Dyaus Pita
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In the Vedic religion Dyauṣ Pitar is the Sky Father, husband of Prithvi and father of Agni and Indra (RV 4.17.4).
His origins can be traced to the Proto-Indo-European sky god *Dyeus, who appears in Greek as Zeus patēr (accusative Día, genitive Diòs), in Latin as Jupiter (from archaic Latin Iovis pater, "Sky father"), in Slavic mythology as Div, and Germanic and Norse mythology as Tyr or Ziu.
In the Rig Veda, Dyaus Pitar appears in hymns 1.89, 1.90, 1.164, 1.191 and 4.1 in simple invocations.
In RV 1.89.4b, Pitar Dyaus "Father Sky" appears alongside Mata Prithvi "Mother Earth".
Details of the myth are sketchy, but Indra seems to have killed his father (RV 4.18.12). Thomas Oberlies tentatively identifies Dyaus with an Asura in pre-vedic religion (both appear to have been killed by Indra).
In art, he appears in two different forms: as a red bull who bellows thunder, or as a black horse adorned with pearls, symbolizing the stars.
[edit] Literature
- Thomas Oberlies, Die Religion des Rgveda, Wien 1998.
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