*H₂éwsōs

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Template:Short description Template:Cleanup reorganize Template:Infobox deity{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Lit) is the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European name of the dawn goddess in the Proto-Indo-European mythology.Template:Sfn

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is believed to have been one of the most important deities worshipped by Proto-Indo-European speakers due to the consistency of her characterization in subsequent traditions as well as the importance of the goddess Uṣas in the Rigveda.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Her attributes have not only been mixed with those of solar goddesses in some later traditions, most notably the Baltic sun-deity Saulė, but have subsequently expanded and influenced female deities in other mythologies.

Name

Etymology

The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European name of the dawn, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, derives from the verbal root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('to shine', 'glow red', 'a flame') extended by the suffix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The same root also underlies the word for 'gold', {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Lit, inherited in Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Old Prussian Template:Transliteration, and Lithuanian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref>

The word for the dawn as a meteorological event has also been preserved in Balto-Slavic *auṣ(t)ro (Template:Cf. Lithuanian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'dawn', 'morning light', Proto-Slavic *ȕtro 'morning', 'dawn', Old Church Slavonic Template:Transliteration 'in the morning'),Template:Efn in Sanskrit Template:Transliteration ('dawn'), or in Ancient Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('tomorrow').Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Pronk, Tijmen. "Old Church Slavonic (j)utro, Vedic uṣár- 'daybreak, morning'". In: L. van Beek, M. de Vaan, A. Kloekhorst, G. Kroonen, M. Peyrot & T. Pronk (eds.) Farnah: Indo-Iranian and Indo-European studies in honor of Sasha Lubotsky. Ann Arbor: Beech Stave Press. 2018. pp. 298-306. Template:ISBN</ref>

A derivative adverb, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning "east" (Template:Lit), is reflected in Latvian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('east'), Avestan {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('east'), Italic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (compare Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'south wind, south'), Old Church Slavonic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('summer'), and Germanic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Cf. Old Norse Template:Transliteration, English east, Middle High German {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> The same root seems to be preserved in the Baltic names for the northeast wind: Lith. auštrinis and Latvian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="Straižys, Vytautas 1997">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Razauskas 2002">Template:Cite journal</ref> Also related are the Old Norse Austri, described in the Template:Transliteration as one of four dwarves that guard the four cardinal points (with him representing the east),<ref>Shipley, Joseph Twadell. The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1984. p. 237. Template:ISBN</ref> and Template:Transliteration ('The eastern way'), attested in medieval Germanic literature.<ref>MUCENIECKS, André Szczawlinska. "A ideia de leste nas fontes escandinavas: um estudo de conceituação histórico-geográfica". in: Revista Signum, 2015, vol. 16, n.3, pp. 97-125. [1] (in Brazilian Portuguese)</ref>

Epithets

A common epithet associated with the Dawn is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Template:'Daughter of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Template:', the sky god.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Cognates stemming from the formulaic expression appear in the following traditions: 'Daughter of Heaven' in the Rigveda (as an epithet of Ushas), 'Daughter of Zeus' (probably associated with Eos in pre-Homeric Greek), 'Daughter of Dievas' (an epithet transferred to a Sun-goddess in the Lithuanian folklore).<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Also in northern Albanian folk beliefs Prende, a dawn goddess,Template:Sfn is regarded as the daughter of the sky god Zojz.Template:Sfn

Depiction

Eternal rebirth

The Dawn-goddess is sometimes portrayed as un-ageing and her coming as an eternal rebirth. She is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('early-born', 'born in the morning') as an epithet of Eos in the Ancient Greek Iliad, and the Ancient Indian Rigveda describes Ushas, the daughter of Dyáuṣ, as being born from the harnessing of the Aśvins, the divine horse twins driving the chariot of the sun.Template:Sfn

Colours

A widespread characteristic given to the Dawn is her 'brilliance'; she is generally described as a "bringer of light".Template:Sfn Various cognates associated with the dawn-goddess indeed derive from the Proto-Indo-European root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning 'to glow', 'shine'.Template:Sfn The Vedic Ushas is described as Template:Transliteration ('the Dawn's shine'), the Avestan Template:Transliteration as Template:Transliteration ('shining dawn')Template:Efn and the Greek Eos as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('light-bringing'),Template:Sfn {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('shining on mortals'),<ref>Macedo, José Marcos; Kölligan, Daniel; Barbieri, Pedro. Πολυώνυμοι. A Lexicon of the Divine Epithets in the Orphic Hymns. Würzburg University Press, 2021. p. 183. Template:ISBN.</ref> or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('bright-shining'),<ref name="Barbieri">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Macedo, José Marcos; Kölligan, Daniel; Barbieri, Pedro. Πολυώνυμοι. A Lexicon of the Divine Epithets in the Orphic Hymns. Würzburg University Press, 2021. p. 116. Template:ISBN.</ref> attested in the Orphic Hymn to the Dawn.

