View source for Proto-Indo-European mythology

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{{Contains special characters|PIE}}
[[File:Trundholm sun chariot animation.gif|thumb|[[Trundholm sun chariot]], [[Nordic Bronze Age]], {{circa}} 1600 BC]]
{{Indo-European topics}}
{{Mythology}}
'''Proto-Indo-European mythology''' is the body of [[myths]] and [[deities]] associated with the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]], speakers of the hypothesized [[Proto-Indo-European language]]. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested – since Proto-Indo-European speakers lived in preliterate societies – scholars of [[comparative mythology]] have reconstructed details from inherited similarities in mythological concepts found in [[Indo-European languages]], based on the assumption that parts of the Proto-Indo-Europeans' original belief systems survived in the daughter traditions.{{Efn|{{harvnb|West|2007|p=2}}: "If there was an Indo-European language, it follows that there was a people who spoke it: not a people in the sense of a nation, for they may never have formed a political unity, and not a people in any racial sense, for they may have been as genetically mixed as any modern population defined by language. If our language is a descendant of theirs, that does not make them 'our ancestors', any more than the ancient Romans are the ancestors of the French, the Romanians, and the Brazilians. The Indo-Europeans were a people in the sense of a linguistic community. We should probably think of them as a loose network of clans and tribes, inhabiting a coherent territory of limited size.&nbsp;... A language embodies certain concepts and values, and a common language implies some degree of common intellectual heritage."|name=|group=note}}

The Proto-Indo-European [[Pantheon (religion)|pantheon]] includes a number of securely reconstructed deities, since they are both [[cognates]]—linguistic siblings from a common origin—and associated with similar attributes and body of myths: such as {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dyeus|Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr]]}}, the [[Sky deity|daylight-sky god]]; his consort {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dhéǵhōm|Dʰéǵʰōm]]}}, the [[Mother goddess|earth mother]]; his daughter {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Hausos|H₂éwsōs]]}}, the [[dawn goddess]]; his sons the [[divine twins|Divine Twins]]; and {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Seh₂ul]]}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Meh₁not]]}}, a [[solar deity]] and [[moon deity]], respectively. Some deities, like the [[weather god]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Perkwunos|Perkʷunos]]}} or the herding-god {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Péh₂usōn]]}},{{Efn|Mallory and Adams saw a possible connection with ''Paoni'', dative form of Pan in the Arcadian Greek dialect, and personal names Puso ([[Venetic language|Venetic]] or [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]]) and Pauso ([[Messapic language|Messapic]]).{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=415}}|name=|group=note}} are only attested in a limited number of traditions—Western (i.e. European) and [[Graeco-Aryan]], respectively—and could therefore represent late additions that did not spread throughout the various Indo-European dialects.

Some myths are also securely dated to Proto-Indo-European times, since they feature both linguistic and thematic evidence of an inherited motif: a story portraying a [[Trito (Proto-Indo-European mythology)|mythical figure]] associated with thunder and slaying a multi-headed serpent to release torrents of water that had previously been pent up; a [[creation myth]] involving [[Manu and Yemo|two brothers]], one of whom sacrifices the other in order to create the world; and probably the belief that the [[Otherworld]] was guarded by a [[Ḱérberos|watchdog]] and could only be reached by crossing a river.

Various schools of thought exist regarding possible interpretations of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European mythology. The main mythologies used in comparative reconstruction are [[Indo-Iranian mythology|Indo-Iranian]], [[Baltic mythology|Baltic]], [[Roman mythology|Roman]], [[Norse mythology|Norse]], [[Celtic mythology|Celtic]], [[Greek mythology|Greek]], [[Slavic mythology|Slavic]], [[Hittite mythology|Hittite]], [[Armenian mythology|Armenian]], and [[Albanian mythology|Albanian]].

==Methods of reconstruction==

===Schools of thought===
The mythology of the Proto-Indo-Europeans is not directly attested and it is difficult to match their language to archaeological findings related to any specific culture from the [[Chalcolithic]].{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=}} Nonetheless, scholars of comparative mythology have attempted to reconstruct aspects of Proto-Indo-European mythology based on the existence of linguistic and thematic similarities among the [[Deity|deities]], religious practices, and myths of various Indo-European peoples. This method is known as the [[Comparative method (linguistics)|comparative method]]. Different schools of thought have approached the subject of Proto-Indo-European mythology from different angles.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=427–431}}[[File:Max Muller.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Max Müller|Friedrich Max Müller]], a prominent early scholar on the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European religion and a proponent of the Meteorological School.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=13–15}}]]

The Meteorological or Naturist School holds that Proto-Indo-European myths initially emerged as explanations for natural phenomena, such as the [[Sky]], the [[Sun]], the [[Moon]], and the [[Dawn]].{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=116}} Rituals were therefore centered around the worship of those elemental deities.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=428}} This interpretation was popular among early scholars, such as [[Max Müller|Friedrich Max Müller]], who saw all myths as fundamentally solar allegories.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=13–15}} Although recently revived by some scholars like [[Jean Haudry]] and [[Martin Litchfield West|Martin L. West]],{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=117}}{{sfn|West|2007|p=141}} this school lost most of its scholarly support in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=14–15}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=428}}

The Ritual School, which first became prominent in the late nineteenth century, holds that Proto-Indo-European myths are best understood as stories invented to explain various rituals and religious practices.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=428–429}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=14–15}} Scholars of the Ritual School argue that those rituals should be interpreted as attempts to manipulate the universe in order to obtain its favours.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=116}} This interpretation reached the height of its popularity during the early twentieth century,{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=15–18}} and many of its most prominent early proponents, such as [[James George Frazer]] and [[Jane Ellen Harrison]], were classical scholars.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=15}} [[Bruce Lincoln]], a contemporary member of the Ritual School, argues for instance that the Proto-Indo-Europeans believed that every sacrifice was a reenactment of the original sacrifice performed by the founder of the human race on his twin brother.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=428–429}}

The Functionalist School, by contrast, holds that myths served as stories reinforcing social behaviours through the [[Metanarrative|meta-narrative]] justification of a traditional order.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=116}} Scholars of the Functionalist School were greatly influenced by the [[trifunctional hypothesis|trifunctional system]] proposed by [[Georges Dumézil]],{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=116}} which postulates a tripartite ideology reflected in a threefold division between a [[cleric]]al class (encompassing both the religious and social functions of the priests and rulers), a [[warrior]] class (connected with the concepts of violence and bravery), and a class of [[farmer]]s or husbandmen (associated with fertility and craftsmanship), on the basis that many historically known groups speaking Indo-European languages show such a division.<ref name="Flamen-Brahman">Dumézil, Georges (1929). ''Flamen-Brahman''.</ref>{{Sfn|Dumézil|1986|p=}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=429–430}} Dumézil's theory had a major influence on Indo-European studies from the mid-20th century onwards, and some scholars continue to operate under its framework,{{Sfn|West|2007|p=4}}<ref name="Theorizing myth">[[Bruce Lincoln|Lincoln, Bruce]] (1999). ''Theorizing myth: Narrative, ideology, and scholarship'', p.&nbsp;260 n.&nbsp;17. University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0-226-48202-6}}.</ref> although it has also been criticized as aprioristic and too inclusive, and thus impossible to be proved or disproved.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=4}}

The Structuralist School argues that Proto-Indo-European mythology was largely centered around the concept of [[Dualistic cosmology|dualistic]] opposition.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=431}} They generally hold that the mental structure of all human beings is designed to set up opposing patterns in order to resolve conflicting elements.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=118}} This approach tends to focus on cultural universals within the realm of mythology rather than the genetic origins of those myths,{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=431}} such as the fundamental and binary opposition rooted in the nature of marriage proposed by [[Tamaz V. Gamkrelidze]] and [[Vyacheslav Ivanov (philologist)|Vyacheslav Ivanov]].{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=118}} It also offers refinements of the trifunctional system by highlighting the oppositional elements present within each function, such as the creative and destructive elements both found within the role of the warrior.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=431}}

===Source mythologies===
[[File:Indo-European expansions.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35| Scheme of Indo-European language dispersals from c.&nbsp;4000 to 1000 BCE according to the widely held [[Kurgan hypothesis]].{{ubl|Center: Steppe cultures|1 (black): Anatolian languages (archaic PIE)|2 (black): Afanasievo culture (early PIE)|3 (black) Yamnaya culture expansion (Pontic-Caspian steppe, Danube Valley) (late PIE)|4A (black): Western Corded Ware|4B-C (blue & dark blue): Bell Beaker; adopted by Indo-European speakers|5A-B (red): Eastern Corded ware|5C (red): Sintashta (proto-Indo-Iranian)|6 (magenta): Andronovo|7A (purple): Indo-Aryans (Mittani)|7B (purple): Indo-Aryans (India)|[NN] (dark yellow): proto-Balto-Slavic|8 (grey): Greek|9 (yellow): Iranian|[not drawn]: Armenian, expanding from western steppe}}]]

One of the earliest attested and thus one of the most important of all Indo-European mythologies is [[Vedic mythology]],{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=440}} especially the mythology of the ''[[Rigveda]]'', the oldest of the [[Vedas]]. Early scholars of comparative mythology such as Friedrich Max Müller stressed the importance of Vedic mythology to such an extent that they practically equated it with Proto-Indo-European myths.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=14}} Modern researchers have been much more cautious, recognizing that, although Vedic mythology is still central, other mythologies must also be taken into account.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=14}}

Another of the most important source mythologies for comparative research is [[Roman mythology]].{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=440}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=191}} The Romans possessed a very complex mythological system, parts of which have been preserved through the characteristic Roman tendency to rationalize their myths into historical accounts.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=146–147}} Despite its relatively late attestation, [[Norse mythology]] is still considered one of the three most important of the Indo-European mythologies for comparative research,{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=440}} due to the vast bulk of surviving Icelandic material.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=191}}

[[Baltic mythology]] has also received a great deal of scholarly attention, as it is linguistically the most conservative and archaic of all surviving branches, but has so far remained frustrating to researchers because the sources are so comparatively late.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=223–228}} Nonetheless, Latvian folk songs are seen as a major source of information in the process of reconstructing Proto-Indo-European myth.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=228–229}} Despite the popularity of [[Greek mythology]] in western culture,{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=126–127}} Greek mythology is generally seen as having little importance in comparative mythology due to the heavy influence of [[Pre-Greek substrate|Pre-Greek]] and Near Eastern cultures, which overwhelms what little Indo-European material can be extracted from it.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=138, 143}} Consequently, Greek mythology received minimal scholarly attention until the first decade of the 21st century.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=440}}

Although [[Scythians]] are considered relatively conservative in regards to Proto-Indo-European cultures, retaining a similar lifestyle and culture,{{sfn|Anthony|2007|page=}} [[Scythian religion|their mythology]] has very rarely been examined in an Indo-European context and infrequently discussed in regards to the nature of the ancestral Indo-European mythology. At least three deities, [[Tabiti]], [[Papaios]] and [[Api (mythology)|Api]], are generally interpreted as having Indo-European origins,{{sfn|West|2007|page=266}}<ref>Macaulay, G. C. (1904). The History of Herodotus, Vol. I. London: Macmillan & Co. pp. 313–317.</ref> while the remaining have seen more disparate interpretations. Influence from Siberian, Turkic and even Near Eastern beliefs, on the other hand, are more widely discussed in literature.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vnlRu7CW95gC|title=The Deer Goddess of Ancient Siberia: A Study in the Ecology of Belief|last=Jacobson|first=Esther|date=1993|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09628-8|language=en}}</ref><ref>Bessonova, S. S. 1983. Religioznïe predstavleniia skifov. Kiev: Naukova dumka</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hasanov|first=Zaur|title=Argimpasa – Scythian goddess, patroness of shamans: a comparison of historical, archaeological, linguistic and ethnographic data|url=https://www.academia.edu/34823985|journal=Bibliotheca Shamanistica|date=January 2014|language=en}}</ref>

== Cosmology ==
There was a fundamental opposition between the never-aging gods dwelling above in the skies and the mortal humans living beneath on the earth.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=340}} Earth ({{lang|ine-x-proto|[[dhéǵhōm|dʰéǵʰōm]]}}) was perceived as a vast, flat and circular continent surrounded by waters ("the Ocean").{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=204–205}} Although they may sometimes be identified with mythical figures or stories, the stars ({{lang|ine-x-proto|*h₂stḗr}}) were not bound to any particular cosmic significance and were perceived as ornamental more than anything else.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=354}} According to [[Martin Litchfield West|Martin L. West]], the idea of the [[world-tree]] (L. ''axis mundi'') is probably a later import from North Asiatic cosmologies: "The Greek myth might be derived from the Near East, and the Indic and Germanic ideas of a pillar from the shamanistic cosmologies of the [[Finno-Ugric peoples|Finno-Ugric]] and other peoples of central and northern Asia."{{Sfn|West|2007|p=346}}

=== Cosmogony ===
{{Main|Indo-European cosmogony|Manu and Yemo}}

==== Reconstruction ====
There is no scholarly consensus as to which of the variants is the most accurate reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European cosmogonic myth.{{Sfn|Polomé|1986|p=}} [[Bruce Lincoln]]'s reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European motif known as "Twin and Man" is supported by a number of scholars such as [[Jaan Puhvel]], [[J. P. Mallory]], [[Douglas Q. Adams]], [[David W. Anthony]], and, in part, [[Martin L. West]].<ref>See: {{harvnb|Puhvel|1987|pp=285–287}}; {{harvnb|Mallory|Adams|2006|pp=435–436}}; {{harvnb|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}. {{harvnb|West|2007}} agrees with the reconstructed motif of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}}, although he notes that interpretations of the myths of [[Trita]] and [[Fereydun|Thraētona]] are debated.</ref> Although some thematic parallels can be made with traditions of the Ancient Near East, and even Polynesian or South American legends, Lincoln argues that the linguistic correspondences found in descendant [[cognate]]s of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} make it very likely that the myth has a Proto-Indo-European origin.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1975|p=124}} According to [[Edgar C. Polomé]], "some elements of the [Scandinavian myth of Ymir] are distinctively Indo-European", but the reconstruction proposed by Lincoln "makes too [many] unprovable assumptions to account for the fundamental changes implied by the Scandinavian version".{{Sfn|Polomé|1986|p=}} [[David Adams Leeming|David A. Leeming]] also notes that the concept of the [[Cosmic egg]], symbolizing the primordial state from which the universe arises, is found in many Indo-European creation myths.{{Sfn|Leeming|2009|p=144|ps=: "The cosmic egg found here is also found in many Indo-European mythologies."}}

==== Creation myth ====
Lincoln reconstructs a [[creation myth]] involving twin brothers, {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} ("Man") and {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} ("Twin"), as the progenitors of the world and humankind, and a hero named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} ("Third") who ensured the continuity of the original sacrifice.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=42–43}}{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=435–436}} Regarding the primordial state that may have preceded the creation process, West notes that the Vedic, Norse and, at least partially, the Greek traditions give evidence of an era when the cosmological elements were absent, with similar formulae insisting on their non-existence: "neither non-being was nor being was at that time; there was not the air, nor the heaven beyond it" (''[[Rigveda]]''), "there was not sand nor sea nor the cool waves; earth was nowhere nor heaven above; [[Ginnungagap]] there was, but grass nowhere" (''[[Völuspá]]''), "there was [[Chaos (cosmogony)|Chasm]] and Night and dark [[Erebus|Erebos]] at first, and broad [[Tartarus]], but earth nor air nor heaven there was" (''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'').{{Sfn|Polomé|1986|p=473}}{{Sfn|West|2007|pp=355–356}}

In the creation myth, the first man {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} and his twin {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} are crossing the [[cosmos]], accompanied by the giant primordial cow. To create the world, {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} [[Fratricide|sacrifices his brother]] and, with the help of heavenly deities (the [[Dyeus|Sky-Father]], the [[Perkwunos|Storm-God]] and the [[Divine twins|Divine Twins]]),{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=357}} forges both the natural elements and [[Human|human beings]] from his remains. {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} thus becomes the first priest after initiating sacrifice as the primordial condition for the world order, and his deceased brother {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} the first king as social classes emerge from his anatomy (priesthood from his head, the warrior class from his breast and arms, and the commoners from his sexual organs and legs).{{Sfn|Lincoln|1975|p=139}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=435–436}} Although the European and [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] versions differ on this matter, Lincoln argues that the primeval cow was most likely sacrificed in the original myth, giving birth to the other animals and vegetables, since the [[Pastoralism|pastoral]] way of life of [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] speakers was closer to that of Proto-Indo-European speakers.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1975|p=144}}[[File:Yamantaka, Fear-Striking Vajra, Lord of Death on a water buffalo, Vajrayana Buddhism.jpg|thumb|[[Yama]], an Indic reflex of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}}, sitting on a [[water buffalo]].]] To the third man {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}}, the celestial gods then offer cattle as a divine gift, which is stolen by a three-headed [[#Serpent-slaying myth|serpent]] named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Ngʷhi}} ("serpent").{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=134}} {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} first suffers at his hands, but the hero eventually manages to overcome the monster, fortified by an intoxicating drink and aided by the Sky-Father. He eventually gives the recovered cattle back to a priest for it to be properly sacrificed.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=58}}{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}} {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} is now the first warrior, maintaining through his heroic actions the cycle of mutual giving between gods and mortals.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=63–64}}{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}

