*Seh₂ul and *Meh₁not

Proto-Indo-European Sun and Moon deities Indo-European Sun deity Sky Sun Chariot, solar disk Sunday Sol Helios Usil UTU-liya Hittite *Seh₂ul Lithuanian Saulė Surya Zoroastrian Hvare-khshaeta Germanic Sowilō Sulis Dielli Sól*Seh₂ul and *Meh₁not are the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European Sun deity and Moon deity respectively. ine-x-proto Seh₂ul is reconstructed based on the solar deities of the attested Indo-European mythologies, although their gender (male or female) is disputed, since there are deities of both genders.West 2007 195-196 Likewise, ine-x-proto Meh₁not- is reconstructed based on the lunar deities of the daughter languages, but they differ in regard to their gender. The daily course of ine-x-proto Seh₂ul across the sky on a horse-driven chariot is a common motif among Indo-European myths.On a related note, the Pahlavi Bundahishn narrates that creator Ohrmazd fashioned the sun "whose horses were swift."Agostini Thrope 2020 19 noteNijolė Laurinkienė lt cites that the imagery is present in South Slavic: Serbian songs mention that the Sun (sh Сунце) rides a horse-driven vehicle, dives into the sea and rises out of the water.Laurinkienė 2021 401 note While it is probably inherited, the motif certainly appeared after the introduction of the wheel in the Pontic–Caspian steppe about 3500 BC, and is therefore a late addition to Proto-Indo-European culture.Fortson 2004 23 The Sun deity Reflexes The existence of a Proto-Indo-European sun deity can be postulated on the basis of its possible reflexes throughout Indo-European cultures. In Greek mythology, the name of the god Helios is etymologically connectable with other Indo-European words for the Sun. However, another notable solar deity in ancient Greek religion was Apollo,Kazanas 2001 12 a god whose name is possibly of Pre-Greek origin.Beekes 2010 118 Ἀπόλλων Nevertheless, the term grc Phoebus—an epithet of Apollo—has been connected with Sanskrit sa bhaga, though it is considered by the linguist Robert Beekes to be unexplained.Beekes 2010 1583 φοῖβος Similarly, the Romans borrowed Apollo as a sun deity, in spite of their preexisting sun god Sol, whose name also is connectable with the Indo-European word for "Sun."Gamkrelidze Ivanov 1995 760 In Albanian paganism, the Sun—worshiped as the god of light, sky and weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eyeTirta 2004 68, 70–72, 249–254; Sokoli 2013 181; Hysi 2006 349–361; Gjoni 2012 85–86.—is referred to as sq Dielli, a name that is considered to have been a word taboo originally meaning "yellow, golden, bright or shiny one" used to refer to the Sun due to its perceived sacred nature.Demiraj Neri 2020 : "díell -i" Another parallel in another Indo-European culture may be drawn from Zoroastrian Hvare-khshaeta.Mallory Adams 1997 232 There are two separate solar deities in Vedic mythology: Surya and Savitr—the latter of which described with the pseudonym sa Prthupáni ("with the wide hand"), a title that may relate to the epithet sga Lamfáda ("of the long arm"), which is ascribed to the Irish god Lugh.Bray 1999 105Kazanas 2001 13 Via the migration of Indic peoples, the sun Indo-European god may have spread to other cultures. Kassite inscriptions include mention of a name mis Šur(i)yaš-, which may have been borrowed from an Indo-Aryan language.West 2007 196 The name of the Near Eastern prince Šuwardata, who is mentioned in Amarna Letters, may parallel the Sanskrit name sa Sūryadatta and is perhaps of Indo-Aryan origin.West 2007 196Burrow 1973 27-28 In Vedic Sanskrit, the term sa raví ("sa रवि"), which also refers to the Sun god, is cognate with Old Armenian xcl arew ("xcl արև")—both of which are, according to the linguist Hrach Martirosyan, derived from Indo-European or Armeno-Aryan "poetic language." Moreover, Martirosyan considers the original Proto-Indo-European word for the Sun—which he reconstructs as ine-x-proto seh₂ul—was "profane," and therefore was replaced by a poetic term that eventually produced xcl arew in Armenian.Martirosyan 2009 137 *areg- Genealogy The Vedic Sun deity Surya is stated to be the son of the sky deity Dyaus and the mother goddess Aditi.Kazanas 2001 12 Likewise, in Slavic paganism, the sun god Dazibogu was described at the offspring of the sky deity Svarog.Kazanas 2001 13 It is possible that, in the original Proto-Indo-European mythology, the sun god was also conceptualized as the child of the sky god ine-x-proto Dyḗws.Jackson 2002 79 In the Homeric Hymn to Helios, his mother—Euryphaessa—is described with the epithet "grc βοῶπις," ("βοῶπις") meaning "ox-eyed."Homeric Hymn 31. To Helios. 