Religion:Hausōs
Hausōs (Proto-Indo-European: *h₂éwsōs; also *hₐéusōs; litt. "the dawn")[1] is the reconstructed name of the Dawn-goddess in the Proto-Indo-European mythology.[2]
Hausōs is believed to have been one of the most important deities worshiped by the Proto-Indo-Europeans, due to the consistency of her characterisation in subsequent traditions as well as the importance of the goddess Uṣas in the Rigveda.[3][4]
Her attributes have not only been mixed with those of solar goddesses in some later traditions, but have subsequently expanded and influenced female deities in other mythologies.
Name
Etymology
The reconstructed name of the dawn, *h₂éwsōs, is based on the verbal root *hₐewes-, which meant "shine, glow (red), flame" and also underlies the word for "gold", hₐeusom: Lat. aurum, OPrus. ausis.[5][6]
Epithets
A common epithet associated with the Dawn is *Diwós Dʰuǵhₐtḗr, the "Daughter of Dyēus", the Sky-god.[3][7] Cognates stemming from the formulaic expression appear in three traditions: "Daughter of Heaven" in the Rigveda, as an epithet of Uṣas; "Daughter of Zeus", a Homeric title associated with Ēṓs; and "Daughter of Dievas", an epithet transferred to a Sun-goddess in the Lithuanian folklore.[8][9]
Role
The Dawn-goddess is portrayed as unageing and her coming as an eternal rebirth. She is ἠριγένεια ("early-born", "born in the morning") in the Iliad, and the Rigveda states that Uṣas, the daughter of Dyáuṣ, was born from the harnessing of the Aśvins.[9] Hausōs is also seen as opening the gates of Heaven: the Baltic verse pie Dieviņa namdurēm ("by the doors of the house of God", which Saulė (the Sun) is urged to open to the horses who pull his carriage through the sky), is lexically comparable with the Vedic dvā́rau Diváḥ ("doors of Heaven"), which Uṣas opens with her light.[10]
Hausōs is generally associated with red or golden cloths: she is "clothed in light" in the Rigveda and "saffron-robed" for Homer; Saulė and her daughter(s) are also dressed of silk or gold in Latvian songs. She is also described as dancing: Uṣas throws on embroidered garments "like a dancer", Saulė is portrayed as dancing in her gilded shoes on a silver hill, and Ēṓs has "dancing-places" around her house in the East.[11] The Avesta likewise refers to a mythical eastern mountain called Ušidam- ("Dawn-house").[10]
She is depicted either as a reluctant bringer of light for which she is punished, or as a victim of waters saved from peril in the eastern sea by the Divine Twins.[12][13] This theme is found throughout Indo-European mythology: Eôs and Aurora are sometimes unwilling to leave her bed, Uṣas is punished by Indra for attempting to forestall the day, and Auseklis did not always rise in the morning.[3]
Evidence
Cognates stemming from the root *h₂éwsōs and associated with a dawn-goddess are attested in the following mythologies:
- Hellenic: *Auhṓs,[14]
- Indo-Iranian: *Hušā́s,[citation needed]
- Italic: *Ausōs,[16]
- Balto-Slavic: *Auṣ(t)ro,[17]
- Germanic: *Austrōn, the goddess of springtime, and the root of the word "Easter",[18]
The formulaic expression "Daughter of Dyēus" (*Diwós Dʰuǵhₐtḗr) is attested as an epithet attached to a dawn goddess in several poetic traditions:
- Vedic: duhitā́r-diváh, "Daughter of Heaven", epithet of Uṣas,[20][9]
- Homeric: thugátēr Diós, "Daughter of Zeus", epithet of Ēṓs,[20][9]
- Lithuanian: dievo duktė, "Daughter of Dievas", epithet of the Sun-goddess which likely took the attributes of Hausōs.[20][9]
Another instance of formulaic poetry can be found in the expression *hₐ(e)us-sḱeti ("it dawns"): Lith. aušta, Av. usaiti, Skt ucchāti.[6] The word for the dawn as a meteorological event has also been preserved in numerous cognates: Welsh gwawr ("dawn"), Lith. aušrà ("dawn"), OCS za ustra ("in the morning"), OIrish fāir ("sunrise"), or Skt uṣar-búdh- ("waking at dawn").[5][14][6] A derivative adverb, *hₐeust(e)ro- ("eastern"), was also preserved the following words: Latv. àustrums ("east"), Aves. ušatara ("east"), Lat. auster ("south wind, south"), PGerm. *austera (Eng. east, MHG oster).[6][18]
Legacy
Outside Indo-European, although most likely influenced by Vedic religion, the Japanese goddess Uzume also may be found.[21]
References
- ↑ Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 409.
- ↑ Mallory & Adams 2006, pp. 410, 432.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 149.
- ↑ Gamkrelidze, Thomas V.; Ivanov, Vjaceslav V. (2010-12-15) (in en). Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and Proto-Culture.. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110815030. https://books.google.fr/books?id=M2aqp2n2mKkC.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 West 2007, p. 217.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 301.
- ↑ Jackson 2002, p. 79.
- ↑ Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 409, 432.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 West 2007, p. 219.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 West 2007, p. 222.
- ↑ West 2007, p. 221.
- ↑ Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 149, 161.
- ↑ West 2007, p. 189.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Beekes 2009, p. 492.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 148.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Vaan 2008, p. 63.
- ↑ Derksen 2015, p. 72.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Kroonen 2013, p. 43.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Mallory & Adams 2006.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 432.
- ↑ Witzel, Michael (2005). Vala and Iwato: The Myth of the Hidden Sun in India, Japan, and beyond. https://www.onmarkproductions.com/monkey-mythology-compare-india-japan-by-michael-witzel.pdf.
Bibliography
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2009) (in en). Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-32186-1. https://books.google.fr/books?id=lw7KxwEACAAJ.
- Derksen, Rick (2015) (in en). Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon. Brill. ISBN 9789004155046. https://books.google.fr/books?id=fILunwEACAAJ.
- Jackson, Peter (2002). "Light from Distant Asterisks. Towards a Description of the Indo-European Religious Heritage". Numen 49 (1): 61–102. doi:10.1163/15685270252772777. ISSN 0029-5973.
- Kroonen, Guus (2013) (in en). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic. Brill. ISBN 9789004183407. https://books.google.fr/books?id=cgmFRAAACAAJ.
- Mallory, James P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London: Routledge, (EIEC), ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5, https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC
- Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D.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
- Vaan, Michiel de (2008) (in en). Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages. Leiden, Boston. ISBN 9789004167971. https://books.google.fr/books?id=ecZ1DwAAQBAJ.
- West, Martin Litchfield (2007), Indo-European Poetry and Myth, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9
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