On the Cosmic Hunt in Northern Eurasian Rock Art

“Researchers treat the possible reflections of the Cosmic Hunt myth in the rock art of Karelia, Siberia, the Far East, and Northern Mongolia. The analysis comprises the more interesting groups of depictions, located on the coast of Lake Onega on Cape Peri Nos III, and on the northern Cape of Besov Nos, in Old Zalavruga by the White Sea, in the river basin of the Lena River in Central Siberia and elsewhere. A conclusion is reached that due to the fading of the contents of the myth and the specifics of rock art, it is difficult, if not impossible, to prove the relevant connection. Therefore, it might be concluded that in the written materials, many motifs of rock art have too easily been associated with the Cosmic Hunt myth.” ref

“The images of the Cosmic Hunt are relatively widespread within Northern and Central Eurasian, as well as American, peoples. The reflections of the discussed heavenly myth have also been suggested on several rocks in Northern Eurasia. The researchers of rock art have defined the myth in question differently. For example, M. Khlobystina distinguishes two versions of the myth. In one case, a certain elemental force (at first in a zoomorphic, later in anthropomorphic form) pursues another elemental force, and in the other situation a certain monster is constantly hunting the Sun or the stars. In the extensively detailed book about Russian rock art the researchers, from Moscow, Ekaterina & Marianna Devlet, treat the first version in the chapter with the title “Cosmic pursuit” («Êîñìè÷åñêàÿ ïîãîíÿ»), the other version in the chapter named “Heavenly hunter” («Íåáåñíûé ñòðåëîê»), without clearly distinguishing the concept ‘cosmic hunt’ (êîñìè÷åñêàÿ îõîòà) which is, however, used in both cases.” ref
“In the case of cosmic pursuit, a certain animal, which epitomizes the ever-lasting darkness of the underworld, chases after and tries to destroy the source of light, the Sun. This might suggest either the alternating of day and night, or a solar eclipse. The Devlets describe two motifs: in one case, a circular sun (as a solar symbol) is depicted, and in the other case, an elk-shaped astral body. The first motif can also be found in Siberian rock art where the animal depicted in West Siberia, in the vicinity of the Tom River is obviously a bear, whereas, towards the East the image is more of a dragon-shape, similar to
Chinese mythology. In these instances, an animal figure in profile can be seen on the rock, with a circular disc or a circle around its muzzle in the majority of cases, or, infrequently, a star.ref
“According to the Devlets, the subject matter of the ‘heavenly hunter’ comprises prehistoric tales and pictures in which 1) the Sami thunder god, featured as a giant hunter, chases the Sun – depicted as a rushing reindeer with golden horns a hunter (culture hero) chases a predator who tries to catch a sun elk, and 3) a hunter (culture hero) kills several suns that concurrently shine in the sky and ravage the earth. In the current study, the Cosmic Hunt is treated solely as the second option suggested by the Devlets. A serious problem in the research is whether, in rock art, it is possible to identify myths at all considering the relatively scarce data, and if yes, with what likelihood.ref
“The reason being the blurring and further development of ancient myths in the course of millennia, wherefore in rock art it mostly remains unclear as to who or what is depicted on a certain image. For example, the elk was an especially important animal in the Eurasian forest zone, both in the economic and cultural sense. The relevant plots, associated with the elk in rock art, have been divided into the following groups: 1) scenes connected with biology and behavior of the animal (rut, the birth of an elk calf, migrations), 2) hunting scenes, and 3) religious scenes. On the basis of the North Eurasian myth remains it is difficult to determine whether a certain elk figure marks the Earth, Sun, some constellation, theriomorphic fairy or an ancestor, etc. However, in certain instances, the theme of the Cosmic Hunt should be looked for in rock art, especially in cases where the images can be accurately identified, and the composition (the scene) on the rock comprises a possibly larger number of characters.ref
NORTH ASIAN SCENES
“Regarding North Asia, there are two compositions from the Far East, suggested by the rock art researcher Anatolii Mazin, as well as works of rock art found in Altai and the northern part of Mongolia that have been considered reflections of the Cosmic Hunt.ref
KARELIAN SCENES
“The Neolithic engravings by Lake Onega, which appear in contact with the engravings depicting a celestial body, might be considered heavenly creatures (e.g. a single elk image of Cape Karitski and Cape Peri Nos VI, an animal-headed anthropomorph of Cape Peri Nos III) but these can hardly be connected with a definite myth. A scene on Cape Peri Nos might be considered one of the more plausible representations of the Cosmic Hunt myth, whereas the connection, of the scene on Cape Besov Nos with the myth, is more unlikely.ref

“In the literature on rock art, some scenes are far too easily regarded as representations of the Cosmic Hunt. It should be admitted that there is hardly any ground to associate the scenes depicting elk or deer hunting with the Cosmic Hunt myth, whereby there is no visible connection with the luminaries, and even more so if we are dealing with figures of archers on foot or on skis, without a (prey) animal. Likewise, it is difficult to prove the Cosmic Hunt myth in petroglyphs, where the respective attributes or hunting elements cannot be seen. The suggestion of the relevant theme is inhibited by the fact that

the rock depictions are excessively schematic and do not allow unambiguous identification. In some cases, it is possible to show that we are dealing with myths associated with celestial bodies, but which of these, remains unclear.” ref 