2-3. According to the Italian linguist Enrico Campanile, the name of Greek Euryphaessa may relate to the Proto-Indo-European root ine-x-proto bʰeh₂- ("to shine"), which also surfaces in certain epithets of the Vedic and Greek dawn goddesses, such as the term "sa vibhātī́" ("sa विभा॒ती," "shiny"), an epithet of Ushas. If this comparison is accepted, then it may indicate that the sun god was originally the offspring of the dawn goddess.Jackson 2002 80 Detail of Carved Chariot Wheel.jpg Detail of a chariot wheel at the Konark Sun Temple Surya the sun deity driving in his chariot. Gouache drawing. Wellcome V0045217.jpg The Sun god Surya driving a chariot Solvognen Do 2010 1277.tif The Trundholm sun chariot, an artifact from Late Bronze Age Denmark that perhaps represents the Proto-Indo-European myth of a Sun chariot.Mallory Adams 1997 278 horizontal 350 2/2 Sun God Helios relief - Altes Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017 (2).jpg Depiction of the Greek god Helios riding his chariot Horses of the Sun In the mythologies of the daughter languages (namely, Baltic, Greek and Old Indic), the sun deity crosses the sky in a horse-driven chariot or wagon.Laurinkienė 2021 400-401 For instance, in Norse mythology, the chariot of the Sun god is driven by the two horses Árvakr and Alsviðr.Matasović 2018 21 Ovid, a 1st-century BCE Roman poet, lists several "swift" ("la volucres") horses "of the Sun" ("la Solis equi") that pull the chariot of Helios, namely Pyrois, Eous, Aethon, and Phlegon.Ovid. Metamorphoses. 2. 153-154. In the Rigveda, it is stated that the Surya is pulled across the sky "in a moment speed" by "auspicious" and "bay-colored" horses.Rigveda. 1.115.3.Matasović 2018 21 Similarly, the Latvian god Ūsiņš and the Lithuanian Sun goddess Saule both had chariots that were pulled across the sky by two white horses.Leeming 2003 125Straižys Klimka 1997 73 However, Mallory and Adams caution that the motif is not exclusively Indo-European, and mention evidence of its presence in Mesopotamia.Mallory Adams 1997 278 In Vedic mythology, the storm deity Indra is stated to have attacked the dawn and crashed the sun chariot. According to the Indo-Europeanist Nicholas Kazanas, this Indian story may connect to the Greco-Roman myth of Phaethon, in which the Greek mythological figure accidentally drove the sun chariot too close to the Earth, resulting in the lightning god Zeus striking him down. In further support of the connection, Kazanas notes that the name "Phaethon" ("grc Φαέθων," "Φαέθων") was also applied to a horse of the dawn goddess Eos and—in the works of Homer—to the Sun itself.Kazanas 2001 12 Both Sanskrit and Greek writings describe the Sun as traveling with great speed. Mimnermus, a 7th-century BCE Greek poet, writes about the "swift Sun" ("grc ὠκέος grc Ἠελίοιο," "ὠκέος Ἠελίοιο"),Mimnermus. Fragments. 11a. and the Atharvaveda likewise mentions a "swift Sun" ("sa आशुम् sa सूर्यम्," "sa āśúm sū́ryam").Atharvaveda. 13.2.2. Both of the terms utilized in the Greek and Vedic texts derive from Proto-Indo-European ine-x-proto HéHḱus ("quick") and ine-x-proto sóh₂wl̥ ("Sun") respectively.Matasović 2018 20 Poets in Hellenic and Indo-Iranian cultures tended to describe the Sun as traversing the sky untired or unwearied.West 2007 211 In the Rig Veda, it is stated that the Sun and the moon "unweariedly ("sa ájasra") maintain their brightness."Rigveda. 10. 12. 7-8. Similarly, in the Iliad, the Sun is associated with the adjective "grc ἀκάμας" ("ἀκάμας"), meaning "untiring."Homer. Iliad. 18. 239West 2007 128 Rigvedic scriptures mention the sun deity Savitr following a "great path" ("sa म॒होsa अज्मस्य," "sa mahó sa ájmasya"),Rigveda. 