cas111jd@... wrote:
> I suspect that perhaps the Hebrew 'world serpent' Yamm was also
> adopted from Azi Dahaka. In Zoroastrian religion, the evil god
> Ahriman seems on the one hand to have made Azi Dahaka, but also to
by
> synonymous with him. Basically, it seems that the Hebrew name for
him
> suggests he was the 'evil twin' of god and synonymous with Satan.
As
> you know, the Norse Ymir, Persian Yima, and Hindu Yama are all
> derived from a root meaning 'twin', and that Ahriman and Ormazd
were
> also twins.
Yamm, literally the Sea, was the antagonist of Baal, from the time of
Ugarit, long before Iranian times. It seems that it is the
functional equivalent of Taimat in the Babylonian mythology. Such
dualism was a decidedly Iranian feature, a possible typical outcome
from a religious system which saw creation as a result of a "war of
the Gods" (eg. Titans and Olympians, Aesir and Vanir, Asura and Dasa,
Danaans and Formorians) which seems so tpical of IE Mythologies. In
the case of Yamm versus Baal it would seem to be a struggle between
maritime traders and aristocratic land owners for political pre-
eminence amongst the Canaanites. Clearly Baal - as a weather god,
had to win.
Hope this helps
Regards
John