“The establishment of the relevant connection is more complicated as the myths have been fading over time. Thus, it can be very cautiously suggested that from among the above-discussed compositions, it is the scene of Cape Peri Nos III by Lake Onega, and the one at the Maia River in Central Siberia that seem to be the most certain representations of the Cosmic Hunt. Despite thumbing through numerous reference sources, the present author has found no information about the possible representations of the cosmic myth in Finnish and Scandinavian rock art. For example, among the numerous petroglyphs of Central Sweden, that depict a species of Cervidae, there is only one elk figure struck through with a (big) spear, although there is no hunter depicted in the vicinity. As becomes evident from the above-described, it is very difficult to prove the presence of a cosmic myth in rock art. While continuing the relevant research, the possible thematic compositions of the whole world should be analyzed in great detail. But can they be found elsewhere?” ref 

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Cosmic Hunt: Variants of Siberian-North American Myth

The mythological motif of the Cosmic Hunt is peculiar to Northern and Central Eurasia and for the Americas but seems to be absent in other parts of the globe. Two distinct Eurasian versions demonstrate North-American parallels at the level of minor details which could be explained only by particular historical links between corresponding traditions. The first version (three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters and the dipper itself is an animal; Alcor is a dog or a cooking pot) connects Siberian (especially Western Siberian) traditions with the North-American West (Salish, Chinook) and East (especially with the Iroquois). The second version (the Orion’s Belt represents three deer, antelopes, mountain sheep or buffaloes; the hunter is Rigel or other star below the Orion’s Belt; his arrow has pierced the game and is seen either as Betelgeuze or as the stars of Orion’s Head) connects the South-Siberian – Central-Eurasian mythologies with traditions of North-American West – Southwest. Both variants unknown in Northeast Asia and in Alaska probably date to the time of initial settling of the New World. The circum-Arctic variant(s) (hunter or game are associated with Orion or thePleiades) are represented by neighbouring traditions which form an almost continuous chain from the Lapps to the Polar Inuit. This version could be brought across the American Arctic with the spread of Tule Eskimo.” ref

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Milky Way as tracks of Cosmic Hunt

Many cultures see the Milky Way as related to the Cosmic hunt.

“The Cosmic Hunt is an ancient and widely distributed family of cognate myths. The story involves a large animal pursued by hunters; the animal is wounded and transformed into a constellation. Variants of the Cosmic Hunt are common in cultures of Northern Eurasia and the Americas, and include the story of Callisto in classical sources. The prey animal is either a bear or an ungulate, and the associated constellation involves the four stars of the bowl in the Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major. In some variants blood or grease may fall from the wounded animal; in an Iroquois version the blood causes leaves to change color in autumn. Sometimes the hunters are also placed in the firmament, represented by the stars of the Big Dipper’s handle. The original prototype of the myth likely originated over 15,000 years ago, and diffused across the Bering land bridge. It has been suggested to provide evidence for punctuated equilibrium as a system for myth evolution.” ref