4.53.4. while the Homeric Hymn to Selene depicts the moon goddess also traversing a "great path" ("grc μέγας grc ὄγμος," "μέγας ὄγμος").Homeric Hymns 32. To Selene. 11. The term utilized to describe these occurrences in their respective languages both descend from the Proto-Indo-European words "ine-x-proto méǵh₂s" and "ine-x-proto h₂óǵmos."Jackson 2002 79 According to Matasović, the Proto-Indo-European people may have conceptualized a heaven-like afterlife existing at the end of the Sun's path. Matasović notes that the Ancient Greek term grc ὄλβος ("ὄλβος," "bliss") may derive from Proto-Indo-European ine-x-proto su(h₂)-ol-gʷh₂o- ("that which goes towards the Sun") and is perhaps related to Sanskrit sa svargá ("sa स्वर्ग," "paradise").Matasović 2018 21 Beekes, however, suggests a possible Pre-Greek origin for the word grc ὄλβος.Beekes 2010 1067 ὄλβος Light of the Sun god Although the sun was personified as an independent deity,Mallory Adams 2006 427 the Proto-Indo-Europeans also visualized the sun as the "lamp of ine-x-proto Dyēus," as seen in various reflexes. For instance, the 5th-century BCE Athenian playwright Euripides references "the god's lamp ("grc λαμπὰς ... θεοῦ," "grc λαμπὰς ... θεοῦ"Euripides. Medea. 352.) in his play Medea and mentions "rays of the Sun" ("grc ἀελίου ... λαμπάσιν," "ἀελίου ... λαμπάσιν") in the play Ion.Euripides. Ion. 1467.West 2007 195 Numerous kennings describing the Sun appear throughout Old English literature. In Beowulf, reference is made to "heaven's candle" ("ang rodores candel"Beowulf. 1965.) and a "world's candle" ("ang woruldcandel"). The poem Andreas, another piece of Anglo-Saxon writing, mentions two separate "sky's candles" ("ang heofancandel"Andreas. 372. and "ang wedercandel"), while the poem Battle of Brunanburh mentions a "lamp of the lord God" ("ang Godes candel").The Battle of Brunanburh. IWest 2007 195Broz 2011 171-172 In a Hittite prayer, the Sun-goddess of Arinna is also called "the land of Hatti's torch."West 2007 195 Both the Vedic sun god Savitr and the Greek god Helios are described as lighting up the world for its inhabitants. In the Rigveda, it is stated that Savitr raises "his banner" and produces "light for all the world of creatures."Rigveda. 4.14.2. Similarly, in the Odyssey, it is stated that Helios leaves "the beauteous water surface" and "sprang up into the brazen heaven to give light to the immortals and to mortal men on the earth."Homer. Odyssey. 3.1-3.West 2007 198 All-seeing Sun god Eye of the Sun References to the "eye of the Sun" in the Rigveda As thou, Dawn, hast caused Agni to be kindled, and with the Sun's eye hast revealed creation. Rigveda. 1.113.9 with floods of rain they make the Sun's eye fade away. Rigveda. 5.59.5 Thine is this world of flocks and herds around thee, which with the eye of Surya thou beholdest Rigveda. 7.98.6 The Sun with his dear eye beholds that quarter of the heavens which priests Have placed within the sacred cell. Rigveda. 9.10.9 May Surya's eye with days and nights endow him, and ever may his light spread out before him Rigveda. 10.10.9 555px 80%In Greek mythology, Helios is referred to as the eye of Zeus,Sick 2004 434Bortolani 2016 128 while in Zoroastrian religion Hvare-khshaeta is described as the eye of Ahura Mazda.Matasović 2009 154 According to the 5th-century BCE Roman author Macrobius, the "ancients" ("la antiquitas") referred to the Sun as the "eye of Jupiter" ("la Iovis oculum").Macrobius. Saturnalia. 1.21.12 Another Roman author, Ovid, portrays the Sun god referring to himself as "the world's eye" ("la mundi oculus"), he "who beholds all things" ("la omnia qui video"), and the one through whom "the earth beholds all things" ("la per quem videt omnia tellus").West 2007 199Ovid. Metamorphoses. 228. Likewise, the Rigveda describes the god Surya as the "eye of Mitra and Varuna" ("sa mitrásya váruṇasya cákṣase").Rigveda. 10.37.1Dynda 2014 65 In the play Electra by the 5th-century BCE Athenian playwright Euripides, the Sun is connected with the title grc "gold-visaged" ("grc χρυσωπός," "χρυσωπός"),Euripides. Electra. 740. Such a description parallels the epithet "golden-eyed" ("sa हि॒र॒ण्या॒क्षः," "sa hiraṇyākṣá"), which is utilized in the Rigveda to describe the god Savitr.Rigveda. 