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is usually associated with the natural colours of the dawn: gold, saffron, red, or crimson. The Dawn is 'gold-coloured' (Template:Transliteration) in the Rigveda, 'the golden-yellow one' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in Ovid's Amores, and 'gold-throned' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in a Homeric formula.Template:Sfn In Latvian folk songs, Saulė and her daughter(s) are dressed of shawls woven with gold thread, and Saulė wears shoes of gold, which parallels Sappho describing Eos as 'golden-sandalled' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).Template:Sfn

Eos is also 'saffron-robed' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in Homeric poems,Template:Sfn while Ushas wears crimson (rose-red) garments and a "gleaming gold" veil.<ref>Andrews, Tamra. Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 53. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Lurker, Manfred. The Routledge Dictionary Of Gods Goddesses Devils And Demons. Routledge. 2004. p. 192. Template:ISBN</ref> The Hindu goddess is also described as a red dawn shining from afar; "red, like a mare", she shoots "ruddy beams of light", "yokes red steeds to her car" or "harnesses the red cows" in the Samaveda.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Saffron, red and purple are colours also associated with the dawn by the Latin poet Ovid.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

The Baltic sun goddess Saulė has preserved some of the imagery of, and she is sometimes portrayed as waking up 'red' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) or 'in a red tree' during the morning.Template:Sfn Saulé is also described as being dressed in clothes woven with "threads of red, gold, silver and white".<ref>Andrews, Tamra. Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 169. Template:ISBN</ref>Template:Efn In the Lithuanian tradition, the sun is portrayed as a "golden wheel" or a "golden circle" that rolls down the mountain at sunset.<ref>Razauskas, Dainius. 2012. "Iš Baltų Mitinio Vaizdyno Juodraščių: SAULĖ.(Lithuanian)." Folk Culture 135 (3): 16-41. Template:ISSN</ref> Also in Latvian riddles and songs, Saule is associated with the color red, as if to indicate the "fiery aspect" of the sun: the setting and the rising sun are equated with a rose wreath and a rose in bloom, due to their circular shapes.<ref>Vaitkevičienė, Daiva. Ugnies metaforos: Lietuvių ir latvių mitologijos studija. Vilnius: Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. 2001. pp. 36-37, 174-175. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Laurinkiene, Nijole 2019, p. 51">Laurinkiene, Nijole. "Saulės ir metalų kultas bei mitologizuotoji kalvystė: Metalų laikotarpio idėjų atšvaitai baltų religijoje ir mitologijoje" [CULT OF THE SUN AND METALS AND MYTHOLOGIZED BLACKSMITHING: REFLECTIONS OF THE IDEAS OF THE METAL AGES IN BALTIC RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY]. In: Būdas, 2019, Nr. 5 (188), p. 51.</ref><ref>VAITKEVIČIENĖ, D. (2003). "The Rose and Blood: Images of Fire in Baltic Mythology". In: Cosmos (The Journal of the Traditional Cosmology Society) 19, No 1, pp. 24-27.</ref>Template:EfnTemplate:Efn

According to Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasyev, the figure of the Dawn in Slavic tradition is varied: she is described in a Serbian folksong as a maiden sitting on a silver throne in the water, her legs of a yellow color and her arms of gold;<ref>Афанасьев, А.Н. Поэтические воззрения славян на природу: Опыт сравнительного изучения славянских преданий и верований в связи с мифическими сказаниями других родственных народов. Том 1. Moskva: Izd. K. Soldatenkova 1865. pp. 82-83. (In Russian) [2]</ref> in a Russian saying, the goddess Zorya is invoked as a Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'red maiden');<ref>Афанасьев, А.Н. Поэтические воззрения славян на природу: Опыт сравнительного изучения славянских преданий и верований в связи с мифическими сказаниями других родственных народов. Том 1. Moskva: Izd. K. Soldatenkova 1865. pp. 84-85. (In Russian) [3]</ref> in another story, the "red maiden" Zorya sits on a golden chair and holds a silver disk or mirror (identified as the sun);<ref>Афанасьев, А.Н. Поэтические воззрения славян на природу: Опыт сравнительного изучения славянских преданий и верований в связи с мифическими сказаниями других родственных народов. Том 1. Moskva: Izd. K. Soldatenkova 1865. p. 198. (In Russian) [4]</ref> in another, a maiden sits on a white-hot stone (Alatyr) in Buyan, weaving red silk in one version, or the "rose-fingered" Zorya, with her golden needle, weaves over the sky a veil in rosy and "blood-red" colours using a thread of "yellow ore".<ref>Афанасьев, А.Н. Поэтические воззрения славян на природу: Опыт сравнительного изучения славянских преданий и верований в связи с мифическими сказаниями других родственных народов. Том 1. Moskva: Izd. K. Soldatenkova 1865. pp. 223-224. (In Russian) [5]</ref>Template:EfnTemplate:Efn She is also depicted as a beautiful golden-haired queen who lives in a golden kingdom "at the edge of the White World", and rows through the seas with her golden oar and silver boat.<ref name="academia.edu">Kos-Lajtman, Andrijana; Horvat, Jasna. "Utjecaj ruskih mitoloških i usmenoknjiževnih elemenata na diskurs Priča iz davnine Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić" [Influence of Russian mythological and oral literary elements on the discourse of Priče iz davnine by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić]. In: Zbornik radova Petoga hrvatskog slavističkog kongresa. 2012. p. 160.</ref>