“The mythological motif of the Cosmic Hunt (F59.2 according to S. Thompson’s index) is defined as follows: certain stars and constellations are interpreted as hunters, their dogs, and game animals, killed or pursued. This motif forms the core of the tales typical for northern and central Eurasia and for the Americas but is rarely, if at all, known on other continents. In the folklore of the aborigines of Australia, only some texts from Victoria have any relation to our theme. According to them, two brothers kill a cannibal emu. One of the stars is considered to be its eye, and the dark patch between the Southern Cross and Centaurus is its body. No hunt is described, and the emu is not a game but an enemy, a monster.” ref
“We can conclude that the spread of the Cosmic Hunt motif itself is evidence in favor of mythological links between Siberia and the Americas. Such links become more specific as to their area distribution if we address the particular variants of the motif. The combinations of stars that form constellations recognized by the Europeans and by people of other continents rarely coincide. Only Orion, the Pleiades, and (in the Northern Hemisphere) the Big Dipper have such characteristic outlines that they play some role in most of the world mythologies. However, the relative stability of the composition of these constellations makes the diversity of their associations even more obvious.” ref
“Among the Munda and Dravidian groups of Western Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh, the Big Dipper is a bed with one leg broken off, among the Muskogeans of the American Southeast, it is a canoe, among the Californian Numic Indians it is a net put out by the Rabbit, among the Alaskan and Western Canadian Athabaskans it is a one-legged man. For most of the Indians of Guyana, Orion is a one-legged man, while the Yupic Eskimo of Alaska interpret the Big Dipper as poles with skin ropes tied to them. Such examples are truly numerous.” ref
“As for the particular form of the hunt, the communal hunt with many animals driven by a crowd of people is never described. The celestial hunters always pursue the only game animal or a small group or such animals. For example, in a myth of the Carrier Athabaskans of British Columbia, the stars of the Big Dipper are the hunters, and the Pleiades are the caribou. Usually the hunters pursue one big mammal such as a bear, an elk, a dear, an antelope, a mountain sheep, or a tapir. Only in the myths of the Chacoan and Patagonian Indians of South America is the game a big bird, the rhea.” ref
THE FIRST (WESTERN-SIBERIAN) VARIANT
“The first variant of the Cosmic Hunt is conditionally named the Western Siberian one. Several men pursue an elk (in most of Eurasian versions) or a bear (in most American tales), the hunters being associated with the stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, and the animal with the dipper itself. As a Polar constellation, the Big Dipper could easily attract the interest of the people of the Northern Hemisphere, but the stable association of the hunters and of the animal with certain stars cannot be due to this fact alone. Besides, in the Arctic where the Big Dipper is seen best of all, it does not play any role in the Cosmic Hunt tales. The peculiarity of this variant of the myth is much strengthened by the fact that a weak star near Mizar (the second star of the handle) is interpreted as a cooking pot carried by one of the hunters. Such a motif is known to the Khanty, the Selkup, the Ket, the Khakas, and to the western (but not to the southeastern) Evenk.” ref
“In America, it is found again among the Iroquois, both the northern, in particular, the Seneca, and the southern Iroquoian speakers, i.e. the Cherokee. The Cherokee are Iroquoian speakers but they are not Iroquois proper. These are the Seneca, the Cayuga, the Oneida, the Onondaga, and the Mohawk, the tribes who joined together to form the Iroquois Confederacy. So this allows to presume the existence of the motif at least at the time of the Iroquois language unity, because the Northern and the Southern Iroquois were not in direct contact in historic times.” ref
“There are other mythologies in which the four stars of the Big Dipper represent an animal (or a storehouse in which the animal has approached), and the three stars of the handle are described as the hunters. Such ideas are recorded among the Orochon Evenks, the Udeghe, and the Oroch of the Russian Far East. In America, they were known to the Coastal and Interior Salish, including the Lillooet, Thompson, Shuswap, Hakcomelem, Snohomish, Coeur d’Alene, and possibly, Twana.” ref
“The same version was known to some Chinook groups, the neighbors of the Salish. In eastern North America, the constellation was interpreted in the same way by the Mohawk Iroquois and by several Algonkian people to the west (the Fox) and to the east of the Iroquois (the Lenape, the Micmac, maybe to the Penobscot). This interpretation of the Big Dipper is mentioned by the late 17th – early 18th century sources on the inhabitants of Eastern Canada and New England. For other Algonkian groups of the Midwest and Eastern Canada (Menomini, Ojibwa, Naskapi) the Big Dipper was a fisher (Martes pennanti) with an arrow stuck into its tail.” ref
“In many of the versions described above, a certain weak star continues to play some role, though its interpretation is different, being not a cooking pot but a dog of one of the hunters. In Siberia, such an interpretation is typical for the Orochon Evenk, the Udeghe and the Oroch, and in America, among the Salish, the Chinook, the Mohawk, the Lenape, and the Fox. In all cases when our sources are adequate enough, they identify this star with Alcor. On the star map, Alcor is very near to Mizar (second star of the handle) and the capability to see this weak star was always a test to prove one’s sharp
sight. It seems that Alcor was the smallest of the sky objects singled out in the pre-scientific era, the fact reflected in the Ancient and Medieval Chinese, Arab, and Latin texts.” ref