==== Interpretations ====
According to Lincoln, {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} seem to be the protagonists of "a myth of the sovereign function, establishing the model for later priests and kings", while the legend of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} should be interpreted as "a myth of the warrior function, establishing the model for all later men of arms".{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=63–64}} The myth indeed recalls the [[Georges Dumézil|Dumézilian]] [[Trifunctional hypothesis|tripartition]] of the cosmos between the priest (in both his magical and legal aspects), the warrior (the Third Man), and the herder (the cow).{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}

The story of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} served as a model for later [[cattle raiding]] epic myths and most likely as a moral justification for the practice of raiding among Indo-European peoples. In the original legend, {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} is only taking back what rightfully belongs to his people, those who sacrifice properly to the gods.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=63–64}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=138}} The myth has been interpreted either as a cosmic conflict between the heavenly hero and the earthly serpent, or as an Indo-European victory over non-Indo-European people, the monster symbolizing the aboriginal thief or usurper.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|pp=58, 62}}

Some scholars have proposed that the primeval being {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} was depicted as a two-fold [[hermaphrodite]] rather than a twin brother of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}}, both forming indeed a pair of complementary beings entwined together.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=358}}<ref name="dandekar-1979a" /> The Germanic names ''[[Ymir]]'' and ''Tuisto'' were understood as ''twin'', ''bisexual'' or ''hermaphrodite'', and some myths give a sister to the Vedic Yama, also called ''Twin'' and with whom [[incest]] is discussed.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=129}}{{Sfn|West|2007|pp=356–357}} In this interpretation, the primordial being may have self-sacrificed,<ref name="dandekar-1979a">{{Cite book|last=Dandekar|first=Ramchandra N.|title=Vedic mythological tracts|date=1979|publisher=Ajanta Publications|location=Delhi|language=en|oclc=6917651|author-link=Ramchandra Narayan Dandekar}}</ref> or have been divided in two, a male half and a female half, embodying a prototypal separation of the sexes.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=358}}

==== Legacy ====
[[File:Maria Saal Dom Grabrelief Romulus und Remus 27122013 774.jpg|thumb|right|Ancient Roman relief from the [[Maria Saal#Cathedral|Cathedral of Maria Saal]] showing the infant twins [[Romulus and Remus]] being suckled by a she-wolf.]] [[Cognate]]s deriving from the Proto-Indo-European First Priest {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} ("[[Human|Man]]", "ancestor of mankind") include the Indic [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], legendary first man in [[Hinduism]], and Manāvī, his sacrificed wife; the Germanic [[Mannus]] ({{langx|gem-x-proto|Mannaz}}), mythical ancestor of the [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic tribes]]; and the Persian Manūščihr (from [[Avestan|Aves.]] {{tlit|ae|Manūš.čiθra}}), a [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] high priest of the 9th century AD.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=367}}{{Sfn|Lincoln|1975|pp=134–136}} From the name of the sacrificed First King {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} ("Twin") derive the Indic [[Yama]], god of death and the underworld; the [[Avestan]] [[Jamshid|Yima]], king of the golden age and guardian of hell; the [[Norse mythology|Norse]] [[Ymir]] (from PGmc. {{lang|gem-x-proto|Jumijaz}}), ancestor of the giants ([[Jötunn|''jötnar'']]); and, most likely, [[Romulus and Remus|Remus]] (from Proto-Latin ''*Yemos'' or ''*Yemonos'', with the initial ''y''- shifting to ''r''- under the [[Linguistic contamination|influence]] of ''Rōmulus''), killed in the [[Founding of Rome|Roman foundation myth]] by his twin brother [[Romulus]].{{Sfn|Lincoln|1975|p=129}}{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|pp=129–130}} Cognates stemming from the First Warrior {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} ("Third") include the Vedic [[Trita]], the Avestan [[Fereydun|Thrita]], and the Norse [[þriði]].{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=47}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=260}}

Many Indo-European beliefs explain the origin of natural elements as the result of the original dismemberment of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}}: his flesh usually becomes the earth, his hair grass, his bone yields stone, his blood water, his eyes the sun, his mind the moon, his brain the clouds, his breath the wind, and his head the heavens.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=435–436}} The traditions of sacrificing an animal to disperse its parts according to socially established patterns, a custom found in Ancient Rome and India, has been interpreted as an attempt to restore the balance of the cosmos ruled by the original sacrifice.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=435–436}}

The motif of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Manu}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|Yemo}} has been influential throughout Eurasia following the [[Indo-European migrations]]. The Greek, Old Russian (''Poem on the Dove King'') and Jewish versions depend on the Iranian, and a Chinese version of the myth has been introduced from Ancient India.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1975|p=125}} The Armenian version of the myth of the First Warrior {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}} depends on the Iranian, and the Roman reflexes were influenced by earlier Greek versions.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=46}}

=== Cosmic order ===
Linguistic evidence has led scholars to reconstruct the concept of {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂értus}}, denoting 'what is fitting, rightly ordered', and ultimately deriving from the verbal root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂er-}}, 'to fit'. Descendant cognates include [[Hittite language|Hittite]] ''āra'' ('right, proper');<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kloekhorst|first=Alwin|title=Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-16092-7|page=198|language=en}}</ref> Sanskrit {{IAST|[[ṛta]]}} ('divine/cosmic law, force of truth, or order');<ref>{{Cite book|last=Johnson|first=W. J.|date=2009|chapter=Ṛta|chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250-e-2096|title=A Dictionary of Hinduism|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|isbn=978-0-19-172670-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Myers|first=Michael|title=Brahman: A Comparative Theology|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-83565-0|page=60|language=en|quote=Ṛta, for example, is impersonal. ... Pande defines Rta as 'the ideal principle in ordering, the paradigmatic principle of ultimate reality'. Rta is the great criterion of the Rgveda, the standard of truth both for individual instances of human morality and for cosmic order and truth. The god Varuna is the guardian and preserver of the Rta, although Varuna also must abide its rules. Rta is more passive than the active god of christianity, but nevertheless it encompasses the order of the sacrifice, the physical order of the universe and the moral law.}}</ref> [[Avestan]] ''[[Asha|arəta-]]'' ('order'); [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''artús'' ('arrangement'), possibly ''[[arete]]'' ('excellence') via the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂erh₁}} ('please, satisfy');{{Sfn|Beekes|2009|p=128}} [[Latin]] ''artus'' ('joint'); [[Tocharian languages|Tocharian A]] ''ārtt-'' ('to praise, be pleased with'); [[Armenian language|Armenian]] ''ard'' ('ornament, shape'); [[Middle High German]] ''art'' ('innate feature, nature, fashion').<ref name="mallory-2006a">{{harvnb|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=276|ps=: "'''17.4 Law and Order'''
The vocabulary of law ... is not extensive in Proto-Indo-European and much of the concept 'law' derives from that of 'order' or 'what is fitting'. For example, we have {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂értus}} from the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂er-}} 'fit' which had already shifted to an association with cosmic order by the time of Indo-Iranians (e.g. Lat ''artus'' 'joint', MHG ''art'' 'innate feature, nature, fashion', dialectal Grk ''artús'' 'arranging, arrangement', Arm ''ard'' 'ornament, shape', Av ''arəta-'' 'order', Skt {{IAST|ṛtu-}} 'right time, order, rule', Toch B ''ārtt-'' 'love, praise'). More closely associated with ritual propriety is the Italic-Indo-Iranian isogloss that yields {{lang|ine-x-proto|yew(e)s-}} (Lat ''iūs'' 'law, right, justice, duty' "), Av ''yaož -dā-'' 'make ritually pure', Skt {{IAST|śáṃca yóśca}} 'health and happiness') with a derived adjective {{lang|ine-x-proto|yusi(iy)os}} seen certainly in OIr ''uisse'' 'just right, fitting' and possibly OCS ''istǔ'' 'actual, true'. 'Law' itself, {{lang|ine-x-proto|dhéh₁-men-/i-}}, is 'that which is established' and derives from {{lang|ine-x-proto|dhéh₁-}} 'put, establish' but occurs in that meaning only in Grk ''thémis'' 'law' and Skt {{IAST|dhāman-}} 'law' (we also have {{lang|ine-x-proto|dhéh₁tis}} [e.g. Lat ''conditiō'' 'basis', NE 'deed', Grk 'order', Skt {{IAST|-dhiti-}} 'position']) though the same kind of semantic development is seen in Germanic (e.g. NE ''law'') and Italic (e.g. Lat ''lex'' 'law'), both from {{lang|ine-x-proto|legʰ-}} 'lie', i.e. 'that which is laid out', and thus the concept is pan-Indo-European.}}</ref>

Interwoven with the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂er-}} ('to fit') is the verbal root {{lang|ine-x-proto|dʰeh₁-}}, which means 'to put, lay down, establish', but also 'speak, say; bring back'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zoller |first1=Claus Peter |title=Aspects of the Early History of Romani |journal=Acta Orientalia |date=2010 |volume=71 |page=70 |doi=10.5617/ao.5352 |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{Sfn|West|2007|p=354}}<ref name="mallory-2006a" /> The Greek ''thémis'' and the Sanskrit {{IAST|dhāman}} both derive from the PIE noun for the 'Law', {{lang|ine-x-proto|dʰeh₁-men-}}, literally 'that which is established'.<ref name="mallory-2006a" /> This notion of 'Law' includes an ''active'' principle, denoting an ''activity'' ''in obedience'' to the cosmic order {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂értus}}, which in a social context is interpreted as a ''lawful conduct'': in the Greek daughter culture, the titaness [[Themis]] personifies the cosmic order and the rules of lawful conduct which derived from it,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Peels|first=Saskia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Kq8CgAAQBAJ|title=Hosios: A Semantic Study of Greek Piety|date=2015|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-30427-7|page=57|language=en|quote=Themis' children clearly show her to be a divine principle of natural and political order, a principle humans and gods alike need to obey.}}</ref> and the Vedic code of lawful conduct, the {{IAST|[[Dharma]]}}, can also be traced back to the PIE root {{lang|ine-x-proto|dʰeh₁-}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Day|first=Terence P.|title=The conception of punishment in early Indian literature|date=1982|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|isbn=0-919812-15-5|pages=42–45|oclc=8900320}}</ref> According to [[Martin Litchfield West|Martin L. West]], the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|dʰeh₁-}} also denotes a divine or cosmic creation, as attested by the Hittite expression ''nēbis dēgan <u>dāir</u>'' ("established heaven (and) earth"), the [[Young Avestan]] formula ''kə huvāpå raocåscā <u>dāt</u> təmåscā?'' ("What skilful artificer made the regions of light and dark?"), the name of the Vedic creator god {{IAST|[[Dhatri|Dhātr]]}}, and possibly by the Greek nymph ''[[Thetis]]'', presented as a [[Demiurge|demiurgical]] goddess in [[Alcman]]'s poetry.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=354}}

Another root {{lang|ine-x-proto|yew(e)s-}} appears to be connected with ritualistic laws, as suggested by the Latin {{lang|la|iūs}} ('law, right, justice, duty'), Avestan {{tlit|ae|yaož-dā-}} ('make ritually pure'), and Sanskrit {{IAST|śáṃca yóśca}} ('health and happiness'), with a derived adjective {{lang|ine-x-proto|yusi(iy)os}} seen in [[Old Irish]] {{lang|sga|uisse}} ('just right, fitting') and possibly [[Old Church Slavonic]] {{tlit|cu|istǔ}} ('actual, true').<ref name="mallory-2006a" />

===Otherworld===
{{Main|Otherworld|*Ḱérberos}}

The realm of death was generally depicted as the Lower Darkness and the land of no return.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=388}} Many Indo-European myths relate a journey across a river, guided by an old man ({{wikt-lang|ine-x-proto|*ǵérh₂onts|*ǵerh₂ont-}}), in order to reach the [[Otherworld]].{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=439}} The Greek tradition of the dead being ferried across the river [[Styx]] by [[Charon (mythology)|Charon]] is probably a reflex of this belief, and the idea of crossing a river to reach the Underworld is also present throughout Celtic mythologies.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=439}} Several Vedic texts contain references to crossing a river (the {{IAST|[[Vaitarna River (mythological)|Vaitarna]]}}) in order to reach the land of the dead,<ref name="Abel, Ernest L. 2009. p. 144">Abel, Ernest L. ''Death Gods: An Encyclopedia of the Rulers, Evil Spirits, and Geographies of the Dead''. Greenwood Press. 2009. p. 144. {{ISBN|978-0-313-35712-1}}</ref> and the Latin word {{lang|la|tarentum}} ("tomb") originally meant "crossing point".{{sfn|West|2007|pp=389–390}} In Norse mythology, [[Hermóðr]] must cross a bridge over the river Giöll in order to reach [[Hel (being)|Hel]] and, in Latvian folk songs, the dead must cross a marsh rather than a river.{{sfn|West|2007|pages=390–391}} Traditions of placing coins on the bodies of the deceased in order to pay the ferryman are attested in both ancient Greek and early modern Slavic funerary practices; although the earliest coins date to the [[Iron Age]], this may provide evidence of an ancient tradition of giving offerings to the ferryman.{{sfn|West|2007|page=390}}

In a recurrent motif, the [[Otherworld]] contains a gate, generally guarded by a multi-headed (sometimes multi-eyed) dog who could also serve as a guide and ensured that the ones who entered could not get out.{{sfn|West|2007|p=391–392}}{{Sfn|Anthony|Brown|2019|p=104}} The Greek [[Cerberus]] and the Hindu {{IAST|[[Sharvara|Śárvara]]}} most likely derive from the common noun {{lang|ine-x-proto|kérberos}} ("spotted").{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=439}}{{Sfn|Anthony|Brown|2019|p=104}} Bruce Lincoln has proposed a third cognate in the Norse [[Garmr]],{{Sfn|Lincoln|1991|p=289}} although this has been debated as linguistically untenable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogden |first=Daniel |title=Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-955732-5 |location=Oxford |page=105}}</ref>{{Efn|The name Garm also appears in the compound ''Managarmr'' ('Moon-Hound', 'Moon's dog'), another name for [[Hati Hróðvitnisson]], the lupine pursuer of the moon in Scandinavian mythology.<ref name="Bhattacharji 1970. p. 71">[[Sukumari Bhattacharji|Bhattacharji, Sukumari]]. ''The Indian Theogony: A Comparative Study of Indian Mythology from the Vedas to the Puranas''. Cambridge at the University Press. 1970. p. 71. {{ISBN|978-0-521-05382-2}}</ref>|name=|group=note}}[[File:Attic Red Figure (White Ground) Lekythos with Charon, attributed to the Tymbos painter, ca 500 - 450 BC, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK (22681344331).jpg|thumb|right|Attic [[red-figure]] [[lekythos]] attributed to the Tymbos painter showing [[Charon (mythology)|Charon]] welcoming a soul into his boat, c. 500–450 BC.|upright]]

=== Eschatology ===
Several traditions reveal traces of a Proto-Indo-European [[Eschatology|eschatological myth]] that describes the end of the world following a cataclysmic battle.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=439–440}} The story begins when an [[archdemon]], usually coming from a different and inimical paternal line, assumes the position of authority among the community of the gods or heroes (Norse [[Loki]], Roman [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|Tarquin]], Irish [[Bres]]). The subjects are treated unjustly by the new ruler, forced to erect fortifications while the archdemon instead favors outsiders, on whom his support relies. After a particularly heinous act, the archdemon is exiled by his subjects and takes refuge among his foreign relatives.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=180}} A new leader (Norse ''[[Víðarr]]'', Roman ''Lucius Brutus'', Old Irish ''[[Lugh|Lug]]''), known as the "silent one" and usually the nephew or grandson ({{lang|ine-x-proto|népōt}}) of the exiled archdemon, then springs up, and the two forces come together to annihilate each other in a cataclysmic battle. The myth ends with the interruption of the cosmic order and the conclusion of a temporal cyclic era.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=180–181}} In the Norse and Iranian traditions, a cataclysmic "cosmic winter" precedes the final battle.{{Sfn|Puhvel|1987|p=285}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=180–181}}

=== {{Anchor|Ends of the Earth}}Other propositions ===
In the cosmological model proposed by [[Jean Haudry]], the Proto-Indo-European sky is composed of three "heavens" (diurnal, nocturnal and liminal) rotating around an ''[[axis mundi]]'', each having its own deities, social associations and colors (white, dark and red, respectively). Deities of the diurnal sky could not transgress the domain of the nocturnal sky, inhabited by its own sets of gods and by the spirits of the dead. For instance, Zeus cannot extend his power to the nightly sky in the ''[[Iliad]]''. In this vision, the [[Liminal deity|liminal]] or transitional sky embodies the gate or frontier ([[dawn]] and [[twilight]]) binding the two other heavens.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=131}}{{Sfn|Haudry|1987|p=}}

Proto-Indo-Europeans may have believed that the peripheral part of the Earth (the '''ends of the Earth'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->) was inhabited by a people exempt from the hardships and pains that arise from the [[human condition]]. The common motif is suggested by the legends of the Indic {{IAST|[[Kshir Sagar|Śvetadvīpam]]}} ("White Island"), whose inhabitants shine white like the Moon and need no food; the Greek ''[[Hyperborea]]'' ("Beyond the North Wind"), where the Sun shines all the time and the men know "neither disease nor bitter old age"; the Irish ''[[Tír na nÓg]]'' ("Land of the Young"), a mythical region located in the western sea where "happiness lasts forever and there is no satiety";{{Sfn|West|2007|p=349}} or the Germanic [[Glæsisvellir|''Ódáinsakr'']] ("Glittering Plains"), a land situated beyond the Ocean where "no one is permitted to die".{{Sfn|Lincoln|1991|p=36}}

== Deities ==
[[File:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief of Ardeshir II investiture.jpg|thumb|[[Zoroastrian]] deities Mithra (left) and Ahura Mazda (right) with king [[Ardashir II]].]]

