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96-469: Like other Proto-Indo-European divinities, the Divine Twins are not directly attested by archaeological or written materials, but scholars of comparative mythology and Indo-European studies generally agree on the motifs they have reconstructed by way of the comparative method . Scholar Donald Ward proposed a set of common traits that pertain to divine twin pairs of Indo-European mythologies: Although

192-524: A basket before her death, which she put in the river to protect them from murder, before they were found by the she-wolf who raised them. The Palici , a pair of Sicilian twin deities fathered by Zeus in one account, may also be a reflex of the original mytheme. Greek rhetorician and grammar Athenaeus of Naucratis, in his work Deipnosophistae , Book II, cited that poet Ibycus , in his Melodies , described twins Eurytus and Cteatus as "λευκίππους κόρους" ("white-horsed youths") and said they were born from

288-538: A child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, upon learning of her husband Zeus' trysts. In Zuni mythology and religion, Átahsaia is a giant cannibalistic demon, feeding on fellow demons and humans alike. He is depicted as having unblinking bulging eyes, long talons, and yellow tusks that protruded past his lips. The myth of Baxbaxwalanuksiwe, in Hamatsa society of the Kwakwaka'wakw indigenous tribe, tells of

384-433: A common plot structure, in which certain events happen in a predictable order. In contrast, the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss examined the structure of a myth in terms of the abstract relationships between its elements, rather than their order in the plot. In particular, Lévi-Strauss believed that the elements of a myth could be organized into binary oppositions (raw vs. cooked, nature vs. culture, etc.). He thought that

480-430: A daughter of Saule, the female Baltic sun. Sometimes, he is deprived of his bride ( Ausekļa līgaviņa and variations) because of Meness's quarreling. In other accounts, he is a guest or member of the bridal cortege at the wedding of Saules meita with another character. He is also said to own a horse, bought by him or for him. According to Marija Gimbutas 's analysis, Auseklis is a "dievaitis" ('little god') that appears with

576-651: A divine pair of twins called the Alcis worshipped by the Naharvali , whom he compares to the Roman twin horsemen Castor and Pollux . These twins can be associated with the Indo-European myth of the divine twin horsemen (Dioscuri) attested in various Indo-European cultures. Among later Germanic peoples, twin founding figures such as Hengist and Horsa allude to the motif of the divine twins. The Anglo-Saxon heroes are said to have come by

672-680: A group of older gods. In Hindu mythology , the younger devas (gods) battle the older asuras (demons). In the Greek myth of the Titanomachy , the Olympian gods defeat the Titans , an older and more primitive divine race, and establish cosmic order. In Norse mythology , the Aesir and Vanir are two distinct groups of gods who initially waged a war against each other, but eventually reconciled and formed

768-705: A hero or god battling a single to polycephalic dragon. The motif of Chaoskampf ( German: [ˈkaːɔsˌkampf] ; lit.   ' struggle against chaos ' ) is ubiquitous in myth and legend, depicting a battle of a culture hero deity with a chaos monster, often in the shape of a sea serpent or dragon. A few notable examples include: Zeus vs. Typhon and Hercules vs. the Lernaean Hydra , both of which are from Greek mythology, Thor vs. Jörmungandr of Norse mythology, Indra vs. Vritra of Indian mythology, Ra vs. Apep of Egyptian mythology, Yahweh vs. Leviathan of Judeo-Christian mythology, and Yu

864-567: A horse the Sun gave him, and falls in love with the daughter of the (female) Sun ("Saules dukterims"). The Polish deities Lel and Polel , first mentioned by Maciej Miechowita in 1519, are presented as the equivalents of Castor and Pollux, the sons of the goddess Łada (counterpart of the Greek Leda) and an unknown male god. An idol was found in 1969 on the Fischerinsel island, where the cult centres of

960-406: A man-eating giant, who lives in a strange house with red smoke emanating from its roof. Most human civilizations - India, China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Maya, and Inca, among others - based their culture on complex systems of astrology , which provided a link between the cosmos with the conditions and events on earth. For these, the astrological practice was not mere divination because it also served as

1056-511: A pupil of Isocrates . He wrote at that time his major work on history. Timaeus may have returned to Sicily in c.  265 BC , under the reign of Hiero II . He died shortly after 264 BC, allegedly at the age of 96. While in Athens, he completed his great historical work, the Histories , which comprised thirty-eight books. This work was divided into unequal sections containing

