The '''Proto-Indo-European religion''' page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_religion on Wikipedia is still being vandalized by religious bigots, which has continued since June 18, 2008.  There's no point in advising [[Wikipedia:Help Desk|Wikipedia]] of the situation, because wikipedia administrators condone religious bigotry (and by the way, if you are a wikipedia administrator, solve the problem yourself, don't whine to me about it, because you have the authority to fix it and I do not).  In the meantime anyone who is interested in the subject can help by copying the current scholarly [[version 110508]] of the page into Wikipedia and you can credit [[Dieter Bigot Bachmann]] for this since he's the one who vandalized the [[Proto-Indo-European religion]] page.

=Proto-Indo-European religion=
[[Image:Mahadevi.jpg|thumb|Sri Durga as Mahishasura Mardini (Slayer of the Buffalo Demon), flanked by Lakshmi and Saraswati, and (her sons) [[Ganesha]] and Kartikkeya/Skanda, with Shiva and the Ten Mahavidyas overhead.]]
The existence of similarities among the [[deity|deities]] and religious practices of the [[Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] (IE) peoples allows glimpses of a common '''[[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) religion and mythology'''.  This hypothetical religion would have been the ancestor of the majority of the [[Paganism|pagan religions]] of [[Europe]], and of the [[Indian religions]], as well as the religions that developed from them, [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], see under Eschatology, Encyclopedia Britannica''Encyclopedia Britannica'' Complete Home Library [CD], 1994-2004.

Jump to [[Proto-Indo-European religion#newest section|newest section]]
 
Indications of the existence of this ancestral religion can be detected in commonalities between languages and religious customs of Indo-European peoples.  The scientific method of triangulation is used by historical linguists to reconstruct the names of gods and goddesses, the names and processes for religious rituals and many related elements of belief and practice.  In addition, many texts relating to the Indo-European religions exist, such as mythological tales and descriptions of religious rituals, including explicit instructions on how to perform them.  Archaeological evidence is difficult to match to any specific culture in the earliest period of the Indo-European culture, which is defined as the time when all Indo-European-speaking people could still understand each other and conservatively thought to be about 4000 BCE''In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth'', by [[J.P. Mallory]], Thames and Hudson, New York, 1989. ''The Horse, the Wheel and Language'' by David W. Anthony, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2007..  However, there is a vast amount of archaeological evidence that can be connected to specific Indo-European cultures and especially religious topics, such as temple site digs, [[votive deposit|votive offerings]] and inscriptions.  The names of gods and goddesses are often the first words we find written in each of the Indo-European languages.

==Pantheon==

Linguists are able to reconstruct the names of some deities in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language from many types of sources.  Some of the proposed deities are more readily accepted among scholars than others.  In order to present a consistent notation, the reconstructed forms used here are cited from Mallory and Adams ''Oxford Introduction''''Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World'', by [[J.P. Mallory]] and [[Douglas Q. Adams]], Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006..  Use of this source does not imply agreement in either direction.  The [[laryngeals]] He Ha Ho have been capitalized to make them a little easier to read.

* ''*{{PIE|pltH2wiH2}}'' is reconstructed (p. 267, ''Oxford Intro.'') as �Plenty�, a goddess of wide flat rivers that meander across the land.  Forms include Hittite Lelwanni, a goddess, �the pourer� (p. 760, G&I''Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and a Proto-Culture'' (Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 80, 2 Vol. Set), by [[Tamaz V. Gamkrelidze|Thomas V. Gamkrelidze]], and [[Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov|Vjaceslav V. Ivanov]], with Werner Winter, ed., and Johanna Nichols, translator (original title ''Indoevropeiskii iazyk i indoevropeistsy''), M. De Gruyter, Berlin & NY, 1995 (abbrev. G&I).); Sanskrit [[Prthivi]], see Rig Vedic hymn [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv05084.htm 5.84]; u-fratis, the ancient Persian name of the [[Euphrates]] river (Vol. 1, p. 27, Bopp''Grammaire Compar�e des Langues Indo-Europ�ennes'' by [[Franz Bopp|M. Fran�ois Bopp]], translated by M. [[Michel Br�al]], Imprimerie Imp�riale, Paris, 1866.); Greek [[Leto]]; in Latin, Latona, the eponymous ancestor of the Latins; and also Greek [[Ploutos]], borrowed into Latin as [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]].  He is responsible for pushing the water up into the springs that form rivers; demonized by Christians as a god of the �underworld�; i.e. their hell.  Even Walter Burkert recognizes this one, although he considers Greek Plataia an �Earth Goddess�, p. 17''Greek Religion'' by [[Walter Burkert]], Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1985..

* ''*{{PIE|priHxeHa}}'' is reconstructed (p. 208, ''Oxford Intro.'') as �beloved, friend�, the god(dess) of the garden.  She is known in Hittite as the object of the Purulli festival, and in Sanskrit as Priya.  In Avestan she is [[demonization|demonized]] as Paurwa, but replaced by [[Anahita]].  In Greek she is recognized as [[Aphrodite]], although this name does not quite fit the expected phonology, and apparently means the �goddess of the garden�, related to the word �[[paradise]].�  In Latin [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] takes her place (not cognate), and in Old Norse she is [[Freya]].  In Russian she is worshipped under the name Paraskeva (re-christianized as [[votive deposit|St. Paraskeva]]), and possibly as Perun in southern Slavic-speaking areas, but see below for a more widely accepted identity of Perun.  In Albanian she is Perendi, christianized as St. Prendi.  J. Grimm refers to an Old Bohemian (Czech) form Priye, used as a gloss for Aphrodite (p. 303, Grimm''Deutsche Mythologie'' by [[Jacob Grimm]], (English title ''[[Teutonic Mythology]]'', transl. by Stallybrass), George Bell and Sons, London, 1883.).  Many of these goddesses give their names to the fifth day of the week, Friday.  They are also very well known in lesser forms such as the Germanic [[Fairy|Fairies]] and the Persian [[Peri]]s, charming and seductive beings in folklore.  There are also masculine forms of this deity, Sanskrit [[Prajapati]], Greek Priapos borrowed into Latin as [[Priapus]], and Old Norse [[Freyr]].

* ''*{{PIE|[[Perkwunos|perkwunos]]}}'', known as the �striker� is reconstructed (p. 410, 433, ''Oxford Intro.'') from Skt. [[Parjanya|Parj�nya]], and Norse [[Fj�rgyn]] and [[Frigg]].  Fj�rgyn was replaced by [[Thor]] among the Germanic-speaking people.  Other forms are Slavic [[Perun]], Old Prussian Perk�nos, Lithuanian [[Perkunas|Perkūnas]], and Latvian Pērkons.  These gods give their names to Thursday, the fourth day of the week.

