Proto-Indo-European Religion

“Proto-Indo-European religion is the hypothesized religion of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) peoples based on the existence of similarities among the deities, religious practices, and mythologies of the Indo-European peoples. The reconstruction of the hypotheses below is based on linguistic evidence using the comparative method. Archaeological evidence is difficult to match to any specific culture in the period of early Indo-European culture in the Chalcolithic/Copper-Age. Other approaches to Indo-European mythology are possible, most notably the trifunctional hypothesis of Georges Dumézil.Proto-Indo-European religion.” ref

“The Proto-Indo-Europeans are a hypothetical prehistoric population of Eurasia who spoke Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the ancestor of the Indo-European languages according to linguistic reconstruction. Knowledge of them comes chiefly from that linguistic reconstruction, along with material evidence from archaeology and archaeogenetics. The Proto-Indo-Europeans likely lived during the late Neolithic, or roughly the 4th millennium BCE.” ref

“Mainstream scholarship places them in the Pontic–Caspian steppe zone in Eastern Europe (present-day Ukraine and southern Russia). Some archaeologists would extend the time depth of PIE to the middle Neolithic (5500 to 4500 BCE or 7,520 to 6,520 years ago) or even the early Neolithic (7500 to 5500 BCE or 9,520 to 7,520 years ago), and suggest alternative location hypotheses. By the early second millennium BCE, descendants of the Proto-Indo-Europeans had reached far and wide across Eurasia, including Anatolia (Hittites), the Aegean (the ancestors of Mycenaean Greece), the north of Europe (Corded Ware culture), the edges of Central Asia (Yamnaya culture), and southern Siberia (Afanasievo culture).” ref

Proto-Indo-European Pantheon

“Linguists are able to reconstruct the names of some deities in the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) from many types of sources. Some of the proposed deity names are more readily accepted among scholars than others. 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 Mythology section), and special powers.” ref

*Dyēus Ph₂tēr is the god of the day-lit sky and the chief god of the Indo-European pantheon. The name survives in Greek Zeus with a vocative form Zeu patēr; Latin Jūpiter (from the archaic Latin Iovis pater; Diēspiter), Sanskrit Dyáus Pitā, and Illyrian Dei-pátrous.” ref

*Deiwos-, Deva or Deos, but from *dhy-, according to Jaan Puhvel), Hittite, sius ‘god’; Greek, dios ‘god’ (but usually theos from a different root); Oscan, Diovis; Latin, Jove, a particular god, also with forms deus, divus, ‘god, rich man’; Sanskrit Deva; in Avestan, the daevas, (later Persian divs) were demonized by Zarathustra; Lith. Dievas; Latv. Dievs, a god who causes the rye fields to ripen; ON Týr, OHG Ziu, Old English, Tiw (from which comes Tuesday, the name of the week), a particular god; Welsh duw; Irish dia, ‘god’, and possibly Irish Dagda, and Slavic Dažbog.” ref

*Plth₂wih₂ is reconstructed as ‘Plenty’, a goddess of wide flat lands and the rivers that meander across them. Forms include Hittite Lelwanni, a goddess of the underworld “the pourer” and Sanskrit Prthivi.” ref

*Perkwunos, known as the “striker,” is reconstructed from Sanskrit Parjanya, Prussian Perkuns, Lithuanian Perkūnas, Latvian Pērkons, Slavic Perun and Norse Fjörgyn. Fjörgyn was replaced by Thor among the Germanic speaking peoples. These gods give their names to Thursday, the fifth day of the week, through calqueing. The Celtic hammer god Sucellus is of the same character, but with an unrelated name.” ref

*H₂eus(os), is believed to have been the goddess of dawn, continued in Greek mythology as Eos, in Rome as Aurora, in Vedic as Ushas, in Lithuanian mythology as Aušra ‘dawn’ or Auštaras (Auštra) ‘the god (goddess) of the northeast wind’, Latvian Auseklis, the morning star (Lithuanian Aušrinė, ‘morning star’); Ausera, and Ausrina, goddesses of dawn or of the planet Venus; Hittite, assu ‘lord, god’; Gallic Esus, a god of hearths; Slavic, Iaro, a god of summer. The form Arap Ushas appears in Albanian folklore, but is a name of the Moon. See also the names for the Sun which follow. An extension of the name may have been *H₂eust(e)ro, but see also the form *as-t-r, with intrusive -t- [between s and r] in northern dialects”. Anatolian dialects: Estan, Istanus, Istara; Greek, Hestia, goddess of the hearth; Latin Vesta, goddess of the hearth; in Armenian as Astghik, a star goddess; possibly also in Germanic mythology as Eostre or Ostara; and Baltic, Austija.” ref