The archaic [[Proto-Indo-European language]] (4500–4000){{Efn|"Classic" is defined by David W. Anthony as the proto-language spoken after the Anatolian split, and "Archaic" as the common ancestor of all Indo-European languages.{{Sfn|Anthony|2007|p=}}|name=|group=note}} had a two-gender system which originally distinguished words between animate and inanimate, a system used to separate a common term from its deified synonym. For instance, ''fire'' as an active principle was {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁n̥gʷnis}} (Latin ''ignis''; Sanskrit [[Agni|''Agní'']]), while the inanimate, physical entity was {{lang|ine-x-proto|péh₂ur}} (Greek ''pyr''; English ''fire'').{{sfn|West|2007|p=135–136}} During this period, Proto-Indo-European beliefs were still [[animism|animistic]] and their language did not yet make formal distinctions between masculine and feminine, although it is likely that each deity was already conceived as either male or female.{{sfn|West|2007|p=138–139}} Most of the goddesses attested in later Indo-European mythologies come from pre-Indo-European deities eventually assimilated into the various pantheons following the [[Indo-European migrations|migrations]], like the Greek [[Athena]], the Roman [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], the Irish [[Medb]], or the Iranian [[Anahita]]. Diversely personified, they were frequently seen as fulfilling multiple functions, while Proto-Indo-European goddesses shared a lack of personification and narrow functionalities as a general characteristic.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=232}} The most well-attested female Indo-European deities include {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Hausos|H₂éwsōs]]}}, the Dawn, {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dhéǵhōm|Dʰéǵʰōm]]}}, the Earth, and {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Sun deity|Seh₂ul]]}}, the Sun.{{sfn|West|2007|p=141}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=427}}

It is not probable that the Proto-Indo-Europeans had a fixed canon of deities or assigned a specific number to them.{{sfn|West|2007|p=121–122}} The term for "a god" was {{wikt-lang|ine-x-proto|*deywós}} ("celestial"), derived from the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|dyew}}, which denoted the bright sky or the light of day. It has numerous reflexes in Latin ''[[deus]],'' Old Norse [[Týr]] (< [[Proto-Germanic language|PGmc.]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|tīwaz}}), Sanskrit {{IAST|[[Deva (Hinduism)|devá]]}}, [[Avestan]] {{tlit|ae|[[daeva]]}}, Old Irish {{lang|sga|día}}, or Lithuanian ''[[Dievas]]''.{{sfn|West|2007|p=120}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=408}}</ref> In contrast, human beings were synonymous of "mortals" and associated with the "earthly" ({{wikt-lang|ine-x-proto|*dʰéǵʰōm}}), likewise the source of words for "man, human being" in various languages.{{sfn|West|2007|p=124}} Proto-Indo-Europeans believed the gods to be exempt from death and disease because they were nourished by special aliments, usually not available to mortals: in the {{IAST|[[Chandogya Upanishad|Chāndogya Upaniṣad]]}}, "the gods, of course, neither eat nor drink. They become sated by just looking at this nectar", while the [[Edda]] states that "on wine alone the weapon-lord [[Odin]] ever lives ... he needs no food; wine is to him both drink and meat".{{sfn|West|2007|p=157}} Sometimes concepts could also be deified, such as the [[Avestan]] {{tlit|ae|mazdā}} ("wisdom"), worshipped as [[Ahura Mazda|Ahura Mazdā]] ("Lord Wisdom"); the Greek god of war [[Ares]] (connected with {{lang|grc|ἀρή}}, "ruin, destruction"); or the Vedic protector of treaties [[Mitra (Vedic)|Mitráh]] (from {{IAST|mitrám}}, "contract").{{sfn|West|2007|pp=135–136, 138–139}}

Gods had several titles, typically "the celebrated", "the highest", "king", or "shepherd", with the notion that deities had their own idiom and true names which might be kept secret from mortals in some circumstances.{{sfn|West|2007|pp=129, 162}} In Indo-European traditions, gods were seen as the "dispensers" or the "givers of good things" ({{lang|ine-x-proto|déh₃tōr h₁uesuom}}).{{Sfn|Beekes|2011|p=41}} Although certain individual deities were charged with the supervision of justice or contracts, in general the Indo-European gods did not have an ethical character. Their immense power, which they could exercise at their pleasure, necessitated rituals, sacrifices and praise songs from worshipers to ensure they would in return bestow prosperity to the community.{{sfn|West|2007|p=130}} The idea that gods were in control of the nature was translated in the suffix {{lang|ine-x-proto|-nos}} (feminine {{lang|ine-x-proto|-nā}}), which signified "lord of".{{Sfn|West|2007|p=137}} According to West, it is attested in Greek [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]] ("lord of rain") and [[Helen of Troy|Helena]] ("mistress of sunlight"), Germanic {{lang|gem-x-proto|[[Odin|Wōðanaz]]}} ("lord of frenzy"), Gaulish [[Epona]] ("goddess of horses"), Lithuanian [[Perkūnas]] ("lord of oaks"), and in Roman [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptunus]] ("lord of waters"), [[Vulcan (mythology)|Volcanus]] ("lord of fire-glare") and [[Silvanus (mythology)|Silvanus]] ("lord of woods").{{Sfn|West|2007|p=137}}

==Pantheon==
Linguists have been able to reconstruct the names of some deities in the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] (PIE) from many types of sources. Some of the proposed deity names are more readily accepted among scholars than others. According to philologist [[Martin Litchfield West|Martin L. West]], "the clearest cases are the cosmic and elemental deities: the [[Dyeus|Sky-god]], his partner [[Dhéǵhōm|Earth]], and his [[Divine twins|twin sons]]; the Sun, the Sun Maiden, and the [[Hausos|Dawn]]; gods of [[Perkwunos|storm]], wind, water, fire; and terrestrial presences such as the Rivers, spring and forest nymphs, and a god of the wild who guards roads and herds".{{sfn|West|2007|p=141}}

=== Genealogy ===
The most securely reconstructed genealogy of the Proto-Indo-European gods (''Götterfamilie'') is given as follows:{{sfn|Fortson|2004}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006}}{{sfn|West|2007}}
{{tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart||||||DYE|~|~|~|~|DHE|DYE=[[Dyēus|Dyēws]]<br />''Daylight-Sky''|DHE=[[Dhéǵhōm]]<br />''Earth''}}
{{tree chart||||,|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart|||DIV|~|~|SOL||||HAU|DIV=The [[Divine Twins]]|HAU=[[Hausōs]]<br />''Dawn''|SOL=The Sun Maiden}}
{{tree chart/end}}<br />{{chart top|collapsed=yes|An alternative genealogy has been proposed by P. Jackson (2002):{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|pp=66–67}}}}
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart|||||||DYE|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|DIO|  |  |  |  ||DIO=Diuōneh₂||DYE=[[Dyēus|Dyēws]]<br />''Daylight-Sky''}}
{{tree chart|||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart||DIV|~|~|SOL|  |  |PER|~|~|DHE|  |  |HAU
|SOL=The Sun Maiden|DHE=[[Dhéǵhōm]]<br />''Earth''|PER=[[Perkwunos]]<br />''The Oak-God''|HAU=[[Hausōs]]<br />''Dawn''|DIV=The [[Divine Twins]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

=== Heavenly deities ===

====Sky Father====
{{main|*Dyēus}}
[[File:Stater Zeus Lampsacus CdM.jpg|thumb|[[Laurel wreath|Laurel-wreathed]] head of [[Zeus]] on a gold [[stater]] from the Greek city of [[Lampsacus]], c 360–340 BC.|183x183px]]

The head deity of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon was the god {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dyeus|Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr]]}},{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=409, 431–432}} whose name literally means "Sky Father".{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=409, 431–432}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=171}}{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=17}} Regarded as the Sky or Day conceived as a divine entity, and thus the dwelling of the gods, the Heaven,{{Sfn|West|2007|p=168|ps=: "But in general we may say that MIE had {{lang|ine-x-proto|dyéus}} (Dyéus) for 'heaven (Heaven)' [...] In Anatolian the picture is a little different [...] The reflex of {{lang|ine-x-proto|dyeus}} (Hittite ''sius'') does not mean 'heaven' but either 'god' in general or the Sun-god. [...] The Greek Zeus is king of the gods and the supreme power in the world, his influence extending everywhere and into most spheres of life. There is little reason, however, to think that the Indo-European Dyeus had any such importance."}}' Dyēws is, by far, the most well-attested of all the Proto-Indo-European deities.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=431}}{{sfn|West|2007|page=166}} As the gateway to the gods and the father of both the [[Divine twins|Divine Twins]] and the goddess of the dawn ([[Hausos]]), Dyēws was a prominent deity in the pantheon.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=230–231}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=432}} He was however likely not their ruler, or the holder of the supreme power like [[Zeus]] and [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]].{{sfn|West|2007|pp=166–168}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Green|first=Miranda J.|date=1990|title=Pagan Celtic Religion: Archaeology and Myth|journal=Transactions of the Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorion|pages=13–28}}</ref>

Due to his celestial nature, Dyēus is often described as "all-seeing", or "with wide vision" in Indo-European myths. It is unlikely however that he was in charge of the supervision of justice and righteousness, as it was the case for the Zeus or the [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] [[Mithra]]–[[Varuna]] duo; but he was suited to serve at least as a witness to oaths and treaties.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=171–175}}

The Greek god Zeus and the Roman god Jupiter both appear as the head gods of their respective pantheons.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=198–200}}{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=17}} {{lang|ine-x-proto|Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr}} is also attested in the {{IAST|[[Rigveda]]}} as {{IAST|[[Dyaus Pita|Dyáus Pitā]]}}, a minor ancestor figure mentioned in only a few hymns, and in the Illyrian god [[Deipaturos|Dei-Pátrous]], attested once by [[Hesychius of Alexandria]].{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=409 and 431}} The ritual expressions ''Debess tēvs'' in Latvian and ''attas Isanus'' in Hittite are not exact descendants of the formula {{lang|ine-x-proto|Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr}}, but they do preserve its original structure.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=431}}

====Dawn Goddess====
{{main|*H₂éwsōs}}
[[File:Eos chariot 430-420 BC Staatliche Antikensammlungen.jpg|thumb|right|[[Eos]] in her chariot flying over the sea, red-figure [[krater]] from South [[Italy]], 430–420 BC, [[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]], Munich.]]

{{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Hausos|H₂éusōs]]}} has been reconstructed as the Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=410, 432}}{{sfn|West|2007|pp=217–227}} In three traditions (Indic, Greek, Baltic), the Dawn is the "daughter of heaven", {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dyeus|Dyḗws]]}}. In these three branches plus a fourth (Italic), the reluctant dawn-goddess is chased or beaten from the scene for tarrying.{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=23}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=230–231}} An ancient epithet designating the Dawn appears to have been {{lang|ine-x-proto|Dʰuǵh₂tḗr Diwós}}, "Sky Daughter".{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=427}} Depicted as opening the gates of Heaven when she appears at the beginning of the day,{{sfn|West|2007|p=222}} Hausōs is generally seen as never-ageing or born again each morning.{{sfn|West|2007|p=219}} Associated with red or golden cloths, she is often portrayed as dancing.{{sfn|West|2007|p=221}}

Twenty-one hymns in the [[Rigveda]] are dedicated to the dawn goddess {{IAST|[[Ushas|Uṣás]]}} and a single passage from the [[Avesta]] honors the dawn goddess Ušå. The dawn goddess [[Eos]] appears prominently in early Greek poetry and mythology. The Roman dawn goddess [[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]] is a reflection of the Greek Eos, but the original Roman dawn goddess may have continued to be worshipped under the cultic title [[Mater Matuta]].{{sfn|West|2007|pages=217–218}} The Anglo-Saxons worshipped the goddess [[Ēostre]], who was associated with a festival in spring which later gave its name to a month, which gave its name to the Christian holiday of [[Easter]] in English. The name ''Ôstarmânôth'' in [[Old High German]] has been taken as an indication that a similar goddess was also worshipped in southern Germany. The Lithuanian dawn goddess [[Austrine|Aušra]] was still acknowledged in the sixteenth century.{{sfn|West|2007|pages=217–218}}

====Sun and Moon====
{{Main|*Seh₂ul and *Meh₁not}}
[[File:HittiteGoddessAndChildAnatolia15th-13thCenturyBCE.jpg|thumb|left|Possible depiction of the [[Sun goddess of Arinna|Hittite Sun goddess]] holding a child in her arms from between 1400 and 1200 BC.]]

{{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Sun deity|Seh₂ul]]}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Moon deity|Meh₁not]]}} are reconstructed as the Proto-Indo-European deity of the Sun and deity of the Moon respectively. Their gender varies according to the different mythologies of the Indo-European peoples.<ref>O'Brien, Steven. "Dioscuric Elements in Celtic and Germanic Mythology". In: ''Journal of Indo-European Studies'' 10:1–2 (Spring–Summer, 1982), pp. 117–136.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/meaningofhelenin0000meag|url-access=registration|title=The Meaning of Helen: In Search of an Ancient Icon|last=Meagher|first=Robert E.|date=2002|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers|isbn=978-0-86516-510-6|pages=46ff|language=en}}</ref>

The daily course of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Seh₂ul}} across the sky on a horse-driven chariot is a common motif among Indo-European myths.{{Efn|On a related note, the [[Pahlavi language|Pahlavi]] ''[[Bundahishn]]'' narrates that creator Ohrmazd fashioned the sun "whose horses were swift".<ref>Agostini, Domenico; Thrope, Samuel. ''The bundahišn: The Zoroastrian Book of Creation''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. p. 19. {{ISBN|978-0-19-087904-4}}</ref>|name=|group=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.{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=23}}

Although the sun was personified as an independent deity,{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=427}} the Proto-Indo-Europeans also visualized the sun as the "lamp of Dyēws" or the "eye of Dyēws";{{Sfn|West|2007|p=195}}

====Divine Twins====
{{main|Divine Twins}}The [[Divine twins|Horse Twins]] are a set of twin brothers found throughout nearly every Indo-European pantheon who usually have a name that means 'horse', {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁éḱwos}},{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=432}} although the names are not always cognate, and no Proto-Indo-European name for them can be reconstructed.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=432}}[[File:Dioskouroi Met L.2008.18.1-2 n03.jpg|thumb|right|Pair of Roman statuettes from the third century AD depicting the Dioscuri as horsemen, with their characteristic skullcaps ([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York).]]