Movements

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is frequently described as dancing: Uṣas throws on embroidered garments 'like a dancer' (Template:Transliteration), Eos has 'dancing-places' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) around her house in the east, Saulė is portrayed as dancing in her gilded shoes on a silver hill, and her fellow Baltic goddess Aušrinė is said to dance on a stone for the people on the first day of summer.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to a Bulgarian tradition, on St. John's Day, the sun dances and "whirls swords about" (sends rays of light), whereas in Lithuania the Sun (identified as female) rides a car towards her husband, the Moon, "dancing and emitting fiery sparks" on the way.<ref name="Ralston, William Ralston Shedden 1872. p. 242">Ralston, William Ralston Shedden. The songs of the Russian people, as illustrative of Slavonic mythology and Russian social life. London: Ellis & Green. 1872. p. 242.</ref>

The spread hand as the image of the sun's rays in the morning may also be of Proto-Indo-European origin.Template:Sfn The Homeric expressions 'rose-armed' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and 'rosy-fingered Dawn' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), as well as Bacchylides' formula 'gold-armed' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), can be semantically compared with the Vedic formulas 'golden-handed' (Template:Transliteration) and 'broad-handed' (Template:Transliteration).Template:Sfn They are also similar with Latvian poetic songs where the Sun-god's fingers are said to be 'covered with golden rings'.Template:Sfn According to Martin L. West, "the 'rose' part is probably a Greek refinement."Template:Sfn

Another trait ascribed to the Dawn is that she is "wide-shining" or "far-shining" - an attribute possibly attested in Greek theonym Euryphaessa ("wide-shining") and Sanskrit poetic expression Template:Transliteration ('[Ushas] shines forth/shines out widely').Template:Sfn<ref>Massetti, Laura. "Once Upon a Time a *Sleeping Beauty... Indo-European Parallels to Sole, Luna e Talia (Giambattista Basile Pentamerone 5.5)". In: AIΩN - Linguistica n. 9 (2020). pp. 99-100.</ref>

Dwelling

Another common trait of the Dawn goddess is her dwelling, generally situated on an island in the Ocean, or sometimes in an Eastern house.Template:Sfn

In Greek mythology, Eos is described as living 'beyond the streams of Okeanos at the ends of the earth'.Template:Sfn A more precise location is given in the Odyssey, by poet Homer: in his narration, Odysseus tells his audience that the Aeaean isle is "where is the dwelling of early Dawn and her dancing-lawns, and the risings of the sun".<ref>Homer. Odyssey Book 12, lines 1-4. Original site: http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:12.1-12.35. Retrieved: 29 April 2021.</ref>

In Slavic folklore, the home of the Zoryas was sometimes said to be on Bouyan (or Buyan), an oceanic island paradise where the Sun dwelt along with his attendants, the North, West and East winds.Template:Sfn

The Avesta refers to a mythical eastern mountain called Template:Transliteration ('Dawn-house').Template:Sfn The Yasnas also mention a mountain named Template:Transliteration, possibly meaning "crack of dawn" (as a noun)<ref>Skjærvø, Prods Oktor. "The Avestan Yasna: Ritual and Myth". In: Religious Texts in Iranian Languages: Symposium held in Copenhagen May 2002. Edited by Fereydun Vahman & Claus V. Pedersen. København: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. 2007. p. 65. Template:ISBN</ref> or "having reddish cracks" (as an adjective).<ref>Humbach, Helmut and Ichaporia, Pallan R. Zamyad Yasht: Yasht 19 of the Younger Avesta. Text, Translation, Commentary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 1998. pp. 66-68.</ref>