* Devis and Devas are found among all the Indo-Europeans, and the word is often used as a general word for �a god, any god (or goddess)� and sometimes for a specific goddess or god, but see [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Pandemonium|Pandemonium]].  Note that in Sanskrit, Avestan and Hindi, words that end in -a are masculine and -i is feminine.  In the western languages the situation is reversed, so that words that end in -a are usually feminine and words that end in -i, or more often -us, and -os are usually masculine.  Here the forms are divided into masculine and feminine forms for convenience.
** ''*{{PIE|dyeu-}}'', Devi or Dia, �goddess� is reconstructed (*d�įų-iH2, see Tichy, p. 72 ''A Survey of Proto-Indo-European'' by Eva Tichy, transl. by James E. Cathy, Hempen Verlag, Bremen, 2006 and G&I, Vol. I p. 196) from Sanskrit, [[Devi]], a goddess with a major cult in India, devi �goddess�; Avestan, daevi �female demon�; Greek, dīa �goddess� and [[Demeter]] (etymology highly arguable), a grain goddess, with the vocative form Deo used to address her (although thea is the usual Greek word for �goddess� and zea is the Greek word for spelt, a kind of grain); Latin, [http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/deadia.htm Dea Dia], a grain goddess, also dia and diva, �goddess�; Iberian Celtic, Deva; Irish dīa, dea, �goddess�; Old Polish Zhiva, Жива, a grain goddess, also [[Siebe]]; Lith. deive �goddess�; and Latvian dieve. 
** ''*{{PIE|deiw�s-}}'', Deva or Deos, �god� (masculine) is reconstructed (p. 408, ''Oxford Intro.'' and G&I, Vol. I, p. 196, but from *dhy-, according to [[Jaan Puhvel]]) from Hittite sius �god�; and Sanskrit [[Deva (Hinduism)|Dev�]] `god; His/Your Majesty'.  In Avestan, the [[Daeva|daēvas]] `demons', (later Persian divs, also in Armenian folklore) were demonized by Zarathustra, but Armenian also has tir, tiwr �god, idol� (p. 150, Mann''An Indo-European Comparative Dictionary'' by Stuart E. Mann, Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg, 1984/1987.).  Greek, dios �god� (but usually the�s); Oscan, Diovis; Latin, Jove, a particular god, also with forms deus, dives, �a god, a rich man�.  Other forms are Welsh dewi; Irish dia, a god; [[Old Norse language]] T�r; [[Old High German]] Ziu; Old English Tīw, a particular god; Old Polish [[Żywie]]; Lith. [[Dievas|Diẽvas]]; Latv. Dievs, a god who causes the rye fields to ripen; and possibly Irish [[The Dagda|Dagda]]; and Slavic [[Dazbog]].
** ''*dyēus pHatēr'' is believed by Christians to have been the original name of the god of the daylit sky and the chief god of the Indo-European [[pantheon (gods)|pantheon]].  This was based (p. 409, 431, ''Oxford Intro.'') on Sanskrit [[Dyaus Pita|Dy�us Pitā]]; Greek [[Zeus]] with a vocative form Zeu patēr; Etruscan [[Jupiter (god)|Jūpiter]], borrowed into Latin alongside the native form [[Dispater]], (cf. also ''deus pater'' in the [[Vulgate]], e.g. Jude 1:1); and Illyrian Dei-p�trous.  However this appears to be merely a descriptive [[appositive]] in the form of a [[kenning]]: "Kennings drawn from family relationships are extremely common" p. 34, Olson and Sens''Archestratos of Gela'', by S. Douglas Olson and Alexander Sens, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000..

* ''*{{PIE|Ha�usōs}}'' is the name of certain specific gods, usually the sun, the stars (especially the planet Venus), and hearth fires; a class of gods (�those that shine with a golden light�); and a general word for �a god, any god.�  These gods are also general to the Indo-Europeans, but see [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Pandemonium|Pandemonium]].
** ''*{{PIE|Haeus(os)}}'', is believed to have been the goddess of dawn (p. 409, 410, 432, ''Oxford Intro.'') with forms in Hittite, a��u �lord, god�; Sanskrit, [[Ushas|Ushās]], goddess of dawn, but later the [[Asura|Ashuras]] are demonized; Avestan, [[Ahura Mazda]], the good god of the Zoroastrians, and [[ahura]], a good spirit; Greek, [[Eos|�ōs]], a dawn goddess; and Latin, [[Aurora (mythology)|Aurōra]], a dawn goddess.  Gallic [[Esus]] is a god of hearths; and Old Norse, [[Aesir]] (pl.), and Old English �s (sg.), are general words for �a god, any god.�  Slavic, [[Jarilo|Iaro]], is a god of summer; and Lithuanian Au�ra is �dawn�; while both Latvian [[Auseklis]], and Lithuanian [[Ausrine|Au�rinė]] are goddesses of the morning star, i.e. the planet Venus.  The form Arap Ushas appears in Albanian folklore, but is there a name of the Moon.  See also the names for the Sun which follow.
** ''*{{PIE|Haeust(e)ro}}'' (p. 294, 301, ''Oxford Intro.'', but see the form �''*{{PIE|as-t-r}}'', with intrusive -t- [between s and r] in northern dialects� given on p. 702, and 780, G&I) is seen in the Anatolian dialects as Estan, Istanus, Istara; in Sanskrit, Atri, fire but demonized and replaced with [[Agni]]; Avestan [[Atar]], sacred fire of the Zoroastrians; Greek [[Hestia]], goddess of hearth; Latin [[Vesta]], goddess of the hearth; and in Old English [[Eostre]], modern English Easter and Old Saxon Ostara, goddess of spring warmth.  Armenian [[Astghik]] is a star goddess; and the Tibetan Buddhist goddesses like [[Green Tara]] are protective deities connected to stars or the planet Venus.

* ''*{{PIE|deHanu-}}'' �River goddess� is reconstructed (p. 434, ''Oxford Intro.'') from Skt. [[Danu (Hindu goddess)|Danu]], a goddess of rivers; Irish [[Danu (Irish goddess)|Danu]], mother of everyone; Welsh [[Don|D�n]], and also a masculine form, Ossetic Donbettys.  The name has been connected with the Dan rivers which run into the Black Sea ([[Dnieper]], [[Dniester]], [[Don River (Russia)|Don]], and [[Danube]]) and other river names in Celtic areas.  This along with the many ethnonyms (the [[Danes]], the [[Tuatha de Danaan]], the [[Dacians]], the Danoi (Greeks), etc.) was discussed extensively by Robert Graves in the ''White Goddess''''The White Goddess'' by Robert Graves; Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, NY, 1948 and 1966., a very popular but not very scholarly book. 

* ''*{{PIE|welnos}}'' is reconstructed as a god of cattle from Old Slavic [[Veles (god)|Veles]] and Volos; and Lithuanian Velnias, �protector of flocks� (in archaic Lithuanian, vėlės means �shades� or �spirits of the departed�); as well as Old Norse [[Ullr]], and Old English Wuldor, and even the Elysian fields in Greek myth and ritual (according to Jaan Puhvel, p. 215, ''Analecta Indoeuropaea''''Analecta Indoeuropaea'', (a collection of articles), by [[Jaan Puhvel]], publ. by Innsbrucker Beitrage zur Sprachwissenschaft, Innsbruck, 1981.).  There may be a god of cattle in the northern lands (christianized as [[Saint Blaise|St. Vlas]]), but the argument is very thin.  Some of these names were also once thought to be connected to Sanskrit [[Varuna]] and Greek [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] or Ouranos, for example by Max M�ller, p. 84, ''Comparative Mythology''''Comparative Mythology,'' (Friedrich) [[Max M�ller]], Arno Press, NY, 1909, 1977., and many other authors, [[Mircea Eliade]], [[Bruce Lincoln]] and [[Georges Dum�zil]]. They imagined this to be a sort of �binder god� but this is now rejected on linguistic grounds, (�the etymology is disputed� Michael Shapiro, p. 155, Vol. 10 of JIES[http://www.jies.org ''The Journal of Indo-European Studies''], publ. by JIES, Washington, DC., 1973.).

* Divine Twins:  There are several sets (the Indo-Europeans seem to be quite fond of twins), which may or may not be related.  
** The Sun and Moon are discussed in the next section.
** Yama and Manu, the first mortals, (or the first gods to die), became the ancestors of everyone and king(s) of the dead.  The first ancestor of men was called ''*{{PIE|Manu-}}'', see Germanic [[Mannus]], Hindu [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]] (p. 411, 435, ''Oxford Intro.''), and see also the [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Mythology|Mythology section]].
** [[Divine Twins|Horse Twins]], often have a name that means �horse� ''*{{PIE|H1�kuos}}'', but the names are not always cognate (�no lexical set,� p. 432, ''Oxford Intro.'').  They are always male and usually have a horse form, or sometimes, one is a horse and the other is a boy.  They are brothers of the Sun Maiden or Dawn goddess, and sons of the horse/grain mother and the sea god, continued in Sanskrit as the [[Ashvins|A�vins]].  Other horse twins are:  Greek, Dioskuri (Polydeukēs and Kastōr); borrowed into Latin as [[Castor and Pollux]]; Irish, the twins of [[Macha]]; Old English, [[Hengist]] and [[Horsa]] (both words mean �stallion�), and possibly Old Norse [[Sleipnir]], the eight-legged horse born of Loki; Slavic Lel and Polel; Lithuanian [[A�vieniai]], identical to Latvian [[Dieva dēli]], and possibly christianized in Albanian as Sts. Flori and Lori.  The horse twins may be based on the morning and evening star (the planet [[Venus]]) and they often have stories about them in which they �accompany� the Sun goddess, because of the close orbit of the planet Venus to the sun, (Michael Shapiro, p. 137-166, Vol. 10, JIES, who references Donald Ward, ''The Divine Twins'', Folklore Studies, No. 19, Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley, 1968.).