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1152-483: A silver egg, a story that recalls the myth of Greek divine twins Castor and Pollux and their mother Leda . This pair of twins was said to have been fathered by sea god Poseidon and a human mother, Molione. There is possibility that Ūsiņš (alternately, Ūsinis ), a Baltic god mentioned in the dainas , is a reflex of the mytheme in Latvian tradition . He is associated with horses, the light and sun, and possibly one of

1248-462: A specific geographical or ethnic range. For example, the Austrian scholar Johann Georg von Hahn tried to identify a common structure underlying Aryan hero stories. Human cannibalism features in the myths, folklore, and legends of many cultures and is most often attributed to evil characters or as extreme retribution for some wrongdoing. Examples include Lamia of Greek mythology, a woman who became

1344-642: A thought which interpreted nearly all myths as poetic descriptions of the sun's behavior. According to this theory, these poetic descriptions had become distorted over time into seemingly diverse stories about gods and heroes. However, modern-day scholars lean more toward particularism, feeling suspicious of broad statements about myths. A recent exception is the historical approach followed in E.J. Michael Witzel 's reconstruction of many subsequent layers of older myths. Comparative mythologists come from various fields, including folklore , literature , history , linguistics , and religious studies , and they have used

1440-420: A united pantheon In various mythologies, a group of "anti-gods" or adversarial beings oppose the main pantheon of gods, They embody chaos, destruction, or primal forces and are often considered demons or evil gods/divinities due to their opposition to divine order, symbolizing a struggle between cosmic order and chaos, good and evil. In particular, The Gigantomachy is a motif found in Greek mythology where

1536-455: A variety of methods to compare myths. Some scholars look at the linguistic relationships between the myths of different cultures. For example, the similarities between the names of gods in different cultures. One particularly successful example of this approach is the study of Indo-European mythology. Scholars have found striking similarities between the mythological and religious terms used in different cultures of Europe and India. For example,

1632-474: A wide variety of cultures". By comparing different cultures' mythologies, scholars try to identify underlying similarities and/or to reconstruct a "protomythology" from which those mythologies developed. To an extent, all theories about mythology follow a comparative approach—as scholar of religion Robert Segal notes, "by definition, all theorists seek similarities among myths". However, scholars of mythology can be roughly divided into particularists, who emphasize

1728-613: A wife. The sons of Krak : Krak II and Lech II also appear in Polish legends as the killers of the Wawel dragon . Another possible reflex may be found in Nakula and Sahadeva . Mothered by Princess Madri, who summoned the Aśvins themselves in a prayer to beget her sons (thus them being called Ashvineya (आश्विनेय)), the twins are two of the five Pandava brothers, married to the same woman, Draupadi . In

1824-562: A word often translated as giant although this translation is not universally accepted. They include Og King of Bashan, the Nephilim, the Anakim, and the giants of Egypt mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11:23. The first mention of the Nephilim is found in Genesis 6:4; attributed to them are extraordinary strength and physical proportions. Usually large to gigantic, serpent-like legendary creatures that appear in

1920-580: Is a theme that recurs throughout numerous world religions and mythologies. In the Epic of Gilgamesh , Enkidu is created by the goddess Aruru out of clay . In Greek mythology, Prometheus molded men out of water and earth. Per the Hebrew Bible , (Genesis 2:7) "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". In Hindu mythology ,

2016-528: Is also used more broadly, to refer to any god who does not interact regularly with humans. In many myths, the Supreme Being withdraws into the heavens after the creation of the world. Baluba mythology features such a story, in which the supreme god withdraws from the earth, leaving man to search for him. Similarly, the mythology of the Hereros tells of a sky god who has abandoned mankind to lesser divinities. In

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2112-538: Is presumed to mean "Great Horseman" or "having great horses", based on the possible presence of Celtic stem -epo- 'horse' in his name. Both appear as a pair of Celtic kings and founders of Lugdunum . They escape from Sereroneus and arrive at a hill. Momorus, who had skills in augury , sees a murder of crows and names the hill Lougodunum , after the crows. This myth is reported in the works of Klitophon of Rhodes and in Pseudo-Plutarch 's De fluviis . Tacitus mentions

2208-457: Is represented as a physically strong and aggressive warrior, while the other is seen as a healer who rather gives attention to domestic duties, agrarian pursuits, or romantic adventures. In the Vedic, Greek and Baltic traditions, the Divine Twins similarly appear as the personifications of the morning and evening star. They are depicted as the lovers or the companions of a solar female deity, preferably

2304-469: Is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures , to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalytical theories . The comparative study of mythologies reveals