*PriHeh₂, is reconstructed (Mallory & Adams 2006, pp. 208) as “beloved, friend” (Sanskrit priya), the love goddess.” ref

*Deh₂nu- ‘River goddess’ is reconstructed (Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 434) from Sanskrit Danu, Irish Danu; Welsh Dôn, and a masc. form Ossetic Donbettys. The name has been connected with the Dan rivers which run into the Black Sea (Dnieper, Dniester, Don, and Danube) and other river names in Celtic areas.” ref

*Welnos, is reconstructed as a god of cattle from Slavic Veles, and Lithuanian Velnias (in archaic Lithuanian vėlės means ‘shades’ or ‘spirits of the departed’), “protector of flocks”; as well as Old Norse Ullr, and Old English Wuldor, and even the Elysian fields in Greek myth and ritual (according to Jaan Puhvel). There may be a god of cattle in the northern lands, but the argument is very thin. These names were also once thought to be connected to Sanskrit Varuna and Greek Ouranos, for example by Max Muller (Comparative Mythology p. 84), but this is now rejected on linguistic grounds, (“the etymology is disputed” Shapiro, JIES 10, 1&2, p. 155).” ref

Divine Twins: There are several sets (the Indo-Europeans seem to be quite fond of twins), which may or may not be related.
- Analysis of different Indo-European tales indicate the Proto-Indo-Europeans believed there were two progenitors of mankind: *Manu- (“Man”; Indic Manu; Germanic Mannus) and *Yemo- (“Twin”; Indic Yama; Germanic Ymir), his twin brother. Cognates of this set of twins appear as the first mortals, or the first gods to die, sometimes becoming the ancestors of everyone and/or king(s) of the dead.
- The Sun and Moon as discussed in the next section.
- Horse Twins, usually have a name that means ‘horse’ *ekwa-, but the names are not always cognate, because there is no lexical set (Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 432). 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, sons of the Sky god, continued in Sanskrit Ashvins and Lithuanian Ašvieniai, identical to Latvian Dieva deli. Other horse twins are: Greek, Dioskuri (Polydeukes and Kastor); 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; 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, (JIES 10, 1&2, p. 137-166, Michael Shapiro, who references D. Ward, The Divine Twins, Folklore Studies, No. 19, Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley, 1968,).” ref

A water or sea god is reconstructed (Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 438) as *H₂epom Nepots ‘grandson/nephew of waters’ from Persian and Vedic Apam Napat, and as *neptonos from Celtic Nechtan, Etruscan Nethuns, and Latin Neptune. This god may be related to the Germanic water spirit, the Nix. Similarly, most major Lithuanian rivers begin in ne- (e.g. Nemunas, Neris, Nevėžis). Poseidon fulfills the same role in Greek mythology, but although the etymology of his name is highly arguable, it is certainly not cognate to Apam Napat.” ref

“The Sun and Moon are often seen as the twin children of various deities, 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 subsequent Indo-European mythologies.” ref

Here are two of the most common PIE forms:

*Seh₂ul with a genitive form *Sh₂-en-s, Sun, appears as Sanskrit Surya, Avestan Hvara; Greek Helios, Latin Sol, Germanic *Sowilo (Old Norse Sól; Old English Sigel and Sunna, modern English Sun), Lithuanian Saulė, Latvian Saule; Albanian Diell.” ref
*Meh₁not Moon, gives Avestan, Mah; Greek Selene (unrelated), although they also use a form Mene; Latin, Luna, later Diana (unrelated), ON Mani, Old English Mona; Slavic Myesyats; Lithuanian, *Meno, or Mėnuo (Mėnulis); Latvian Meness. In Albanian, Hane is the name of Monday, but this is not related. (Encyclopedia of IE Culture, p. 385, gives the forms but does not have an entry for a moon goddess.)” ref

*Peh₂uson is reconstructed (Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 434) as a pastoral god, based on the Greek god Pan, the Roman god Faunus and the Fauns, and Vedic Pashupati, and Pushan. See also Pax.” ref