“In connection with the Cosmic Star tale, the Big Dipper without the associations mentioned above (the handle as three hunters, Alcor as a pot or a dog) appears in several other Eurasian and North American stories. Interpretations found in the Khakas (seven foxes), Nenets (elk), Ob-Ugrian (elk), Evenk (elk) tales do not change the geography of the image in question, but the Ancient Greek (bear), Mari (she elk with her calf) and Chuvash examples (mounted hunters with their dogs) prove that the Cosmic Hunt myth describing with the Big Dipper as the main sky object was known not only in Asia but also in Europe. In the Bering Sea region, the Koryak, the Kamchadal, and the Aleuts identified the Big Dipper with a deer or elk but there is no data on any connection of this image with the Cosmic Hunt myth.” ref
The second (Central-Asian) variant
“The Turkic and Mongolian cases of the Central-Asian variant of the Cosmic Hunt myth were studied in detail by S. Nekliudov (1980). This variant is known across all the area from southern Siberia to India. The most important sky objects are the three stars of Orion’s Belt, which are interpreted as three deer or antelopes. One of the neighboring stars is an arrow (or a bullet in later versions), shot by the hunter to hit the animals. Such texts, some of them rich in details, others not, are recorded among the Kazakhs, the Kirgiz, the Tibetans, the Tuvinians, the Altai, the Teleut, the Telengit, the Khakas, the Tofa, the Buriat.” ref
“There is not enough data on the cosmography of Xinjiang but the existence of a Tibetan version enables to suggest that the area of the motif encompassed all Central Asia and that the Uigur were familiar with the story just as well as other Turkic-speaking peoples of the region. The Indian version is similar to the Central Asian ones, though not quite identical with them (Orion is a stag, three stars of Orion’s Belt represents an arrow that has pierced the animal. It could well have been brought to South Asia by the Indo-Arians. No Cosmic Hunt is known in China where the Big Dipper was a locus rather than a personage.” ref
“In western and eastern Siberia, the borderline between the Central-Asian and the Western-Siberian variants coincides with the frontier between the Turkic and Mongolian people to the south, and the Uralic, Yenissei and Tungus people, to the The Cosmic Hunt: Variants of a Siberian – North-American Mythnorth. Both geographically and thematically, the Khakas version from Radlov’s collection is between the main types. Unlike other Khakas variants, it belongs to the West-Siberian type, but hunters pursue not an elk but two deer. Just as the Western Siberian variant, the Central-Asian one has analogies in North America, in particular in the southwestern part of the continent across the Great Basin, Southern California, North-western Mexico, and the Great Southwest.” ref
“Corresponding texts are recorded among different Yuman peoples, among the Seri (probably distantly related to the Yuma), among the tribes of the Numic and Takic divisions of the Ute-Aztecan family, and among some Apachean groups. The latter could hardly bring these ideas from their Canadian homeland but borrowed them from some of their Southwestern neighbors. Only the Algonkian Gros Ventre version (the Northern Plains) stands territorially slightly apart from the others. Among the Paviotso, Chemehuevi, Yavapai, Maricopa, Kiliwa, and Gros Ventre the Orion’s Belt represents three ungulates (mountain sheep, antelopes, buffaloes), pursued by hunters. Among the Mojave, Tipai, Cocopa, Seri, the Takic (Cahuilla, Luiseño, Cupeño), Western Apache, Mescalero, Lipan and Southern Ute, three stars of Orion’s Belt are interpreted as one single animal. When additional details are available, the Orion’s Sword is always associated with the feathered tail of the arrow and the stars of the Orion’s Head are the arrow tip.” ref
“The stars identified with the hunter are in every case below Orion’s Belt. That is also typical for all Turkic and Mongolian versions. The only difference is that in Asia the arrow that has pierced animals is considered to be smeared with their blood and is accordingly associated not with the Orion’s Head but with Betelgeuse, the bright red star slightly to the left. Similar interpretation is, however, included in some American versions. At least the Cahuilla identified the hunter with Rigel which is on the other side of Orion’s Belt directly opposite Betelgeuse. Identified with Rigel, the hunter has to shoot in the direction of Betelgeuse. In the Apachean myths, Betelgeuse grew red from anger when the arrow missed its aim (the mountain sheep) and almost hit this star. The association of three bright stars of Orion’s Belt with three animals or persons could well appear independently (cf. Spanish Tres Marías). However, the arrow tip associated with one of the bright celestial objects above the Orion’s Belt (Orion’s Head or Orion’s Shoulder, i.e. Betelgeuse) is too specific to be a random coincidence.” ref
The third (Circum Arctic) variant
“This series of tales is not so uniform as the two previous ones, and consists of two or three separate versions in all of which the Orion and/or the Pleiades are associated not with the animals but with the hunters. Among the North-Alaskan Inupiaq, the hunters (the Pleiades) pursue polar bear (Aldebaran). The Mackenzie River Eskimo mention dogs in the sky which accompany hunters. In this case, no association with constellations is provided, but among the Copper Eskimo, closely related to the Mackenzie groups, men who pursue the bear are the stars of the Orion’s Belt.” ref
“The Netsilik Eskimo farther to the east, hunters and their dog pursue a bear and are associated with the Pleiades. For the Iglulik and the Polar Eskimo, the Pleiades are dogs and a bear which they encircled, while for the Labrador Eskimo bear and dogs seem to be identified with the Orion. For the Baffin Land Eskimo, Betelgeuse was the bear, Orion’s Belt represents the hunters, and Orion’s Sword was the dog-sledge. All these Cosmic Hunt stories have been recorded among the Inuit – Inupiaq branch of the Eskimo with no such a story in Alaskan Yupic folklore. Like many other tales, the Inuit-Inupiaq Cosmic Hunt myths find parallels not in Southwestern Alaska, but to the west of the Bering Strait. Among the Chukchi and the Koryak, the Orion (i.e. the hunter) pursues the reindeer associated with the Pleiades or Cassiopeia. Much further to the west, the Lapp version is the nearest parallel for the Chukchi one. According to it, the hunter is also Orion, and the elk or reindeer pursued by him is Cassiopeia.” ref