2400-606: Is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation of heaven and earth. In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap (old Norse: [ˈɡinːoŋɡɑˌɡɑp]; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial void mentioned in the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony. The creation of man from clay

2496-607: The Mahabharata epic, Nakula is described in terms of his exceptional beauty, warriorship and martial prowess, while Sahadeva is depicted as patient, wise, intelligent and a "learned man". Nakula takes great interest in Virata's horses, and his brother Sahadeva become Virata's cowherd. Scholarship also points out that the Vedic Ashvins had an Avestic counterpart called Aspinas . The Armenian heroes Sanasar and Baldasar appear as twins in

2592-571: The Albanian legendary epic cycle Kângë Kreshnikësh – Muji and Halili – are considered to bear common traits of the Indo-European divine twins. The mytheme of the Divine Twins was widely popular in the Indo-European traditions; evidence for their worship can be found from Scandinavia to the Near East as early as the Bronze Age . The motif was also adopted in non-Indo-European cultures, as attested by

2688-618: The Etruscan Tinas Clenar , the "sons of Jupiter". There might also have been a worship of twin deities in Myceanean times, based on the presence of myths and stories about pairs of brothers or male twins in Attica and Boeotia . The most prevalent functions associated with the twins in later myths are magic healers and physicians, sailors and saviours at sea, warriors and providers of divine aid in battle, controllers of weather and keepers of

2784-561: The Gallic gods Divanno and Dinomogetimarus has no firm support. In one of the Irish myths involving Macha (the Dindsenchas of Ard Macha), she is forced to race against the horses of King of Ulster while in late pregnancy. As a talented rider, she wins the race but starts giving birth to Fír and Fial immediately after crossing the finish line. The archetype is also partly matched by figures such as

2880-552: The Greek sky-god Zeus Pater , the Roman sky-god Jupiter , and the Indian (Vedic) sky-god Dyauṣ Pitṛ have linguistically identical names. This suggests that the Greeks, Romans, and Indians originated from a common ancestral culture, and that the names Zeus , Jupiter , Dyaus and the Germanic Tiu (cf. English Tues-day) evolved from an older name, *Dyēus ph 2 ter , which referred to

2976-677: The Mesopotamian god Tammuz are examples of the dying god, while the Greek myths of Adonis (though a mortal) has often been compared to Osiris and the myths of Zagreus and Dionysos also feature both death and rebirth. Some scholars have noted similarities between polytheistic stories of dying gods and the Christian story of Jesus of Nazareth . Many cultures have stories about divine figures whose death creates an essential part of reality. These myths seem especially common among cultures that grow crops, particularly tubers . One such myth from

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3072-590: The Old Testament , the Israelites have a founding myth of their ancestors escaping enslavement from Egypt. Folklorists such as Antti Aarne ( Aarne-Thompson classification systems ), Joseph Campbell ( monomyth ) and Georges Polti ( The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations ) have created structured reference systems to identify connections between myths from different cultures and regions. Some comparative mythologists look for similarities only among hero stories within

3168-636: The Olympian gods battle the Giants, often depicted as a cataclysmic struggle between order and chaos. This motif has parallels in various mythologies, especially within the Indo-European mythology family. Unlike the typical English notion of giants as gigantic humans, " giants " in Greek mythology are not merely oversized humanoid figures but monstrous beings embodying chaos and disorder. Giants are usually depicted as beings with human appearance, but of prodigious size (though not always so) and great strength common in

3264-701: The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) name of the Divine Twins cannot be reconstructed with certainty based on the available linguistic evidence, the most frequent epithets associated with the two brothers in liturgic and poetic traditions are the "Youthful" and the "Descendants" (sons or grandsons) of the Sky-God ( Dyēus ). Two well-accepted reflexes of the Divine Twins, the Vedic Aśvins and the Lithuanian Ašvieniai , are linguistic cognates ultimately deriving from

3360-550: The Wemale people of Seram Island, Indonesia , tells of a miraculously conceived girl named Hainuwele , whose murdered corpse sprouts into the people's staple food crops. The Chinese myth of Pangu , the Indian Vedic myth of Purusha , and the Norse myth of Ymir all tell of a cosmic giant who is killed to create the world. Many mythological beliefs mention a place that sits at

3456-478: The mytheme of equestrian twins, all associated with the dawn or the sun's daughter. Although their names do not form a complete group of cognates , they nonetheless share a similar epithet leading to a possible ancestral name or epithet: the 'sons or descendants of Dyēus ', the sky-god. Since they cannot be linked together to a common linguistic origin, other reflexes found in the Indo-European myths are less secure, although their motifs can be compared to that of