There may have been a set of nature spirits or gods akin to the Greek Satyrs, the Celtic god Cernunnos and the Dusii, Slavic Veles and the Leszi, the Germanic Woodwose, elves and dwarves. There may also have been a female cognate akin to the Greco-Roman nymphs, Slavic vilas, the Huldra of Germanic folklore, and the Hindu Apsaras.
It is also likely that they had three fate goddesses; see the Norns in Norse mythology, Moirae in Greek mythology, Sudjenice of Slavic folklore, and Deivės Valdytojos in Lithuanian mythology. Celtic religion is also rife with triple goddesses, such as the Gaulish Matrones and the Morrigan of Ireland, and sometimes triplicate gods as well, but they are not always associated with fate. See also Triple deities.” ref

Pandemonium?

“Pandemonium” is Jaan Puhvel‘s word for the mutual demonization that occurred when the Younger-Avesta demonized the daevas, and the post-Rigvedic texts demonized the asuras. Neither demonization occurs in the oldest texts: in the Rigveda, there is not yet any hard-and-fast distinction between asuras and dēvas, and even in the later Vedas, the two groups (though thematically in opposition) cooperate at certain times. In the Old Avestan texts the daevas are to be rejected for being misguided by the “lie”, but they are still gods, and not demons.” ref

However, in the 19th century this distinction between the older and younger texts had not yet been made, and in 1884 Martin Haug “postulated his thesis that the transition of both the words [asuras and devas] into the designations of the demons … is based on a prehistoric schism in religion …” The observation was reiterated by Jacob Grimm (DM3, p. 985), who, like Haug, considered it to be the theological basis of Zoroastrianism‘s dualism.” ref

Before this (in the 1850s), Westergaard had attributed the Younger-Avesta’s demonization of the daevas to a “moral reaction against Vedic polytheism”, but that (unlike the general notion of a mutual demonization) was very quickly rejected, and by 1895 James Darmesteter noted that it has “no longer [had] any supporter.” Nonetheless, some modern authors like Mallory and Adams still refer to Zoroastrianism as a “religious reformation” of Vedic religion (Mallory & Adams 2006, pp. 408–09). Most scholars however stress that there were two independent developments in ancient Iran and post-Rigvedic India, but nonetheless to be considered against the common background of prehistoric Indo-Iranian religion where both groups coexisted, with the asuras, perhaps even as a subset (having a particular common characteristic, like the Adityas) of the daevas, the national gods.” ref

Proto-Indo-European Mythology

World Tree in PIE Mythology

There seems to have been a belief in a world tree, which in Germanic mythology was an ash tree (Norse Yggdrasil; Irminsul), in Hinduism a banyan tree, an oak tree in Slavic mythology, and a hazel tree in Celtic mythology. In classical Greek mythology, the closest analog of this concept is Mount Olympus; however, there is also a later folk tradition about the World Tree, which is being sawed by the Kallikantzaroi (Greek goblins), perhaps a reborrowing from other peoples.” ref

Dragon or Serpent in PIE Mythology

One common myth which can be found among almost all Indo-European mythologies is a battle ending with the slaying of a serpent, usually a dragon of some sort (Watkins 1995).” ref

Thor vs. Jörmungandr, Sigurd vs. Fafnir in Scandinavian mythology;
Zeus vs. Typhon, Kronos vs. Ophion, Apollo vs. Python, Heracles vs. the Hydra and Ladon, Perseus vs. Ceto, and Bellerophon vs. the Chimera in Greek mythology;
Indra vs. Vrtra in the Rigveda;
Krishna vs. Kāliyā in Bhagavata mythology;
Θraētaona, and later Kərəsāspa, vs. Aži Dahāka in Zoroastrianism and Persian mythology;
Perun vs. Veles, Dobrynya Nikitich vs. Zmey in Slavic mythology;
Tarhunt vs. Illuyanka of Hittite mythology;
Beowulf vs. the dragon in Anglo-Saxon literature” ref