* The [[Solar deity|Sun]] and [[Lunar deity|Moon]] are often seen as the twin children of various deities (for example in Welsh myth they are the children of [[Arianrhod]]), but in fact the sun and moon were deified several times and are often found in competing forms within the same language.  The usual scheme is that one of these celestial deities is male and the other female, though the exact gender of the [[Sun]] or [[Moon]] tends to vary among the Indo-European languages.  Here are two of the most common PIE forms:
** ''*{{PIE|s�Haul}}'' '''Sun''' with a genitive form ''*{{PIE|sHau-�n-s}}'', gives Hittite DUTU-liya (the raised D indicates that it is a deity); Hindu Sv�r, also fem. [[Surya|Sūryā]], and masc. Sūrya; Avestan, Hvara; Greek [[Helios]] (and [http://whitedragon.org.uk/articles/troy.htm Helen], the form in the Dorian Greek of the Spartans); Latin Sōl; Welsh [[Dylan Ail Don|Dylan]]; Old Norse [[Sol (Sun)|Sōl]]; Old English Sigel and Sunna, modern English Sun.  Other forms are Russian [[The Zorya|Zorya]], and [[Zaria (goddess)|Zaria]] in folklore; Old Prussian and Lithuanian [[Saule (Lithuanian mythology)|Saulė]]; Latvian Saũle; and Albanian Diell, seen in the name of Sunday and in demonized form as a name for the devil.  Most of these forms are given from p. 556, in the ''Encyclopedia of IE Culture''''[[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture]]'', [[J.P. Mallory]] and Douglas Q. Adams, ed., Fitzroy Dearborn, London, 1997..
** ''*{{PIE|m�H1nōt}}'' '''Moon''', gives Hindu Mas; Avestan, Mah; Greek Selene (unrelated), although they also use a form Mēnē; Latin, Luna and later [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]], (unrelated); ON [[Mani (god)|Māni]], Old English Mōna, modern English Moon; Slavic Myesyats; Lithuanian, Mėnuo (Mėnulis); and Latvian [[Meness]].  ''Encyclopedia of IE Culture'' gives the forms but doesn�t even have an entry for a moon goddess, p. 385.

* A water or sea god is reconstructed (p. 438, ''Oxford Intro.'') as ''*{{PIE|H2epōm nepōts}}'' �uncle/grandson/nephew of waters� from Avestan and Vedic [[Apam Napat|Apām N�pāt]], and as ''*{{PIE|n�ptonos}}'' from Latin [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptūnus]], Celtic [[Nechtan (mythology)|Nechtan]], and Germanic forms like ON Hnikarr, AS NIcor, along with the [[Nix]]ies or water spirits, and the [[Neckar]] River, (see Puhvel, p. 277-284).  Similarly, most major [[Lithuanian rivers]] begin with ne- (e.g. [[Nemunas]], [[Nevė�is]]).  The god is demonized by Christians as Old Nick and christianized as [[Saint Nicholas|St. Nick]], patron saint of sailors.  There is a list of these forms in Grimm, p. 488-489, DM.  [[Poseidon]] (etymology highly arguable, but not cognate) fills the function of this deity in Greek.  

* ''*{{PIE|p�H2usōn}}'' is reconstructed (p. 411, 434, ''Oxford Intro.'') as a pastoral god, based on Vedic [[Pashupati]], and [[Pushan|Pūshān]]; the Greek god [[Pan (mythology)|Pān]], and the Roman god [[Faunus]] and the [[faun]]s.  See also [[Paganism#Etymology|Pax]].

* There may also have been a savage dog or wolf (hellhound) guarding the underworld, such as Greek Kerberos borrowed into Latin as [[Cerberus]], and Norse [[Garm]]; these names may be derived from a Proto-Indo-European root ''*{{PIE|gher-}}'' (thought to be an onomatopoeic reference to the dog�s growl){{cite journal | last = Alby | first = Stone | title = Hellhounds, Werewolves and the Germanic Underworld | journal = Mercian Mysteries | volume = 20 | date = [[1994]] | url = http://www.primitivism.com/hellhounds.htm | accessdate = 2007-10-07 }}.

* It is also likely that they had three fate goddesses, see the [[Moirae]] in [[Greek mythology]], [[Norns]] in [[Norse mythology]], Sudjenice of [[Slavic folklore]] and [[Deives Valdytojos|Deivės Valdytojos]] in [[Lithuanian mythology]].

* Lesser Spirits are found among all the Indo-Europeans and they still persist in folklore.  They are especially popular where Christianity has demonized pagan gods, but they are very well known from classical sources too.  They can conveniently be grouped according to where they are found in nature, however many of their names are [[cognate]] with the great gods and often their names are just plural forms.  They usually �attend� their namesakes and share their sphere of power. 
** spirits of fresh water (drinking water, wells and springs): Indian [[apsaras]], Persian [[peri]]s, Greek [[nymph]]s, Germanic [[fairy|fairies]], Slavic [[Slavic fairies|vilas]] and Slavic upyries (which, with a little help from Hollywood turn into [[vampire]]s).
** spirits of salt water: Greek [[nereids]], [[oceanids]], English (or Celtic) [[mermaid]]s.
** spirits of trees in particular and forests generally: Greek [[dryad]]s, Greek pans and Roman [[faun]]s, Germanic [[Puck (mythology)|pucks]].
** spirits of earth and stones: Greek [[Giant (mythology)|giants]], [[Titan (mythology)|titans]], [[Daemon (mythology)|daimones]], Celtic (French) [[ogre]]s, Germanic [[dwarf|dwarves]], Old Norse [[Jotunn|j�tunns]] and thurses.
** spirits of clouds and mists: Sanskrit harits, Greek [[charites]], Roman graces.
** spirits of the air (often in the form of birds): Greek [[sirens]], Slavic alkanost, and Persian [[Simurgh]], Indian [[garuda]], and Germanic [[elf|elves]].
** fire spirits: Slavic [[leszi]], Indian [[rakshasa]]s, Greek [[satyr]]s, and possibly the Germanic [[Muspelheim|musspelli]].

A fuller treatment of the subject of the Indo-European Pantheon would not merely list the [[cognate]] names but describe additional correspondences in the �family relationships�, festival dates, associated myths (but see [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Mythology|Mythology section]]) and special powers.  Once the cognate names are provided (the linguist�s responsibility) everyone can contribute to the research, and I would like to thank especially the Lithuanians, Armenians, Slavs and others who have been contributing information which would otherwise be very difficult to access.

===Pandemonium===

Pandemonium is [[Jaan Puhvel]]�s word for the mutual [[demonization]] that occurred when [[Zarathustra]] demonized the gods of the [[Sanskrit]] speakers, and the Sanskrit speakers demonized the gods of the [[Zoroastrian]]s ([[Avestan]] speakers) in turn.  Conspicuous examples are the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] and the [[Asura]]s.  Sanskrit speakers referred to the Devas as good gods and the word devi, deva is a word for �a god, any god,� whereas the Ashuras are demons in later Sanskrit literature.  The Zoroastrians used the word [[ahura]] (cognate with Skt. ashura) as a word for �a god, any god,� and [[Ahura Mazda]] was their highest god, whereas the [[daeva]]s (cognate with Skt. devas) were demonized.