“The Yukagir cosmology is poorly known. The Mestizos of Markovo (with a probable Yukagir substratum) describe the Big Dipper as an elk pursued by three brothers and three sisters, their story being somewhat similar to the Evenk ideas. In Yakut myths the Orion pursues the elk, the Big Dipper is not mentioned. The Yakut tradition is heterogeneous. Some versions describe a lonely hunter whose ski path turned into the Milky Way, which is typical for some Western Siberian, Tungus, Negidal and Ugedhe-Oroch stories. Other Yakut tales not relevant to the origin of the Milky Way, describe a group of hunters.” ref
“In America, the interpretation of the Milky Way as a ski path is present across Alaska and British Columbia among the Tlingit, Central Yupic, Ingalik, and Tahltan, but only among the Tlingit is this image connected with the Cosmic Hunt tale. Among the Even (Lamut) three hunters who pursue mountain sheep are associated with the Pleiades. The Pleiades mentioned in one of the Nganasan versions are hunters who catch the reindeer with a net. The association of hunters with Orion or with the Pleiades is a feature shared by Yakut, Nganasan, Even, and the Chikchi–Inuit versions.” ref
Conclusions
“The first and the second variants of the Cosmic Hunt tale demonstrate Eurasian–North-American parallels at the level of minor details which could be explained only by particular historical links between the corresponding traditions. According to the first variant, three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper are hunters, and the dipper itself is an animal, while a weak star of the handle, most probably, Alcor, occupies a special place in this picture. Its association with a dog and especially with the cooking pot carried by the second hunter is highly specific and could not emerge independently in Asia and in America.” ref
“The second variant of the Cosmic Hunt contains such specific details as the association of the three stars of Orion’s Belt with three deer, antelopes, or mountain sheep and especially the association of the hunter’s arrow (or its point) with Betelgeuse or with the group of stars which form the Orion’s Head. Estimating the possible time sequence of the penetration of the described variants of the myth into the New World, we should take into consideration how distant from the Bering Strait the corresponding areas are. The deeper into inner Asia and inner America, the less probable is a recent spread of the myths.” ref
“The Western Siberian and Central-Asian variants are differently localized both in the Old and in the New World. To understand relations between them, we should remember another Eurasian–North American motif, i.e. the transformation of seven brothers into the Big Dipper. Its area in the Old World largely coincides with the area of the second variant of the Cosmic Hunt. In America, it occupies the Plains, i.e. is in between the Salishan (the western) and Iroquois – Algonkian (the eastern) parts of the area of the tale about three hunters who pursue a bear. The Western-Siberian variant of the Cosmic Hunt contains details which are also found in the Seven Star Brothers story.” ref
“In both cases, the principal stars of the Big Dipper (all seven or only three stars of the handle) are separate persons and not one man or object like a carriage, a bed, etc. In the Seven Brothers tales of the Plains Indians, Alcor also plays its special part being identified with a younger sister of the brothers (Blackfoot), their younger brother or child (Crow), (Cheyenne), (Wichita) or with the sister’s dog, (Crow).” ref
“The Central-Asian variant of the Cosmic Hunt myth and the Seven Star Brothers’ motif could have been brought to America by migrational episodes which were close to each other in time. Most probably, it was the time when a large set of motifs recorded across Central Eurasia, on one hand, and across the Plains and Midwest, on the other, was brought across the Bering Strait. The absence of these motifs in South America makes improbable their connection with the initial stages of the settling in the New World. As for the Western Siberian variant, geographically localized nearer to Chukotka and Alaska, it could have reached North America later. In both cases, however, we speak about the time before the spread of the Eskimo, Paleoasiatic, Tlingit, and Athabaskan groups across Eastern and Western Beringia.” ref
“The problem of Paleoasiatic origins is beyond the scope of this paper, still we should notice a fact which can direct the search. Among the Chukchi, the Orion was considered to be a humpback since the time when his jealous wife (constellation of Leo) hit him with a heavy board because of the attention he paid to the Pleiades women. A similar plot was recorded among the “Tangut”, i.e. the Tibetans of Chinghai. Gachari (a certain red star), a jealous husband of the Pleiades, broke Orion’s back with a stone because of his supposed interest in Gachari’s wife. Such a parallel is not a proof of any special connections between the Chukchi and the Tibetans, but it still is an argument in favor of the inner Asian homeland of some of the Paleoasiatic ancestors.” ref
“In the case of the third, circumpolar variant of the Cosmic Hunt, it is totally possible that the Lapp and the Chukchi versions, which identify the hunter with the Orion, have preserved the form of the myth widespread across Far Northern Asia before the relatively recent migration of the Samoyed, Turkic, and Tungus peoples. The absence of this version among the Yupic and its presence among the Inuit-Inupiak make one suggest that it had penetrated the Eastern Arctic only after the BC/AD transition together with the neo-Eskimo Thule tradition. The Inuit Eskimo texts have little in common with the Cosmic Hunt tales of the American Indians. The Arctic variant, with the Orion being the hunter, is separated from other
American versions by the Subarctic, where in the Athabaskan mythologies, the “astral code” is quite undeveloped. No Cosmic Hunt tales have also been recorded among the Muskogean and other non-Iroquois peoples of the Southeast or in Mexico (besides the Seri) and Lower Central America. This fact supports the hypothesis about different Eurasian origins of the separate groups of American natives, not only the Eskimo, the Aleuts, and the Na-Dene, but of different Amerindian tribes.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