In a myth from Lithuania, a man named Joseph becomes fascinated with Aušrinė appearing in the sky and goes on a quest to find the 'second sun', who is actually a maiden that lives on an island in the sea and has the same hair as the Sun.Template:Sfn In the Baltic folklore, Saulė is said to live in a silver-gated castle at the end of the sea,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> located somewhere in the east,<ref name="Straižys, Vytautas 1997" /> or to go to an island in the middle of the sea for her nocturnal rest.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In folksongs, Saule sinks into the bottom of a lake to sleep at night, in a silver cradle "in the white seafoam".<ref>Vaitkevičienė, Daiva. Ugnies metaforos: Lietuvių ir latvių mitologijos studija. Vilnius: Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. 2001. pp. 146-149, 154, 184. Template:ISBN</ref>Template:EfnTemplate:Efn

Vehicle

Carrier

The Dawn is often described as driving some sort of vehicle, probably originally a wagon or a similar carrier, certainly not a chariot as the technology appeared later within the Sintashta culture (2100–1800 BC), generally associated with the Indo-Iranian peoples.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the Odyssey, Eos appears once as a charioteer, and the Vedic Ushas yokes red oxen or cows, probably pictorial metaphors for the red clouds or rays seen at morning light.Template:Sfn The vehicle is portrayed as a biga or a rosy-red quadriga in Virgil's Aeneid and in classical references from Greek epic poetry and vase painting, or as a shining chariot drawn by golden-red horses.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Albanian folk beliefs the dawn goddess Prende is pulled across the sky in her chariot by swallows, called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'the Lady's Birds', which are connected to the chariot by the rainbow ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) that the people also call {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'the Lady's Belt'.Template:Sfn

Saulė, a sun-goddess syncrethized with the Dawn, also drives a carriage with copper-wheels,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a "gleaming copper chariot"<ref name="Dixon-Kennedy, Mike 1998 p. 252">Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic myth and legend. p. 252. ABC-CLIO. Template:ISBN.</ref> or a golden chariot<ref>Andrews, Tamra. Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 20.</ref> pulled by untiring horses, or a 'pretty little sleigh' (kamaņiņa) made of fish-bones.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Saulė is also described as driving her shining car on the way to her husband, the Moon.<ref name="Ralston, William Ralston Shedden 1872. p. 242"/> In other accounts, she is said to sail the seas on a silver<ref name="scholar">Template:Cite journal</ref> or a golden boat,<ref name="Dixon-Kennedy, Mike 1998 p. 252"/> which, according to legend, is what her chariot transforms into for her night travels.<ref name="Straižys, Vytautas 1997"/><ref name="llti.lt">Laurinkienė, Nijolé. "Saulės ratų ir laivo mitiniai vaizdiniai: šviesulys paros cikle (Mythical Images of the Solar Carriage and Ship: the Heavenly Body in the Course of an Astronomical Day)". In: Tautosakos darbai t. 54, 2017. pp. 13-25. Template:ISSN. [6]</ref> In a Latvian folksong, Saule hangs her sparkling crown on a tree in the evening and enters a golden boat to sail away.<ref name="Enthoven 1937 pp. 183–186"/>

In old Slavic fairy tales, the Dawn-Maiden (Template:Transliteration) "sails the sea in the early morning in her boat of gold with a silver paddle" (alternatively, a silver boat with golden oars)<ref name="academia.edu"/> and sails back to Buyan, the mysterious island where she dwells.<ref>Brlic-Mazuranic, Ivana. Croatian Tales of Long Ago. Translated by Fanny S. Copeland. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.. 1922. p. 256.</ref>

Horses

The Dawn's horses are also mentioned in several Indo-European poetical traditions. Homer's Odyssey describes the horses of Eos as a pair of swift steeds named Lampos and Phaethon, and Bacchylides calls her 'white-horsed Dawn' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).Template:Sfn The vehicle is sometimes portrayed as being drawn by golden-red horses. The colours of Dawn's horses are said to be "pale red, ruddy, yellowish, reddish-yellow" in the Vedic tradition.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Baltic sun-goddess Saulė's horses are said to be of a white color;<ref name="Straižys, Vytautas 1997"/> in other accounts they amount to three steeds of golden, silver and diamond colors.<ref name="Ralston, William Ralston Shedden 1872. p. 242"/> In Latvian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (folk songs), her horses are described as yellow, of a golden or a fiery color.<ref name="llti.lt"/> The sun's steeds are also portrayed as having hooves and bridles of gold in the dainas, and as golden beings themselves or of a bay colour, "reflect[ing] the hues of the bright or the twilight sky".<ref>Chase, George Davis. "Sun Myths in Lithuanian Folksongs". In: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 31 (1900): 198–199. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}.</ref> When she begins her nocturnal journey through the World Sea, her chariot changes into a boat and "the Sun swims her horses",<ref name="scholar2">Template:Cite journal</ref> which signifies that "she stops to wash her horses in the sea".<ref>Jones, Prudence; Pennick, Nigel (1995). A History of Pagan Europe. Routledge. p. 175. Template:ISBN.</ref> Scholarship points that the expressions {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('golden' or 'yellow horses'), which appear in Latvian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, seem to be a recurrent poetic motif.<ref name="Laurinkiene, Nijole 2019, p. 51"/>