The observation of the mutual demonization was made as early as 1884, by Martin Haug who �postulated his thesis that the transition of both the words [Ashuras and Devas] into the designations of the demons.... is based on a prehistoric schism in religion....� according to Alfred Hillebrandt, p. 264, Vol. 2, ''Vedic Mythology''''Vedic Mythology'' by Alfred Hillebrandt, transl. by Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma, publ. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1981 (orig. 1891)..  The same observation is reported by Jacob Grimm, who describes the Persian introduction of dualism and various devils (p. 985, DM).  By the way, this dualism with its long complex history is the reason that the English words �divine� and �devil� have ultimately the same etymology, though they have the opposite meaning.  The disparaging meaning given to Daevas had once been attributed by western scholars to a �moral reaction against Vedic polytheism� but it has �no longer any supporter,� according to James Darmesteter (writing in 1895, on page lii, in an intelligent introduction, Vol. 4, [[Sacred Books of the East|SBE]]''[[Sacred Books of the East]]'', transl. by various Oriental scholars, series ed. by Max M�ller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1879-1904.), and this was certainly the consensus view among western scholars in the 1800's.  However modern western scholars like Mallory and Adams still refer to Zoroastrianism as a �religious reformation� of Vedic religion (p. 408-9, ''Oxford Intro.'').  

This demonization is not limited to the Sanskrit and Avestan languages.  The close correspondence between the Zoroastrian gods and the Germanic gods has long been recognized, see the [[Aesir-Asura correspondence]].  Furthermore, this dualism and demonization were absorbed by the Hebrews during their sojourn in Babylon, and from there into Christianity, according to Cox, quoting M. Br�al, see p. 174 and 562''The Mythology of the Aryan Nations'' by [[George William Cox|George W. Cox]], Kegan Paul, Trench & Co, London, 1887..

==Mythology== 
{{portal|Mythology|Ddraig.svg}}

Indo-European myths may be defined as narratives which have certain elements, such as god/person X does Y in connection with god/person/being Z, where X and Z are [[cognate]]s, respectively, in several IE languages, and Y is something specific like �kills monster�.  Many IE myths have at their core some simple observation of nature or life, such as that the sun is �born� each morning and �dies� each night, or that wheat must be cut down and threshed (�killed and tortured�) before it can be used to make bread.

Types of sources for the reconstruction of Indo-European myths include:  1) actual mythological tales in which gods act like gods; 2) legends or histories.  Many foundation myths of a country or city (including sometimes bare king-lists) consist of a reprise of the nature myths; and 3) folktales.  Folktales are highly subject to borrowing but some examples can be determined to conserve native myths based on the forms of the names which modern storytellers are not always able to interpret correctly.  Cox gives this list, p. 53-56; see also ''Oxford Intro'', which lists �myth, history, folklore�, p. 432.  Jacob Grimm gives a more complete list of types of sources including riddles and proverbs, but they must be used with care. 

'''Indo-European Myths:'''  The very brief list of myths which follows can be shown by the cognate names to descend from a common ancestor (as distinguished from a common source) in the Indo-European languages.  Most of these were identified and described in 1887 by George Cox, in ''The Mythology of the Aryan Nations'', and by many other authors.

'''[[Creation myth]]s:'''
* Cow Creation (�World made from the Body of a Giant or Bovine�, see below)
* Birth of the Horse Twins from the grain/horse mother (p. 234, Cox, found in 7/11 language groups, which is a very conservative statistic)
* Danu killed and cut open to produce a river (a Partition Creation myth, 3/11)

'''Cyclic Myths:'''
* Spring kills Winter, usually with his sprinkler or his striker (p. 559, Cox, found in 4/11 language groups)
* Cloud/cows stolen from the sun god by the wind god and then released (p. 232, Cox, 4/11)
* [[Life-death-rebirth deity|Dying Corn God]], dies, is reborn, causes seasons (Frazer, Vol. 8 and 9 of the ''Golden Bough''''The [[Golden Bough]]'' [[James Frazer|James George Frazer]], MacMillan & Co. Ltd., London, 1919-1920 (12 vol. edition)., esp. Vol. 9, p. 412-423; 4/11)
* Uncle Water melts the ice and releases the water causing flooding (G&I, p. 582-3, 5/11)

* Quest of the golden apples of immortality, usually by a wind god (p. 512, Cox, 4/11)

'''Culture Myths:''' Stories in which some godlike being teaches the �arts of civilization� (actually technologies) to humans are found in all cultures.  The culture myths of the Indo-Europeans tell how the [[Culture hero|Culture Gods]] taught humans how to make fire, the proper way to kill and butcher an animal (sacrifice), religious rituals and law codes, smithing, weaving, ploughing and healing.  Culture gods (e.g. [[Prometheus]] and [[Loki]]) sometimes have an intermediate position between gods and humans.  They are certainly supernatural, but they often die or are tortured by other gods for their beneficence to humans, nevertheless they are often revived and worshipped like regular gods.  Mallory and Adams call them Craft Gods and argue that they are not linguistically reconstructible, however Cox compares Greek Prometheus with Hindu Pramanthu (p. 421, Cox).  Smith gods, a subset of the Culture gods, are slightly reconstructible according to Mallory and Adams (p. 410, ''Oxford Intro.'').

'''Religious Uses of Myths:'''  Many texts state specifically that telling or listening to a myth confers a blessing on the listeners.  For example the text of the ''T�in B� C�alnge'' quoted below has a colophon that reads �A blessing be upon all such as shall faithfully keep the [[T�in]] in memory as it stands here and shall not add any other form to it.�  Also telling myths is considered a way to praise and honor the gods so myths are often recited or sung especially at festivals for a particular god, see Schultz and Lavenda, pp. 229-232''Cultural Anthropology, A Perspective on the Human Condition'', by Emily A. Schultz, and Robert H. Lavenda, Mayfield Publishing Co., Mountain View, CA 1995., or as another author puts it �The praises of their gods, and the achievements of their heroes, are usually chanted at their festival meetings�, p. 339, Vol III, Percy�s ''Reliques''''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'' by Thomas Percy, ed. by Henry Wheatley, Swan Sonnenschein & Co., London, 1891, where he is basically quoting Tacitus� ''Germania'' c.ii.  The telling of myths was apparently the original impetus for the tradition of Greek drama at the festivals of Dionysus, although by the time we have a written record of the dramas, they are not restricted in subject matter to the myths of any particular god, p. 5, Moulton''The Ancient Classical Drama, A Study in Literary Evolution'' by Richard G Moulton, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1890..

===Cow Creation Myth===

The '''Myth of how the World was made from the body of a giant human or bovine''' is one of the best represented and most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans.  The following versions of this myth show the range of the material, and the approximate dates indicate the time span.  The elements are (1) *Yem�s, the �twin� who is (2) dismembered by (3) *M�nu, his brother, and then the parts of the twin�s body are used to (4) create the world according to a specific formula �his bones are the rocks, his blood made the rivers and seas�, etc.  While the substance of the formula is essentially folkloric (rocks do look like �bones of the earth�), the use of the formula in this particular context and the linguistic correspondence of the names makes possible the reconstruction of a Proto-Indo-European myth, as recognized by Cox, p. 189.  This myth is also described by Mallory and Adams, p. 129-130, in the ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture'' and other modern authors, which is why it was chosen as an example.