1.35.8.West 2007 199 Ferdowsi, a 10th-century CE Persian poet, also details a myth involving the character of Goshtasp, in which it is stated that a tree provided "such thick shade" that it could conceal "the eye of the Sun."Ferdowsi 1967 185 Furthermore,Yazidis refer to the sun as "the eye of Şêşims" (kmr çehvê Şêşims).MacKillop 2004 Albanian solemn oaths are taken "by the eye of the Sun" (sq për sy të Diellit), which is related to the Sky-God worship (Zojz).Cook 1964 197 Further connections possibly derive from a segment in the play grc Thesmophoriazusae by Aristophanes, in which the character of Euripides describes a creation myth in which Aether is stated to have created the eye according to the "image of the solar disc" ("grc ἀντίμιμον ἡλίου τροχῷ").Aristophanes. Thesmophoriazusae. 16-17. In Old Norse poetry, the phrase "non ennis sólir," meaning "Suns of the forehead," is utilized as a kenning to describe eyes.West 2007 199 The names of Celtic sun goddesses such as Sulis and Grian may also allude to this association: the words for "eye" and "sun" are switched in these languages, hence the name of the deities.MacKillop 2004 In one Scots Gaelic folksong recorded by the folklorist Alexander Carmichael in the 19th-century, the Sun is described as the "eye of great God" ("gd sùil Dhé mhóir").Carmichael 1940 306-307 The term utilized to designate "God" within this verse is descended from Proto-Indo-European ine-x-proto deywós, which is itself related to the name of the sky god ine-x-proto Dyḗws.West 2007 199 The Old Armenian word for the Sun, xcl aregakn ("xcl արեգակն"), may be a compound of the word xcl areg ("xcl արեգ," "Sun") and "xcl akn" ("xcl ակն," "eye").West 2007 199 Additionally, the 5th-century CE Classical Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi recounts a supposedly ancient hymn to the mythical hero Vahagn, at the end of which it is stated that "his eyes were Suns."Ivanov 2011 8 The Sun as cosmic overseer thumb|341x341px|1905 depiction by Emil Doepler of Wodan and Frigg observing the Earth from the Heavens In a Rigvedic poem—the Sun is described as he who "beholds ("sa स्पशम्," "sa spáśam") the universe."Jackson 2002 79Rigveda. 4.13. 3-4. Within Germanic literature—more specifically, within the Old English poem Phoenix—it is stated that the Sun "surveys the world" ("ang woruld geondwlīteð").West 2007 199The Phœnix. 210. Similarly, the Latvian sun goddess Saule is described—in the lt dainas—as witnessing all the occurs in the world.West 2007 199 According to the religious scholar Jiří Dynda, the notion of the Sun protecting and observing the world may be reflected in the terms Lithuanian and Latvian terms lt pasáulis and lv pasaule, both of mean "world" and morphologically are composed of elements meaning "under" and "the Sun."Dynda 2014 65 Similarly, various words in Slavic languages meaning "Sun" derive from Proto-Slavic sla-x-proto světъ ("light, world"), which itself derives from Proto-Indo-European ine-x-proto ḱweyt- ("to shine").Dynda 2014 65Derksen 2008 476 The historian Peter Jackson notes that—in a Homeric hymn to a Demeter—the Sun is described as "the watcher ("grc σκοπός," "σκοπός") of gods and men."Homeric Hymn to Demeter. 2. 62. It is not clear, however, whether these attributes were originally associated with the sun deity or other gods.West 2007 172 Amongst the Greeks, the sky god Zeus was also identified an all-seeing deity. Hesiod, and 8th-7th century BCE poet, writes that the eye of Zeus "sees all things and knows all things"Hesiod. Works and Days. 267 and that "thrice ten thousand are Zeus's immortal guardians of mortal human beings" who watch over "judgments and cruel deeds."Hesiod. Works and Days. 252-253.West 2007 171 It is perhaps possible that the Zeus assumed the role as divine watcher as his prominence grew within Hellenic religion.West 2007 172 The Vedic sky god Dyaus is not ascribed the same quantity of spies associated with his Greek counterpart Zeus.West 2007 172 Dyaus is perhaps ascribed the epithet "all-knowing" ("sa विश्ववेदसे," "sa viśvavedase"),Atharvaveda. 