In most traditions, the Horse Twins are brothers of the Sun Maiden or Dawn goddess, and the sons of the sky god, {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dyeus|Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr]]}}.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=230–231}}{{sfn|West|2007|pages=185–191}} The [[Greek mythology|Greek]] ''Dioscuri'' ([[Castor and Pollux]]) are the "sons of [[Zeus]]"; the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic]] ''Divó nápātā'' ([[Aśvins]]) are the "sons of [[Dyaus|Dyaús]]", the sky-god; the [[Lithuanian mythology|Lithuanian]] ''Dievo sūneliai'' ([[Ašvieniai]]) are the "sons of the God" ([[Dievas]]); and the [[Latvian mythology|Latvian]] ''[[Dieva dēli]]'' are likewise the "sons of the God" (Dievs).{{sfn|West|2007|p=187, 189}}{{sfn|Parpola|2015|p=109}}

Represented as young men and the steeds who pull the sun across the sky, the Divine Twins rode horses (sometimes they were depicted as horses themselves) and rescued men from mortal peril in battle or at sea.{{sfn|West|2007|p=187-191}} The Divine Twins are often differentiated: one is represented as a young warrior while the other is seen as a healer or concerned with domestic duties.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=432}} In most tales where they appear, the Divine Twins rescue the Dawn from a watery peril, a theme that emerged from their role as the solar steeds.{{sfn|West|2007|p=189}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=161}} At night, the horses of the sun returned to the east in a golden boat, where they traversed the sea{{Efn|Probably the northern [[Black Sea]] or the [[Sea of Azov]].{{sfn|West|2007|p=191}}|name=|group=note}} to bring back the Sun each morning. During the day, they crossed the sky in pursuit of their consort, the morning star.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=161}}

Other reflexes may be found in the [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Hengist]] and [[Horsa]] (whose names mean "stallion" and "horse"), the Celtic "Dioskouroi" said by [[Timaeus (historian)|Timaeus]] to be venerated by Atlantic Celts as a set of horse twins, the [[Germanic mythology|Germanic]] [[Alcis (gods)|Alcis]], a pair of young male brothers worshipped by the [[Naharvali]],{{sfn|West|2007|p=190}} or the Welsh [[Brân the Blessed|Brân]] and [[Manawydan]].{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=432}} The horse twins could have been based on the morning and evening star (the planet [[Venus]]) and they often have stories about them in which they "accompany" the Sun goddess, because of the close orbit of the planet Venus to the sun.<ref>Michael Shapiro. ''Journal of Indo-European Studies'', 10&thinsp;(1&2), pp.&nbsp;137–166; who references D. Ward (1968) "The Divine Twins". ''Folklore Studies'', No.&nbsp;19. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.</ref>

==== Mitra-Varuna ====
{{Main|Mitra-Varuna (Indo European)}}

Although the etymological association is often deemed untenable,{{Sfn|Beekes|2009|p=1128–1129}} some scholars (such as [[Georges Dumézil]]<ref name="Dumézil">Georges Dumézil, ''Ouranos-Varuna – Essai de mythologie comparée indo-européenne'' (Paris: G.-P. Maisonneuve, 1934).</ref> and S. K. Sen) have proposed {{lang|ine-x-proto|Worunos}} or {{lang|ine-x-proto|Werunos}} (also the eponymous god in the reconstructed dialogue [[The king and the god]]) as the nocturnal sky and benevolent counterpart of Dyēws, with possible cognates in Greek [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]] and Vedic [[Varuna]], from the PIE root {{lang|ine-x-proto|woru-}} ("to encompass, cover"). Worunos may have personified the firmament, or dwelled in the night sky. In both Greek and Vedic poetry, Ouranos and Varuna are portrayed as "wide-looking", bounding or seizing their victims, and having or being a heavenly "seat".{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=72–74}} In the three-sky cosmological model, the celestial phenomena linking the nightly and daily skies is embodied by a "Binder-god": the Greek [[Cronus|Kronos]], a transitional deity between Ouranos and Zeus in [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', the Indic [[Savitr|Savitṛ]], associated with the rising and setting of the sun in the {{IAST|[[Vedas]]}}, and the Roman [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturnus]], whose feast marked the period immediately preceding the [[winter solstice]].{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=290}}{{Sfn|Haudry|1987|p=72}}

==== Other propositions ====
Some scholars have proposed a consort goddess named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Diwōnā}} or {{lang|ine-x-proto|Diuōneh₂}},<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dunkel|first=George E.|date=1988–1990|title=Vater Himmels Gattin|journal=Die Sprache|volume=34|pages=1–26}}</ref>{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=72–74}} a spouse of [[Dyeus|Dyēws]] with a possible descendant in the Greek goddess [[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]]. A thematic echo may also occur in [[Vedic period|Vedic India]], as both [[Indra]]'s wife [[Shachi|Indrānī]] and [[Zeus]]'s consort Dione display a jealous and quarrelsome disposition under provocation. A second descendant may be found in Dia, a mortal said to unite with Zeus in a Greek myth. The story leads ultimately to the birth of the [[Centaur]]s after the mating of Dia's husband [[Ixion]] with the phantom of [[Hera]], the spouse of Zeus. The reconstruction is however only attested in those two traditions and therefore not secured.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=192–193}} The Greek [[Hera]], the Roman [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], the Germanic [[Frigg]] and the Indic [[Shakti]] are often depicted as the protectress of marriage and fertility, or as the bestowal of the gift of prophecy. [[J. P. Mallory|James P. Mallory]] and [[Douglas Q. Adams]] note however that "these functions are much too generic to support the supposition of a distinct PIE 'consort goddess' and many of the 'consorts' probably represent assimilations of earlier goddesses who may have had nothing to do with marriage."{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=124}}

===Nature deities===

The substratum of Proto-Indo-European mythology is [[Animism|animistic]].{{sfn|West|2007|pp=135–136, 138–139}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolfe |first1=Susan J. |last2=Stanley |first2=Julia Penelope |title=Linguistic problems with patriarchal reconstructions of Indo-European culture: A little more than kin, a little less than kind |journal=Women's Studies International Quarterly |date=January 1980 |volume=3 |issue=2–3 |pages=227–237 |doi=10.1016/S0148-0685(80)92239-3 }}</ref> This native animism is still reflected in the Indo-European daughter cultures.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Halverson|first=Dean C.|date=1998|title=Animism: The Religion of the Tribal World|url=http://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/15_2_PDFs/01_Halverson_05-9.pdf|journal=International Journal of Frontier Missions|volume=15|issue=2|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bojtár|first=Endre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Er1_CwAAQBAJ|title=Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People|date=1999|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-963-9116-42-9|language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Arvidsson|2006|p=136}} In Norse mythology the [[Vættir]] are for instance reflexes of the native animistic [[List of nature deities|nature spirits and deities]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ostling|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TA5ADwAAQBAJ|title=Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom|date=2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-58520-2|language=en}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=March 2020}} Trees have a central position in Indo-European daughter cultures, and are thought to be the abode of [[List of tree deities|tree spirits]].{{sfn|Arvidsson|2006|p=136}}<ref>Paul Friedrich: Proto-Indo-European trees (1970)</ref>

In Indo-European tradition, the [[Perkwunos|storm]] is deified as a highly active, assertive, and sometimes aggressive element; the fire and water are deified as cosmic elements that are also necessary for the functioning of the household;{{sfn|Lincoln|1991|p=6}} the deified [[Dhéǵhōm|earth]] is associated with fertility and growth on the one hand, and with death and the underworld on the other.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=180–181}}

==== Earth Mother ====
{{main|*Dʰéǵʰōm}}

The [[earth goddess]], {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Dhéǵhōm|Dʰéǵʰōm]]}}, is portrayed as the vast and dark house of mortals, in contrast with Dyēws, the bright sky and seat of the immortal gods.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=178–179}} She is associated with fertility and growth, but also with death as the final dwelling of the deceased.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=180–181}} She was likely the consort of the sky father, {{lang|ine-x-proto|Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr}}.{{sfn|West|2007|page=181}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=174}} The duality is associated with fertility, as the crop grows from her moist soil, nourished by the rain of Dyēws.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=180–181, 191}} The Earth is thus portrayed as the giver of good things: she is exhorted to become pregnant in an [[Old English]] prayer; and Slavic peasants described Zemlja-matushka, Mother Earth, as a prophetess that shall offer favorable harvest to the community.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=174}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=182–183}} The unions of Zeus with Semele and Demeter is likewise associated with fertility and growth in [[Greek mythology]].{{Sfn|West|2007|p=182–183}} This pairing is further attested in the Vedic pairing of Dyáus Pitā and [[Prithvi|Prithvi Mater]],{{sfn|West|2007|page=181}} the Greek pairing of [[Ouranos]] and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]],{{sfn|West|2007|pages=181–183}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=174}} the Roman pairing of Jupiter and [[Tellus Mater]] from [[Macrobius]]'s ''[[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia]]'',{{sfn|West|2007|page=181}} and the Norse pairing of [[Odin]] and [[Jörð]]. Although Odin is not a reflex of {{lang|ine-x-proto|*Dyḗws Ph₂tḗr}}, his cult may have subsumed aspects of an earlier chief deity who was.{{sfn|West|2007|page=183}} The Earth and Heaven couple is however not at the origin of the other gods, as the [[Divine twins|Divine Twins]] and [[Hausos]] were probably conceived by [[Dyeus|Dyēws]] alone.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=191}}

[[Cognate]]s include the Albanian [[Zonja e Dheut|Dheu and Zonja e Dheut]], Great Mother Earth and Earth Goddess, respectively; [[Žemyna]], a Lithuanian goddess of earth celebrated as the bringer of flowers; the Avestan [[Zam|Zām]], the Zoroastrian concept of 'earth'; Zemes Māte ("Mother Earth"), one of the goddesses of death in [[Latvian mythology]]; the Hittite Dagan-zipas ("Genius of the Earth"); the [[Slavic paganism|Slavic]] Mati Syra Zemlya ("Mother Moist Earth"); the Greek Chthôn (Χθών), the partner of [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]] in [[Aeschylus]]' ''Danaids'', and the [[chthonic]] deities of the underworld. The possibilities of a [[Thracian religion|Thracian]] goddess Zemelā ({{lang|ine-x-proto|*gʰem-elā}}) and a [[Illyrian mythology|Messapic]] goddess Damatura ({{lang|ine-x-proto|*dʰǵʰem-māter}}), at the origin of the Greek [[Semele]] and [[Demeter]] respectively, are less secured.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=174}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=174–176}} The commonest epithets attached to the Earth goddess are {{lang|ine-x-proto|*Pleth₂-wih₁}} (the "Broad One"), attested in the Vedic [[Prithvi|Pṛthvī]], the Greek Plataia and Gaulish [[Litavis]],{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=204–205}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=174–175, 178–179}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|*Pleth₂-wih₁ Méh₂tēr}} ("Mother Broad One"), attested in the Vedic and Old English formulas ''Pṛthvī Mātā'' and ''Fīra Mōdor''.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=174–175, 178–179}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=174}} Other frequent epithets include the "All-Bearing One", the one who bears all things or creatures, and the "mush-nourishing" or the "rich-pastured".{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=80–81}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=178–179}}

==== Weather deity ====
{{main|*Perkʷūnos}}

[[Perkwunos|*''Perkʷunos'']] has been reconstructed as the Proto-Indo-European god of lightning and storms. It either meant "the Striker" or "the Lord of Oaks",{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=75–76}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=137}} and he was probably represented as holding a hammer or a similar weapon.{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=23}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=251}} Thunder and lightning had both a destructive and regenerative connotation: a lightning bolt can cleave a stone or a tree, but is often accompanied with fructifying rain. This likely explains the strong association between the thunder-god and [[oak]]s in some traditions (oak being among the densest of trees is most prone to lightning strikes).{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=23}} He is often portrayed in connection with stone and (wooded) mountains, probably because the mountainous forests were his realm.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=241}} The striking of devils, demons or evildoers by Perkʷunos is a motif encountered in the myths surrounding the Lithuanian [[Perkūnas]] and the Vedic [[Parjanya]], a possible cognate, but also in the Germanic [[Thor]], a thematic echo of Perkʷunos.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=240, 244–245}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=582–583}}

The deities generally agreed to be [[cognate]]s stemming from {{lang|ine-x-proto|Perkʷunos}} are confined to the European continent, and he could have been a motif developed later in Western Indo-European traditions. The evidence include the Norse goddess [[Fjörgyn and Fjörgynn|Fjǫrgyn]] (the mother of [[Thor]]), the Lithuanian god [[Perkūnas]], the Slavic god [[Perun|Perúnú]], and the Celtic [[Hercynian Forest|Hercynian]] (''Herkynío'') mountains or forests.<ref>{{harvnb|Mallory|Adams|1997|pp=582–583}}; {{harvnb|West|2007|p=241}}; {{harvnb|Matasović|2009|p=178}}; {{harvnb|Delamarre|2003|pp=165–166}}</ref> [[Perëndi]], an Albanian thunder-god (from the stem ''per-en-'', "to strike", attached to -''di'', "sky", from {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[dyeus|dyews-]]}}) is also a probable cognate.{{sfn|Jakobson|1985|pp=6, 19–21}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=243}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=582–583}} The evidence could extend to the Vedic tradition if one adds the god of rain, thunder and lightning [[Parjanya|Parjánya]], although Sanskrit [[Sound change|sound laws]] rather predict a ⁠{{lang|ine-x-proto|parkūn(y)a}} form.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=410, 433}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=245}}

From another root {{lang|ine-x-proto|(s)tenh₂}} ("thunder") stems a group of cognates found in the Germanic, Celtic and Roman thunder-gods [[Thor]], [[Taranis]], [[Jupiter Tonans|(Jupiter) Tonans]] and (Zeus) Keraunos.{{Sfn|Matasović|2009|p=384}}{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=290}} According to Jackson, "they may have arisen as the result of fossilisation of an original epithet or [[epiclesis]]", as the Vedic [[Parjanya]] is also called {{IAST|stanayitnú-}} ("Thunderer").{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=77}} The Roman god [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] may be a thematic echo of Perkʷunos, since he originally had thunderer characteristics.{{Sfn|York|1988|p=}}

==== Fire deities ====
{{main|H₁n̥gʷnis}}
[[File:Agni_-_Kushan_Period_-_ACCN_40-2880_-_Government_Museum_-_Mathura_2013-02-23_5714.JPG|thumb|A pre-3rd century CE, [[Kushan Empire]] statue of [[Agni]], the Vedic god of fire.|upright]]
Although the linguistic evidence is restricted to the Vedic and Balto-Slavic traditions, scholars have proposed that Proto-Indo-Europeans conceived the fire as a divine entity called {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[H1n̥gʷnis|h₁n̥gʷnis]]}}.{{sfn|West|2007|page=266}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=203}} "Seen from afar" and "untiring", the Indic deity {{IAST|[[Agni]]}} is pictured in the {{IAST|[[Rigveda]]}} as the god of both terrestrial and celestial fires. He embodied the flames of the sun and the lightning, as well as the forest fire, the domestic hearth fire and the sacrificial altar, linking heaven and earth in a ritual dimension.{{sfn|West|2007|page=266}} Another group of cognates deriving from the [[Proto-Balto-Slavic language|Balto-Slavic]] ''*ungnis'' ("fire") is also attested.{{Sfn|Derksen|2008|p=364}} [[Early modern period|Early modern]] sources report that Lithuanian priests worshipped a "holy Fire" named ''Ugnis (szwenta)'', which they tried to maintain in perpetual life, while ''Uguns (māte)'' was revered as the "Mother of Fire" by the Latvians. Tenth-century Persian sources give evidence of the veneration of fire among the [[Early Slavs|Slavs]], and later sources in [[Old Church Slavonic]] attest the [[Fire worship|worship of fire]] (''ogonĭ''), occurring under the divine name ''[[Svarozhits|Svarožič]]'', who has been interpreted as the son of [[Svarog]].{{sfn|Jakobson|1985|p=26}}{{sfn|West|2007|page=269}}

{{multiple image |align=right |total_width=400 |image_style=border:none; |image1=Stele daunienne mariemont.JPG|alt1=|image2=Albanian tattoo patterns – Sun and Fire symbols.png|alt2= |footer=610-550 BC [[Daunians|Daunian]] stelae from [[Apulia]] (left); Sun ([[Dielli (Albanian paganism)|Dielli]]) and Fire ([[Zjarri (Albanian paganism)|Zjarri]]) symbols in [[Albanian traditional tattoo]] patterns (19th century).{{sfn|Murray-Aynsley|1891|pp=29, 31}} The cross (also [[swastika]] in some tattoos) is the Albanian traditional way to represent the deified Fire, evidently also called with the theonym [[Enji (deity)|Enji]].<ref>{{harvnb|Treimer|1971|p=32}}; {{harvnb|Murray-Aynsley|1891|pp=29, 31}}.</ref>}}