3552-638: The Dioskouroi, in the characters of the wonder-children (triplets or two male/one female siblings) with astronomical motifs on their bodies. The idea is reiterated in Angelo de Gubernatis 's Zoological Mythology , Vol. 1. The Italian scholar analysed the twins in a variant of The Boys with the Golden Stars format as the "Açvinau" (Asvins) of Vedic lore. Ašvieniai, depicted as žirgeliai or little horses, are common motifs on Lithuanian rooftops, placed for protection of

3648-461: The Divine Twins rode the steeds that pull the sun across the sky and were sometimes depicted as horses themselves. They shared a sister, the Dawn (* H 2 éwsōs ), who is also portrayed as the daughter of the Sky-God (* Dyēus ) in Indo-European myths. The two brothers are generally depicted as healers and helpers, travelling in miraculous vehicles to save shipwrecked mortals. They are often differentiated: one

3744-674: The Divine Twins. The Gaulish Divanno  [ de ] and Dinomogetimarus are said to be protective deities and "the Gallic equivalents" of the Greek Dioskouroi. They seem to be represented in monuments and reliefs in France flanked by horses, which would make them comparable to Gaulish Martes and the Germanic Alcis . Scholars suggest that the numerous Gallo-Roman dedicatory epigraphs to Castor and Pollux, more than any other region of

3840-483: The Gallic sun god Belenus , whose epithet Atepomarus meant "having good horses"; Grannus , who is associated with the healing goddess Sirona (her name means "star"); Maponos ("Son of God"), considered in Irish mythology as the son of Dagda , associated with healing, The Welsh Brân and Manawydan may also be reflexes of the Divine Twins. Comparative mythologist Alexander Haggerty Krappe suggested that two heroes, Feradach and Foltlebar, brothers and sons of

3936-616: The Great vs. Xiangliu of Chinese mythology. Many other examples exist worldwide. Originating in ancient Egyptian iconography, the Ouroboros or uroborus is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The Ouroboros entered western tradition via Greek magical tradition. In Norse mythology, the Ouroboros appears as the serpent Jörmungandr , one of the three children of Loki and Angrboda, which grew so large that it could encircle

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4032-767: The Icelandic settlers Ingólfr Arnarson and Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson , which appears in the legendary account of the settlement of Iceland , may contain several motifs of the Indo-European twin mytheme (being founders and brothers), also paralleling Hengist and Horsa. Another founding pair of twins in Germanic tradition is brothers Dan and Angul (Angel), described in the Gesta Danorum by scholar Saxo Grammaticus . The Haddingjar were two brothers who appear in many versions of Germanic legends. Amphion and Zethus , another pair of twins fathered by Zeus and Antiope , are portrayed as

4128-611: The Proto-Indo-European word for the horse , *h 1 éḱwos . They are related to Sanskrit áśva and Avestan aspā (both from Indo-Iranian *Haćwa ), and to Old Lithuanian ašva , which all share the meaning of " mare ". This may point to an original PIE divine name *h 1 éḱw-n- , although this form could also have emerged from later contacts between Proto-Indo-Iranian and Proto-Balto-Slavic speakers, which are known to have occurred in prehistoric times. Represented as young men rescuing mortals from peril in battle or at sea,

4224-689: The Roman Empire, attest a cult of the Dioskoroi. Greek historian Timaeus mentions that Atlantic Celts venerated the "Dioskouroi" above all other gods and that they [Dioskouroi] had visited them from across the Ocean. Historian Diodorus Siculus , in the fourth book of Bibliotheca historica , writes that the Celts who dwelt along the ocean worshipped the Dioscuroi "more than the other gods". The conjecture that it refers to

4320-767: The Slavic saint brothers Boris and Gleb may also be related. Literary approaches to the mytheme of the Indo-European Divine Twins can be found in Zeus, a Study in Ancient Religion (1925), by Arthur Bernard Cook . The British scholar posited that some versions of The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird , collected from Greek and Italian sources, contained some remnants of Helen and her brothers,

4416-599: The Slavic tribe of Veleti was located, depicting two male figures joined with their heads. Scholars believe it may represent Lel and Polel. Lelek means "strong youth" in Russian dialect. The brightest stars of the Gemini constellation, α Gem and β Gem, are thought to have been originally named Lele and Polele in Belarusian tradition, after the twin characters. According to Polish professor of medieval history, Jacek Banaszkiewicz ,