1.32.4. though the translator William Dwight Whitney notes that the passage has also been interpreted as referencing the root sa √vid- ("to find, acquire") instead of the homophonic root sa √vid- ("to know"),Whitney 1905 33 both of which were likely once the exact same word.Whitney 1885 160 In Rigvedic tradition, the god Varuna is, however, stated to possess a "thousand eyes."Rigveda. 7.34.10. Moreover, Varuna is connected with the epithet "sa viśvávedāḥ" ("sa वि॒श्ववे॑दा॒," "all-knowing")Rigveda. 8.42.1. and "sa urucákṣasam" ("wide of eye"),Rigveda. 1.25.5. the latter of which may parallel the Avestan epithet "ae vaōurucašānē" ("wide of eye"),Yasna. 33.13. which is ascribed to the god Ahura Mazda.West 2007 172 The motif of spies resurfaces in the Avesta, where the god Mithra is described as possessing "one thousand ears"Yasna. 1.9. and is said to spy "with ten thousand (eyes)."Mihr Yasht. 1.6. The 8th-century Benedictine monk Paulus Diaconus recounts a Lombardic myth in which the god Wodan favors a legendary tribe called the lng Winnili in battle because they were the first side that he saw at sunrise.Paul the Deacon. History of the Langobards. 8.1. It is perhaps possible that this myth could reflect an Indo-European tradition of a sky god as a divine observer, as Odin may have assumed several of the characteristics of ine-x-proto Dyḗws during the development of Germanic mythology.West 2007 173 The Sun god and oaths The idea of the Sun as a universal overseer may have motivated a belief that operated as a protective deity.Matasović 2018 20Dynda 2014 65 Within the Rigveda, Surya is described as watching the "deeds of men both good and evil" and "guardian of all things fixt, of all that moveth."Rigveda. 4.1.17.Rigveda. 7.60.2.Dynda 2014 65 Heraclitus, a late 6th or early 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher, writes that "the sun will not overstep his measures ("grc δίκης," "δίκης")."Heraclitus. Fragments. 92. This statement parallels a Vedic verse in which it is claimed that "Surya transgresses not the ordered limits ("sa दिशा," "sa díśaḥ")."Rigveda. 3.30.12. The terms utilized in each passage to describe the boundaries are cognate, both deriving from ine-x-proto deyḱ-.Matasović 2018 20 In various Indo-European cultures, the Sun god is repeatedly summoned to watch over an oath or vow, a divine role that may have emerged from their connection to justice and their omniscient nature.West 2007 199 In Luwian culture, the Sun-god Tiwaz is entitled "Tiwaz of the oath" ("xlu ḫīrutallis dUTU-waza"),Mouton 2023 130 though his name is etymologically linked to the Proto-Indo-European sky deity ine-x-proto Dyḗws.West 2007 172 The same "Tiwaz of the oath" surfaces in another Luwian inscription of the Kuwattalla tradition, in which the divinity is connected with the verb xlu ḫīrutalli- ("to perjure"),Mouton 2023 130 perhaps—according to the philologist Alice Mouton—indicating a belief that the Sun-god functioned as a witness to perjury.Mouton 2023 132 Within this same inscription, the god Tiwaz is described supervising a ritual alongside the Heaven and the Earth.Mouton 2023 132CTH 762. Amongst the Romans, oaths were governed by the god Dius Fidius, whose name is also etymologically related to the Proto-Indo-European sky god.West 2007 172 In the non Atlakviða, a poem from the Poetic Edda, the character of Gudrun notes that another individual, Atli, had "often sworn oaths" by "the south-slanting Sun."West 2007 200Pettit 2023 669 There is evidence that, in another Germanic society, the Franks, oaths were still sworn by the Sun, even following Christianization. The la Vita Sancti Eligii, a hagiography detailing the life of Saint Eligius, recounts an anecdote in which Eligius himself had advised the Franks that, for their own salvation, that "none should call the sun or moon lord or swear by them."Vita S. Eligius. 2.2.West 2007 200thumb|Possible depiction of the Hittite Sun goddess holding a child in her arms from between 1400 and 1200 BC.