Although Zorya of Slavic mythology does not appear to feature in stories with a chariot or wagon pulled by horses, she is still described in a tale as preparing the "fiery horses" of her brother, the Sun, at the beginning and at the end of the day.<ref>Peroš, Zrinka; Ivon, Katarina; & Bacalja, Robert. (2007). "More u pričama Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić" [SEA IN TALES OF IVANA BRLIĆ-MAŽURANIĆ]. In: Magistra Iadertina. 2 (2). 2007. pp. 68-69. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}.</ref>

Role

Opener of the doors of heaven

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is often depicted as the opener of the doors or gates of her father the heaven ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}): the Baltic verse ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('by the doors of the house of God'), which Saulė is urged to open to the horses of the son(s) of God, is lexically comparable with the Vedic expression Template:Transliteration ('doors of Heaven'), which Ushas opens with her light.Template:Sfn Another parallel could be made with the 'shining doors' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) of the home of Eos, behind which she locks up her lover Tithonus as he grows old and withers in Homer's Hymn to Aphrodite.Template:Sfn

A similar poetic imagery is present among Classical poets, although some earlier Greek source may lie behind these.Template:Sfn In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Aurora opens the red doors ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) to fill her rosy halls,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and in Nonnus' Dionysiaca the Dawn-goddess shakes off her sleep and leaves Kephalos's repose in order to 'open the gates of sunrise' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other reflexes may also be present in other Indo-European traditions. In Slavic folklore, the goddess of the dawn Zorya Utrennyaya open the palace's gates for the journey of her father Dažbog, a Slavic Sun god, during the day. Her sister Zorya Vechernyaya, the goddess of dusk, closes them at the end of the day.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In a passage of the Eddas about Dellingr, a Norse deity of light, a dwarf utters a charm or incantation in front of 'Delling's doors' (Template:Transliteration), which apparently means 'at dawn'.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to scholarship, Lithuanian folklore attests a similar dual role for luminous deities Vakarine and Aušrinė, akin to Slavic Zoryas (although it lacks the door imagery):<ref>Razauskas, Dainius. "Iš baltų mitinio vaizdyno juodraščių: Aušrinė (ir Vakarinė)" [From rough copies of the Baltic mythic imagery: the Morning Star]. In: Liaudies kultūra. Nr. 6 (201), pp. 17-25.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Vakarine, the Evening Star, made the bed for solar goddess Saulė, and Aušrinė, the Morning Star, lit the fire for her as she prepared for another day's journey.<ref name="Straižys, Vytautas 1997" /> In another account, they are Saulé's daughters and tend their mother's palace and horses.<ref>Andrews, Tamra. Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 20. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Reluctant bringer of light

In Indo-European myths, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is frequently depicted as a reluctant bringer of light for which she is punished.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This theme is widespread in the attested traditions: Eos and Aurora are sometimes unwilling to leave her bed, Uṣas is punished by Indra for attempting to forestall the day, and Auseklis did not always rise in the morning, as she was said to be locked up in a golden chamber or in Germany sewing velvet skirts.Template:Sfn

The Divine Twins are often said to rescue the Dawn from a watery peril, a theme that emerged from their role as the solar steeds.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Evidence

Dawn-goddesses

File:Guercino 001.jpg
Aurora (1621) by Guercino

Cognates stemming from the root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and associated with a dawn-goddess are attested in the following mythologies:

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Greek Epic Fragments: From the Seventh to the Fifth Century. Edited and Translated by Martin L. West. London, England; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 2003. pp. 216-217. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Matthews, Victor J. Panyassis of Halikarnassos: Text and Commentary. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill. 1974. pp. 123-124 (footnote nr. 4). Template:ISBN</ref> the name Aoos also appears as a son of Eos;Template:Sfn