The name of the fire god in the [[Albanian mythology|Albanian pagan mythology]] – [[Enji (deity)|Enji]], from PIE {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁n̥gʷnis}} – is evidently contained in the week day name that was dedicated to him – {{lang|sq|e enjte}} – the [[Albanian language|Albanian]] word for [[Thursday]]. He is thought to have been worshiped by the [[Illyrians]] in antiquity, being the most prominent god of the pantheon when week day names were formed in the Albanian language.{{sfn|Treimer|1971|p=32}} In Albanian tradition, the fire – [[Zjarri (Albanian paganism)|zjarri]] – is [[Deity|deified]], with the power to [[Apotropaic magic|ward off evil and darkness]], give strength to the Sun ([[Dielli (Albanian paganism)|Dielli]], who is worshiped as the [[god of light]] and giver of life), sustain the continuity between life and afterlife and between the generations. The divine power of fire is used by Albanians for the [[hearth]] and the [[rituals]], including calendar fires, [[sacrifices|sacrificial offerings]], [[divination]], [[Ritual purification|purification]], and protection from big storms and other potentially harmful events. The Albanian fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun, the cult of the hearth ([[vatër]]) and the [[Ancestor worship|ancestor]], and the cult of fertility in [[agriculture]] and [[animal husbandry]].{{sfn|Tirta|2004|pp=68–69, 135, 176–181, 249–261, 274–282, 327}}

In other traditions, as the sacral name of the dangerous fire may have become a [[word taboo]],{{sfn|West|2007|page=266}} the reflexes of the Indo-European root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁n̥gʷnis}} served instead as an ordinary term for fire, as in the Latin ''ignis''.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=122}}

Scholars generally agree that the cult of the hearth dates back to Proto-Indo-European times.{{sfn|West|2007|page=269}} The domestic fire had to be tended with care and given offerings, and if one moved house, one carried fire from the old to the new home.{{sfn|West|2007|page=269}} The [[Avestan]] ''[[Atar|Ātar]]'' was the sacral and hearth fire, often personified and honored as a god.{{sfn|West|2007|page=266}} In [[Albanian folk beliefs|Albanian beliefs]], ''[[Nëna e Vatrës]]'' ("the Hearth Mother") is the goddess protector of the domestic hearth (''[[vatër]]'').{{sfn|Tirta|2004|p=410}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=263}} [[Herodotus]] reported a [[Scythian religion|Scythian]] goddess of hearth named ''Tabiti'', a term likely given under a slightly distorted guise, as she might represent a feminine participial form corresponding to an [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] god named *''Tapatī,'' "the Burning one". The sacral or domestic hearth can likewise be found in the Greek and Roman hearth goddesses [[Hestia]] and [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]], two names that may derive from the PIE root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁w-es-}} ("burning").{{sfn|West|2007|page=266}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=203}} Both the ritual fires set in the temples of Vesta and the domestic fires of ancient India were circular, rather than the square form reserved for public worship in India and for the other gods in Roman antiquity.{{Sfn|Fortson|2004|p=24}} Additionally, the custom that the bride circles the hearth three times is common to Indian, Ossetian, Slavic, Baltic, and German traditions, while a newly born child was welcomed into a Greek household when the father circled the hearth carrying it in the [[Amphidromia]] ceremony.{{sfn|West|2007|page=269}}

====Water deities====
{{See also|*H₂epom Nepōts|3=*Deh₂nu}}[[File:Apsara.JPG|thumb|A stone sculpture of an [[Apsara]] in the [[Padmanabhapuram Palace|Padmanabhapuran Palace]], [[Kerala]].]]
Based on the similarity of motifs attested over a wide geographical extent, it is very likely that Proto-Indo-European beliefs featured some sorts of beautiful and sometimes dangerous water goddesses who seduced mortal men, akin to the Greek [[naiad]]s, the [[nymph]]s of fresh waters.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=285}} The Vedic [[Apsara|Apsarás]] are said to frequent forest lakes, rivers, trees, and mountains. They are of outstanding beauty, and [[Indra]] sends them to lure men. In [[Ossetian mythology|Ossetic mythology]], the waters are ruled by [[Donbettyr]] ("Water-Peter"), who has daughters of extraordinary beauty and with golden hair. In [[Armenian mythology|Armenian folklore]], the Parik take the form of beautiful women who dance amid nature. The Slavonic water nymphs [[Vila (fairy)|''víly'']] are also depicted as alluring maidens with long golden or green hair who like young men and can do harm if they feel offended.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=291}} The Albanian mountain nymphs, [[Perit]] and [[Zana e malit|Zana]], are portrayed as beautiful but also dangerous creatures. Similar to the Baltic nymph-like Laumes, they have the habit of abducting children. The beautiful and long-haired Laumes also have sexual relations and short-lived marriages with men. The [[Breton mythology|Breton]] [[Korrigan]]s are irresistible creatures with golden hair wooing mortal men and causing them to perish for love.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=290}} The Norse [[Hulder|Huldra]], Iranian [[Ahurani|Ahuraīnīs]] and Lycian Eliyãna can likewise be regarded as reflexes of the water nymphs.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=285–288}}

A wide range of linguistic and cultural evidence attest the holy status of the terrestrial (potable) waters {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂ep-}}, venerated collectively as "the Waters" or divided into "Rivers and Springs".{{Sfn|West|2007|p=274}} The cults of fountains and rivers, which may have preceded Proto-Indo-European beliefs by tens of thousands of years, was also prevalent in their tradition.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=279}} Some authors have proposed {{lang|ine-x-proto|Neptonos}} or {{lang|ine-x-proto|H₂epom Nepōts}} as the Proto-Indo-European god of the waters. The name literally means "Grandson [or ''Nephew''] of the Waters".{{Sfn|Dumézil|1966|p=}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=410}} Linguists reconstruct his name from that of the Vedic god [[Apam Napat|Apám Nápát]], the Roman god [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptūnus]], and the Old Irish god [[Nechtan (mythology)|Nechtain]]. Although such a god has been solidly reconstructed in [[Proto-Indo-Iranian religion]], Mallory and Adams nonetheless still reject him as a Proto-Indo-European deity on linguistic grounds.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=410}}

A river goddess {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Deh₂nu|Deh₂nu-]]}} has been proposed based on the Vedic goddess [[Danu (Asura)|Dānu]], the Irish goddess [[Danu (Irish goddess)|Danu]], the Welsh goddess [[Dôn]] and the names of the rivers [[Danube]], [[Don River|Don]], [[Dnieper]], and [[Dniester]]. Mallory and Adams however note that while the lexical correspondence is probable, "there is really no evidence for a specific river goddess" in Proto-Indo-European mythology "other than the deification of the concept of 'river' in Indic tradition".{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=434}} Some have also proposed the reconstruction of a sea god named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trih₂tōn}} based on the Greek god [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] and the Old Irish word {{lang|sga|trïath}}, meaning "sea". Mallory and Adams also reject this reconstruction as having no basis, asserting that the "lexical correspondence is only just possible and with no evidence of a cognate sea god in Irish."{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=434}}

==== Wind deities ====
[[File:Vayu Deva.jpg|thumb|[[Vayu]], Vedic god of the wind, shown upon his antelope [[vahana]].]]
Evidence for the deification of the wind is found in most Indo-European traditions. The root {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂weh₁}} ("to blow") is at the origin of the two words for the wind: {{lang|ine-x-proto|H₂weh₁-yú-}} and {{lang|ine-x-proto|H₂w(e)h₁-nt-}}.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=129}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=263–264}} The deity is indeed often depicted as a couple in the [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] tradition. [[Vayu-Vata|Vayu-Vāta]] is a dual divinity in the ''[[Avesta]]'', Vāta being associated with the stormy winds and described as coming from everywhere ("from below, from above, from in front, from behind"). Similarly, the Vedic [[Vayu|Vāyu]], the lord of the winds, is connected in the ''[[Vedas]]'' with [[Indra]]—the king of [[Svarga]] Loka (also called Indraloka)—while the other deity Vāta represents a more violent sort of wind and is instead associated with [[Parjanya]]—the god of rain and thunder.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=263–264}} Other [[cognate]]s include Hitt. ''huwant-'', Lith. ''vėjas'', [[Tocharian languages|Toch. B]] ''yente'', Lat. ''uentus'', [[Proto-Germanic language|PGmc.]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|windaz}}, or Welsh {{lang|cy|gwynt}}.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=263–264}} The Slavic [[Viy (story)#Viy|Viy]] is another possible equivalent entity.<ref name=Vassilkov2001>{{cite journal |last=Vassilkov |first=Yaroslav |date=2001 |title=Indo-Iranian Vayu and Gogolean Viy: an old hypothesis revisited |url=https://journal.fi/store/article/view/43990/11044 |journal=Studia Orientalia Electronica |volume=94 |pages=483–496 |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> Based on these different traditions, Yaroslav Vassilkov postulated a proto-Indo-European wind deity which "was probably marked by ambivalence, and combined in itself both positive and negative characteristics". This god is hypothesized to have been linked to life and death through adding and taking breath from people.<ref name=Vassilkov2001/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Vassilkov |first=Yaroslav |title=Some Indo-Iranian mythological motifs in the art of the Novosvobodnaya ('Majkop') culture |journal=South Asian Archaeology 1993 |date=1994 |url=https://www.academia.edu/36444696}}</ref>

==== Guardian deity ====
{{Main|*Péh₂usōn}}

The association between the Greek god [[Pan (god)|Pan]] and the Vedic god [[Pushan|Pūshan]] was first identified in 1924 by German linguist [[Hermann Collitz]].{{Sfn|Beekes|2009|p=1149}}<ref>H. Collitz, "Wodan, Hermes und Pushan," ''Festskrift tillägnad Hugo Pipping pȧ hans sextioȧrsdag den 5 November 1924'' 1924, pp 574–587.</ref> Both were worshipped as pastoral deities, which led scholars to reconstruct {{lang|ine-x-proto|Péh₂usōn}} ("Protector") as a pastoral god guarding roads and herds.{{Sfn|Puhvel|1987|p=63}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=411 and 434}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=282}} He may have had an unfortunate appearance, a bushy beard and a keen sight.{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=84}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=282}} He was also closely affiliated with goats or bucks: Pan has goat's legs while goats are said to pull the car of Pūshān (the animal was also sacrificed to him on occasion).{{Sfn|West|2007|p=282}}{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=85}}

==== Cattle deity ====
[[Jaan Puhvel]] has proposed a cattle god called {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[Welnos]]}} which he links to the Slavic god [[Veles (god)|Veles]], the Lithuanian god [[Velnias]], and less certainly to Old Norse [[Ullr]].<ref>[[Jaan Puhvel]], ''Analecta Indoeuropaea,'' (a collection of articles), publ. by Innsbrucker Beitrage zur Sprachwissenschaft, Innsbruck, 1981<!-- unsure whether this is the right source. Interpretation from this page https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Proto-Indo-European_mythology&oldid=723469948 as it is the only one from Puhvel --></ref>

==== Other propositions ====
In 1855, [[Adalbert Kuhn]] suggested that the Proto-Indo-Europeans may have believed in a set of helper deities, whom he reconstructed based on the Germanic [[elves]] and the Hindu {{IAST|[[ribhus]]}}.<ref name="Kuhn1855-p110">{{cite journal|last=Kuhn|first=Adalbert|author-link=Adalbert Kuhn|title=Die sprachvergleichung und die urgeschichte der indogermanischen völker|journal=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung|volume=4|year=1855|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvRTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA110}}, "Zu diesen ṛbhu, albus, . . . stellt sich nun aber entschieden das ahd. alp, ags. älf, altn. âlfr, und . . ."</ref> Although this proposal is often mentioned in academic writings, very few scholars actually accept it since the [[cognate]] relationship is linguistically difficult to justify.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Alaric|title=Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity|publisher= Boydell Press|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84383-294-2|url=http://odroerirjournal.com/download/Alaric%20Hall%20Elves%20in%20Anglo-Saxon%20England-%20Matters%20of%20Belief,%20Health,%20Gender%20and%20Identity%20%20%202007.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204092402/http://odroerirjournal.com/download/Alaric%20Hall%20Elves%20in%20Anglo-Saxon%20England-%20Matters%20of%20Belief,%20Health,%20Gender%20and%20Identity%20%20%202007.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref>{{Sfn|West|2007|p=297}} While stories of elves, satyrs, goblins and giants show recurrent traits in Indo-European traditions, West notes that "it is difficult to see so coherent an overall pattern as with the nymphs. It is unlikely that the Indo-Europeans had no concept of such creatures, but we cannot define with any sharpness of outline what their conceptions were."{{Sfn|West|2007|p=303}} A wild god named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Rudlos}} has also been proposed, based on the Vedic [[Rudra|Rudrá]] and the [[Slavic paganism|Old Russian]] Rŭglŭ. Problematic is whether the name derives from {{lang|ine-x-proto|rewd-}} ("rend, tear apart"; akin to Lat. ''rullus,'' "rustic"), or rather from {{lang|ine-x-proto|rew-}} ("howl").{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=434}}

Although the name of the divinities are not cognates, a horse goddess portrayed as bearing twins and in connection with fertility and marriage has been proposed based on the Gaulish [[Epona]], Irish [[Macha]] and Welsh [[Rhiannon]], with other thematic echos in the Greek and Indic traditions.<ref>{{cite journal|last=O'Brien|first=Steven|year=1982|title=Dioscuric elements in Celtic and Germanic mythology|journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies|volume=10|pages=117–136}}</ref>{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=279}} [[Demeter]] transformed herself into a mare when she was raped by [[Poseidon]] appearing as a stallion, and she gave birth to a daughter and a horse, [[Arion (mythology)|Areion]]. Similarly, the Indic tradition tells of [[Saranyu]] fleeing from her husband Vivásvat when she assumed the form of a mare. Vivásvat metamorphosed into a stallion and of their intercourse were born the twin horses, the [[Aśvins]]. The Irish goddess Macha gave birth to twins, a mare and a boy, and the Welsh figure Rhiannon bore a child who was reared along with a horse.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=280}}

=== Societal deities ===

==== Fate goddesses ====
{{Main|Fates (Indo European)}}
It is highly probable that the Proto-Indo-Europeans believed in [[Triple goddesses|three fate goddesses]] who [[Spinning (textiles)|spun]] the destinies of mankind.{{sfn|West|2007|pages=380–385}} Although such fate goddesses are not directly attested in the Indo-Aryan tradition, the [[Atharvaveda]] does contain an allusion comparing fate to a [[Warp and woof|warp]]. Furthermore, the three Fates appear in nearly every other Indo-European mythology. The earliest attested set of fate goddesses are the [[Gulses]] in Hittite mythology, who were said to preside over the individual destinies of human beings. They often appear in mythical narratives alongside the goddesses Papaya and Istustaya, who, in a ritual text for the foundation of a new temple, are described sitting holding mirrors and spindles, spinning the king's thread of life.{{sfn|West|2007|page=380}} In the Greek tradition, the [[Moirai]] ("Apportioners") are mentioned dispensing destiny in both the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', in which they are given the epithet Κλῶθες (''Klothes'', meaning "Spinners").<ref>''[[Iliad]]'' 20.127, 24.209; ''[[Odyssey]]'' 7.197</ref>{{sfn|West|2007|pages=380–381}}

In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', the Moirai are said to "give mortal men both good and ill" and their names are listed as [[Clotho|Klotho]] ("Spinner"), [[Lachesis]] ("Apportioner"), and [[Atropos]] ("Inflexible").<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', lines 904–906</ref>{{sfn|West|2007|page=381}} In his ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'', [[Plato]] records that Klotho sings of the past, Lachesis of the present, and Atropos of the future.{{sfn|West|2007|page=383}} In Roman legend, the [[Parcae]] were three goddesses who presided over the births of children and whose names were Nona ("Ninth"), Decuma<!--This is not a typo. Do NOT change this to say "Decima."--> ("Tenth"), and Morta ("Death"). They too were said to spin destinies, although this may have been due to influence from Greek literature.{{sfn|West|2007|page=381}}[[File:Paphos Haus des Theseus - Mosaik Achilles 3 Moiren.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Late second-century AD Greek mosaic from the [[Paphos Archaeological Park#House of Theseus|House of Theseus]] at [[Paphos Archaeological Park]] on [[Cyprus]] showing the three Moirai: [[Clotho|Klotho]], [[Lachesis]], and [[Atropos]], standing behind [[Peleus]] and [[Thetis]], the parents of [[Achilles]].]]

