there is a universal principle of absolute equilibrium, equilibrium and order that is overriding everything:

* h 2 r-tós " perfectly fitting, correct, true ", probably derived from * h 2 er , ai. ऋत ṛta , Latin Veritas , an. Urðr , ae. wyrd - fate, absolute order, rule, universal law, truth All beings are bound to this universal superordinate principle, humans, animals, plants and gods. It is the order of both heaven and earth. Although it is one of the most important concepts of the Indo-European worldview, in contrast to the gods it often does not appear as a personified deity, but as a purely abstract principle. (cf. ṛta and urlag ). The universal principle in the Indo-European world models symbolizes at the highest level a union of two complementary , perfectly balanced principles, as they also appear in the hermaphrodite primordial beings of the Indo-European myths of the origins of the world. The Indo-Europeans consider the universe to be in an indestructible equilibrium, which is maintained by this highest principle. This is made clear, among other things, by the fact that the equilibrium and equilibrium of the universe are always linked to fate. In the Nordic mythology Urðr and Urlag are closely connected, Urlag is the lowest layer of the world fabric and lies in the Urd well . Urlag means Original Law and, as the lowest layer of the world fabric , is the connection to the time of the creation of the world, when the two complementary, perfectly balanced principles are still united. In Roman mythology, Veritas and Fatum are related in a similar way to Urðr and Urlag in Norse mythology. During the creation of the world, the two complementary principles partially split, but are still believed to be inextricably linked. This is also clear in the Indo-European language, word pairs that express opposites often have the same root: * leuk- ('bright, light') - * leug- ('dark'); * yeu- (' join ') - * yeu- ('separate'). This pattern is also found in the triad of the fate deities, one of which is birth and life , the other death and destruction .

The gods worshiped by the Indo-Europeans (1. * deiuos m. Ai. Devaḥ; phryg.tios; Latin. Deus; lit. diēvas - 2. dhēh 1 s: agr. Theos; phryg. Deos; an. dís f. ), which are regarded as immortal (* deiuos nmrtos m.Pl .; ai. devāḥ amrtaḥ; gr.theoi ambrotoi; Latin. dī immortāles). Possible deities are:

  • * bheh a gos f. "Fate (lit. 'allocation, share')" : agr. Μοῖραι , Latin Parcae ; on. nornir ; lit. Laima , ai. Tridevi  ; East Slavic  : Rodzanice , Suditse . At the highest level of the Indo-European pantheon were the deities of fate , who personified the physical principle of time and the universal principle of the balance between creation, preservation and destruction . Here the passage of time, and thus a life cycle, was synonymous with the balance of creation, maintenance (birth, life, happiness ) and destruction (death, misfortune ) . The fate deities usually formed a triad, with one deity symbolizing creation and maintenance , the second equilibrium , the third destruction . However, the three aspects were also summarized in a single deity, for example in the Lithuanian Laima .
  • * Dyēus ph 2 tēr m. "Heaven Father" : ai. Dyauḥ pitā ; agr. Zeus patēr ; phryg. Ties; lat. Iūpiter , skyth. Papaios; phryg. Papas.
  • * Pl̥th 2 uih 2 meh 2 tēr f. "Earth Mother" : ai. Prthivī mātā; gall. Litavia ; ae. Fold fíra módor .
  • * Deiuos m. "God" : on. Týr ; ae. Tíw; lit. Diēvas . Seems to have been another name for the main god.
  • * Diuih 2 f. "Divine" : ai. Devī ; agr. Dīa ; Latin Dea Dia ; germ. Ala-teivia.
  • * Diuos suHnuh 1 m.Dl. "Sons of God" : ai. Divaḥ sūnū (= Nāsatyā); lit. Diēvo sūnēliai Pl. , With the same meaning: agr. Dioskorō Dl. The two sons of God are thought of as (white) horses: ai. Aśvinā Dl. "Horses" ; agr. Leukō pōlō Dl. "White foals" ; ae. Hengist & Horsa .
  • * Meh 2 teres f.Pl. "Mothers" : ai. Mātā; agr. Materes; gall. Mātres ; lett. Māte ; ae. Módra. The mothers denote a mostly indefinite number of local goddesses.
  • * Percuh 3 nios m. "Eichenherr?" : On. Fjörgynn ; lit. Perkūnas ; thrak. Perkon. This equation is rather uncertain and could have designated a hero. In the past, ai. Parjanya was called in , but this does not fit linguistically.
  • * Peh 2 usōn m. "Shepherd" : ai. Pūṣā; agr. Pān . So a shepherd god.