# [[Sanskrit]], the oldest source is the ''[[Rig Veda]]'' composed circa 2000 - 1000 BCE according to western scholars, earlier according to Hindu scholars.
## [[Yama|Yam�]] dies (it doesn�t say how):  �Yam� surrendered his dear body,� see Rig Vedic hymn [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv10013.htm 10.13].  This was published on p. 223, Vol. 2, in ''Vedic Mythology''.
## Sanskrit (late 2nd millennium BCE), �Yama died as the first of mortals.�  The original source is the ''[[Atharva Veda]]'' XVIII.3.13, and this was published on p. 222, also in Vol. 2, ''Vedic Mythology''.
## later Sanskrit (1000 - 500 BCE).  First a bull, then the wife of [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], named Man�v� is killed (with Manu�s permission) in sacrifice by the Ashuras but without any world making.  The original source is the ''[[Satapatha Brahmana|Satapatha-Br�hmana]]'': 1 Kanda, 1 Adhy�ya, 4 Br�hmana 14-17.  This was published pp. 29-30, Vol. 12 (trans. by Julius Eggeling), SBE.
# [[Avestan]], the earliest part of the [[Avesta]] was composed before 600 BCE, Zoroastrians think earlier.  
## [[Jamshid|Yima Kshaeta]] makes the world grow larger three times, but he does this while he is still alive.  This version is clearly mythological.  Yima is the Avestan form of Sanskrit Yama and Kshaeta means �shepherd� later �shah, king.�  The original source is the ''Zend-[[Avesta]],'' Vendidad, Fargard II, and this was published, p. 12-21, Vol. 4 (translated by James Darmesteter), SBE.
## Avestan �....[[Zahhak|A�i Dah�ka]] and Spityura, he who sawed Yima in twain.�  According to the editor of the text (Darmesteter), Spityura was a brother of Yima.  The original source is the ''Zend-Avesta,'' Zamy�d Yasht, VIII: 46, published p. 293-297, Vol. 23, SBE.
## Pahlevi ([[Middle Persian]]), texts date to between 224 BCE and 664 CE.  In this source [[Gayomart|Gayomard]] (older form Gaya Maratan �mortal life�) is killed by Ahriman (spelled Aharman in this translation).  A cow and Gayomard are both killed.  Out of the cow�s body grows the world, and from Gayomard�s body are born the first humans, his children M�shya and M�shyana (who are male and female) so he is the ancestor of everyone.  The name Gayomard is not a good cognate with Yima Kshaeta, but Jaan Puhvel equates them on the basis of the similarity of the stories.  The original source is the ''Bundahi�n,'' Ch. 3, part 23, (�Gayomard spoke thus: �mankind will be all of my race��) and Ch. 15, the whole of it.  This is published in Vol. 5 (translated by E.W. West), p. 19 and p. 52, SBE.  An analysis of this was published by Jaan Puhvel, under the title ''Remus and Frater'', pp. 300-311.
## Pahlevi (Middle Persian).  Here there is only the bare statement: �Sp�t�r was he who, with Dah�k, cut up Yim.�  The original source is also the ''Bundahi�n,'' Ch. 31, Verse 5, and this was also published in Vol. 5, on p. 131, SBE.
## Persian, from the ''[[Shah Namah]]'' written by [[Ferdowsi|Firdausi]] around 1100 CE.  In this source, Jemshid is sawed in two by Zohak.  Jemshid is the Persian form of earlier Yima Kshaeta, and Zohak is the Persian form of earlier A�i Dah�ka.  Gai�mart also appears in this text but he simply �passes away� after winning a battle against the son of Ahriman.  The first section of the ''Shah Namah'' is ostensibly a history of the kings of Persia, although it is actually a reprise of old myths.  As this source was produced in a Moslem cultural context, the beings are no longer �gods� but they still have many supernatural qualities.  The ''Shah Namah'' has been published in English in many very bad verse translations.  The one used here is Vol. 1 of the ''Shahnama of Firdausi,'' translated by Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., London, 1905.  There is also an abridged prose version of this on the net, transl. by Helen Zimmern, 1883, called [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/shahnama.txt ''The Epic of Kings''].
# Latin (before CE 17).  There are almost no mythological tales of Rome, but the early �history� of Rome is recognized as an historicized version of various old myths.  [[Romulus and Remus]] were twin brothers, and they both have stories in which they are killed.
## Remus is killed by his brother Romulus at the foundation of Rome; and 
## Romulus is dismembered by the senators, �...there were some who secretly hinted that he had been torn limb from limb by the senators...�  There is no world-making here, but Romulus is the [[eponymous]] ancestor of the Romans, and the founder of Rome.  One of the original sources for the stories of Romulus and Remus is [[Livy]]�s [[Ab Urbe condita|''History of Rome'']] Vol. 1, parts iv-vii and xvi.  This has been published in an Everyman edition, transl. by W.M. Roberts, E.P. Dutton & Co. NY, 1912.
## [[Gemini (constellation)#Mythology|Gemini]] is the Latin word for �twins� though it usually applies to Castor and Pollux, see Horse Twins in the Pantheon section.  They were worshipped all over the Roman world with votive altars with inscriptions, which remained after the Romans were gone.  This may be the source of some names which appear in early Christian myths, see [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Other Correspondences|Other Correspondences]].
# Celtic, in this case early Irish texts were written down between the 11th-14th centuries CE.  In one myth a bull is killed and dismembered by another bull and the parts of his body are distributed around Ireland, which explains the names of many features of the landscape, though not the cause of their existence. 
## �It was not long before the men of Erin [Ireland], as they were there in the company of [[Ailill mac M�ta|Ailill]] and [[Medb|Madb]] early on the morrow, saw coming over Cruachan from the west, the Brown Bull of C�alnge with the Whitehorned [Bull] of Ai in torn fragments hanging about his ears and horns.�  Among the less revolting distributions is this one:  �Then he raised his head, and the shoulder-blades of the Whitehorned fell from him in that place.  Hence, Sruthair Finnlethe (�Stream of the White Shoulder-blade�) is the name given to it.�  The original source is the last chapter of the ''[[T�in]] B� C�alnge,'' usually called in English, ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley.''  These quotations are from ''The Ancient Irish Epic Tale, T�in B� C�alnge,'' transl. by Joseph Dunn, publ. David Nutt, London, 1914.
# The Germanic languages have information about both [[Ymir]] and [[Mannus]], but they never appear in the same myth, rather they appear only in myths widely separated in both time and circumstances.
## A Roman text ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'' 2 by [[Tacitus]], writing in Latin in CE 98, tells that Mannus, the son of Tuisto, was the ancestor of the Germanic people.  We never see this person/being again, but the names [[Alamanni]] and German(s) are interpreted (perhaps by folk etymology) as �all-men� the German name for themselves.
## In Old Norse texts written down in the 13th cent. but composed earlier, [[Ymir]] is a giant dismembered by [[Odin]] and Odin's brother gods to make the World with the formula:  �Of Ymir�s flesh the earth was fashioned, And of his sweat the sea; Crags of his bones, trees of his hair, And of his skull the sky. Then of his brows, the blithe gods made [[Midgard]] for sons of men; And of his brain, the bitter-mooded Clouds were all created.�  The original source is the [[Grimnismal]] 40-41, (''[[Poetic Edda]]'').  This version is quoted from p. 21, ''The [[Prose Edda]]'' by [[Snorri Sturluson]], transl. by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, The American-Scandinavian Foundation, Oxford University Press, London, 1923.
# In Lithuanian, a folktale tells of a bull and 3 cows which are beheaded by [[Ausrine|Au�rinė]], (the morning star) and then the land appears.  The very end of the story reads:
## �The maiden upon returning released her bull.  The bull knelt down and spoke in a man�s voice:  �Chop off my head!�  The maiden did not want to chop it off, but she had to.  She chopped the head off--a fourth of the seas disappeared, became land.  Her brother emerged from the bull.  She cut off the heads of all three cows, who were her sisters.  All the seas disappeared, turned to land.  The earth sprang to life.�  The original source for this is a folktale called ''Saulė and Vejų Motina'' (�The Sun and the Mother of the Winds�), pp. 309-13, of M. Davainis-Silvestraitis� Collection, ''Pasakos, Sakmės, Oracijos'' (�Tales, Legends and Orations�) publ. in Vilnius, 1973.  The English version is from p. 67 ''Of Gods and Men'' by Algirdas J. Greimas, transl. by Milda Newman, Indiana Univ. Press, Indianapolis, 1992. 