4512-442: The Sun's daughter but sometimes also the Dawn. In the majority of the stories where they appear, the Divine Twins rescue the Dawn from a watery peril, a theme that emerged from their role as the solar steeds. During the night, the Divine Twins were said to return to the east in a golden boat, where they traversed a sea to bring back the rising sun each morning. During the day, they crossed the nocturnal sky in pursuit of their consort,

4608-535: The center of the world and acts as a point of contact between different levels of the universe. This axis mundi is often marked by a sacred tree or other mythical object. For example, many myths describe a great tree or pillar joining heaven, earth, and the underworld. Vedic India , ancient China , Mayans , Incas and the Germanic peoples all had myths featuring a Cosmic Tree whose branches reach heaven and whose roots reach hell. The ancient Greeks believed in

4704-410: The centre of the universe - Delphi , where a prophetic oracle lived. The story goes that Zeus , king of gods released two birds in opposite directions to fly around the world. The place they met was Delphi. Many cultures believe in a celestial supreme being who has cut off contact with humanity. Historian Mircea Eliade calls this supreme being a deus otiosus (an "idle god"), although this term

4800-569: The conflict between gods and evil forces is highlighted by Izanagi ’s struggle against the malevolent goddess Izanami in the underworld , culminating in his escape and the birth of Amaterasu , the sun goddess, who symbolizes the restoration of cosmic order. In Abrahamic traditions , the War in Heaven refers to the celestial conflict described in Christian and Islamic texts, where the archangel Michael leads

4896-402: The conflict between the gods led by Marduk and the chaotic sea goddess Tiamat , who is often represented with monstrous forms. In Egyptian mythology , Ra 's nightly journey through the underworld involves a fierce struggle against Apep , the serpent of chaos, whose attempts to devour the sun god represent the ongoing battle between order and disorder. Giants also often play similar roles in

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4992-529: The cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness. Creation myths often share a number of features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. They are all stories with a plot and characters who are either deities, human-like figures, or animals, who often speak and transform easily. They are often set in a dim and nonspecific past that historian of religion Mircea Eliade termed in illo tempore ('at that time'). Creation myths address questions deeply meaningful to

5088-603: The creation of the world and of humans to their end. This feature is found in the northern mythologies of Eurasia and the Americas (" Laurasia ") while it is missing in the southern mythologies of Subsaharan Africa, New Guinea and Australia (" Gondwanaland "). Mythological phylogenies also are a potentially powerful way to test hypotheses about cross-cultural relationships among folktales . Some scholars look for underlying structures shared by different myths. The folklorist Vladimir Propp proposed that many Russian fairy tales have

5184-502: The differences between myths, and comparativists, who emphasize the similarities. Particularists tend to "maintain that the similarities deciphered by comparativists are vague and superficial", while comparativists tend to "contend that the differences etched by particularists are trivial and incidental". Comparative approaches to mythology held great popularity among eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholars. Many of these scholars believed that all myths showed signs of having evolved from

5280-511: The different expressions of the Oedipus complex in those cultures. Likewise, Jungians have identified images, themes, and patterns that appear in the myths of many different cultures. They believe that these similarities result from archetypes present in the unconscious levels of every person's mind. A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage

5376-445: The divine twins in other pairs of heroic brothers in Armenian epic tradition, e.g., Ar(a)maneak and Ar(a)mayis; Eruand (Yervant) and Eruaz (Yervaz). In the same vein, Sargis Haroutyunian argues that the Armenian heroes, as well as twins Izzadin (or Izaddin) and Zyaddin (mentioned in the Kurdish Sharafnama ), underlie the myth of divine twins: pairs of brother-founders of divine origin. The pair of heroic brothers and main characters of

5472-469: The early 20th century before today's constellations were internationally recognized. The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of orbis alius (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld. Timaeus (historian) Timaeus of Tauromenium ( Ancient Greek : Τιμαῖος ; born 356 or 350 BC; died c.  260 BC )

5568-401: The epic tradition, born of princess Tsovinar (as depicted in Daredevils of Sassoun ); Sanasar finds a "fiery horse", is more warlike than his brother, and becomes the progenitor of a dynasty of heroes. In an alternate account, their mother is named princess Saṙan, who drinks water from a horse's footprint and gives birth to both heroes. Scholar Armen Petrosyan also sees possible reflexes of

5664-432: The faithful angels in a rebellion against Satan and his followers, who sought to overthrow God's divine authority. This epic battle, depicted in Revelation 12:7-9 and alluded to in Islamic tradition , results in the expulsion of Satan and his demons from Heaven , reinforcing the ultimate triumph of divine order over chaos and evil. There are also accounts of giants in the Hebrew Bible. Some of these are called Nephilim,

