Re: [tied] Re: IE right & 10

On 04-09-16 15:11, andrew_and_inge wrote:

> Depends how far you want to disseminate it. West Asia, North Africa
> and Europe all came under Mesopotamian influence, and I think they
> were the source of both the 7 starred pleidides and the 7 dayed
> week, and probably various other "7" things. The question I think
> being put was which of these things was the one that clicked and
> made 7 important. Did people see 7 stars because 7 was already
> sacred for another reason?

Among the various magnificent sevens we further have the seven stars of
the Plough/Big Dipper and the seven bright stars of Orion (both looming
large in the folklore of many cultures). Once you consider 7 a special
number, all or any of these things may become sacred. It seems to me,
however, that the length of the lunar quarter is likely to have been the
original magical seven, even if it's actually 7.38465 days. People have
certainly been interested in the lunar cycle since time immemorial, and
even the most widespread IE term for the moon, *méh1-not-/-n(e)s-
testifies to the IEs' familiarity with some sort of lunar calendar.

Piotr