Nature deities :

  • * derew (o) - ("to be steadfast, firm, unshakable, tree, wood") (cf. PIE * dóru ): agr. Dryádes , ai. vanadevata ( vana - forest , devata - deity ), fairy beings of trees and forest dryads are closely associated with oaks .

Astral deities :

  • * Seh 2 uelios m. "Sun" : ai. Sūryaḥ ; agr. Hēlios ; lat. Sōl ; lit. Saulė f. ; on. Sól f. A goddess among the Teutons and Balts. A daughter is ascribed to the sun deity:
  • * Seh 2 uelieso d h ugh 2 ter f. "Sun daughter" : ai. duhitā Sūryasya; lit. Saules dukrytė ; on. Sólar dóttir.
  • next to it the idea of ​​the sun wheel: * sh 2 uens kwekul "sun wheel" : ai. sūras chakraḥ; gr. hēliou kyklos; on. sunnu hvél; ae. sunnan hweogul.
  • * Meh 1 nōs m. "Moon" : ai. Candra-māḥ ; agr. Mēnē f. ( Selēnē ); phryg. Mās; lit. Mėnuo ; on. Máni . A goddess among the Greeks and Romans.
  • * H 2 eusōs f. "Dawn" : ai. Uṣāḥ ; agr. Ēōs ; lat. Aurōra ; lit. Aušrinė ; ae. Éostre .
  • * H 2 eus- m. "Morgenstern" : ai. Usanā ; agr. Heōios, Heōs-phoros; aisl. Aur-vandill ; ae. Éar-endel; lett. Aus-eklis . The morning star in mythology is always a god or hero. Only in astrology is the planet equated with the goddess Aphrodite / Venus through Babylonian influence.

Primordial beings, primitive men :

  • * H 2 iemos m. "Twin" : ai. Yamaḥ ; on. Ymir . The first being to die.
  • * Monus m. "Human" : ai. Manuḥ ; phryg. Manēs; wgerm. Mannus , the first man and cult hero.

Indo-European cosmogonic myths

In the Indo-European cosmogonic myths , a cosmic egg symbolized the absolute primordial state of the universe from which a primordial being developed, which was often a twin or hermaphrodite, or which symbolized the union of two complementary principles ( Ymir , Yama , in the related Chinese Mythology Pangu , in the related ancient Iranian mythology Yima ...)

Ideas of the afterlife

The belief in rebirth was a central content of the concept of the hereafter in the Indo-European religion. In addition to rebirth in a plant, animal or human body, rebirth was also considered possible in places that were not ascribed any equivalent in the physically perceptible world ( heaven and hell ).

In Norse mythology, the world tree Yggdrasil is a symbol for the cycle of life, death and rebirth:

Drops of water from the sources at the roots of the World Tree rise up in the tree, turn into dew on the leaves , fall back into the sources and then rise again. A drop of water symbolizes a life. There are nine worlds in Yggdrasil. At the springs under Yggdrasil live the Norns , the goddesses of fate in the Nordic currents of the Indo-European religion.