People don’t commonly teach religious history, even that of their own claimed religion. No, rather they teach a limited “pro their religion” history of their religion from a religious perspective favorable to the religion of choice. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Do you truly think “Religious Belief” is only a matter of some personal choice?

Do you not see how coercive one’s world of choice is limited to the obvious hereditary belief, in most religious choices available to the child of religious parents or caregivers? Religion is more commonly like a family, culture, society, etc. available belief that limits the belief choices of the child and that is when “Religious Belief” is not only a matter of some personal choice and when it becomes hereditary faith, not because of the quality of its alleged facts or proposed truths but because everyone else important to the child believes similarly so they do as well simply mimicking authority beliefs handed to them. Because children are raised in religion rather than being presented all possible choices but rather one limited dogmatic brand of “Religious Belief” where children only have a choice of following the belief as instructed, and then personally claim the faith hereditary belief seen in the confirming to the belief they have held themselves all their lives. This is obvious in statements asked and answered by children claiming a faith they barely understand but they do understand that their family believes “this or that” faith, so they feel obligated to believe it too. While I do agree that “Religious Belief” should only be a matter of some personal choice, it rarely is… End Hereditary Religion!

Opposition to Imposed Hereditary Religion

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey 

“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

We are like believing machines we vacuum up ideas, like Velcro sticks to almost everything. We accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives, often without realizing it. Our willingness must be to alter skewed beliefs that impend our balance or reason, which allows us to achieve new positive thinking and accurate outcomes.

My thoughts on Religion Evolution with external links for more info:

“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…

Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure, or a firefighter talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.

“Understanding Religion Evolution: Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, Paganism & Progressed organized religion”

Understanding Religion Evolution:

“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution”

It seems ancient peoples had to survived amazing threats in a “dangerous universe (by superstition perceived as good and evil),” and human “immorality or imperfection of the soul” which was thought to affect the still living, leading to ancestor worship. This ancestor worship presumably led to the belief in supernatural beings, and then some of these were turned into the belief in gods. This feeble myth called gods were just a human conceived “made from nothing into something over and over, changing, again and again, taking on more as they evolve, all the while they are thought to be special,” but it is just supernatural animistic spirit-belief perceived as sacred. 

Quick Evolution of Religion?

Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) pre-religion is a beginning that evolves into later Animism. So, Religion as we think of it, to me, all starts in a general way with Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (Siberia/Russia: 30,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employment of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago) (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago)  with CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago).

Historically, in large city-state societies (such as Egypt or Iraq) starting around 5,000 years ago culminated to make religion something kind of new, a sociocultural-governmental-religious monarchy, where all or at least many of the people of such large city-state societies seem familiar with and committed to the existence of “religion” as the integrated life identity package of control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine, but this juggernaut integrated religion identity package of Dogmatic-Propaganda certainly did not exist or if developed to an extent it was highly limited in most smaller prehistoric societies as they seem to lack most of the strong control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine (magical beliefs could be at times be added or removed). Many people just want to see developed religious dynamics everywhere even if it is not. Instead, all that is found is largely fragments until the domestication of religion.

Religions, as we think of them today, are a new fad, even if they go back to around 6,000 years in the timeline of human existence, this amounts to almost nothing when seen in the long slow evolution of religion at least around 70,000 years ago with one of the oldest ritual worship. Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago. This message of how religion and gods among them are clearly a man-made thing that was developed slowly as it was invented and then implemented peace by peace discrediting them all. Which seems to be a simple point some are just not grasping how devastating to any claims of truth when we can see the lie clearly in the archeological sites.

I wish people fought as hard for the actual values as they fight for the group/clan names political or otherwise they think support values. Every amount spent on war is theft to children in need of food or the homeless kept from shelter.

Here are several of my blog posts on history:

I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

To me, Animism starts in Southern Africa, then to West Europe, and becomes Totemism. Another split goes near the Russia and Siberia border becoming Shamanism, which heads into Central Europe meeting up with Totemism, which also had moved there, mixing the two which then heads to Lake Baikal in Siberia. From there this Shamanism-Totemism heads to Turkey where it becomes Paganism.

Not all “Religions” or “Religious Persuasions” have a god(s) but

All can be said to believe in some imaginary beings or imaginary things like spirits, afterlives, etc.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity

“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworldKi and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religionEgyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref

“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of naturemotherhoodfertilitycreationdestruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref

Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref

“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref

Tutelary deity

“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) iKorean shamanismjangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the SeonangdangIn Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (KawiSundaneseJavanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythologyTiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States 

“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and UrAncient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as AthensSpartaThebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as FlorenceSienaFerraraMilan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen ItzaTikalCopán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coastRagusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref

“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref

Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:

You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref

“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref

“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref

“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref

Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)

“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref

“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref

“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref

“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:

“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref

“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref

“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref

William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:

The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref

“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:

It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …

In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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“These ideas are my speculations from the evidence.”

I am still researching the “god‘s origins” all over the world. So you know, it is very complicated but I am smart and willing to look, DEEP, if necessary, which going very deep does seem to be needed here, when trying to actually understand the evolution of gods and goddesses. I am sure of a few things and less sure of others, but even in stuff I am not fully grasping I still am slowly figuring it out, to explain it to others. But as I research more I am understanding things a little better, though I am still working on understanding it all or something close and thus always figuring out more.

Sky Father/Sky God?