'''Conclusion''' This myth appears in 5/11 language groups (five out of eleven languages since Sanskrit and Avestan are counted as one when estimating the range of a myth).  It seems that poor Yama is a personification of the cows which were killed and dismembered for food by the Indo-Europeans who were personified as �Man�.  This resulted in the formation of the world from the various parts of the body of the cow.  This process was ritualized as a �sacrifice� and --perhaps-- the narrative was developed to explain the practice.  This presentation addresses only part of this myth, which can be reconstructed further to tell the tale of a great flood which Manu survives, and his subsequent institution of religious rites and law codes.

===Other Correspondences===

Correspondences have been noticed between the Indo-European religion and the myths and gods in other religions such as [[Christianity]] and [[Buddhism]] as well as in other non-Indo-European languages such as the [[Semitic languages]] and the [[Caucasian languages|Caucasian]] and [[Kartvelian languages]].  Strictly speaking, this is off-topic for a discussion of PIE religion, but it is included here because it seems to be of interest to some people.  The [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Cow Creation Myth|Cow Creation Myth]] (to use this myth as an example because it has been discussed earlier) and one of the names in it-- *Yama --have correspondences in several unrelated languages and religions.  In Hindu belief, Yama is the king of the dead because he was the first to die, but he is not a death god, that is, he never kills anyone.  He only comes to welcome the dead humans when it is their time to die, so he is considered quite benevolent, however no one is happy to see him!  In those languages where he is borrowed he sometimes becomes a death god who kills people, and in religions that have a cruel afterlife, he sometimes tortures the dead.

'''Mahayana Buddhism''' and '''Asian Languages:'''  Sanskrit Yama was absorbed into [[Mahayana]] Buddhism.  As the judge of the dead, and Buddhist king of hell, Yama was borrowed into Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan, and translated or borrowed into the languages of those countries, still with a name like �Yama.�  Buddhist iconography in Nepal shows him with the head of a bull''Short Description of Gods, Goddesses, and Ritual Objects of Buddhism and Hinduism in Nepal'' compiled by Jnan Bahadur Sakya, publ. by Handicraft Association of Nepal, Kathmandu, 1989., but further east he looks like a government bureaucrat, pp. 152-3, Getty''The Gods of Northern Buddhism'' by Alice Getty, Charles E. Tuttle, Co., Rutland, Vermont, 1914, 1962..  Other Sanskrit gods were borrowed into Mahayana Buddhism too, which is how [[Indra]] and [[Shiva]] came to be worshipped in Japan.

Yama is also equated to the [[Erlik|Erlik Qan]] (King of the Dead) of the [[Mongolians]] by Getty, and from there he turns up in the Germanic languages in a poem by [[Goethe]] called ''[[Der Erlkoenig]]'', which was set to music by Franz Schubert, and then turned into English by Sir [[Walter Scott]] as the poem ''The [[Erl-King]]'', see the [http://graham.main.nc.us/~bhammel/erlkng.html webpage by Bill Hammel].  This is obviously a borrowing into the Germanic languages, but it retains something of Yama�s character as a [[psychopomp]] or �conductor of souls� as seen in Indo-European belief.

'''Languages of the Caucasus Mountains:'''  Forms of Yama or Yima appear in the [[Nart saga]]s, folktales and songs about the Narts who were superhuman beings who lived in the old days.  The Nart sagas are common to several families of languages in the area of the [[Caucasus]] mountains west of the Black Sea, including [[Ossetic]] (an Indo-European language), and the languages of the [[Chechen language|Chechens]] & [[Ingush language|Ingush]]; [[Circassians]]; [[Kartvelian languages|Kartvelian]]-speaking [[Svans]] and [[Georgians]] which are not Indo-European languages.  The examples which follow are all Circassian.  In Saga 7, ''Lady Setenaya and the Magic Apple'', Yaminizh is seen as a personification of cholera, who destroys the magic apple tree which gave life and health to the Narts.  In Saga 39, a ballad, the hero cannot rest until he avenges his father�s death on Yamina, still thought of as cholera.  The hero manages to do this, �he slew him in combat� (and marries his wife!), and so although the name is equivalent according to the translator, the character of *Yama is much different in the Circassian stories, see Colarusso''Nart Sagas from the Caucasus'' ed. and transl. by John Colarusso, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, 2002..  The Circassian forms Yimis, in Saga 2, (possibly with an [[epithet]] Pshimaruquo �Prince of Death� see note 10 on p. 17); Yaminizh, in Saga 7, with a suffix that means evil; and Yamina; along with Georgian Iaman; and Svan Yaman, are all forms of this name which show �influence in the Caucasus from the Iranian world� and the translator compares these names to Sanskrit Yama and Iranian Yima (p. 174, Colarusso).  This is just one of many [[loanword|borrowings]] from the Indo-European religion into the Nart sagas.

'''[[Semitic Languages]]:'''  Among the [[Phoenicians]], a sea-faring people, [[Yam (god)|Yam]] is a god of the sea.  In a [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite myth]], translated from [[Ugaritic]] [[cuneiform]] of the [[Ras Shamra]] tablets which date from the 14th to the 12th centuries BCE, the god [[Baal]] kills Yam and scatters his body, though it doesn�t specifically say that the world was made from it, p. 44, Gibson''Canaanite Myths and Legends'' by J.C.L. Gibson, T & T Clark Ltd., Edinburgh, 1977.. 

The Phoenician story has a similar structure to the [[Babylonian]] [[Creation myth]] ''[[Enuma Elis]]'' which may be dated to circa 1100 BCE, and is known in both [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] and Assyrian forms.  In this story, [[Marduk]] kills [[Tiamat]] and then splits her body into two parts "like two halves of a flatfish" to make the sky from one part and the world, with mountains, rivers (the Tigris and Euphrates are named) and hills from the other part, pp. 66-67, Grimal''Larousse World Mythology'', by [[Pierre Grimal]], Prometheus Press, NY, 1965..  This clearly shows the creation of the world from her body.  The relationship of the names is not clear, although �there is no doubt that Yam-Nahar was the chief Ugaritic counterpart of the Babylonian Tiamat� according to Gibson, p. 7.  A [[Sumerian]] source has been offered for the name Tiamat.

In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the word yam appears many times, for example, �you stirred up the sea (presumably translating yam) in your might�, Psalm 74:13.  Christians interpret this as a victory of [[Yahweh]] over the sea which is supposed to represent forces of chaos, see for example the footnote on verses 12-17, in the St. Joseph Edition of the Bible''The New American Bible'', Catholic Book Publishing Co., NY, c. 1970..  However in [[Hebrew]] the word �yam� simply means a body of water, and appears in the names of various lakes and seas such as Yam Suph �Reed Sea� (usually called in English the Red Sea), while the concept of a combat between Yahweh and the sea in the [[Old Testament]]/[[Tanakh]] is rejected by van der Toorn, p. 869 ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible'' ed. by Karel van der Toorn, et al., William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1999..  A story in which Yahweh does have power over a sea monster is the story of [[Jonah]] and the whale, traditionally told at [[Yom Kippur]].  However, in this story, no harm comes to the whale, it just spews Jonah up, and there is no world making ([[Book of Jonah]] in the Old Testament of the Bible.).