“There are also analogous stories in other neighboring mythologies: Anu or Marduk vs. Tiamat in Mesopotamian mythology; Ra vs. Apep in Egyptian mythology; Baal or El vs. Lotan or Yam-Nahar in Levantine mythology; Yahweh or Gabriel vs. Leviathan or Rahab or Tannin in Jewish mythology; Michael the Archangel and, Christ vs. Satan (in the form of a seven-headed dragon), Virgin Mary crushing a serpent in Roman Catholic iconography, Saint George and the Dragon in Christian mythology. The myth symbolized a clash between forces of order and chaos (represented by the serpent), and the god or hero would always win (except in some mythologies, such as the Norse Ragnarök myth). It is, therefore, most probable that there existed some kind of dragon or serpent, possibly multi-headed (cf. Śeṣa, the hydra, and Typhon) and likely linked with the god of underworld and/or waters, as serpentine aspects can be found in many chthonic and/or aquatic Indo-European deities, such as for example the many Greek aquatic deities, most notably Poseidon, Oceanus, Triton, Typhon (who carries many chthonic attributes while not specifically linked with the sea), Ophion, and also the Slavic Veles. Possibly called *kʷr̥mis, or some name cognate with *Velnos/Werunos or the root *Wel/Vel– (VS Varuna, who is associated with the serpentine naga, Vala and Vṛtra, Slavic Veles, Baltic velnias), or “serpent” (Hittite Illuyanka, VS Ahis, Iranian azhi, Greek ophis and Ophion, and Latin anguis), or the root *dheubh– (Greek Typhon and Python).” ref

Sun in PIE Mythology

“Related to the dragon-slaying myth is the “Sun in the rock” myth, of a heroic warrior deity splitting a rock where the Sun or Dawn was imprisoned. Such a myth is preserved in Rigvedic Vala, where Ushas and the cows, stolen by the Panis were imprisoned, connected with other myths of abductions into the netherworld such as the mysteries of Eleusis connected with Persephone, Dionysus, and Triptolemus. The Sun was represented as riding in a chariot.” ref

Earth as a body in PIE Mythology

“There was a creation myth involving the world being made from the body of a giant. The elements in the myth are (1) *Yemós, the “twin” who is (2) dismembered by (3)*Mánu, 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. Each entry is followed by the original source of the myth, and then a place where it was published. Many of the references are from the SBE = Sacred Books of the East, ed. by Max Müller.” ref

“While the substance of the formula is essentially folkloric (because 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 also appears in the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Mallory and Adams, p. 129-130, and other modern authors, which is why it was chosen as an example.” ref

“Vedic Sanskrit examples, circa 1500 to 500 BCE:

Yamá dies (it doesn’t say how). “Yamá surrendered his dear body.” The original source is the RV 10.13.4. This was published in Vedic Mythology, Vol. 2, p. 223.
“Yama died as the first of mortals.” The original source is the Atharva Veda XVIII.3.13, and this was also published in Vedic Mythology, Vol. 2, p. 222.
later Sanskrit (1000 – 500 BCE). First a bull, then the wife of Manu, named Manâvî is killed (with Manu’s permission) in sacrifice by the Ashuras (no world making!). The original source is the Satapatha-Brâhmana: 1 Kanda, 1 Adhyâya, 4 Brâhmana 14-17. This was published in the SBE, Vol. 12 (trans. by Julius Eggeling), pp. 29–30.” ref

“Avestan examples:

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 “brilliant, shining.” The original source is the Zend-Avesta, Vendidad, Fargard II, and this was published in SBE, Vol. 4 (translated by James Darmesteter), p. 12-21.
Avestan “….Aži Dahâka 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, Zamyâd Yasht, VIII: 46, published in SBE, Vol. 23, p. 293-297.
Middle Persian of the 9th-11th centuries. In these source Gav, the primordial bull, is killed by Ahriman (spelled Aharman in Darmesteter). The original source is the Bundahišn, Ch. 3, part 23, * Middle Persian. Here there is only the bare statement: “Spîtûr was he who, with Dahâk, cut up Yim.” The original source is also the Bundahišn, Chap XXXI, Verse 5, and this was published in SBE Vol. 5, p. 131.
Persian (around 1100 CE, written by Firdausi). In this source, Jemshid is sawed in two by Zohak. (Jemshid is the Persian form of earlier Yima Kshaeta. Zohak is the Persian form of earlier Aži Dahâka.) In this text, Gayomart is a man, the first king, but he simply “passes away” after winning a battle against the son of Ahriman. The original source is the Shah Namah, which was produced in many books often with beautiful Mughal-style illustrations. The first section of it is a “book of kings”, hence the name. 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, at sacred-texts.” ref

“Germanic examples:

Old Norse texts written down in the 13th cent. but composed earlier. Ymir is dismembered by Odin and his 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 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 Univ. Press, London, 1923.” ref