5760-405: The first organized body of progenitors of mankind in a creation myth. Numerous examples exist throughout history of a human couple being the progenitors of the entire human species. This would include, but not limited to Adam and Eve of Abrahamism , Ask and Embla of Norse mythology, and Fuxi and Nüwa from Chinese mythos. In Hindu mythology, Manu refers to the archetypal man. In Sanskrit

5856-407: The first to recognize in his work the rising power of the Roman Republic , although it is not clear whether he regarded Rome as a potential friend or foe, and how he understood its significance for the history of the Mediterranean world as a whole. According to scholar Craige B. Champion, "Timaeus may well have been the first writer to see clearly the importance to the western Greeks of the victor of

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5952-691: The flood leaves only one survivor or group of survivors. For example, both the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible tell of a global flood that wiped out humanity and of a man who saved the Earth's species by taking them aboard a boat . Similar stories of a single flood survivor appear in Hindu mythology where Manu saves the Earth from the deluge by building an ark as well as Greek , Norse mythology , Inca mythology and Aztec mythology . The flood narratives, spanning across different traditions such as Mesopotamian , Hebrew , Islamic , and Hindu , reveal striking similarities in their core elements, including divine warnings, ark construction, and

6048-490: The folklore of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by region, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire, whereas dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. One on one epic battles between these beasts are noted throughout many cultures. Typically they consist of

6144-632: The foundation for their spiritual culture and knowledge-systems used for practical purposes such as the calendar (see Mesoamerican calendric shamans) and medicine (e.g. I Ching ). Closely tying in with Astrology, various zodiac systems and constellations have existed since antiquity. For the zodiac, the Mazzaroth , Chinese Zodiac , and Hindu Zodiac are examples. The origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, or mythology. Different cultures and countries adopted their own constellations, some of which lasted into

6240-434: The great Sicilian War, whether it be Rome or Carthage, which he could not have divined." Very few parts of the elaborate work of this historian were preserved after Antiquity : Timaeus was highly criticized by other historians, especially by Polybius , and indeed his unfairness towards his predecessors, which gained him the nickname of Epitimaeus (Επιτίμαιος, "fault-finder"), laid him open to retaliation. While Polybius

6336-419: The heavenly fire for humanity, enabling the progress of civilization. In the Book of Enoch , the fallen angels and Azazel teach early humanity use of tools and fire. Per the ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, the Rigveda (3:9.5), speaks of a hero Mātariśvan who recovered fire which had been hidden from humanity. Cultures around the world tell stories about a great flood. In many cases,

6432-432: The history of Greece from its earliest days until the first Punic war . The Histories treated the history of Italy and Sicily in early times, of Sicily alone, and of Sicily and Greece together. The last five books address the time of Agathocles in detail; the work most likely concluded before the Romans crossed over into Sicily in 264. Timaeus also wrote a monograph on the Greek king Pyrrhus , which almost certainly had

6528-402: The house. Similar motifs can also be found on beehives, harnesses, bed frames, and other household objects. A similar imagery appears in the decoration of Fachhallenhaus , a type of Low German house : the point of the gables consists of carved wooden boards in the shape of (stylised) horses' heads, often serving to protect the edges of the roof from the wind. The horses' heads are attributed to

6624-478: The king of Innia, are expressions of the mytheme. These heroes help the expedition of the Fianna into Tir fa Thuinn (a realm on the other side of the sea), in a Orphean mission to rescue some of their members, in the tale The pursuit of the Gilla Decair and his horse . Both are expert navigators: one can build a ship and the other can follow the wild birds. Other possible candidates are members of Lugh 's retinue, Atepomarus and Momorus ( fr ). Atepomarus

6720-512: The legendary founders of Thebes . They are called "Dioskouroi, riders of white horses" (λευκόπωλοι) by Euripides in his play The Phoenician Women (the same epithet is used in Heracles and in the lost play Antiope ). In keeping with the theme of distinction between the twins, Amphion was said to be the more contemplative, sensitive one, whereas Zethus was more masculine and tied to physical pursuits, like hunting and cattle-breeding. The mother of Romulus and Remus , Rhea Silvia, placed them in

6816-405: The morning star. In what seems to be a later addition confined to Europe, they were said to take a rest at the end of the day on the "Isles of the Blessed", a land seating in the western sea which possessed magical apple orchards. By the Bronze Age , the Divine Twins were also represented as the coachmen of horse-driven solar chariots. Three Indo-European traditions (Greek, Indic and Baltic) attest