|295x295px Gender The original Proto-Indo-European term for the Sun may be reflected in the Luwian neuter noun xlu še-ḫu-wa-a-a[l]—perhaps alternatively read as xlu ši-wa-a-al—which likely meant something akin to "lamp" or "brazier." According to West, it is unlikely that a word for "Sun" would have been reutilized to describe lamps, thereby implying the converse—that the term originally meant "lamp" and was repurposed to describe the Sun. When the term came to refer to the personified Sun deity, it naturally acquired gender connotations.West 2007 195 The philologist Ranko Matasović proposes that Proto-Indo-European likely identified both the sun and the sun god with a masculine noun ine-x-proto seh₂wōl, whereas the concept of sunshine was communicated utilized a separate neuter noun ine-x-proto *sh₂wor.Matasović 2009 154 Likewise, in Sanskrit, the generic noun meaning "Sun, light" is the neuter form sa svàr ("sa स्वर्"), whereas the derivative referring to the Sun god is a masculine proper noun sa Sū́rya ("sa सूर्य").West 2007 195 The majority of Indo-European sun deities were male,Dexter 2006 148 although the sun goddesses Saulė,Kazanas 2001 13 Sól, and gem-x-proto Sowilō were propitiated in Baltic, North Germanic, and Continental Germanic mythology respectively.Gamkrelidze Ivanov 1995 760 Otherwise, in Celtic mythology, the name of the goddess Sulis may also be etymologically related to Old Irish feminine noun sga súil ("eye"), which itself may derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for "Sun."Matasović 2009 156 According to the philologist Martin Litchfield West, the majority of female Sun deities in Indo-European mythologies are concentrated throughout Northern Europe, perhaps implying a common substrate affecting this area of the Indo-European world.West 2007 196 The original Proto-Indo-European sun god may have persisted into Hittite mythology as a male Sun god named hit Šiušummi, who was possibly worshipped in later periods under the name hit Ištanu, whose name was perhaps borrowed from the Hattian deity xht Eštanu. However, the Assyriologist Charles Steitler argues that such an interpretation is contradicted by the general adoption of the same Hattic divinity and the Hittite Sun goddess of Arinna,Steitler 2019 955 who is possibly of non-Indo-European origin.West 2007 211Melchert 2019 242-243Wright 2007 189 In Luwian culture, the Sun goddess of the Earth is attested with the name xlu tiyammaššiš, a name which is likely etymologically connected to the name of Tiwaz, who was himself likely inherited from Proto-Indo-European mythology.Melchert 2019 242 Connection with cattle Associations between cattle and the sun surface throughout Greek and Indo-Iranian mythology:Jackson 2002 80 The Bundahishn describes the death of the primordial bovine and its own wailing at its fate, while in the Odyssey the sacred cows of Helios are butchered and cry out upon their deaths.Lincoln 1999 188 These stories may reflect a shared tradition,Lincoln 1999 190 although it is alternatively possible the sacrifice of the cattle of Helios continues a separate Indo-European "cattle-raiding" myth, which is perhaps paralleled by the Irish story of sga Táin Bó Cúailnge and the Indic legend of Indra recovering cattle stolen by the Panis. Due to the significant differences between each individual tale, it is likely that rather than preserving the same ancestral myth, they instead reflect a similar "cattle-raiding" theme that permeates Indo-European cultures.Lincoln 1976 44 Other connections between cattle and the Sun god appear throughout the Rigveda. For instance, the god Surya is described milking the cattle of heaven and earth.Jackson 2002 80Rigveda. 1.160.3. Furthermore, in a Rigvedic wedding hymn, two steers ("sa गावौ॑," "sa gā́vau") are tied to the chariot of Surya.Rigveda. 10.85.11. During this same wedding procession, two bulls are sacrificed under the constellation Agha, perhaps—according to the philologists Tamaz Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav Ivanov—reflecting a ritual connected with the Sun.Gamkrelidze Ivanov 1995 492Rigveda. 