Appendix: The Genesis of Greek Religion

Extract

When groups of Indo-European raiders invaded Greece at the beginning of the second millennium bc, they did not arrive without religious baggage. On the contrary, it is surprising how much of later classical belief and practice goes back to this early heritage. Linguists have concluded that the early Indo-Europeans worshipped a divine family consisting of a Sky Father (*Dyeus pater), his wife the Earth Goddess (*Pltwi mater), a Daughter of the Sky (*Diwos dhugeter), and twin Sons of the Sky (*Diwos sûnû) – all figures in the Greek pantheon. The Sky Father became Zeus, still the most prominent god, but the name of his one-time wife only survived in a small town, Boeotian Plataea. In ancient India, the Daughter of the Sky was Dawn, Usas, whose name survived as Eos, but she was no longer a ‘daughter of Zeus’; that title was now used for other goddesses, such as Athena, Artemis, and, especially, Aphrodite. Finally, the twin Sons survived as the Dioskouroi, whose name reflects the fact that they had become role models for the military age-set of youths beyond adolescence in pre-Homeric times, the kouroi. In some cases, then, we note continuity in structure not name, in others continuity in name not structure, but it is important to note that in all these cases continuity does not mean lack of change: tradition always has to be appropriated.