6912-457: The mother of Ganesh , Parvati , made Ganesh from her skin. In Chinese mythology (see Chu Ci and Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era ), Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability to bear children. A protoplast, from ancient Greek πρωτόπλαστος (prōtóplastos, "first-formed"), in a religious context initially referred to the first human or, more generally, to

7008-462: The mother of the Polish hero twins Waligóra ("Mountain Beater") and Wyrwidąb ("Oak Tearer") died in the forest, where wild animals took care of them. Waligóra was raised of by a she-wolf and Wyrwidąb by a she-bear, who fed them with their own milk. Together, they defeated the dragon who tormented the kingdom, for which the grateful king gave each of them half of the kingdom and one of his two daughters as

7104-430: The myth's purpose was to "mediate" these oppositions, thereby resolving basic tensions or contradictions found in human life or culture. Some scholars propose that myths from different cultures reveal the same, or similar, psychoanalytic forces at work in those cultures. Some Freudian thinkers have identified stories similar to the Greek story of Oedipus in many different cultures. They argue that these stories reflect

7200-472: The mytheme in Latvian. Auseklis is referred to as male in the context of the dainas (folksong), and is seen as the groom of Saules meita ("daughter of the sun"), who came all the way to Germany to court her. In addition, according to scholar Elza Kokare, Auseklis belongs to a group of heavenly deities that take part in a mythological drama about a "celestial wedding". Auseklis is seen as a groom of Saules meita ,

7296-620: The mythologies and folklore of other, non Indo-European peoples, such as in the Nartian traditions , along with the Quinametzin of Aztec mythology . In Chinese mythology , the Battle of Zhuolu was a decisive clash between the Yellow Emperor Huangdi and the tribal leader Chiyou , usually considered a demon god, marking the establishment of a unified Chinese state. In Japanese mythology ,

7392-465: The mythologies of highly complex cultures, the supreme being tends to disappear completely, replaced by a strong polytheistic belief system. In Greek mythology, " Chaos ", the creator of the universe, disappears after creating primordial deities such as Gaea (Earth), Uranus (Sky), Pontus (Water) and Tartarus (Hell), among others. Many cultures have a creation myth in which a group of younger, more civilized gods conquers and/or struggles against

7488-442: The mythology and legends of many different cultures. In various Indo-European mythologies, a group of anti-gods are usually featured as primeval, even malevolent beings associated with chaos, evil, and the wild nature. These are frequently portrayed as enemies of the gods, be they Greek ( Giants ), Celtic ( Fomorians ), Hindu ( Asuras ), Norse ( Jötnar) or Persian ( Daevas) . The Mesopotamian myth of The Enuma Elish describes

7584-535: The origin of their customs, rituals, and identity . In fact, ancient and traditional societies have often justified their customs by claiming that their gods or mythical heroes established those customs. For example, according to the myths of the Australian Karajarri , the mythical Bagadjimbiri brothers established all of the Karadjeri's customs, including the position in which they stand while urinating. In

7680-519: The other hand, as even Polybius admitted, Timaeus consulted all available authorities and records. His attitude towards the myths, which he claimed to have preserved in their simple form, can be contrasted to the rationalistic interpretation under which it had become the fashion to disguise them. This is probably the origin of his nickname graosyllektria (γραοσυλλεκτρία; "Old Ragwoman", or "collector of old wives' tales"), an allusion to his fondness for trivial details. Both Dionysius of Halicarnassus and

7776-453: The preservation of righteousness, highlighting the universal themes that thread through diverse religious beliefs. Many myths feature a god who dies and who often returns to life. Such myths are particularly common in Near Eastern mythologies. The anthropologist Sir James Frazer compared these dying god myths in his multi-volume work The Golden Bough . The Egyptian god Osiris and

7872-487: The sea in response to a plea from the beleaguered British king Vortigern . Descendants of Odin , their names mean 'Stallion' and 'Horse', respectively, strengthening the connection. In Scandinavia, images of divine twins are attested from 15th century BCE until the 8th century CE, after which they disappear, apparently as a result of religious change. Norse texts contain no identifiable divine twins, though scholars have looked for parallels among gods and heroes. The myth of

7968-417: The sky-god or, to give an English cognate, the divine father in a Proto-Indo-European religion . An approach which is both historical and comparative was recently proposed by E.J. Michael Witzel . He compares collections of mythologies and reconstructs increasingly older levels, parallel to but not necessarily dependent on language families. The most prominent common feature is a storyline that extends from