        • Mycenaean: the word a-wo-i-jo (Āw(ʰ)oʰios; Ἀϝohιος)Template:Efn<ref>Luján, Eugénio R. "Los temas en -s en micénico". In: Donum Mycenologicum: Mycenaean Studies in Honour of Francisco Aura Jorro. Edited by Alberto Bernabé and Eugenio R. Luján. Bibliothèque des cahiers de L'Institut de Linguistique de Louvain Vol. 131. Louvain-la-Neuve; Walpole, MA: Peeters. 2014. p. 68.</ref> is attested in a tablet from Pylos; interpreted as a shepherd's personal name related to "dawn",<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Nakassis, Dimitri. "Labor and Individuals in Late Bronze Age Pylos". In: Labor in the Ancient World. Edited by Piotr Steinkeller and Michael Hudson. Dresden: ISLET-Verlag. 2015 [2005]. p. 605. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref>Davies, Anna Morpurgo (1972). "Greek and Indo-European semiconsonants: Mycenaean u and w". In: Acta Mycenaea, vol. 2 (M.S. Ruipérez, ed.). Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca. p. 93.</ref><ref>Jorro, Francisco Aura. "Reflexiones sobre el léxico micénico" In: Conuentus Classicorum: temas y formas del Mundo Clásico. Coord. por Jesús de la Villa, Emma Falque Rey, José Francisco González Castro, María José Muñoz Jiménez, Vol. 1, 2017, pp. 307. Template:ISBN.</ref> or dative Āwōiōi;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
      • Italic: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} > {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (with an a-stem extension likely explained by the feminine gender)Template:Sfn
        • Roman: Aurora, whose attributes are a mirror reflection of the Greek deity; the original motif of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} may have been preserved in Mater Matuta;Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Eous or Eoös, an obscure poetic term meaning 'east' or 'oriental', is attested in Lucan's Pharsalia,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Hyginus's Fabulae, in the lost epic of the Titanomachy,<ref>Severyns, Albert. Le cycle épique dans l'école d'aristarque. Bibliothèque de la Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres de l'Université de Liége. Fascicule IX. 1928. p. 174. [7]</ref> and as the name given to one of the Sun's horses in Ovid's Metamorphoses,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Rose, H. J. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. London and New York: Routledge. 2005 [1928]. p. 25. Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Efn

      • Thracian: Auza-, attested in personal name Αυζα-κενθος (Auzakenthos 'dawn-child'), believed by linguists Vladimir I. Georgiev and Template:Ill to attest the name of a Thracian dawn goddess.<ref>Georgiev, Vladimir I.. "Thrakisch und Dakisch". Band 29/2. Teilband Sprache und Literatur (Sprachen und Schriften [Forts.]), edited by Wolfgang Haase, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 1983. p. 1155. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}</ref><ref>Georgiev, Vladimir I.. "Thrakisch und Dakisch". Band 29/2. Teilband Sprache und Literatur (Sprachen und Schriften [Forts.]), edited by Wolfgang Haase, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 1983. p. 1210. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}</ref><ref>Duridanov, Ivan. "Thrakische und dakische Namen". 1. Halbband: Ein internationales Handbuch zur Onomastik. Edited by Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger and Ladislav Zgusta. Berlin; New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 1995. p. 831. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}</ref>
    • PIE: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, locative singular of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},Template:Sfn
    • PIE: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn "matutinal, pertaining to the dawn",<ref>Gąsiorowski, Piotr. "The Germanic reflexes of PIE *-sr- in the context of Verner's Law". In: The sound of Indo-European: Phonetics, Phonemics, and Morphophonemics. Editors: Benedicte Nielsen Whitehead, Thomas Olander, Birgit Anne Olsen, Jens Elmegård Rasmussen. Museum Tusculanum Press. 2012. pp. 122-123. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}</ref>
      • Balto-Slavic: *Auṣ(t)ro,Template:Sfn
        • Baltic: *Auš(t)ra, "dawn",Template:Sfn
          • Lithuanian: Aušrinė, personification of the Morning Star (Venus), said to begin each day by lighting a fire for the sun;Template:Sfn Aušra (sometimes Auska), goddess of sunrise,<ref name="Straižys, Vytautas 1997" /> given as the answer to a Baltic riddle about a maiden who loses her keys;<ref>Vaitkeviciene, Daiva. "Baltic and East Slavic Charms". In: The Power of Words: Studies on Charms and Charming in Europe. edited by James Kapaló, Éva Pócs and William Ryan. Budapest, Hungary: CEU (Central European University) Press. 2013. pp. 215-216. Template:ISBN</ref> and Auštra (interpreted as "dawn" or "northeast wind"), a character in a fable that guards the entry to paradise,<ref name="Razauskas 2002" />
          • Latvian: Auseklis (ausa "dawn" attached to the derivative suffix -eklis),Template:Sfn personification of the Morning Star, and a reluctant goddess of the dawn;Template:Sfn female personal names include Ausma and Austra;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Palmaitis, M 1988 p. 181">Palmaitis, M.-L. "Romeo Moses and Psyche Brünhild? Or Cupid the Serpent and the Morning Star?". In: Paris, Catherine (éditeur). Caucasologie et mythologie comparée, Actes du Colloque international du C.N.R.S. - IVe Colloque de Caucasologie (Sévres, 27 - 29 juin 1988). Paris: PEETERS. 1992. p. 181. Template:ISBN</ref> words ausma and ausmiņa denoting "Morgendämmerung" ('dawn, daybreak');<ref>Dravnieks, J. Vaciski latviska vardnica. Sestais iespiedums. Riga: Technisko un Praktisko Rakstu Apgads. 1944. p. 133. Vaciski latviska vardnica by Project Runeberg</ref>
        • Slavic: *(j)ȕtro, "morning, dawn",Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
          • Polish: Jutrzenka or Justrzenka;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn Czech: Jitřenka,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> name and personification of Morning Star and Evening Star,