'''[[Christian religion]]''':  The name *Yama seems to correspond to [[Saint James|James]], the name in English of several Christian saints (also Gaelic [[Seamus]]).  In most languages, the Christian saints James are known by a form of the name [[Jacob (name)|Jacob(us)]], but although the names Jacob and James cannot be linguistic cognates, the persons so named correspond in all points.  St. James has various forms some of whom are martyred by being sawn in half, hence the English name for him/them, St. James Sawn-Asunder.  Under the names James of [[Nisibis|Nisibus]], James the Persian and in Latin [[James Intercisus]] (feast day 11/27), there is a wretched tale in which he/they are tortured to death by being--cut into pieces, see Holweck''A Biographical Dictionary of Saints'' by [[Frederick George Holweck|F.G. Holweck]], B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, MO, 1924..  In the Syriac martyrologies, (the earliest martyrologies that we have--411 CE), one of the various Sts. James suffers the �nine deaths� in which his fingers and toes are cut off, etc., see Fiey''Saints Syriaques'' by Jean Maurice Fiey, ed. by Lawrence Conrad, The Darwin Press, Inc., Princeton, NJ, 2004..  Nisibus is a city in Persia, and these saints are clearly christianized versions of Persian [[Jamshid|Jemshid]], going back to the IE deity Yima Kshaeta.  Many Indo-European gods became saints in the Christian church, including quite a few Zoroastrian gods in the Syriac church.  The Roman Catholic Church conceded the point in 1965 when it [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=389 demoted] 200 saints, including the patron saints of many countries, e.g., Santiago de Compostella, St. David of Wales, St. Patrick of Ireland, St. George of England, St. Andrew of Scotland, St. Nicholas of everywhere (Germany, Russia, Holland, looks like the Hanseatic League), and too many more to mention.

Correspondences like these, including entire pantheons, between the Indo-European religion and other religions and other non-Indo-European languages are so widespread that they cannot be explained as coincidences.  The pattern of borrowings with the Nart sagas, the Mahayana Buddhist elements, and Christian saints, myths and rituals are fairly well understood historically, however the relationship between the Indo-European languages and the Semitic and Sumerian languages is not at all clear.  Since these families of languages are not thought to be related, we shouldn�t expect to see [[cognates]].  Traditionally it had been assumed, partly because people believed that the Bible was historically accurate, that any similarities could be explained by borrowing from the Semitic (and Sumerian) languages into the Indo-European languages.  However since many IE gods and myths show cognate forms across the Indo-European languages, the IE gods can be reconstructed as being in existence in the Proto-Indo-European language at approximately 4000 BC.  That means that if they were borrowed, they would have to have been borrowed by 4000 BCE, the time of the beginning of the break up of the Indo-European languages.  None of the great Mesopotamian or other Semitic-speaking cultures had developed into politically or militarily dominant states that early, so it's difficult to see why another culture would borrow entire pantheons from them.  

As it is, there are still anomalies in the timelines and problems with the geographic distribution.  In any case the difficulties remain unresolved and the subject is a sensitive one, since it concerns the supposed history of several different religions.

==Ritual==
{{Portal|Religion|P religion world.svg}}

Religion is defined as �a set of beliefs...usually involving devotion and ritual observances...� (''Random House Dictionary'').  The rituals of the Indo-European religions are often overlooked but they are very widely described in many places in the individual languages.  Also about a billion [[Hindus]] maintain their ancient rituals every day: they still remember.  The study of Indo-European linguistics allows for a theoretical reconstruction of some of the original IE rituals by showing the common religious meanings of some PIE words.  In a few cases it is thought possible to reconstruct the actual wording of ancient ritual texts, or at least the more formal ones because of the mnemonic qualities of verse.  This more technical approach is the most valuable source for reconstructing Proto-Indo-European religion.

In the past many Indo-European rituals have been reconstructed based on [[comparative religion]] studies, including folkloric descriptions and descriptions from ancient literature, however much of this work had a political or religious agenda.  Nevertheless the multiple descriptions provide a picture and a confirmation of the practice which is reconstructed from linguistic analysis.  More recently modern archaeologists have described many sites which have religious elements that can be analyzed (as well as finding many new inscriptions!) and these have provided a welcomed correction to the loose speculation that was published in the past.  Better standards of analysis of religion have also been developed in anthropological studies, see pp. 229-232, Schultz and Lavenda, abbrev. S&L''Cultural Anthropology, A Perspective on the Human Condition'', by Emily A. Schultz, and Robert H. Lavenda, Mayfield Publishing Co., Mountain View, CA 1995., and p. 344-382, Haviland''Cultural Anthropology'' by William A. Haviland, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, NY, 1993..

�mile Benveniste states that �there is no common term to designate religion itself, or cult, or the priest, not even one of the personal gods� pp. 445-6, ''Indo-European Language and Society''''Indo-European Language and Society'' by �mile Benveniste (transl. by Elizabeth Palmer, orig. title ''Le vocabulaire des institutions Indo-Europ�ennes'', 1969), University of Miami Press, Coral Gables, Florida, 1973..  He then provides the first example:  the root *ŗta-, usually translated as �order�, and reconstructed from Vedic Ŗta, and Iranian arta �order� which provide both an abstract word, and the name of a goddess (see also G&I, p. 810, which gives *ar-(t(h)o-, with forms Hittite ara, UL ara, DAra, a Hittite goddess).  This root also provides the Sanskrit forms ŗta-van (masc.), and ŗta-vari (fem.); and Iranian forms artavan (masc.), artavari (fem.), all meaning �the one who is faithful to arta, who is morally accomplished� which are common types of formations for those who assist at rituals (e.g., priests and priestesses).  Having dismissed the possibility that the Indo-Europeans could have had any basic religious concept, Benveniste states, �We have here one of the cardinal notions of the legal world of the Indo-Europeans to say nothing of their religious and moral ideas (pp. 379-381).  He also adds that an abstract suffix -tu formed the Vedic stem Ŗtu-, Avestan ratu- which designated order, particularly in the seasons and periods of time and which appears in Latin ritus �rite� borrowed into English as �rite(s).�  The same root appears as -ratri, the element in many names of festivals in India such as [[Shivaratri]], the festival of the celebration of the marriage of [[Shiva]]; and in modern Hindi, ārties are special hymns which are sung at the end of an offering to make sure the rites come out correctly''Snatan Daily Prayer'' Diamond Books, New Delhi, 2004..  Another suffix -ti gives Latin ars, artis �the technique for doing something�, and is borrowed into English as �art.�  This is one of the most widely attested words and most widely deified goddesses among the Indo-Europeans, and for many more examples see p. 810, G&I; and p. 56, 57, Pokorny ''Indogermanisches Etymologisches W�rterbuch'' by Julius Pokorny, Francke Verlag, Bern und M�nchen, 1959..

A list of reconstructed PIE religious terms is provided by [[Lyle Campbell]] (pp. 391-392, ''Historical Linguistics''''Historical Linguistics, An Introduction,'' by Lyle Campbell, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 2004.), for which he credits Michael Weiss.  Campbell gives only the bare root and a translation; wherever possible, a page number has been added from the ''Encyclopedia of IE Culture'', abbrev. EIEC, which amplifies the information and gives some of the words in various languages, and from G&I which uses a different type of phonetic reconstruction.