In the Old Norse ''[[Völuspá]]'' and ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', the [[Norns]] are three cosmic goddesses of fate who are described sitting by the well of [[Urðr]] at the foot of the world tree [[Yggdrasil]].<ref>''[[Völuspá]]'' 20; ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' 15</ref>{{sfn|West|2007|page=382}}{{efn|The names of the individual Norns are given as [[Urðr]] ("Happened"), [[Verðandi]] ("Happening"), and [[Skuld]] ("Due"),{{sfn|West|2007|page=383}} but M. L. West notes that these names may be the result of classical influence from Plato.{{sfn|West|2007|page=383}}|group=note}} In Old Norse texts, the Norns are frequently conflated with [[Valkyrie]]s, who are sometimes also described as spinning.{{sfn|West|2007|page=382}} Old English texts, such as ''[[The Rhyming Poem|Rhyme Poem]]'' 70, and ''[[Guthlac of Crowland|Guthlac]]'' 1350 f., reference [[Wyrd]] as a singular power that "weaves" destinies.{{sfn|West|2007|pages=382–383}}

Later texts mention the Wyrds as a group, with [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] referring to them as "the Werdys that we clepyn Destiné" in ''[[The Legend of Good Women]]''.<ref>[[Geoffrey Chaucer]], ''The Legend of Good Women, Hypermnestra'' 19</ref>{{sfn|West|2007|page=383}}{{efn|They also, most famously, appear as the [[Three Witches]] in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'' ({{circa}} 1606).{{sfn|West|2007|page=383}}|group=note}} A goddess spinning appears in a [[bracteate]] from southwest Germany and a relief from [[Trier]] shows three mother goddesses, with two of them holding distaffs. Tenth-century German ecclesiastical writings denounce the popular belief in three sisters who determined the course of a man's life at his birth.{{sfn|West|2007|page=383}} An Old Irish hymn attests to seven goddesses who were believed to weave the thread of destiny, which demonstrates that these spinster fate-goddesses were present in Celtic mythology as well.{{sfn|West|2007|page=384}}

A Lithuanian folktale recorded in 1839 recounts that a man's fate is spun at his birth by seven goddesses known as the ''[[Deives Valdytojos|deivės valdytojos]]'' and used to hang a star in the sky; when he dies, his thread snaps and his star falls as a meteor. In Latvian folk songs, a goddess called the [[Laima|Láima]] is described as weaving a child's fate at its birth. Although she is usually only one goddess, the Láima sometimes appears as three.{{sfn|West|2007|page=384}} The three spinning fate goddesses appear in Slavic traditions in the forms of the Russian Rožanicy, the Czech and Slovak Sudičky, the Bulgarian Narenčnice or Urisnice, the Polish Rodzanice, the Croatian Rodjenice, the Serbian [[Sudjenice]], and the Slovene Rojenice.{{sfn|West|2007|pages=384–385}} Albanian folk tales speak of the [[Fatit]], three old women who appear three days after a child is born and determine its fate, using language reminiscent of spinning.{{sfn|West|2007|page=385}}

==== Welfare god ====
The god {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂eryo-men}} has been reconstructed{{dubious|date=September 2023|reason=The source does not reconstruct the god, but notes the similarity between Aryaman and Érimón and conjectures they derive from this PIE root word.}} as a deity in charge of welfare and the community,{{dubious|date=September 2023|reason=This only applies to Aryaman}} connected to the building and maintenance of roads or pathways, but also with healing and the institution of marriage.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=375}}{{Sfn|West|2007|p=142}} It derives from the noun {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂eryos}} (a "member of one's own group", "one who belongs to the community", in contrast to an outsider), also at the origin of the [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Indo-Iranian]] ''[[Aryan|*árya]]'', "noble, hospitable", and the [[Proto-Celtic language|Celtic]] {{lang|cel-x-proto|aryo-}}, "free man" ({{langx|sga|aire}}, "noble, chief"; [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]]: ''arios'', "free man, lord").{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=209}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=266–269}}{{Sfn|Matasović|2009|p=43}}{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=55}} The Vedic god [[Aryaman]] is frequently mentioned in the ''[[Vedas]]'', and associated with social and marital ties. In the [[Gathas|''Gāthās'']], the Iranian god [[Airyaman]] seems to denote the wider tribal network or alliance, and is invoked in a prayer against illness, magic, and evil.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=142}} In the mythical stories of the founding of the Irish nation, the hero [[Érimón]] became the first king of the [[Milesians (Irish)|Milesians]] (the mythical name of the Irish) after he helped conquer the island from the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]. He also provided wives to the [[Cruthin|Cruithnig]] (the mythical [[Celtic Britons]] or [[Picts]]), a reflex of the marital functions of {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₂eryo-men}}.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=143}} The Gaulish given name Ariomanus, possibly translated as "lord-spirited" and generally borne by Germanic chiefs, is also to be mentioned.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=55}}

==== Smith god ====
Although the name of a particular smith god cannot be linguistically reconstructed,{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=410}} smith gods of various names are found in most Proto-Indo-European daughter languages. There is not a strong argument for a single mythic prototype.{{sfn|West|2007|pp=154–156}} Mallory notes that "deities specifically concerned with particular craft specializations may be expected in any ideological system whose people have achieved an appropriate level of social complexity".{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=139}} Nonetheless, two motifs recur frequently in Indo-European traditions: the making of the chief god's distinctive weapon ([[Indra]]'s and [[Zeus]]' bolt; [[Lugh]]'s and [[Odin]]'s spear and [[Thor]]'s hammer) by a special artificer, and the craftsman god's association with the immortals' drinking.{{sfn|West|2007|page=157}}

==== Love goddess ====
Scholars have suggested a common root, {{lang|ine-x-proto|PriHyéh₂}},{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} {{lang|ine-x-proto|Prëwyâ/*Prëwyos}}<ref name="witczak & kaczor 1995">{{cite journal |last1=Witczak |first1=Krzysztof T. |last2=Kaczor |first2=Idaliana |title=Linguistic evidence for the Indo-European pantheon |volume=2|journal=Collectanea Philologica |date=1995 |pages=265–278 |url=https://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media/files/Collectanea_Philologica/Collectanea_Philologica-r1995-t2/Collectanea_Philologica-r1995-t2-s265-278/Collectanea_Philologica-r1995-t2-s265-278.pdf |access-date=20 August 2024}}</ref> or ?{{lang|ine-x-proto|PriHtu<sub>8</sub>}}, for the [[Sanskrit]] {{IAST|[[Priya (given name)|priya]]}}, Greek [[Aphrodite]], [[Mycenaean Greek]] theonym {{Transliteration|gmy|pe-re-wa₂}}, likely related [[Pamphylian Greek|Pamphylian]] {{lang|grc|Πρεͷα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Prewa}}){{R|witczak & kaczor 1995}} and Common Germanic [[Frijjō]],<ref name="Wodkto et al. 2008">{{cite book| first1=Dagmar S. |last1=Wodtko |first2=Britta |last2=Irslinger |first3=Carolin |last3=Schneider |title=Nomina im Indogermanischen Lexikon |location=Heidelberg |date=2008 |publisher=Winter |isbn=978-3-8253-5359-9}}</ref>{{Rp|568–573}} that would point to a Proto-Indo-European love god or goddess.

{{lang|ine-x-proto|PriH-}} is a root for beloved/friend{{R|Wodkto et al. 2008|p=268}}, whereas {{lang|ine-x-proto|PriHyéh₂}} means "wife" or "beloved wife"{{efn|"The word {{lang|ine-x-proto|prihxeha-}} ‘wife’ is almost a term of endearment as it derives from {{lang|ine-x-proto|prihxós}} ‘be pleasing, one’s own’ (see above) and it provides the wife of the Germanic god Oðinn with a name, e.g. ON Frigg (cf. also ON ''frī'' ‘beloved, wife’; OE ''frēo'' ‘woman’; Skt {{IAST|priyā}} ‘wife’)."{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=415}}|group=note}} and has descendant forms in many Indo-European languages. It is ancestral to [[Sanskrit]] ''[[Priya (given name)|priya]]'' "dear, beloved" and Common Germanic [[Frijjō]].{{R|Wodkto et al. 2008}}

In Latin [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] takes her place. Her name is not cognate at all, but Norse descendants of {{lang|ine-x-proto|PriHyéh₂}}, [[Freyr]] and [[Freyja]] belong to the race of so-called [[Vanir]], which comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root {{lang|ine-x-proto|wenh₁-}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=de Vaan |first=Michiel |author-link=Michiel de Vaan |date=2008 |title=Etymological dictionary of Latin and the other Italic languages |page=663}}</ref> Freyja is possibly worshipped under the name Perun in southern Slavic-speaking areas.<ref name="oxford-introduction-to-proto-2006a" /> In Albanian she is {{lang|sq|Perendi}}, Christianized as St. Prendi. J. Grimm refers to an Old Bohemian form {{lang|cs|Příje}}, used as a gloss for Venus in [[Mater Verborum]].<ref>Grimm, Jacob, ''Deutsche Mythologie'' (English title ''Teutonic Mythology'', translated by Stallybrass), George Bell and Sons, London, 1883. PAge 303</ref> Many of these goddesses give their name to the fifth day of the week, Friday. They are also very well known in lesser form such as the Germanic [[Elves]] and the Persian [[Peri]]s, charming and seductive beings in folklore.<ref name="oxford-introduction-to-proto-2006a" />

There are also masculine forms of this deity, Greek Priapos, borrowed into Latin as [[Priapus]];{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} and Old Norse [[Freyr]].<ref name="oxford-introduction-to-proto-2006a">''Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World'', by J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006</ref>

==== Other propositions ====
The Proto-Indo-Europeans may also have had a goddess who presided over the [[Trifunctional hypothesis|trifunctional]] organization of society. Various epithets of the Iranian goddess [[Anahita]] and the Roman goddess [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] provide sufficient evidence to solidly attest that she was probably worshipped, but no specific name for her can be lexically reconstructed.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|page=433|2006}} Vague remnants of this goddess may also be preserved in the Greek goddess [[Athena]].{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=133–134}} A decay goddess has also been proposed on the basis of the Vedic [[Nirṛti (goddess)|Nirṛti]] and the Roman [[Lua (goddess)|Lūa Mater]]. Her names derive from the verbal roots "decay, rot", and they are both associated with the decomposition of human bodies.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|page=434|2006}}

Michael Estell has reconstructed a mythical craftsman named {{lang|ine-x-proto|H₃r̥bʰew}} based on the Greek [[Orpheus]] and the Vedic [[Ribhus]]. Both are the son of a cudgel-bearer or an archer, and both are known as "fashioners" ({{lang|ine-x-proto|tetḱ-}}).{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=83-84}} A mythical hero named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Promāth₂ew}} has also been proposed, from the Greek hero [[Prometheus]] ("the one who steals"), who took the heavenly fire away from the gods to bring it to mankind, and the Vedic [[Mātariśvan]], the mythical bird who "robbed" (found in the myth as ''pra math-'', "to steal") the hidden fire and gave it to the [[Bhrigu]]s.{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=85}}{{Sfn|Fortson|2004|p=27}} A medical god has been reconstructed based on a thematic comparison between the Indic god [[Rudra]] and the Greek [[Apollo]]. Both inflict disease from afar thanks to their bows, both are known as healers, and both are specifically associated with rodents: Rudra's animal is the "rat mole" and Apollo was known as a "rat god".{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=434}}

Some scholars have proposed a war god named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Māwort-}} based on the Roman god [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] and the Vedic [[Maruts|Marutás]], the companions of the war-god [[Indra]]. Mallory and Adams reject this reconstruction on linguistic grounds.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=410–411}} Likewise, some researchers have found it more plausible that Mars was originally a storm deity, while the same cannot be said of Ares.{{Sfn|York|1988|p=}}

{{Further|Chaoskampf}}

== Myths ==

=== Serpent-slaying myth ===
{{Main|*Trito|*H₂n̥gʷʰis}}
{{Chaoskampf sidebar}}
One common myth found in nearly all Indo-European mythologies is a battle ending with a [[hero]] or [[gods|god]] slaying a [[serpent (symbolism)|serpent]] or [[Dragon#Comparative mythology|dragon]] of some sort.{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=297–301}}{{sfn|West|2007|pages=255–259}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=436–437}} Although the details of the story often vary widely, several features remain remarkably the same in all iterations. The protagonist of the story is usually a [[weather god|thunder-god]], or a hero somehow associated with thunder.{{sfn|West|2007|page=255|p=}} His enemy the serpent is generally associated with water and depicted as multi-headed, or else "multiple" in some other way.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|pages=436–437}} Indo-European myths often describe the creature as a "blocker of waters", and his many heads get eventually smashed by the thunder-god in an epic battle, releasing torrents of water that had previously been pent up.{{sfn|West|2007|pp=255–257|p=}} The original legend may have symbolized the [[Chaos (cosmogony)#Chaoskampf|''Chaoskampf'']], a clash between forces of order and chaos.{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=299–300}} The dragon or serpent loses in every version of the story, although in some mythologies, such as the [[Norse mythology|Norse]] [[Ragnarök]] myth, the hero or the god dies with his enemy during the confrontation.{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=324–330}} Historian [[Bruce Lincoln]] has proposed that the dragon-slaying tale and the creation myth of ''*Trito'' killing the serpent {{lang|ine-x-proto|Ngʷhi}} may actually belong to the same original story.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=76}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=437}}

Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European dragon-slaying myth appear in most Indo-European poetic traditions, where the myth has left traces of the formulaic sentence {{lang|ine-x-proto|(h₁e) gʷʰent h₁ógʷʰim}}, meaning "[he] slew the serpent".{{Sfn|Fortson|2004|p=26}} [[File:Fragmentary jar with scene of Herakles slaying the Hydra of Lerna, South Italy, 375-340 BC, ceramic - Fitchburg Art Museum - DSC08671 (cropped).JPG|thumb|Greek red-figure vase painting depicting [[Heracles]] slaying the [[Lernaean Hydra]], c. 375–340 BC.|left]]In [[Hittite mythology]], the storm god [[Tarḫunz|Tarhunt]] slays the giant serpent [[Illuyanka]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Houwink Ten Cate|first=Philo H. J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNM3AAAAIAAJ|title=The Luwian Population Groups of Lycia and Cilicia Aspera During the Hellenistic Period|date=1961|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-00469-6|pages=203–220|language=en}}</ref> as does the Vedic god [[Indra]] the multi-headed serpent [[Vritra]], which has been causing a drought by trapping the waters in his mountain lair.{{sfn|West|2007|pp=255–257}}
{{Sfn|Fortson|2004|p=26–27}} Several variations of the story are also found in [[Greek mythology]].{{sfn|West|2007|page=460}} The original motif appears inherited in the legend of [[Zeus]] slaying the hundred-headed [[Typhon]], as related by [[Hesiod]] in the ''[[Theogony]]'',{{sfn|West|2007|pages=255–259}}{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=448–460}} and possibly in the myth of [[Heracles]] slaying the nine-headed [[Lernaean Hydra]] and in the legend of [[Apollo]] slaying the earth-dragon [[Python (mythology)|Python]].{{sfn|West|2007|pp=255–259}}{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=460–464}} The story of [[Heracles]]'s theft of the cattle of [[Geryon]] is probably also related.{{sfn|West|2007|pp=255–259}} Although he is not usually thought of as a storm deity in the conventional sense, Heracles bears many attributes held by other Indo-European storm deities, including physical strength and a penchant for violence and gluttony.{{sfn|West|2007|pp=255–259}}{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=374–383}}

The original motif is also reflected in [[Germanic paganism|Germanic mythology]].{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=414–441}} The [[Norse mythology|Norse]] god of thunder [[Thor]] slays the giant serpent [[Jörmungandr]], which lived in the waters surrounding the realm of [[Midgard]].{{sfn|West|2007|p=259}}{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=429–441}} In the ''[[Völsunga saga]]'', [[Sigurd]] slays the dragon [[Fafnir]] and, in ''[[Beowulf]]'', the eponymous hero slays [[The dragon (Beowulf)|a different dragon]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LfT460lWdWEC&pg=PA108|title=A Critical Companion to Beowulf|last=Orchard|first=Andy|date=2003|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd|isbn=978-1-84384-029-9|page=108|language=en}}</ref> The depiction of dragons hoarding a treasure (symbolizing the wealth of the community) in Germanic legends may also be a reflex of the original myth of the serpent holding waters.{{Sfn|Fortson|2004|p=26}}
[[Image:Museum of Anatolian Civilizations082 kopie1jpg.jpg|thumb|450px|The Hittite god [[Tarhunt]], followed by his son [[Sarruma]], kills the dragon [[Illuyanka]] (Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, [[Ankara, Turkey]]).|alt=]]
In [[Zoroastrianism]] and in [[Persian mythology]], [[Fereydun]] (and later [[Garshasp]]) slays the serpent [[Zahhak]]. In [[Albanian mythology]], the [[drangue]], semi-human divine figures associated with thunders, slay the [[kulshedra]], huge multi-headed fire-spitting serpents associated with water and storms. The [[Slavic mythology|Slavic]] god of storms [[Perun]] slays his enemy the dragon-god [[Veles (god)|Veles]], as does the [[bogatyr]] hero [[Dobrynya Nikitich]] to the three-headed dragon [[Zmey]].{{sfn|West|2007|p=259}} A similar execution is performed by the [[Armenian mythology|Armenian]] god of thunders [[Vahagn]] to the dragon [[Vishap]],{{sfn|Kurkjian|1958|p=}} by the [[Folklore of Romania|Romanian]] knight hero [[Făt-Frumos]] to the fire-spitting monster [[Zmeu]], and by the [[Celtic mythology|Celtic]] god of healing [[Dian Cecht]] to the serpent Meichi.{{sfn|Watkins|1995|pages=299–300}}