The Brothers in PIE Mythology

“Analysis of different Indo-European tales indicates the Proto-Indo-Europeans believed there were two progenitors of mankind: *Manu- (“Man”; Indic Manu; Germanic Mannus) and *Yemo- (“Twin”), his twin brother. There are almost no mythological tales of Rome, but the early “history” of Rome is recognized as being an historicized version of various old myths. Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. They both have stories in which they are killed.” ref

“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 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 is the actual 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.” ref

“The Germanic languages have information about both Ymir and Mannus (cognates of *Yemo- and *Manu- respectively), but they never appear in the same myth, rather they appear only in myths widely separated in both time and circumstances.” ref

“A Roman text (dated CE 98) tells that Mannus, the son of Tuisto, was the ancestor of the Germanic people, according to Tacitus, writing in Latin, in Germania 2. We never see this being again, but the name Allemagne is interpreted (perhaps by folk etymology) as “all-men” the name for themselves.” ref

Bulls in PIE Mythology

“Celtic (in this case Irish) texts were written down between the 11th and 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 and Madb early on the morrow, saw coming over Cruachan from the west, the Brown Bull of Cualnge with the Whitehorned [Bull] of Ai in torn fragments hanging about his ears and horns.” An example of one of the 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 Táin Bó Cúalnge, usually called in English, The Cattle Raid of Cooley. These quotations are from The Ancient Irish Epic Tale, Táin Bó Cúalnge, transl. by Joseph Dunn, publ. David Nutt, London, 1914.” ref

“In Lithuanian, a folktale tells of a bull and 3 cows which are beheaded by Aušrinė, (the morning star) and then the land appears. “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.” ref

“Creation myths in PIE Mythology

Birth of the Horse Twins from the grain/horse mother (Cox, p. 234, found in 7/11 language groups, which is a very conservative statistic)
Danu killed and cut open to produce a river (a parturition creation myth, 3/11)” ref

“Cyclic myths in PIE Mythology

Spring kills Winter, usually with his sprinkler or his striker (Cox, p. 559, found in 4/11 language groups)
Cloud/cows stolen from the sun god by the wind god and then released (Cox, p. 232, 4/11)
Death and rebirth of the (often grain-associated) life-death-rebirth deity causes the seasons; Frazer calls him the “Dying Corn God” (Frazer, Vol. 8 and 9 of the Golden Bough esp. Vol. 9, p. 412-423; 4/11)
Uncle Water melts the ice and releases the water causing flooding (Gamkrelidze and Ivanov 1995, 5/11)
Quest of the golden apples of immortality, usually by a wind god (Cox, p. 512, 4/11)” ref

“Culture myths in PIE Mythology

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 gods taught humans such arts as 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-giving figures (e.g. Prometheus and Loki) sometimes have an intermediate position between gods and humans (i.e., demigods). 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 or revered as heroes. Mallory and Adams call them Craft Gods and argue that they are not linguistically reconstructible; however, Cox compares Greek Prometheus with Hindu Pramanthu (Cox, p. 421). Smith gods, a subset of the culture gods, are slightly reconstructible according to Mallory and Adams.” ref

“Émile Benveniste states that “there is no common [IE] term to designate religion itself, or cult, or the priest, not even one of the personal gods”. There are, however, terms denoting ritual practice reconstructed in Indo-Iranian religion which have root cognates in other branches, hinting at common PIE concepts. Thus, the stem *hrta-, usually translated as “(cosmic) order” (Vedic ŗta and Iranian arta). 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” and Sanskrit ritu.” ref

The following list of reconstructed PIE religious terms is based on EIEC and Lyle Campbell