“Egyptian: (Nut) Sky Mother and (Geb) Earth Father” (Egypt is different but similar)

Turkic/Mongolic: (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) Sky Father and (Eje/Gazar Eej) Earth Mother *Transeurasian*

Hawaiian: (Wākea) Sky Father and (Papahānaumoku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*

New Zealand/ Māori: (Ranginui) Sky Father and (Papatūānuku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*

Proto-Indo-European: (Dyus/Dyus phtr) Sky Father and (Dʰéǵʰōm/Plethwih) Earth Mother

Indo-Aryan: (Dyaus Pita) Sky Father and (Prithvi Mata) Earth Mother *Indo-European*

Italic: (Jupiter) Sky Father and (Juno) Sky Mother *Indo-European*

Etruscan: (Tinia) Sky Father and (Uni) Sky Mother *Tyrsenian/Italy Pre–Indo-European*

Hellenic/Greek: (Zeus) Sky Father and (Hera) Sky Mother who started as an “Earth Goddess” *Indo-European*

Nordic: (Dagr) Sky Father and (Nótt) Sky Mother *Indo-European*

Slavic: (Perun) Sky Father and (Mokosh) Earth Mother *Indo-European*

Illyrian: (Deipaturos) Sky Father and (Messapic Damatura’s “earth-mother” maybe) Earth Mother *Indo-European*

Albanian: (Zojz) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*

Baltic: (Perkūnas) Sky Father and (Saulė) Sky Mother *Indo-European*

Germanic: (Týr) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*

Colombian-Muisca: (Bochica) Sky Father and (Huythaca) Sky Mother *Chibchan*

Aztec: (Quetzalcoatl) Sky Father and (Xochiquetzal) Sky Mother *Uto-Aztecan*

Incan: (Viracocha) Sky Father and (Mama Runtucaya) Sky Mother *Quechuan*

China: (Tian/Shangdi) Sky Father and (Dì) Earth Mother *Sino-Tibetan*

Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian: (An/Anu) Sky Father and (Ki) Earth Mother

Finnish: (Ukko) Sky Father and (Akka) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*

Sami: (Horagalles) Sky Father and (Ravdna) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*

Puebloan-Zuni: (Ápoyan Ta’chu) Sky Father and (Áwitelin Tsíta) Earth Mother

Puebloan-Hopi: (Tawa) Sky Father and (Kokyangwuti/Spider Woman/Grandmother) Earth Mother *Uto-Aztecan*

Puebloan-Navajo: (Tsohanoai) Sky Father and (Estsanatlehi) Earth Mother *Na-Dene*

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Sky Father/Sky Mother “High Gods” or similar gods/goddesses of the sky more loosely connected, seeming arcane mythology across the earth seen in Siberia, China, Europe, Native Americans/First Nations People and Mesopotamia, etc.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. ref

Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago Khirbet Qeiyafa is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley. And many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed around 2,500) ref, ref

Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)

“Judaism is an Abrahamic, its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Some scholars argue that modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.” ref

“Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel, essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah; below them were second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees, and a third and fourth tier of minor divine beings, including the mal’ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahweh, however, was not the ‘original’ god of Israel “Isra-El”; it is El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, whose name forms the basis of the name “Israel”, and none of the Old Testament patriarchs, the tribes of Israel, the Judges, or the earliest monarchs, have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., one incorporating the name of Yahweh).” ref

“El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning “god”. Specific deities known as ‘El or ‘Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period. ʼĒl is listed at the head of many pantheons. In some Canaanite and Ugaritic sources, ʼĒl played a role as father of the gods, of creation, or both. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “ʼĒl the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad“. The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning “gods” is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm “powers”. In the Hebrew texts this word is interpreted as being semantically singular for “god” by biblical commentators. However the documentary hypothesis for the Old Testament (corresponds to the Jewish Torah) developed originally in the 1870s, identifies these that different authors – the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion. Inconsistencies that arise between monotheism and polytheism in the texts are reflective of this hypothesis.” ref

 

Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. ref

Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. ref

Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. ref

Christianity around 2,o00 years old. ref

Shinto around 1,305 years old. ref

Islam around 1407–1385 years old. ref

Sikhism around 548–478 years old. ref

Bahá’í around 200–125 years old. ref

Knowledge to Ponder: 

Stars/Astrology:

  • Possibly, around 30,000 years ago (in simpler form) to 6,000 years ago, Stars/Astrology are connected to Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities.
  • The star also seems to be a possible proto-star for Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna, or Star of Venus.
  • Around 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, Star Constellations/Astrology have connections to the “Kurgan phenomenon” of below-ground “mound” stone/wood burial structures and “Dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures.
  • Around 6,500–5,800 years ago, The Northern Levant migrations into Jordon and Israel in the Southern Levant brought new cultural and religious transfer from Turkey and Iran.
  • “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan may have connections to the European paganstic kurgan/dolmens phenomenon.

“Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the HindusChinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient GreeceRome, the Islamicate world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.” ref 

Around 5,500 years ago, Science evolves, The first evidence of science was 5,500 years ago and was demonstrated by a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world. ref

Around 5,000 years ago, Origin of Logics is a Naturalistic Observation (principles of valid reasoning, inference, & demonstration) ref

Around 4,150 to 4,000 years ago: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which was originally titled “He who Saw the Deep” (Sha naqba īmuru) or “Surpassing All Other Kings” (Shūtur eli sharrī) were written. ref

Hinduism:

  • 3,700 years ago or so, the oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed.
  • 3,500 years ago or so, the Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Judaism:

  • around 3,000 years ago, the first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew”
  • around 2,500 years ago, many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed

Myths: The bible inspired religion is not just one religion or one myth but a grouping of several religions and myths

  • Around 3,450 or 3,250 years ago, according to legend, is the traditionally accepted period in which the Israelite lawgiver, Moses, provided the Ten Commandments.
  • Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, a collection of ancient religious writings by the Israelites based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament is the first part of Christianity’s bible.
  • Around 2,400 years ago, the most accepted hypothesis is that the canon was formed in stages, first the Pentateuch (Torah).
  • Around 2,140 to 2,116 years ago, the Prophets was written during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books.
  • Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections:
  • The first five books or Pentateuch (Torah).
  • The proposed history books telling the history of the Israelites from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon.
  • The poetic and proposed “Wisdom books” dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world.
  • The books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God:
  • Henotheism:
  • Exodus 20:23 “You shall not make other gods besides Me (not saying there are no other gods just not to worship them); gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
  • Polytheism:
  • Judges 10:6 “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
  • 1 Corinthians 8:5 “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords.”
  • Monotheism:
  • Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

Around 2,570 to 2,270 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.

