Re: [cybalist] Dating Zarathushtra and the Rig Veda

----- Original Message -----
From: John Croft <jdcroft@...>
To: <cybalist@egroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 19 April, 2000 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: [cybalist] Dating Zarathushtra and the Rig Veda


Thanks, John, for your reply. I don't really have much knowledge, or any axe
to grind, in this area. So, if it's 7th century, so be it. I must admit to
not being very keen on this "Axial Age" idea though.

> As for the earlier dates I feel these are Achaemenid attempts to give
> themselves an august and ancient lineage similar to the Babylonians
> and the Egyptians, who could literally trace back a history across
> thousands of years. Jews, Romans, Greeks, Persians and others were
> all busy trying to do the same. I suspect that the dates before
> 1,000
> BCE are all suspect for this reason, given that the Avestan corpus,
> as
> Piotr has shown us was only collected into the Avesta in Sassanid
> times (after Christ!)
>

This, of course, is an argument I used with Rex against his Pelasgians.

>
> It is interesting what this shows about Indo-Europeans in Iran.
>
> Firstly Irano-Aryans are believed to have come from the North, and to
> have been forced to move south by excessively cold winters. This
> fits
> well into the late Bronze Age climatic crisis of 1,200 BCE. The move
> to the south is associated with escaping a disaster.
>
> Secondly Yima Kaesheta is the same as the Hindu Yama Raj, king of the
> Underworld. He also appears in the Elder Eddas (are Edda's, Veda,
> and
> Vendadid I.E. Cognates) as the Jotun (giant) Ymir out of whose body
> the world was created. The story here contains some connection back
> to the PIE Urheimat.
>
> Thirdly Ahura is the same as the Hindu Asura, and the Germanic Asir.
> Again this suggests an I.E. cognate going back to the Pontic Steppe.
>
> Another kite flying
>
> John
>

Piotr has posted on your third proposal.
But, doesn't this argue for an earlier dating for Zarathustra, even if the
texts are later. Didn't I read in one of the postings that the language of
the Gathas was more similar to Indic?
I followed your link, BTW. So, the urheimat is the North Pole, eh?

Cheers
Dennis



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