*isH₁ro ‘holy’
*sakro- ‘sacred’ (derived from *sak- ‘to sanctify’) [p. 493, EIEC]
*k^ywen(to)- ‘holy’ [p. 493, EIEC]
*noib^ho- ‘holy’ [p. 493, EIEC]
*prek^y– ‘pray’
*meld^h– ‘pray’ [p. 449, EIEC]
*g^whed^h– ‘pray’ [p. 449, EIEC]
*H₁weg^wh– ‘speak solemnly’; [*ueg^wh–, p. 449, EIEC]
*ĝ^heuH_x– ‘call, invoke’ (perhaps English god < *ĝ^hu-to- from ‘that which is invoked’, but derivation from *ĝ^hu-to- ‘libated’ from *ĝ^heu- ‘libate, pour’ is also possible). [p. 89, EIEC]
*kowH_xei- ‘priest, seer/poet’ [p. 451, EIEC]
*H_xiaĝ- ‘worship’
*weik- ‘consecrate’ (earlier meaning perhaps ‘to separate’), [*ueik-, p. 493, EIEC; p. 29, Grimm]
*sep- ‘handle reverently’ [p. 450, EIEC]
*spend- ‘libate’
*ĝ^heu- ‘libate’ and *ĝ^heu-mņ ‘libation’
*dapnom ‘sacrificial meal’ from *dap-, [p. 496, EIEC; p. 484, Benveniste]
*tolko/eH₂– ‘meal’ (at least late PIE) [p. 496, EIEC]
*nemos ‘sacred grove’ (used in west and center of the IE world)
*werb^h– ‘sacred enclosure’” ref

Afterlife/Otherworld in PIE Mythology

“Some myths are also securely dated to Proto-Indo-European times, since they feature both linguistic and thematic evidence of an inherited motif: a story portraying a mythical figure associated with thunder and slaying a multi-headed serpent to release torrents of water that had previously been pent up; a creation myth involving two brothers, one of whom sacrifices the other in order to create the world; and probably the belief that the Otherworld was guarded by a watchdog and could only be reached by crossing a river. Various schools of thought exist regarding possible interpretations of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European mythology. The main mythologies used in comparative reconstruction are Indo-Iranian, Baltic, Roman, and Norse, often supported with evidence from the Celtic, Greek, Slavic, Hittite, Armenian, Illyrian, and Albanian traditions as well.” ref

“The realm of death was generally depicted as the Lower Darkness and the land of no return. Many Indo-European myths relate a journey across a river, guided by an old man (*ǵerh₂ont-), in order to reach the Otherworld. The Greek tradition of the dead being ferried across the river Styx by Charon is probably a reflex of this belief, and the idea of crossing a river to reach the Underworld is also present throughout Celtic mythologies. Several Vedic texts contain references to crossing a river (river Vaitarna) in order to reach the land of the dead, and the Latin word tarentum (“tomb”) originally meant “crossing point”. In Norse mythology, Hermóðr must cross a bridge over the river Giöll in order to reach Hel and, in Latvian folk songs, the dead must cross a marsh rather than a river. Traditions of placing coins on the bodies of the deceased in order to pay the ferryman are attested in both ancient Greek and early modern Slavic funerary practices. In Slovene folk belief, “the world of the dead was situated beyond the waters.” ref

The canine guardian in PIE Mythology

“In a recurrent motif, the Otherworld contains a gate, generally guarded by a multi-headed (sometimes multi-eyed) dog who could also serve as a guide and ensured that the ones who entered could not get out. The Greek Cerberus and the Hindu Śárvara most likely derive from the common root *Ḱérberos (“spotted”). Bruce Lincoln has proposed a third cognate in the Norse Garmr, although this has been debated as linguistically untenable. The motif of a canine guardian of the entrance to the Otherworld is also attested in Persian mythology, where two four-eyed dogs guard the Chinvat Bridge, a bridge that marks the threshold between the world of the living and the world of the dead.” ref

“The Videvdat (Vendidad) 13,9 describes them as ‘spâna pəšu.pâna’ (“two bridge-guarding dogs”). A parallel imagery is found in Historical Vedic religion: Yama, ruler of the underworld realm, is said to own two four-eyed dogs who also act as his messengers and fulfill the role of protectors of the soul in the path to heaven. These hounds, named Shyama (Śyāma) and Sabala, are described as the brood of Sarama, a divine female dog: one is black and the other spotted. Slovene deity and hero Kresnik is also associated with a four-eyed dog, and a similar figure in folk belief (a canine with white or brown spots above its eyes – thus, “four-eyed”) is said to be able to sense the approach of death.” ref

“In Nordic mythology, a dog stands on the road to Hel; it is often assumed to be identical with Garmr, the howling hound bound at the entrance to Gnipahellir. In Albanian folklore, a never-sleeping three-headed dog is also said to live in the world of the dead. Another parallel may be found in the Cŵn Annwn (“Hounds of Annwn”), creatures of Welsh mythology said to live in Annwn, a name for the Welsh Otherworld. They are described as hell hounds or spectral dogs that take part in the Wild Hunt, chasing after the dead and pursuing the souls of men.” ref