          • Polabians: Jutrobog (Latin: Jutry Bog or Jutrny Boh), literally "Morning God", a deity mentioned by German historians in the 18th century, and Jüterbog: a town in east Germany named after the Slavic god,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
          • Historically, the Kashubians (in Poland) were described to worship Jastrzebog and the goddess Jastra, who was worshipped in Jastarnia, from which the Kashubian term for Easter, Jastrë, was derived. These names may be related with Polabian god Jutrobog, be influenced by Proto-Germanic deity *Austrōn (see below), or may come from the word jasny ('bright').<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Epithets

The formulaic expression "Daughter of Dyēus" is attested as an epithet attached to a dawn-goddess in several poetic traditions:

Poetic and liturgic formula

An expression of formulaic poetry can be found in the Proto-Indo-European expression {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('it dawns'), attested in Lithuanian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref>Derksen, Rick (2015). Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon. Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series. Vol. 13. Leiden, Boston: Brill. p. 72.</ref> Latvian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Avestan Template:Transliteration, or Sanskrit Template:Transliteration.Template:Sfn<ref name="Lejeune Haudry Bader 2011 pp. 202–206">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Efn The poetic formula 'the lighting dawn' is also attested in the Indo-Iranian tradition: Sanskrit Template:Transliteration, and Young Avestan Template:Transliteration.<ref name="Lubotsky">Template:Cite book – See entries vas- [2] and usás-.</ref> A hapax legomenon uşád-bhiḥ (instr. pl.) is also attested.<ref>Bader, Françoise. "Héraklés et les points cardinaux". In: Minos: revista de cultura egea Vol. 18 (1983). p. 234. Template:ISSN</ref>

Other remnants of the root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are present in the Zoroastrian prayer to the dawn Hoshbām,Template:Sfn and in Ušahin gāh (the dawn watch),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> sung between midnight and dawn.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Persian historical and sacred literature, namely, the Bundahishn, in the chapter about the genealogy of the Kayanid dynasty, princess Frānag, in exile with "Frēdōn's Glory" after escaping her father's murderous intentions, promises to give her firstborn son, Kay Apiweh, to "Ōšebām". Ōšebām, in return, saves Franag.<ref>Agostini, Domenico; Thrope, Samuel. The bundahišn: The Zoroastrian Book of Creation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. p. 187. Template:ISBN</ref> In the Yasht about Zam, the Angel of the Munificent Earth, a passage reads upaoṣ̌ā̊ŋhə ('situated in the rosy dawn'), "a hypostatic derivation from unattested *upa uṣ̌āhu 'up in the morning light(s)'".<ref>Humbach, Helmut and Ichaporia, Pallan R. Zamyad Yasht: Yasht 19 of the Younger Avesta. Text, Translation, Commentary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 1998. pp. 27, 63 and 65.</ref>

A special carol, zorile ("dawn"), was sung by the colindători (traditional Romanian singers) during funerals, imploring the Dawns not be in a hurry to break, or begging them to prevent the dead from departing this world.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The word is of Slavic origin, with the term for 'dawn' attached to the Romanian article -le.Template:Sfn

Stefan Zimmer suggests that Welsh literary expression ym bronn y dyd ("at the breast/bosom of the day") is an archaic formula possibly referring to the Dawn goddess, who bared her breast.<ref>Zimmer, Stephan. "On the uniqueness of Culhwch ac Olwen". In: LABOR OMNIA UICIT IMPROBUS: Miscellanea in honorem Ariel Shisha-Halevy. Édités par NATHALIE BOSSON, ANNE BOUD’HORS et SYDNEY H. AUFRÈRE. Leuven, Paris, Bristol/CT: Peeters. 2017. pp. 587-588.</ref>

