In a message dated 12/5/99 6:41:14 PM Eastern Standard Time,
markodegard@... writes:
<< The main set of surviving and reconstructable myths center on the Dawn
goddess: Aurora in Roman mythology, Eos in Greek, and Surya and Usus in Indic
myth. The main comparison for these is made to Baltic where the cognate is,
in Lithuanian, Aushra and Ausrine, Latvian Auseklis, Old Prussian Ausca. >>
I would see Surya as a separate type of solar goddess from Usas for the
following reasons: 1) Usas is cognate with PIE *Ausosa while Surya is a
derivative of the PIE word for sun. 2) In Vedic mythology, the two have
very separate roles and myths associated with them - Usas associated with
bringing forth the Sun, tarrying too long in her role and having to be
induced to come forth by Indra, and she is joint mother of the Sun with the
Night goddess (through an adopted role). Surya is mainly referred to in a
bridal role either of the Asvins or Soma. Helen is also a stronger candidate
for the type of the Sun Maiden (as Surya is) rather than a Dawn Goddess. I
have seen Robbins discuss the two separately before and I wonder why she has
conflated the two figures here.
<<One thought I have is that Dawn is the torchbearer, leading the way. The
idea is that the sun is unable see into the darkness ahead and needs someone
to forge a path. This would be the Sun-maiden. She is a member of the
celestial family, somehow related to the divine horse twins, the daughter of
either the sun or the sky.
It seems she is also, somehow, someway, the goddess of foster-mothers. Here,
you get into something sociological, matters of family law and what you do
with orphans. At some point, she may have been associated with childbirth
(dawn = giving birth).>>
I agree with the Dawn being a torch bearer and a goddess of foster-mothers.
Georges Dumezil discusses her role as a goddess of foster mothers in
_Camillus: A Study of Indo-European Religion as Roman History_ and in
_Archaic Roman Religion_. Puhvel also discusses this in _Comparative
Mythology_. The role of the Dawn as a foster mother or joint mother of the
Sun is explained thus: Night gives birth to the Sun but it is the Dawn who
brings him forth each day. At a microcosmic level, the Dawn is also referred
to as the mother of Agni (the sacrificial fire) in Vedic literature. But the
Sun Maiden type (Helen, Surya, Saules meita) is a distinct figure from the
Dawn goddess (Aurora, Eos, Usas). The Sun Maiden is the daughter of the Sun
god and the joint bride of the Divine Twins, who also seem to rescue her from
some watery demise. The Dawn is the daughter of the Sky God, the aunt/sister
of the Divine Twins, and the aunt-mother of the Sun, but she is also
sometimes referred to as the lover of the Sun.
Chad