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Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:

  • Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
  • Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
  • Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals, and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
  • Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
  • Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
  • Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
  • Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, a Greek philosopher known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref

This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.

“Theists, there has to be a god, as something can not come from nothing.”

Well, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something. This does not tell us what the something that may have been involved with something coming from nothing. A supposed first cause, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something is not an open invitation to claim it as known, neither is it justified to call or label such an unknown as anything, especially an unsubstantiated magical thinking belief born of mythology and religious storytelling.

How do they even know if there was nothing as a start outside our universe, could there not be other universes outside our own?
 
For all, we know there may have always been something past the supposed Big Bang we can’t see beyond, like our universe as one part of a mega system.

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While hallucinogens are associated with shamanism, it is alcohol that is associated with paganism.

The Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries Shows in the prehistory series:

Show one: Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses.

Show two: Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show tree: Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show four: Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show five: Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show six: Emergence of hierarchy, sexism, slavery, and the new male god dominance: Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!

Show seven: Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State)

Show eight: Paganism 4,000 years old: Moralistic gods after the rise of Statism and often support Statism/Kings: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)

Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses: VIDEO

Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO

Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO

Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO

Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism): VIDEO

Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves: VIEDO

Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State): VIEDO

Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism): VIEDO

I do not hate simply because I challenge and expose myths or lies any more than others being thought of as loving simply because of the protection and hiding from challenge their favored myths or lies.

The truth is best championed in the sunlight of challenge.

An archaeologist once said to me “Damien religion and culture are very different”

My response, So are you saying that was always that way, such as would you say Native Americans’ cultures are separate from their religions? And do you think it always was the way you believe?

I had said that religion was a cultural product. That is still how I see it and there are other archaeologists that think close to me as well. Gods too are the myths of cultures that did not understand science or the world around them, seeing magic/supernatural everywhere.

I personally think there is a goddess and not enough evidence to support a male god at Çatalhöyük but if there was both a male and female god and goddess then I know the kind of gods they were like Proto-Indo-European mythology.

This series idea was addressed in, Anarchist Teaching as Free Public Education or Free Education in the Public: VIDEO

Our 12 video series: Organized Oppression: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of power (9,000-4,000 years ago), is adapted from: The Complete and Concise History of the Sumerians and Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia (7000-2000 BC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFjxmY7jQA by “History with Cy

Show #1: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Samarra, Halaf, Ubaid)

Show #2: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Eridu: First City of Power)

Show #3: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Uruk and the First Cities)

Show #4: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (First Kings)

Show #5: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Early Dynastic Period)

Show #6: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (King Lugalzagesi and the First Empire)

Show #7: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Sargon and Akkadian Rule)

Show #8: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Naram-Sin, Post-Akkadian Rule, and the Gutians)

Show #9: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Gudea of Lagash and Utu-hegal)

Show #10: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Third Dynasty of Ur / Neo-Sumerian Empire)

Show #11: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Amorites, Elamites, and the End of an Era)

Show #12: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Aftermath and Legacy of Sumer)

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.

Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?

Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.

I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist, but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief, that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity.

Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.

At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.

Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d  

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)

Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft

Cory needs our support. We rise by helping each other.

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie

Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.

Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”

I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist.

To me, the “male god” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 7,000 years ago, whereas the now favored monotheism “male god” is more like 4,000 years ago or so. To me, the “female goddess” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 11,000-10,000 years ago or so, losing the majority of its once prominence around 2,000 years ago due largely to the now favored monotheism “male god” that grow in prominence after 4,000 years ago or so.

My Thought on the Evolution of Gods?

Animal protector deities from old totems/spirit animal beliefs come first to me, 13,000/12,000 years ago, then women as deities 11,000/10,000 years ago, then male gods around 7,000/8,000 years ago. Moralistic gods around 5,000/4,000 years ago, and monotheistic gods around 4,000/3,000 years ago. 

To me, animal gods were likely first related to totemism animals around 13,000 to 12,000 years ago or older. Female as goddesses was next to me, 11,000 to 10,000 years ago or so with the emergence of agriculture. Then male gods come about 8,000 to 7,000 years ago with clan wars. Many monotheism-themed religions started in henotheism, emerging out of polytheism/paganism.

Gods?
 
“Animism” is needed to begin supernatural thinking.
“Totemism” is needed for supernatural thinking connecting human actions & related to clan/tribe.
“Shamanism” is needed for supernatural thinking to be controllable/changeable by special persons.
 
Together = Gods/paganism

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism

My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or QuotesMy YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com

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