10.85.13. Sun-maiden A character related to the Sun deity is the 'Sun-maiden'.West 2007 227-232 Examples are lv Saules meita, the daughter of Saulé in Baltic tradition, and sa Sūryā,Mallory Adams 1997 556 who is varyingly depicted as either the daughter of Surya or Savitr.Mallory Adams 1997 556 Scholars also posit Helen of Troy, from Greek mythology, was another example of the 'Sun-maiden'.Mallory Adams 1997 232West 2007 230-231 Just as Helen, in Greek mythology, was associated with the twin horsemen Castor and Pollux, the Vedic deity sa Sūryā is connected with the Ashvins, a pair of twin charioteers.Meagher 2002 48 However, the linguist Vittore Pisani argues that Helen is more likely to etymologically connect to the Vedic goddess sa saraṇyú.Jackson 2002 78 In one Baltic myth, the goddess lv Saules meita is wed to the lv Dieva Dēli, who are the twin sons of the sky god Dievs, It is possible that this Baltic pair of twin gods derives from the Indo-European "divine twins" archetype, which is itself possibly further continued by the Ashvins. In another Baltic myth, the goddess lv Saules meita is instead married to the moon god Meness, with the lv Dieva Dēli only appearing as members of the bridal procession.Mallory Adams 1997 556 In Albanian tradition there is E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit, "the daughter of the Moon and the Sun", who is a light divine heroine, referred to as sq pika e qiellit ("drop of the sky" or "lightning"), which falls everywhere from heaven on the mountains and the valleys and strikes pride and evil. She defeats the kulshedra, the archetype of darkness and evil in Albanian mythology.Tirta 2004 72, 128Shuteriqi 1959 66West 2007 233 In some Albanian traditions the Sun (Dielli) and the Moon (Hëna) are regarded as husband and wife, and in others as brother and sister. In the case of sq E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit the Sun is her father and the Moon is her mother.Tirta 2004 72, 128Dushi 2020 21Matasović 2018 20 The Moon deity *Meh₁not Indo-European Moon deity Sky Moon Monday Luna Mene (Selene) Kašku Hittite Phrygian Men Mah Zoroastrian Latvian Mēness Germanic Máni Myesyats Hëna ine-x-proto Meh₁not- is reconstructed based on the Norse god Máni, the Slavic god Myesyats,In Ukrainian myth, like in Baltic tradition, the moon, Myesyats, is a male godJones Pennick 1995 186 and said to marry the Sun goddess.Dixon-Kennedy 1998 188 noteGamkrelidze Ivanov 1995 760 and the Lithuanian god *Meno, or Mėnuo (Mėnulis).Mallory Adams 1997 385 Remnants of the lunar deity may exist in Latvian moon god Mēness,Lurker 2004 123 Anatolian (Phrygian) deity Men;Keneryi 1951 196-197Hammond Scullard 1992 970-971Lurker 2004 123 Mene, another name for Selene, and in Zoroastrian lunar deity Mah (ae Måŋha).Beekes 1982 55York 1993 247Lurker 2004 115 According to the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (EIEC), the moon in Indo-European cosmogony was likely associated with the mind. However, the EIEC also suggests that such a relationship may have emerged secondarily as a consequence of the phonological similarity between the Proto-Indo-European word for "Moon" and the root ine-x-proto men- ("to think").Mallory Adams 1997 385 See also Eye of Ra Notes note References Sources 30em Agostini Domenico Thrope Samuel The bundahišn: The Zoroastrian Book of Creation https://academic.oup.com/book/32162 Oxford University Press New York 2020 9780190879044 Beekes Robert 1982 Gav. må, the Pie word for 'moon, month', and the perfect participle https://www.robertbeekes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b37.pdf live Journal of Indo-European Studies 10 53–64 https://web.archive.org/web/20241212070803/https://www.robertbeekes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b37.pdf December 12, 2024 Beekes Robert with the assistance of Lucien van Beek 2010 Alexander Lubotsky Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series Etymological Dictionary of Greek Brill 978-90-04-17418-4 https://archive.org/details/etymological-dictionary-of-greek_202306 Bortolani Ljuba Merlina https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/magical-hymns-from-roman-egypt/19C970CFE0317DD6382AEC1B8E3E709D/listing Magical Hymns from Roman Egypt: A Study of Greek and Egyptian Traditions of Divinity 2016 Cambridge University Press 9781316673270 en Bray David Sacral Elements of Irish Kingship 1999 This Immense Panorama: Studies in Honour of Eric J. 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