In [[Shinto]], where Indo-European influences through [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]] can be seen in mythology, the storm god [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto|Susanoo]] slays the eight-headed serpent [[Yamata no Orochi]].{{Sfn|Witzel|2012|p=}}

[[File:L-oiseau-victorieux-du-serpent medium.jpg|thumb|Bird (Christ) victorious over the Serpent (Satan), [[Saint-Sever Beatus]], 11th C. ]]
The [[Genesis Creation narrative|Genesis]] narrative of [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], as well as the dragon appearing in [[Revelation 12]] can be interpreted{{by whom|date=July 2024}} as a retelling of the serpent-slaying myth. The Deep or [[abyss (religion)|Abyss]] from or on top of which [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]] is said to make the world is translated from the [[Biblical Hebrew]] [[Tehom]] (Hebrew: תְּהוֹם). Tehom is a [[cognate]] of the [[Akkadian language|Akkad]]ian word ''tamtu'' and [[Ugarit]]ic ''t-h-m'' which have similar meaning. As such it was equated with the earlier Babylonian serpent [[Tiamat]].<ref>[[Heinrich Zimmern]], ''[https://archive.org/details/cu31924029165996 The Ancient East, No. III: The Babylonian and Hebrew Genesis]''; translated by J. Hutchison; London: David Nutt, 57–59 Long Acre, 1901.</ref>

Folklorist [[Andrew Lang]] suggests that the serpent-slaying myth morphed into a folktale motif of a frog or toad blocking the flow of waters.<ref>Lang, Andrew. ''Myth, Ritual and Religion''. Vol. I. London: Longmans, Green. 1906. pp. 42-46.</ref>

=== Fire in water ===
{{Main|*H₂epom Nepōts}}
Another reconstructed myth is the story of the fire in the waters.{{Sfn|Puhvel|1987|p=277}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=438}} It depicts a fiery divine being named {{lang|ine-x-proto|H₂epom Nepōts}} ('Descendant of the Waters') who dwells in waters, and whose powers must be ritually gained or controlled by a hero who is the only one able to approach it.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=204}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=277–283}} In the {{IAST|Rigveda}}, the god [[Apam Napat|Apám Nápát]] is envisioned as a form of fire residing in the waters.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=277–279}}{{sfn|West|2007|p=270}} In [[Celtic mythology]], a well belonging to the god [[Nechtan (mythology)|Nechtain]] is said to blind all those who gaze into it.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=438}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=279}} In an old Armenian poem, a small reed in the middle of the sea spontaneously catches fire and the hero [[Vahagn]] springs forth from it with fiery hair and a fiery beard and eyes that blaze as suns.{{sfn|West|2007|p=271}} In a ninth-century Norwegian poem by the poet Thiodolf, the name ''sǣvar niþr'', meaning "grandson of the sea", is used as a [[kenning]] for fire.{{sfn|West|2007|p=272}} Even the Greek tradition contains possible allusions to the myth of a fire-god dwelling deep beneath the sea.{{sfn|West|2007|p=271}} The phrase ''"νέποδες καλῆς Ἁλοσύδνης"'', meaning "descendants of the beautiful seas", is used in ''[[The Odyssey]]'' 4.404 as an epithet for the seals of [[Proteus]].{{sfn|West|2007|p=271}}{{Why|date=March 2022|reason=It is unclear how this last sentence on Proteus relates specifically to the fire-in-water myth.}}

=== King and Virgin ===
The legend of the King and Virgin involves a ruler saved by the offspring of his virgin daughter after seeing his future threatened by rebellious sons or male relatives.{{Sfn|Puhvel|1987|p=256}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=437}} The virginity likely symbolizes in the myth the woman that has no loyalty to any man but her father, and the child is likewise faithful only to his royal grandfather.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=331–332}} The legends of the Indic king [[Yayati|Yayāti]], saved by his virgin daughter Mādhāvi; the Roman king [[Numitor]], rescued by his chaste daughter [[Rhea Silvia]]; the Irish king [[Eochu Feidlech|Eochaid]], father of the legendary queen [[Medb]], and threatened by his sons the ''[[findemna]]''; as well as the myth of the Norse virgin goddess [[Gefjon|Gefjun]] offering lands to [[Odin]]'','' are generally cited as possible reflexes of an inherited Proto-Indo-European motif.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=331–332}} The Irish queen [[Medb]] could be [[cognate]] with the Indic Mādhāvi (whose name designates either a spring flower, rich in honey, or an intoxicating drink), both deriving from the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|medʰ-}} ("[[mead]], intoxicating drink").{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=313}}

=== War of the Foundation ===
A myth of the War of the Foundation has also been proposed, involving a conflict between the first two functions (the priests and warriors) and the third function (fertility), which eventually make peace in order to form a fully integrated society.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=436}} The Norse ''[[Ynglinga saga|Ynglingasaga]]'' tells of a war between the [[Æsir]] (led by [[Odin|Oðinn]] and [[Thor]]) and the [[Vanir]] (led by [[Freyr]], [[Freyja]] and [[Njörðr]]) that finally ends with the Vanir coming to live among the Æsir. Shortly after the mythical founding of Rome, [[Romulus]] fights his wealthy neighbours the [[Sabines]], the Romans [[The Rape of the Sabine Women|abducting their women]] to eventually incorporate the Sabines into the founding tribes of Rome.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=631}} In Vedic mythology, the [[Aśvins]] (representing the third function as the [[Divine twins|Divine Twins]]) are blocked from accessing the heavenly circle of power by [[Indra]] (the second function), who is eventually coerced into letting them in.{{Sfn|Puhvel|1987|p=61}}{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=631}} The [[Trojan War]] has also been interpreted as a reflex of the myth, with the wealthy [[Troy]] as the third function and the conquering Greeks as the first two functions.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=631}}

===Binding of evil===
{{Main|Binding of evil}}
[[Jaan Puhvel]] notes similarities between the Norse myth in which the god [[Týr]] inserts his hand into the wolf [[Fenrir]]'s mouth while the other gods bind him with [[Gleipnir]], only for Fenrir to bite off Týr's hand when he discovers he cannot break his bindings, and the Iranian myth in which [[Jamshid]] rescues his brother's corpse from [[Ahriman]]'s bowels by reaching his hand up Ahriman's anus and pulling out his brother's corpse, only for his hand to become infected with [[leprosy]].{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=119}} In both accounts, an authority figure forces the evil entity into submission by inserting his hand into the being's orifice (in Fenrir's case the mouth, in Ahriman's the anus) and losing or impairing it.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=119}} Fenrir and Ahriman fulfill different roles in their own mythological traditions and are unlikely to be remnants of a Proto-Indo-European "evil god"; nonetheless, it is clear that the "binding myth" is of Proto-Indo-European origin.{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|pages=119–120}}

=== {{Anchor|Death of a son}}{{Anchor|Cycle of the mead}}Other propositions ===
==== Death of a son ====
The motif of the '''death of a son'''<!---boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, killed by his father who is unaware of the relationship, is so common among the attested traditions that some scholars have ascribed it to Proto-Indo-European times.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=533}} In the [[Ulster Cycle]], [[Connla]], son of the Irish hero [[Cú Chulainn]], who was raised abroad in Scotland, unknowingly confronts his father and is killed in the combat; in [[Bylina|Russian epic poems]], [[Ilya Muromets]] must kill his own son, who was also raised apart; the Germanic hero Hildebrant inadvertently kills his son Hadubrant in the ''[[Hildebrandslied]]''; and the Iranian [[Rostam]] unknowingly confronts his son [[Sohrab]] in the [[Rostam and Sohrab|eponymous epic]] of the ''[[Shahnameh|Shāhnāmeh]]''. [[King Arthur]] is forced to kill his son [[Mordred]] in battle who was raised far away on the Orkney Islands; and in [[Greek mythology]], an intrigue leads the hero [[Theseus]] to kill his son [[Hippolytus (son of Theseus)|Hippolytus]]; when the lie is finally exposed, Hippolytus is already dead. According to Mallory and Adams, the legend "places limitations on the achievement of warrior prowess, isolates the hero from time by cutting off his generational extension, and also re-establishes the hero's typical adolescence by depriving him of a role (as father) in an adult world".{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=533}}

==== "Mead cycle" ====
Although the concept of elevation through intoxicating drink is a nearly universal motif, a Proto-Indo-European myth of the "cycle of the [[mead]]", originally proposed by [[Georges Dumézil]] and further developed by Jarich G. Oosten (1985), is based on the comparison of Indic and Norse mythologies.{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=494}} In both traditions, gods and demons must cooperate to find a sacred drink providing immortal life. The magical beverage is prepared from the sea, and a serpent ([[Vasuki|Vāsuki]] or [[Jörmungandr]]) is involved in the quest. The gods and demons eventually fight over the magical potion and the former, ultimately victorious, deprive their enemy of the [[elixir of life]].{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=494}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Oosten|first=Jarich G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5w_wBgAAQBAJ|title=The War of the Gods: The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology|date=1985|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-55584-1|language=en}}</ref>

== Rituals ==

Proto-Indo-European religion was centered on sacrificial rites of cattle and horses, probably administered by a class of [[priest]]s or [[shaman]]s{{citation needed|date=September 2023|reason="There is no mention of shamans in the cited source}}. Animals were slaughtered ({{lang|ine-x-proto|*gʷʰn̥tós}}) and dedicated to the gods ({{lang|ine-x-proto|*deywṓs}}) in the hope of winning their favour.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=452–453}}{{Failed verification|date=September 2023|talk=Priesthood}} The [[Khvalynsk culture]], associated with the archaic Proto-Indo-European language, had already shown archeological evidence for the sacrifice of domesticated animals.{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}}

=== Priesthood ===
{{Main|Mithra-Varuna (Indo European)}}
The king as the high priest would have been the central figure in establishing favourable relations with the other world.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=452–453}}{{Failed verification|date=September 2023|talk=Priesthood}} [[Georges Dumézil]] suggested that the religious function was represented by a duality, one reflecting the [[magico-religious]] nature of priesthood, while the other is involved in religious sanction to human society (especially contracts), a theory supported by common features in Iranian, Roman, Scandinavian and Celtic traditions.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=452–453}}

=== Sacrifices ===
<!-- 'Proto-Indo-European sacrifices' redirects here -->
[[File:Керносовский_идол.png|thumb|upright|The [[Kurgan stelae|Kernosovskiy idol]], featuring a man with a belt, axes, and testicles to symbolize the warrior;{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=364–365}} dated to the middle of the third millennium BC and associated with the late [[Yamnaya culture]].{{sfn|Telegrin|Mallory|1994|page=54}}]]

The reconstructed cosmology of the Proto-Indo-Europeans shows that ritual sacrifice of cattle, the cow in particular, was at the root of their beliefs, as the primordial condition of the world order.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|page=138}}{{sfn|Anthony|2007|pp=134–135}} The myth of {{lang|ine-x-proto|Trito}}, the first warrior, involves the liberation of cattle stolen by a three-headed entity named {{lang|ine-x-proto|Ngʷʰi}}. After recovering the wealth of the people, Trito eventually offers the cattle to the priest in order to ensure the continuity of the cycle of giving between gods and humans.{{Sfn|Lincoln|1976|p=}} The word for "oath", {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁óitos}}, derives from the verb {{lang|ine-x-proto|h₁ey-}} ("to go"), after the practice of walking between slaughtered animals as part of taking an oath.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=277}}

Proto-Indo-Europeans likely had a sacred tradition of [[horse sacrifice]] for the renewal of kingship involving the ritual mating of a queen or king with a horse, which was then sacrificed and cut up for distribution to the other participants in the ritual.{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=24–25}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=437}} In both the Roman ''[[October Horse|Equus October]]'' and the Indic ''[[Asvamedha|Aśvamedhá]]'', the horse sacrifice is performed on behalf of the warrior class or to a warrior deity, and the dismembered pieces of the animal eventually goes to different locations or deities. Another reflex may be found in a medieval Irish tradition involving a king-designate from [[County Donegal]] copulating with a [[mare]] before bathing with the parts of the sacrificed animal.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|page=437}}{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=24–25}} The Indic ritual likewise involved the symbolic marriage of the queen to the dead [[stallion]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gamkrelidze|first1=Thomas V.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2aqp2n2mKkC|title=Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and Proto-Culture. Part I: The Text. Part II: Bibliography, Indexes|last2=Ivanov|first2=Vjaceslav V.|date=2010-12-15|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-081503-0|page=402|language=en}}</ref> Further, if [[Hittite laws]] prohibited copulation with animals, they made an exception of horses or mules.{{sfn|Fortson|2004|p=24–25}} In both the Celtic and Indic traditions, an intoxicating brewage played a part in the ritual, and the [[suffix]] in ''aśva-medhá'' could be related to the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Old Indic]] word ''mad-'' ("boil, rejoice, get drunk").{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=313}} [[Jaan Puhvel]] has also compared the Vedic name of the tradition with the Gaulish god ''Epomeduos'', the "master of horses".{{Sfn|Jackson|2002|p=94}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pinault|first=Georges-Jean|title=Gaulois et celtique continental|publisher=Droz|year=2007|isbn=978-2-600-01337-6|editor-last=Lambert|editor-first=Pierre-Yves|location=Paris|pages=291–307|chapter=Gaulois epomeduos, le maître des chevaux|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0VNHHxyNt0C}}</ref>