“Remains of dogs found in gravesites of the Iron Age Wielbark culture, and dog burials of Early Medieval North-Western Slavs (in Pomerania) would suggest the longevity of the belief. Another dog-burial in Góra Chełmska and a Pomeranian legend about a canine figure associated with the otherworld seem to indicate the existence of the motif in Slavic tradition. In a legend from Lokev, a male creature named Vilež (“fairy man”), who dwells in Vilenica Cave, is guarded by two wolves and is said to take men into the underworld. Belarusian scholar Siarhiej Sanko suggests that characters in a Belarusian ethnogenetic myth, Prince Bai and his two dogs, Staury and Gaury (Haury), are related to Vedic Yama and his two dogs. To him, Gaury is connected to Lithuanian gaurai ‘mane, shaggy (of hair)’.” ref

“The mytheme possibly stems from an older Ancient North Eurasian belief, as evidenced by similar motifs in Native American and Siberian mythology, in which case it might be one of the oldest mythemes recoverable through comparative mythology. The King of the Otherworld may have been Yemo, the sacrificed twin of the creation myth, as suggested by the Indo-Iranian and, to a lesser extent, by the Germanic, Greek, and Celtic traditions. Several traditions reveal traces of a Proto-Indo-European eschatological myth that describes the end of the world following a cataclysmic battle. The story begins when an archdemon, usually coming from a different and inimical paternal line, assumes the position of authority among the community of the gods or heroes (Norse Loki, Roman Tarquin, Irish Bres).” ref

“The subjects are treated unjustly by the new ruler, forced to erect fortifications while the archdemon favors instead outsiders, on whom his support relies. After a particularly heinous act, the archdemon is exiled by his subjects and takes refuge among his foreign relatives. A new leader (Norse Víðarr, Roman Lucius Brutus, Irish Lug), known as the “silent” one and usually the nephew or grandson (*népōt) of the exiled archdemon, then springs up and the two forces come together to annihilate each other in a cataclysmic battle. The myth ends with the interruption of the cosmic order and the conclusion of a temporal cyclic era. In the Norse and Iranian traditions, a cataclysmic “cosmic winter” precedes the final battle.” ref

Proto-Indo-European Religion Development

“The various Indo-European daughter-cultures continued elements of PIE religion, syncretizing it with innovations and foreign elements, notably Ancient Near Eastern and Dravidian elements, the reforms of Zoroaster and Buddha, and the spread of Christianity and Islam.

Anatolian: see Hittite mythology
Indo-Iranian:
- Indo-Aryan: see Vedic religion and mythology, Indian religions (Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Buddhism and Buddhist mythology, Jainism, Sikhism), and Kalasha (religion)
- Iranian: see Zoroastrianism, Persian mythology
Greek: see Greek polytheism and mythology, Hellenistic religion, Decline of Hellenistic polytheism, Greek Orthodox Church
Italic: see Roman polytheism and mythology, Roman Catholic Church
Celtic: see Celtic polytheism and mythology, Celtic Christianity
Germanic: see Germanic mythology (Continental, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse mythology)
Baltic: see Latvian mythology, Lithuanian mythology
Slavic: see Slavic mythology, Christianization of the Slavs
Tocharian: little evidence, see Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
Armenian: limited evidence, see Armenian mythology, Armenian Orthodox Church
Prehistoric Balkans: see Paleo-Balkanic mythology” ref

“Using linguistic reconstruction from old Indo-European languages such as Latin and Sanskrit, hypothetical features of the Proto-Indo-European language are deduced. Assuming that these linguistic features reflect culture and environment of the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the following cultural and environmental traits are widely proposed:

pastoralism, including domesticated cattle, horses, and dogs
agriculture and cereal cultivation, including technology commonly ascribed to late-Neolithic farming communities, e.g., the plow
transportation by or across water
the solid wheel, used for wagons, but not yet chariots with spoked wheels
worship of a sky god, *Dyḗus Ph₂tḗr (lit. “sky father”; > Vedic Sanskrit Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́, Ancient Greek Ζεύς (πατήρ) / Zeus (dyeus)), vocative *dyeu ph₂ter (> Latin Iūpiter, Illyrian Deipaturos)
oral heroic poetry or song lyrics that used stock phrases such as imperishable fame (*ḱléwos ń̥dʰgʷʰitom) and the wheel of the sun (*sh₂uens kʷekʷlos).
a patrilineal kinship-system based on relationships between men” ref