Legacy

Scholars have argued that the Roman name Aurēlius (originally Ausēlius, from Sabine {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'sun') and the Etruscan sun god Usil (probably of Osco-Umbrian origin) may be related to the Indo-European word for the dawn.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A figure in Belarusian tradition named Аўсень (Ausenis) and related to the coming of spring is speculated to be cognate to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Санько, Сяргей Іванавіч. "Legendinis Litvas indoeuropietiškojo dvynių mito baltarusiškajame kontekste" [Legendary Litwo in the Belarusian context of the Indo-European myth of twins]. In: Liaudies kultūra 2010, Nr. 3. p. 64. Template:ISSN [8]</ref>

In Germanic tradition

Remnants of the root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and its derivations survive in onomastics of the Middle Ages. A medieval French obituary from the 12th century, from Moissac, in Occitania, registers compound names of Germanic origin that contain root Aur- (e.g., Auraldus) and Austr- (e.g., Austremonius, Austrinus, Austris).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Names of Frankish origin are attested in a "polyptyque" of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, containing aust- (sometimes host- or ost-) and austr- (or ostr- > French out-).<ref>Longnon, Auguste. Polyptyque de l'abbaye de Saint-Germain des Prés. Chez H. Champion. 1895. pp. 286-287. [9]</ref> Germanic personal names in Galicia and Iberian toponyms with prefix aus-, astr- and aust- (> ost-) also attest the survival of the root well into medieval times.<ref>"Extramundi". In: Moralejo, Juan J. Callaica Nomina: Estudios de Onomástica Gallega. Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, D.L. 2007. pp. 19-23.</ref><ref>Iglesias, Hector. "Aztarna germanikoa Euskal Herriko toponimia historikoan". In: Fontes Linguae Vasconum: Studia et documenta. Institución Príncipe de Viana - Gobierno de Navarra, 2001. p. 328. ffartxibo-00000108 (In Basque)</ref><ref>Laso, Abelardo Moralejo. "Sobre grafía y pronunciación de los topónimos gallegos". In: Verba: Anuario galego de filoloxia Nº 4, 1977, p. 31.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In Greek tradition

A possible mythological descendant of the Indo-European dawn goddess may be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and lust. Scholars posit similarities based on her connection with a sky deity as her father (Zeus or Uranus) and her association with red and gold colours. In the Iliad, Aphrodite is hurt by a mortal and seeks solace in her mother's (Dione) bosom. Dione is seen as a female counterpart to Zeus and is thought to etymologically derive from Proto-Indo-European root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In Celtic tradition

A character named Gwawrdur is mentioned in the Mabinogion tale of Culhwch and Olwen. Stefan Zimmer suggests either a remnant of the Dawn goddess or a name meaning "(with) the color of steel", since gwawr may also mean 'color, hue, shade'.<ref>Zimmer, Stefan. "Some Names and Epithets in "Culhwch ac Olwen"". In: Studi Celtici vol. 3. 2006, pp. 163-179 (pp. 11-12 in the link).</ref> The name also appears in the Canu Aneirin under the variants Gwardur, Guaurud, Guaurdur, (G)waredur, or (G)waledur.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> All of these stem from the Middle Welsh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('dawn'; also 'hero, prince'). According to linguist Ranko Matasović, the latter derives from Proto-Celtic *warī- ('sunrise, east', Template:Cf. Middle Irish {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), itself from the PIE root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('spring').<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In Albanian tradition

In Albanian folk beliefs, Prende, who had been worshiped in northern Albania until recent times, is the dawn goddess, whose name traces back to PIE {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'she who brings the light through', from which also the Ancient Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a variant of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Persephone), is considered to have regularly descended.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In Albanian folklore {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is also called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Template:Sfn – an Albanian phrase meaning 'near day', 'the day is near', or 'dawn'Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn – which is used as a native term for the planet Venus:Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'the star of light Afërdita' (i.e. Venus, the morning star)Template:Sfn and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (i.e. Venus, the evening star).Template:Sfn The Albanian imperative form {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'come forth the dawn' traces back to Proto-Albanian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'come forth brightness of the day/dawn', from PIE {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.Template:Sfn According to linguist Václav Blažek, the Albanian word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('star') finds a probable ultimate etymology in the root {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('dawn'), specifically through {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('morning-star'), which implies the quite natural semantic evolution 'dawn' > 'morning star' > 'star'.Template:Sfn

In non-Indo-European traditions

According to Michael Witzel, the Japanese goddess of the dawn Uzume, revered in Shinto, was influenced by Vedic religion.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It has been suggested by anthropologist Kevin Tuite that Georgian goddess Dali also shows several parallels with Indo-European dawn goddesses.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Footnotes

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References

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Bibliography

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Further reading

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