* *''isH1ro'' �holy� [*eisH1ro, p. 702, G&I]
* *''sakro-'' �holy� (derived from *''sak-'' �to sanctify�) [p. 493, EIEC, p. 702 G&I]
* *''kywen(to)-'' �holy� [p. 493, EIEC; p. 702 G&I]
* *''noibho-'' �holy� [p. 493, EIEC]
* *''preky-'' �pray�
* *''meldh-'' �pray� [p. 449, EIEC, p. 703 G&I]
* *''gwhedh-'' �pray� [p. 449, EIEC]
* *''H1wegwh-'' �speak solemnly�; [*''uegwh-'', p. 449, EIEC, p. 704 G&I]
* *''ĝheuHx-'' �call, invoke� (perhaps English god < *''ĝhū-to-'' from �that which is invoked�, but derivation from *''ĝhu-to-'' �libated� from *''ĝheu-'' �libate, pour� is also possible). [p. 89, EIEC]
* *''kowHxei-'' �priest, seer/poet� [p. 451, EIEC]
* *''Hxiaĝ-'' �worship� [*yak� p. 704fn G&I]
* *''weik-'' �consecrate� (earlier meaning perhaps �to separate�), [*''ueik-'', p. 493, EIEC; p. 29, Grimm] 
* *''sep-'' �handle reverently� [p. 450, EIEC]
* *''spend-'' �libate� [*sphent'- p. 608, 708 G&I]
* *''ĝheu-'' �libate� and *''ĝheu-mņ'' �libation�
* *''dapnom'' �sacrificial meal� from *''dap-'', see [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Daps|Daps below]]
* *''tolko/eH2-'' �meal� (at least late PIE) [p. 496, EIEC]
* *''nemos'' �sacred grove� (used in west and centre of the IE world)
* *''werbh-'' �sacred enclosure�

===[[Ancestor Cult]]===

Anthropologists list Ancestral Spirits as one of the types of supernatural beings and they are �seen as retaining an active interest in human society� p. 348-350, Haviland.  Called *patri- > Patris or Patrikas (e.g. �father�, p. 194-5, EIEC) and *mater > Matris or Matrikas (e.g. �mother�, p. 385-6, EIEC) both with diminutive endings in various cognate forms, they were worshipped among all the IE.  Generally, people went to grave sites and offered food, flowers and lighted lamps or candles.  The IE worshipped their own parents as a community at regular times of the year, especially in May and November.

The �honored dead� were assumed to persist in any location and were also worshipped in the same way under the name *Mannus, e.g. Latin [[Di Manes]] and many cognate forms in other languages.  See the [[Proto-Indo-European religion#Cow Creation Myth|Mythology]] section for the myth that correlates to this.  A more personal variation of this ritual was the commemoration of lost comrades by soldiers, which was very widespread among the Romans, and celebrated as the Rosalia, approximately May 1st.

==newest section==

===Food Offerings===

A sacrificial offering or [[oblation]] of roasted barley is reconstructed based on *bhrekyh-, giving Old Latin ferctum �sacrificial cake made of barley, honey and butter�, Osc. fertalis �ritual ceremony involving sacrificial cakes�; and words for �fire� such as *nk'ni- giving Skt. agn� �sacred fire� Greek agōn- �struggle, contest (a very common type of offering)�, Lat. agneus �roast offering, lamb�.  Gamkrelidse and Ivanov argue that these forms show a common *PIE ritual with some replacements, p. 604-605.  Certainly such a ritual can be reconstructed on comparative religion grounds because it is explicitly described in Latin, Sanskrit, Hittite, and Greek.

===Daps===

A Daps is a Feast, or Ritual Food offered to a Deity as a sacred act to encourage the gods to do something.  Worshippers often celebrate with a communal feast, p. 231-232, S&L, but a daps has the distinctive feature that a special "seat" is provided for the gods at the feast.  Detailed descriptions of how to put one on are given in Sanskrit, Avestan, Greek and Latin.  This is a very archaic type of festival.  In the earliest descriptions, straw was spread on the ground for ancestors (see pitras), or gods (in the [[Theoxenia]]), since apparently there was no furniture available, or it hadn�t been invented yet.  In Latin, the older form is described by Cato in De Agri Cultura where he specifically says it�s necessary to propitiate the gods in order to produce good crops, and since he was writing a book on how to farm he tells how to do a daps.  

By the late classical period, a daps in Greek and Roman tradition had become an excuse for an elaborate and expensive party like a �New York Charity Gala� and an entire book is available on the subject called the ''[[Deipnosophists]]'', which tells what foods were served and even gives recipes.  We also know the ritual song in Latin since there is a daps for St. [[Agnes of Rome|Agnes]] sung at Eastertide, see the St. Gregory Hymnal.  The feast is reconstructed as *''dapnom'' �sacrificial meal� from *''dap-''.  Forms include:  Latin daps �ceremonial (cultic) table; food, meal, feast,� Arm. tawn �festival� and Old Icelandic tafn �sacrificial animal, sacrificial food�.  Related words are Tocharian A. tāpal �food� and Hittite LUtappala- �person responsible for court cooking� p. 606, G&I; p. 323ff, p. 484, Benveniste; p. 496, EIEC.

==Related Themes==

* [[Chariot burial]]
* [[Soma]]
* [[Horse sacrifice]]
* [[Neolithic religion]]
* [[Aesir-Asura correspondence]]
* [[World Tree]]

==Subsequent Development==

The following sources are a small selection of the vast amount of information available on this subject.  Links of a more general nature are listed under General Links. 

*Anatolian dialects (Hittite, Palaic, Luwian, and later Lydian, etc.)
**[[Hittite mythology]]

*[[Proto-Indo-Iranian religion]]
*Indian Languages (Sanskrit and Hindi, etc.)
**[[Historical Vedic religion]], [[Vedic mythology]], [[Vedic deities]]
**[[Mitanni]] inscriptions
**[[Hinduism]] (also being vandalized by [[Dieter Bigot Bachmann]]) & [[Hindu mythology]]
**[[Buddhism]] & [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]]
**[[Sufism]]

*Iranian languages (Avestan, Pahlevi, Persian, etc.)
**[[Zoroastrianism]]
**[[Persian mythology]]
**[[Islamic conquest of Persia]]

*Greek 
**[[Mycenean Greek language]]
**[[Ancient Greek religion]] & [[Greek mythology]]
**[[Hellenistic religion]]
**[[Greco-Buddhism | Greco-Roman-Buddhism]]
**[[Greek Orthodox Church]]

*Latin and Italic dialects
**[[Ancient Roman religion]]
**[[Roman religion]] & [[Roman mythology]]
**[[Roman imperial cult]]
**[[Christianity and Paganism]] & [[Roman Catholic Church]] 

*Celtic
**[[Celtic polytheism]] & [[Celtic mythology]]
**[[Lusitanian mythology]]
**[[Irish mythology]]
**[[Welsh mythology]]

*Germanic 
**[[Common Germanic deities]]
**[[Norse mythology]], [[Norse paganism]]
**[[Germanic folklore]]

*Slavic
**[[Slavic paganism]]
**[[Slavic mythology]]
**[[Russian Primary Chronicle]]
**[[Russian Orthodox Church]], [[Old Believers]] & Dual religion

*Baltic
**[[Old Prussian]]
**[[Baltic paganism]], [[List of Baltic deities]]
**[[Latvian mythology]]
**[[Lithuanian mythology]], [[List of Lithuanian gods]]

*Albanian and the Paleo-Balkan dialects
**[[Paleo-Balkanic mythology]]
**[[Ancient Macedonian language]]
**[[Thracian language]] and the [[Thracians]]
**[[Dacian language]]
**[[Phrygian language]]
**[[Illyrian languages]] and [[Messapic language]]
**[[Venetic language]] and mythology
**(modern) [[Albanian language]] and folklore
**Moesian and [[Mysian language]]s 

*Armenian
**[[History of Armenia]] (see especially the Artaxiad Dynasty)
**[http://www.armenian-history.com/Armenian-mythology.htm Armenian paganism] (Zoroastrianism)
**[[Armenian Apostolic Church]]

*[[Tocharians]]
**[[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism]]

==References==


==General links==

* Bizland linguistic sources: http://indoeuro.bizland.com/project/projects10.html 
* Internet Sacred-Texts Archive: http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm with fabulous stuff!
* [[Indo-European sound laws]], [[Brothers Grimm]], [[Hermann Grassmann]], [[Verner's Law|Karl Verner]]
* [[Polytheistic Reconstructionism]]
* Neo-pagan article on PIE religion: http://www.adf.org/articles/cosmology/ierelpos.html 
* Indo-European databases at http://www.ieed.nl/contents.html
* Link to an updated version of this page at http://www.geocities.com/fuggle34/PIErWik.html in case you are looking at an older version.

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