8064-408: The society that shares them, revealing their central worldview and the framework for the self-identity of the culture and individual in a universal context. Creation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions; found throughout human culture, they are the most common form of myth. Chaos (Ancient Greek: χάος, romanized: kháos) (aka Primordial Chaos, Primordial Void)

8160-466: The sons of Dievs. Historical linguist Václav Blažek argues he is "a functional and etymological counterpart" of a minor Vedic character Auśijá- (a servant of the Vedic twins and related to bees) and the Aśvins themselves. Also, according to David Leeming , Usins appears as a charioteer, conducting a chariot pulled by two horses across the sky. It has also been argued that Auseklis is the other reflex of

8256-643: The symbol of the Saxons , the Saxon Steed . Its distribution as decoration on roof ridges is also reflected in the coats of arms of several north Germany towns and villages. These crossed horseheads are said to be "an old pagan symbol". This symbol, also named "Gable Cross" ( de ), was possibly associated with legendary founders Hengist and Horsa, since it was called Hengst und Hors . General studies: Indo-Iranian: Celtic: Balto-Slavic: Greek: Germanic: Comparative mythology Comparative mythology

8352-487: The term for 'human', मानव ( IAST : mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. The Manusmriti is an ancient legal text and constitution among the many Dharmaśāstras of Hinduism and is believed to be a discourse given by Manu. The theft of fire for the benefit of humanity is a theme that recurs in many world mythologies. A few examples include: in Greek mythology, according to Hesiod, the Titan Prometheus steals

8448-412: The term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths – metaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths – that is, they describe the ordering of

8544-414: The trans-national motifs that unify spiritual understanding globally. The significance of this study generates a "broad, sympathetic understanding of these 'stories' in human history". The similarities of myths remind humanity of the universality in the human experience . Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton defined comparative mythology as "the systematic comparison of myths and mythic themes drawn from

8640-421: The two Polabian gods, Porevit and Porenut , manifest dioscuric characteristics. According to him, the first part of their names derives from a Proto-Slavic root -por meaning "strength," with first being "Lord of strength" – the stronger one, and the other "Lord in need of support (strength)" – the weaker one. They both have five faces each and appear alongside Rugiaevit , the chief god. During childbirth,

8736-412: The wars against Rome as its centrepiece. Timaeus devoted much attention to chronology and introduced the system of reckoning by Olympiads . In order to plot chronologies, he employed the years of Archons of Athens , of Ephors of Sparta , and of priestesses of Argos . This system, although not adopted in everyday life, was widely used by the Greek historians afterwards. Timaeus can claim to be

8832-418: The wind, assistants at birth with a connection to fertility, divinities of dance, protectors of the oath, and founders of cities, sometimes related to swans. Scholarship suggests that the mytheme of twins has echoes in the medieval legend of Amicus and Amelius . In Belarusian folklore, Saints George and Nicholas are paired up together, associated with horses, and have a dual nature as healers. The veneration of

8928-490: The world and grasp its tail in its teeth. In the Aitareya Brahmana, a Vedic text of the early 1st millennium BCE, the nature of the Vedic rituals is compared to "a snake biting its own tail." It is a common belief among indigenous people of the tropical lowlands of South America that waters at the edge of the world-disc are encircled by a snake, often an anaconda, biting its own tail. Many cultures have myths describing

9024-498: Was a dynast who had been ruling Tauromenium since 358 after he seized the city from Dionysius of Syracuse . In 316 or 315 BC, Timaeus is said to have been driven out of Sicily by Agathocles , the tyrant of Syracuse , possibly because of his hostility towards him, although it is likely that he left his hometown considerably earlier. Timaeus stated that he spent at least 15 years in Athens , where he studied under Philiscus of Miletus ,

9120-611: Was an ancient Greek historian . He was widely regarded by ancient authors as the most influential historian between the time of Ephorus (4th century BC) and Polybius (2nd century BC). In the words of scholar Lionel I. C. Pearson , Timaeus "maintained his position as the standard authority on the history of the Greek West for nearly five centuries." Timaeus was born 356 or 350 to a wealthy Greek family in Tauromenium (modern Taormina ), in eastern Sicily . His father, Andromachus ,

9216-422: Was well-versed in military matters and a statesman, Timaeus is depicted as a bookworm without military experience or personal knowledge of the places he described. The most serious charge against him was that he willfully distorted the truth when influenced by personal considerations: thus, he was less than fair to Dionysius I of Syracuse and Agathocles , while loud in praise of his favourite Timoleon . On

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