*H₂epom Nepōts
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| *H₂epom Nepōts | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | fire in water |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek equivalent | Poseidon |
| Roman equivalent | Neptune |
| Hinduism equivalent | Apam Napat |
| Irish equivalent | Nechtan |
*H₂epom Nepōts ('Descendant of the Waters') is a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European deity 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.[1][2] The motif may come from swamp gas rising from swamps and igniting.[3] It may come from the high levels of natural gas in Ukraine, the possible Proto-Indo-European homeland.
A wide range of linguistic and cultural evidence attest the holy status of the terrestrial (potable) waters *h₂ep-, venerated collectively as "the Waters" or divided into "Rivers and Springs".
In the Rigveda, the god
Indo-Iranian fire and water
In one Vedic hymn Apām Napāt is described as emerging from the water, golden, and "clothed in lightning", which has been conjectured to be a reference to fire.[14] His regular identification with Agni, who is described a number of times as hiding or residing in water,[15][16][17] and comparison with other Indo-European texts, has led some to speculate about the existence of a Proto-Indo-European myth featuring a fire deity born from water.[18]
Other such mentions include the ninth-century
Conjectured original fireless myth
Whether fire was an original part of Apam Napat's nature remains a matter of debate, especially since this connection is absent from the Iranian version. Hermann Oldenberg believed Apam Napat was originally an independent water deity who later came to be associated with Agni, in part because of an ancient Indian belief that water contained fire within itself,[20] fire appearing to "enter into" water when quenched by it.[21][22]: 45
Associations with Savitr could be understood as similarly deriving from an image of the setting sun sinking into the ocean. Another theory explains the connection between fire and water through lightning, "the flash of fire born from the rainbearing clouds".[23]
'Swamp gas' conjecture
Based on the idea that this fire-from-water image was inspired by flaming seepage natural gas,[3] attempts have been made to connect the name "Apam Napat" to the word "naphtha", which passed into Greek – and thence English – from an Iranian language.
However, there is only a modest amount of evidence for a link between the sacred fires of Iranian religion and petroleum or natural gas – although the account of the blowing of the 3 sacred fires out to sea from the back of the ox Srishok where, unquenched, they continue to burn on the water[24] is suggestive – particularly in relation to hydrocarbon deposits in the Southwestern part of the Caspian Sea, exploited currently by the Absheron gas field near Baku in Azerbaijan.
The etymology of the word "naphtha" has been claimed likely to relate to the Akkadian napṭu, "petroleum".[25]
References
- ^ Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 204.
- ^ Puhvel 1987, pp. 277–283.
- ^ a b Tyrrell, Maliheh S. (2000). Aesopian Literary Dimensions of Azerbaijani Literature of the Soviet Period, 1920–1990. Lexington Books. p. 34.
- ^ West 2007, p. 274.
- ^ West 2007, p. 279.
- ^ Dumézil 1966.
- ^ a b Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 410.
- ^ Puhvel 1987, pp. 277–279.
- ^ West 2007, p. 270.
- ^ Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 438.
- ^ Puhvel 1987, p. 279.
- ^ a b c West 2007, p. 271.
- ^ West 2007, p. 272.
- ^ "Son of Waters". Rig Veda. Translated by Griffith, Ralph T.H. (1896 ed.). 2.35.2 – via sacred-texts.com.
- ^ "Part 1 (SBE12) 1:2:3:1". Satapatha Brahmana. Translated by Eggeling, Julius (1882 ed.) – via sacred-texts.com.
- ^ Rig Veda 7.49.4
- ^ Rig Veda 3.1
- ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.
- ^ Marold, Edith (2012). "Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 4". Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. 1: 14.
- ^ "Apąm Napāt". Encyclopædia Iranica.
- ^ Oldenberg, Hermann (1894). Die Religion des Veda [The Religion of the Veda] (in German). Berlin, DE: W. Hertz. pp. 100–119 – via Archive.org.
Oldenberg, Hermann (1988). The Religion of the Veda. Translated by Shrotri, Shridhar B. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 51–68. ISBN 978-81-208-0392-3– via Google Books.
- ISBN 90-04-08847-4.
- JSTOR 3269717.
- ^ "chapter 18 verses 8–9". Bundahishn.
- ^ R. J. Forbes (1966). Studies in Ancient Technology. Brill Archive. p. 13. GGKEY:YDBU5XT36QD.
Bibliography
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- Anthony, David W.; Brown, Dorcas R. (2019). "Late Bronze Age midwinter dog sacrifices and warrior initiations at Krasnosamarskoe, Russia". In Olsen, Birgit A.; Olander, Thomas; Kristiansen, Kristian (eds.). Tracing the Indo-Europeans: New evidence from archaeology and historical linguistics. Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78925-273-6.
- Arvidsson, Stefan (2006). Aryan Idols: Indo-European Mythology as Ideology and Science. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-02860-7.
- ISBN 978-90-04-32186-1.
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011). Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 9789027211859.
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- Derksen, Rick (2008). Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon. Brill. ISBN 9789004155046.
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- Gamkrelidze, Thomas V.; Ivanov, Vjaceslav V.(1995). Winter, Werner (ed.). Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and a Proto-Culture. Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 80. Berlin: M. De Gruyter.
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- Jackson, Peter (2002). "Light from Distant Asterisks. Towards a Description of the Indo-European Religious Heritage". Numen. 49 (1): 61–102. JSTOR 3270472.
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- Kurkjian, Vahan M. (1958). "History of Armenia: Chapter XXXIV". Penelope. University of Chicago. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
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- S2CID 162101898.
- Lincoln, Bruce (August 1976). "The Indo-European Cattle-Raiding Myth". History of Religions. 16 (1): 42–65. S2CID 162286120.
- Lincoln, Bruce (1991). Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226482002.
- ISBN 978-0-500-27616-7.
- ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5.
- Mallory, James P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (2006). The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929668-2.
- ISBN 9789004173361.
- ISBN 9780190226923.
- ISBN 978-90-272-7946-0.
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- ISBN 978-0-521-35432-5.
- Telegrin, D. Ya.; Mallory, James P. (1994). The Anthropomorphic Stelae of the Ukraine: The Early Iconography of the Indo-Europeans. Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series. Vol. 11. Washington D.C., United States: Institute for the Study of Man. ISBN 978-0941694452.
- Tirta, Mark (2004). Petrit Bezhani (ed.). Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë (in Albanian). Tirana: Mësonjëtorja. ISBN 99927-938-9-9.
- Treimer, Karl (1971). "Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie". In Henrik Barić (ed.). Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju. Vol. I. R. Trofenik. pp. 27–33.
- ISBN 978-0-19-514413-0.
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- York, Michael (1988). "Romulus and Remus, Mars and Quirinus". Journal of Indo-European Studies. 16 (1–2): 153–172. ISSN 0092-2323.
Further reading
- Epimakhov, Andrey; Lubotsky, Alexander. “Fire and Water: The Bronze Age of the Southern Urals and the Rigveda”. In: The Indo-European Puzzle Revisited: Integrating Archaeology, Genetics, and Linguistics. Edited by Kristian Kristiansen, Guus Kroonen, and Eske Willerslev. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. pp. 263–74.