=== Cults ===
<!--'Proto-Indo-European weapon cults' redirects here-->
Scholars have reconstructed a Proto-Indo-European cult of the weapons, especially the [[dagger]], which holds a central position in various customs and myths.{{Sfn|West|2007|p=464}}{{Sfn|Littleton|1982|p=}} In the [[Ossetian mythology|Ossetic]] [[Nart saga]], the sword of [[Batraz|Batradz]] is dragged into the sea after his death, and the British [[King Arthur]] throws his legendary sword [[Excalibur]] back into the lake from which it initially came. The Indic [[Arjuna]] is also instructed to throw his bow [[Gandiva]] into the sea at the end of his career, and weapons were frequently thrown into lakes, rivers or bogs as a form of prestige offering in [[Bronze Age Europe|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age Europe]].{{Sfn|West|2007|p=464}} Reflexes of an ancestral cult of the magical sword have been proposed in the legends of Excalibur and [[Durendal|Durandal]] (the weapon of [[Roland]], said to have been forged by the mythical [[Wayland the Smith]]). Among North Iranians, [[Herodotus]] described the [[Scythians|Scythian]] practice of worshiping swords as manifestations of "Ares" in the 5th century BC, and [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] depicted the [[Alans|Alanic]] custom of thrusting swords into the earth and worshiping them as "Mars" in the 4th century AD.{{Sfn|Littleton|1982|p=}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Mythology}}
* ''[[Interpretatio graeca]]'', the comparison of Greek deities to Germanic, Roman, and Celtic deities
* [[Neolithic religion]]
* [[Proto-Indo-European society]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
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*{{Cite book|last=Haudry|first=Jean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a9YoAAAAYAAJ|title=La religion cosmique des Indo-Européens|date=1987|publisher=Archè|isbn=978-2-251-35352-4|language=fr|author-link=Jean Haudry}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=Peter |title=Light from Distant Asterisks. Towards a Description of the Indo-European Religious Heritage |journal=Numen |date=2002 |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=61–102 |doi=10.1163/15685270252772777 |jstor=3270472 }}
*{{Cite book|last=Jakobson|first=Roman|author-link=Roman Jakobson|editor=Stephen Rudy|title=Roman Jakobson: Selected Writings|volume=VII: Contributions to Comparative Mythology: Studies in Linguistics and Philology, 1972-1982|chapter=Linguistic Evidence in Comparative Mythology|year=1985|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-085546-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsucH7YYr7kC}}
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*{{Cite web|last=Kurkjian|first=Vahan M.|date=1958|title=History of Armenia: Chapter XXXIV|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/34*.html|website=Penelope|publisher=University of Chicago|access-date=6 April 2017}}
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*{{Cite book|last1=Leeming|first1=David A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9I62BcuPxfYC|title=Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia|date=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-174-9|volume=1|author-link=David Adams Leeming}}
*{{Cite book|last=Littleton|first=C. Scott|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxBmAAAAMAAJ|title=Homage to Georges Dumézil|year=1982|editor-last=Polomé|editor-first=Edgar C.|pages=53–68|chapter=From swords in the earth to the sword in the stone: A possible reflection of an Alano-Sarmatian rite of passage in the Arthurian tradition|publisher=Journal of Indo-European Studies, Institute for the Study of Man |isbn=978-0-941694-28-5|author-link=C. Scott Littleton}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lincoln |first1=Bruce |title=The Indo-European Myth of Creation |journal=History of Religions |date=November 1975 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=121–145 |doi=10.1086/462739 |s2cid=162101898 |author-link=Bruce Lincoln }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lincoln |first1=Bruce |title=The Indo-European Cattle-Raiding Myth |journal=History of Religions |date=August 1976 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=42–65 |doi=10.1086/462755 |jstor=1062296 |s2cid=162286120 }}
*{{Cite book|last1=Lincoln|first1=Bruce|title=Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice|date=1991|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-0-226-48200-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1aVe-YRHs7UC}}
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*{{Cite book|last=Mallory|first=James P.|author-link = J. P. Mallory|title = In Search of the Indo-Europeans|publisher = Thames & Hudson|year=1991|location = London|isbn=978-0-500-27616-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/insearchofindoeu00jpma}}
*{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC|year=1997|last1=Mallory|first1=James P.|place=London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-884964-98-5|last2=Adams|first2=Douglas Q.|author1-link=J. P. Mallory|author2-link=Douglas Q. Adams}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Mallory|first1=James P.|title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World|date=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tF5wAAAAIAAJ|location=Oxford, England|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-929668-2|last2=Adams|first2=Douglas Q.}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YN_YPQAACAAJ|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic|last=Matasović|first=Ranko|date=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-17336-1|author-link=Ranko Matasović|language=en}}
*{{cite journal|last=Murray-Aynsley|first=J. C.|title=Swastika|journal=Ars Quatuor Coronatorum|volume=IV|year=1891}}
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*{{Cite book|last=Polomé|first=Edgar C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ5CAAAAQBAJ|title=Germanic Dialects: Linguistic and Philological Investigations|date=1986|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-90-272-7946-0|editor-last=Brogyanyi|editor-first=Bela|language=en|chapter=The Background of Germanic Cosmogonic Myths|author-link=Edgar C. Polomé|editor-last2=Krömmelbein|editor-first2=Thomas}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Puhvel|first1=Jaan|author-link=Jaan Puhvel|title=Comparative Mythology|date=1987|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore, Maryland|isbn=978-0-8018-3938-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMPagyYOe8gC}}
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*{{Cite book|last=Renfrew|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Renfrew|title=Archaeology & Language. The Puzzle of the Indo-European Origins|publisher=Jonathan Cape|year=1987|location=London|isbn=978-0-521-35432-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d3SbQgAACAAJ}}
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*{{Cite book|last1=Telegrin|first1=D. Ya.|last2=Mallory|first2=James P.|date=1994|title=The Anthropomorphic Stelae of the Ukraine: The Early Iconography of the Indo-Europeans|series=Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series|volume=11|location=Washington D.C., United States|publisher=Institute for the Study of Man|isbn=978-0-941694-45-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBJmAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{Cite book|last=Tirta|first=Mark|title=Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë|language=sq|editor=Petrit Bezhani|publisher=Mësonjëtorja|year=2004|place=Tirana|isbn=99927-938-9-9}}
*{{Cite book|last=Treimer|first=Karl|editor1=Henrik Barić |title=Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju|volume=I|chapter=Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie|pages=27–33|publisher=R. Trofenik|year=1971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTIBAAAAMAAJ}}
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*{{Cite book|last=Watkins|first=Calvert|author-link=Calvert Watkins|title=How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1995|location=London|isbn=978-0-19-514413-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BoF7PwAACAAJ}}
*{{Cite book|last=West|first=Martin L.|author-link=Martin Litchfield West|title=Indo-European Poetry and Myth|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-928075-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXrJA_5LKlYC}}
*{{Cite book|last=Winter|first=Werner|date=2003|title=Language in Time and Space |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mox4cw6zY6kC&pg=PA134|location=Berlin, Germany|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-017648-3}}
*{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UALji7FE-1UC|title=The Origins of the World's Mythologies|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-981285-1|language=en|author-link=Michael Witzel}}
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*{{Cite journal|last=York|first=Michael|date=1988|title=Romulus and Remus, Mars and Quirinus|journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies|volume=16|issue=1–2|pages=153–172|issn=0092-2323}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
; General overview:
* Calin, D. "Dictionary of Indo-European Poetic and Religious Themes", Les Cent Chemins, Paris 2017.
* {{cite web |last1=Calin |first1=Didier |title=Indo-European Poetics and the Latvian Folk Songs |date=1996 |url=https://www.academia.edu/48970984 }}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/indo-european-religions-overview |title=Indo-European Religions: An Overview |last1=Lincoln |first1=Bruce |author-link1=Bruce Lincoln |date=January 18, 2020 |website=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |series=Encyclopedia of Religion|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|access-date=February 9, 2019}}
* {{Cite web |last=Matasović|first=Ranko|author-link=Ranko Matasović|date=2018|title=A Reader in Comparative Indo-European Religion|url=http://mudrac.ffzg.unizg.hr/~rmatasov/PIE%20Religion.pdf|website=University of Zagreb}}
* Witczak, Krzysztof T. and Kaczor, Idaliana 1995. «Linguistic Evidence for the Indo-European Pantheon», in: J. Rybowska, K. T. Witczak (eds.), ''Collectanea Philologica II in honorem Annae Mariae Komornicka'', Łódź, 1995. pp.&nbsp;265–278.

; On solar deities:
* Blažek, Václav. "The Indo-European motif of "Celestial wedding": the solar bride and lunar bridegroom". In: ''wékwos''. 2022, vol. 6, No 1, p.&nbsp;39-65. ISSN 2426-5349.
* {{cite journal |last=Cahill |first=Mary |title='Here Comes the Sun...' |journal=Archaeology Ireland |volume=29 |issue=1 |date=2015 |pages=26–33 |jstor=43233814}}
* Dexter, Miriam Robbins. "[https://www.academia.edu/44664256/Dawn_and_Sun_in_Indo_European_Myth_Gender_and_Geography Dawn and Sun in Indo-European Myth: Gender and Geography]". In: ''Studia Indogermanica Lodziensia'' II. Lodz: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, 1999. pp.&nbsp;103–122. 
* Gjerde, Jan Magne. "A Boat Journey in Rock Art 'from the Bronze Age to the Stone Age – from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age' in Northernmost Europe." In: ''North Meets South: Theoretical Aspects on the Northern and Southern Rock Art Traditions in Scandinavia''. Edited by Skoglund Peter, Ling Johan, and Bertilsson Ulf. Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2017. pp.&nbsp;113–43. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh1dpgg.9.
* {{cite journal |last1=Huld |first1=Martin E. |title=Proto- and post-Indo-European designations for 'sun' |journal=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung |date=1986 |volume=99 |issue=2 |pages=194–202 |jstor=40848835 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kristiansen |first1=Kristian |chapter=Rock Art and Religion: The Sun Journey in Indo-European Mythology and Bronze Age Rock Art |pages=93–115 |jstor=j.ctt1cd0nrz.10 |title=Representations and Communications: Creating an Archaeological Matrix of Late Prehistoric Rock Art |date=2010 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-84217-397-8 }}
* Lahelma, Antti. "The Circumpolar Context of the 'Sun Ship' Motif in South Scandinavian Rock Art". In: ''North Meets South: Theoretical Aspects on the Northern and Southern Rock Art Traditions in Scandinavia''. Edited by Skoglund Peter, Ling Johan, and Bertilsson Ulf. Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2017. pp.&nbsp;144–71. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh1dpgg.10.
*{{Cite journal |last1=Massetti |first1=Laura |year=2019 |title=Antimachus's Enigma on Erytheia, the Latvian Sun-goddess and a Red Fish |url=https://www.academia.edu/40428177 |journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies |language=en |volume=47 |issue=1–2}}
* Valent, Dušan; Jelinek, Pavol. "[https://www.academia.edu/45190566/_Slne%C4%8Dn%C3%A1_bohy%C5%88a_S%C3%A9hul_a_jej_podoby_v_hmotnej_kult%C3%BAre_doby_bronzovej_Solar_goddess_S%C3%A9hul_and_Her_Representations_in_the_Material_Culture_of_the_Bronze_Age Séhul a jej podoby v hmotnej kultúre doby bronzovej]" [Séhul and Her Representations in the Material Culture of the Bronze Age]. In: ''Slovenská Archeológia'' – Supplementum 1. A. Kozubová – E. Makarová – M. Neumann (ed.): Ultra velum temporis. Venované Jozefovi Bátorovi k 70. narodeninám. Nitra: Archeologický ústav SAV, 2020. pp.&nbsp;575–582. {{ISSN|2585-9145}}. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/slovarch.2020.suppl.1.49
* Valent, Dušan; Jelinek, Pavol; Lábaj, Ivan. "[https://www.academia.edu/76988098/The_Death_Sun_and_the_Misidentified_Bird_Barge_A_Reappraisal_of_Bronze_Age_Solar_Iconography_and_Indo_European_Mythology The Death-Sun and the Misidentified Bird-Barge: A Reappraisal of Bronze Age Solar Iconography and Indo-European Mythology]". In: ''Zborník Slovenského národného múzea'' [Annales Musei Nationalis Slovaci]: Rocník CXV. Archeológia 31. Bratislava, 2021. pp.&nbsp;5–43. {{ISBN|978-80-8060-515-5}}. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55015/PJRB2648
* {{cite journal |last1=Wachter |first1=Rudolf |title=Das indogermanische Wort für 'Sonne' und die angebliche Gruppe der l/n-Heteroklitika |journal=Historische Sprachforschung / Historical Linguistics |date=1997 |volume=110 |issue=1 |pages=4–20 |jstor=41288919 }}

; On storm deities and the dragon combat:
* {{cite journal |last1=Dandekar |first1=R. N. |title=VṚTRAHĀ INDRA |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |date=1950 |volume=31 |issue=1/4 |pages=1–55 |jstor=44028390 }}
* {{cite book |doi=10.1515/9783111698281-028 |doi-access=free |chapter=Le Mythe Indo-Européen du Dieu de l'Orage Poursuivant le Serpent: Reconstruction du Schéma |title=Échanges et communications |year=1970 |last1=Ivanov |first1=Viatcheslav |last2=Toporov |first2=Vladimir |pages=1180–1206 |isbn=978-3-11-169828-1 }}
*{{Cite journal|last=Robert D. Miller II|date=2016|title=Iconographic Links between Indic and Ancient West Asian Storm Gods|journal=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft|volume=166|issue=1|pages=141–151|doi=10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.166.1.0141|jstor=10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.166.1.0141}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Robert D. |title=Tracking the Dragon across the Ancient Near East |journal=Archiv Orientální |date=2021 |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=437–458 |doi=10.47979/aror.j.82.2.437-458 |url=https://aror.orient.cas.cz/index.php/ArOr/article/view/291 |id={{ProQuest|1629401850}} |hdl=2263/58405 |s2cid=132645296 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}

; On the smith deity:
* {{cite journal |last1=Briquel |first1=Dominique |title=Tarquins de Rome et idéologie indo-européenne: (I) Tarquin l'Ancien et le dieu Vulcain |journal=Revue de l'histoire des religions |date=1998 |volume=215 |issue=3 |pages=369–395 |doi=10.3406/rhr.1998.1132 |jstor=43998720 |url=http://www.persee.fr/docAsPDF/rhr_0035-1423_1998_num_215_3_1132.pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Leroy |first1=Marie-Magdeleine |title=A propos de Pieds d'or: la claudication du forgeron indo-européen en Europe occidentale |journal=Ethnologie française |date=1982 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=291–296 |jstor=40988730 }}

; On the "fire in waters" motif:
* [[Claude Sterckkx|Sterckx, Claude]]; Oudaer, Guillaume. "[http://nouvellemythologiecomparee.hautetfort.com/archive/2015/04/20/claude-sterckx-et-guillaume-oudaer-le-feu-dans-l-eau-son-bes-5607148.html Le feu dans l'eau, son bestiaire et le serpent criocéphale]". In: ''Nouvelle Mythologie Comparée'', 2, 2014: 9.
* {{cite journal |last1=White |first1=David Gordon |title=Variations on the Indo-European 'Fire and Water' Mytheme in Three Alchemical Accounts |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=2017 |volume=137 |issue=4 |pages=679–698 |doi=10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.4.0679 |jstor=10.7817/jameroriesoci.137.4.0679 |doi-access=free }}

; On the canine guardian:
* Andrés-Toledo, M. Á. (2013). "[https://www.academia.edu/33077349/Andr%C3%A9s_Toledo_M_%C3%81_2013_The_Dog_s_of_the_Zoroastrian_Afterlife_ The Dog(s) of the Zoroastrian Afterlife]". E. Pirart (ed.). ''Le sort des Gâthâs. Études iraniennes in memoriam Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin''. Acta Iranica 54, Peeters, Leuven – Paris – Walpole: 13-23. {{ISBN|978-90-429-2733-9}}.

; On fire worship:
* {{cite book |title=Indo-European Fire Rituals: Cattle and Cultivation, Cremation and Cosmogony |first1=Anders |last1=Kaliff |first2=Terje |last2=Oestigaard |isbn=9781032292984 |date=2023 |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{cite book |last=Shenkar |first=Michael |chapter=The ‘Eternal Fire’, Achaemenid Zoroastrianism and the Origin of the Fire Temples |title=Yahwism under the Achaemenid Empire: Professor Shaul Shaked in Memoriam |editor1=Gad Barnea |editor2=Reinhard G. Kratz |pages=379–390 |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter |date=2024 |doi=10.1515/9783111018638-014}}

; Other themes:

* {{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=R. T. |last2=Norouzalibeik |first2=Vahid |title=Father-Son Combat: An Indo-European Typescene and its Variations |journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies |date=2008 |volume=36 |issue=3–4 |pages=269–332 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Berezkin |first1=Yuri |title=The Dog, the Horse and the Creation of Man |journal=Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore |date=2014 |volume=56 |pages=25–46 |doi=10.7592/FEJF2014.56.berezkin |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Dumézil|first=Georges|date=1925|title=Les bylines de Michajlo Potyk et les légendes indo-européennes de l'ambroisie|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/slave_0080-2557_1925_num_5_3_7342|journal=Revue des Études Slaves|volume=5|issue=3|pages=205–237|doi=10.3406/slave.1925.7342|author-link=Georges Dumézil}}
* {{cite book |last1=Janda |first1=Michael |title=Elysion: Entstehung und Entwicklung der griechischen Religion |date=2005 |publisher=Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck |isbn=978-3-85124-702-2 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Janda |first1=Michael |title=Die Musik nach dem Chaos: der Schöpfungsmythos der europäischen Vorzeit |date=2010 |publisher=Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck |isbn=978-3-85124-227-0 }}
* {{citation| last = Grimm | first = Jacob | author-link = Jacob Grimm | translator-last = Stallybrass | translator-first = James Steven | title = Teutonic Mythology | publisher = Dover| year = 1966 |orig-date=1835| location = London | id = (DM) | title-link = Deutsche Mythologie }}
* {{citation|last = Frazer|first = James|author-link = James Frazer|title = The Golden Bough|publisher = MacMillan|year = 1919|location = London|title-link = The Golden Bough}}
* {{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|1509068735}} |last1=Jendza |first1=Craig |title=Theseus the Ionian in Bacchylides 17 and Indo-Iranian Apam Napat |journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies |date=2013 |volume=41 |issue=3–4 |pages=431–457 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Dean |title=Cú Chulainn and Il'ya of Murom: Two Heroes, and Some Variations on a Theme |journal=Studia Celto-Slavica |date=2006 |volume=1 |pages=175–184 |doi=10.54586/YJKV4327 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ranero |first1=Anna M. |title='That Is What Scáthach Did Not Teach Me:' "Aided Óenfir aífe" and an Episode from the "Mahābhārata" |journal=Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium |date=1996 |volume=16/17 |pages=244–255 |jstor=20557325 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Shulman |first1=David Dean |title=Tamil Temple Myths: Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition |date=2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-5692-3 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Varenne |first1=Jean |title=Agni's Role in the Ṛgvedic Cosmogonic Myth |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |date=1977 |volume=58/59 |pages=375–386 |jstor=41691707 |oclc=6015346838 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Proto-Indo-European language}}
{{paganism}}

{{Indo European Mythology}}

[[Category:Proto-Indo-European mythology| ]]
[[Category:Anthropology of religion]]
[[Category:Comparative mythology]]
[[Category:European mythology]]
[[Category:Prehistoric religion]]
[[Category:Paganism]]
[[Category:Polytheism]]
[[Category:Religious studies]]