At the dawn of times were two twin brothers, Manu and Yemo, travelling with a sacred cow. The twins decided to create a new world for a new race called 'mankind'. In order to achieve this, Yemo had to be sacrificed and carved up by his brother, with the help of the Sky Gods, to produce mankind. Manu created the earth, water, air and fire, and became the first priest of the new world order.
Once the world was created, the Sky Gods gave cattle to Trito (the Third man). The cattle was stolen by a three-headed serpent, prompting Trito to seek the monster in its mountain cave, and killing it with the help of the Storm God, thus freeing the cattle. Trito became the first warrior.
All Indo-European speakers (Germanic, Celts, Romans, Greeks, Hittites, Iranians, Hindus) developed their own version of the foundation myth, derived from a shared ancestry.
Manu, the progenitor of mankind, was also the very first king to rule this earth. the Hindu Manu is known in Germanic mythology as Mannus. For Germanic people, Mannus was the progenitor of the three first Germanic tribes. It is tempting to see a link with the three main paternal lineages found in Germanic people : haplogroups I1, R1a and R1b.
Manu's twin, Yemo became Ymir in Norse mythology and Yama in Hinduism/Buddhism.
The Roman foundation myth, the story of Romulus and Remus, is another variant of the Indo-European creation myth. Mannus would be Romulus (Romanus ?), killing his twin brother Remus (Yemo, or Iemus in Latin) to create Rome. The legend was made up centuries after the actual foundation of Rome, as the names of Mannus and Iemus adapted to the phonology of the city (hence the Ro- and Re- prefix).
The Sky Gods can be identified as Odin and Thor in Germanic mythology, Taranis in Celtic mythology, Perun/Perkūnas for the Slavs and Balts, or Zeus/Jupiter and his pantheon for the Greco-Romans.
Unsurprisingly, cattle became a symbol of deity among Indo-Europeans. The bull became the vehicle of Shiva in Hinduism, while Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, is usually depicted riding a cow. In Zoroastrianism, the Indo-European religion of the Iranian people, closely related to Hinduism, the lands of both Zarathustra and the Vedic priests were those of cattle breeders.
Although cattle did not enjoy the same sacredness among Italo-Celts, Germans or Slavs, cows were a vital part of their society for transport, meat and milk. Dairy product consumption was so important for Indo-European peoples that lactose tolerance is now almost exclusively found among their descendants. The percentage of Indo-European Y-haplogroups (R1a and R1b) in a population is a fairly good indicator of the prevalence of lactase persistence. Based on genetic tests, it is estimated that the mutation for lactose tolerance first appeared in the steppes west of the Ural mountains around 4600-2800 BCE (source The Horse, The Wheel, and Language, p.326).
Once the world was created, the Sky Gods gave cattle to Trito (the Third man). The cattle was stolen by a three-headed serpent, prompting Trito to seek the monster in its mountain cave, and killing it with the help of the Storm God, thus freeing the cattle. Trito became the first warrior.
All Indo-European speakers (Germanic, Celts, Romans, Greeks, Hittites, Iranians, Hindus) developed their own version of the foundation myth, derived from a shared ancestry.
Manu, the progenitor of mankind, was also the very first king to rule this earth. the Hindu Manu is known in Germanic mythology as Mannus. For Germanic people, Mannus was the progenitor of the three first Germanic tribes. It is tempting to see a link with the three main paternal lineages found in Germanic people : haplogroups I1, R1a and R1b.
Manu's twin, Yemo became Ymir in Norse mythology and Yama in Hinduism/Buddhism.
The Roman foundation myth, the story of Romulus and Remus, is another variant of the Indo-European creation myth. Mannus would be Romulus (Romanus ?), killing his twin brother Remus (Yemo, or Iemus in Latin) to create Rome. The legend was made up centuries after the actual foundation of Rome, as the names of Mannus and Iemus adapted to the phonology of the city (hence the Ro- and Re- prefix).
The Sky Gods can be identified as Odin and Thor in Germanic mythology, Taranis in Celtic mythology, Perun/Perkūnas for the Slavs and Balts, or Zeus/Jupiter and his pantheon for the Greco-Romans.
Unsurprisingly, cattle became a symbol of deity among Indo-Europeans. The bull became the vehicle of Shiva in Hinduism, while Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, is usually depicted riding a cow. In Zoroastrianism, the Indo-European religion of the Iranian people, closely related to Hinduism, the lands of both Zarathustra and the Vedic priests were those of cattle breeders.
Although cattle did not enjoy the same sacredness among Italo-Celts, Germans or Slavs, cows were a vital part of their society for transport, meat and milk. Dairy product consumption was so important for Indo-European peoples that lactose tolerance is now almost exclusively found among their descendants. The percentage of Indo-European Y-haplogroups (R1a and R1b) in a population is a fairly good indicator of the prevalence of lactase persistence. Based on genetic tests, it is estimated that the mutation for lactose tolerance first appeared in the steppes west of the Ural mountains around 4600-2800 BCE (source The Horse, The Wheel, and Language, p.326).
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