See also

literature

  • Georges Dumézil: Les dieux Indo-Européens . Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1952. ( Mythes et religions 29)
  • Georges Dumézil: Gods of the Ancient Northmen . Univ. of California Press, Berkeley CA 1977, ISBN 0-520-02044-8 . ( Publication of the UCLA Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology 3)
  • Thomas V. Gamkrelidze, Vjaceslav V. Ivanov: Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans. A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and Proto-Culture. Part I: The Text. Part II: Bibliography, Indexes . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1995, ISBN 3-11-081503-6 . ( Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs , 80)
  • Bruce Lincoln, C. Scott Littleton: Indo-European Religions . In: Lindsay Jones (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Religion Vol. 7, 2nd edition. Thomson Gale, Farmington MI 2005, ISBN 0-02-865740-3 , pp. 4452-4466.
  • James P. Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams: The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World . Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-928791-0 .
  • James P. Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams: Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture . Routledge, London 1997, ISBN 1-884964-98-2 .
  • Martin L. West : Indo-European Poetry and Myth . Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Benjamin W. Fortson IV: Indo-European Language and Culture. An Introduction . Blackwell Publishing 2004, ISBN 978-1-4051-0316-9 . P. 28 f.
  2. ^ Paul Thieme: Mitra and Aryaman . In: Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 41 (1957) pp. 1-96.
  3. ↑ Bernfried Schlerath: Review by G. Dumézil, "Déesses latines et mythes védiques" . In: Journal of the German Oriental Society 110 (1961) pp. 195–198. Vers .: discussion of “Hommages à Georges Dumézil” . In: Kratylos 6 (1961) pp 122-127.
  4. ↑ Stefan Zimmer : 'Sacrifice' in Proto-Indo-European. In: Journal of Indo-European Studies 37, 1,2 (2009), pp. 178–190; Here 181 Note 8: “The wide-ranging theories of the great G. Dumézil about Proto-Indo-European religion and society, more famous outside Indo-European Studies than inside, have turned out, after long discussions, to lack sufficient textual and linguistic evidence [...] Therefore, his works are not cited here. "
  5. ↑ Gimbuta's old Europe concept is to be distinguished from Hans Krahe's. Krahe thus primarily referred to the river name system, which already shows Indo-European roots.
  6. ↑ Etymology Rita , accessed on October 8, 2019 (English)
  7. ↑ Meaning of the word Veritas , accessed October 8, 2019
  8. ↑ Monier-Williams (1976). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary . Oxford: Clarendon Press. (English)
  9. ^ Ernst Cassirer: The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms: Mythical thought, Yale University Press, 1955, p. 116
  10. ↑ Wolfgang Haase: Religion (Heidentum: Römische Religion, Allgemeines), Walter de Gruyter 2016, p. 408
  11. ↑ [1] Michael York: Toward a Proto-Indo-European vocabulary of the sacred, Routledge Taylor and Fracis Group, p. 5 (238) (English, chapter 3.1 Binary homophones)
  12. ↑ Suditse - The Three Graces of Slavic Mythology - Slavic Chronicles. In: slavicchronicles.com. June 10, 2017, accessed on September 13, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Author: Lukian von Samosata , title: Lucians von Samosata all works: Zweyter Theil, Volume 2 Editor: Weidmanns Erben und Reich, year of publication: 1788, page 449 ( online )
  14. ↑ Author: John Lemprière Title: A Classical Dictionary: Containing a Copious Account of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors; with the Value of Coins, Weights and Measures, Used Among the Greeks and Romans; and a Chronological Table Publisher: Collin & Company Year of publication: 1827 Page 580 (English)
  15. ^ Friedhelm Prayon: The Etruscans. History - religion - art. CH Beck, Munich 2004 4 , ISBN 3-406-41040-5 , p. 79.
  16. ↑ Author: JP Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams Title: Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture Publisher: Taylor & Francis Year of publication: 1997 p. 212 online
  17. ↑ Etymological derivation of 'Dryade', accessed on September 19, 2019
  18. ↑ Etymological derivation of 'Dryade', accessed on September 19, 2019
  19. ^ David Adams Leeming: Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia, Book 1 . ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 144. (English)
  20. ↑ James G. Matlock: Signs of Reincarnation: Exploring Beliefs, Cases, and Theory, Rowman & Littlefield, June 15, 2019, ISBN 978-1-5381-2481-9 (English) - page 63 (A brief history of the belief in rebirth - West and East)
  21. ↑ Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson: The Road to Hell, Cup Archives, 1943 (English) - page 138 u. a.
  22. ↑ Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson: The Road to Hell, Cup Archives, 1943 (English) - page 147 ff
  23. ↑ Yggdrasil Tree of Life and the Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology , accessed September 13, 2019
  24. ↑ Yggdrasil , accessed September 13, 2019