Re: [tied] Digest Number 282
From: hyltoncj64@...
Message: 5193
Date: 2000-12-28
In a message dated 12/28/00 6:44:37 AM Eastern Standard Time,
cybalist@egroups.com writes:
If anyone had doubts about a *PexwrGnnos "Fire-Born" war deity (usually
reconstructed as *PerkWnos), I just found Sanskrit Agnibhu meaning the same
thing, one of the names of Skanda, god of war. One site mentions that the
term is "applied to the Kshatriyas or warrior caste, whose ancestors were
said to have sprung from fire". Imagine that! Excuse me, while I and my
theories take a humble bow. It's further attested by Dionysus pet name,
Purigenes, meaning (you guessed it!) "Fire-Born"!
Other heros were said to have been "put through the fire" - supposedly they
were burned by their mothers in a magical fire which left them with superior
strength in any of the places that were burned. Achilles and his heel are an
example, his heel where his mother held him was not touched by the fire, and
left him vulnerable. There is a tradition which relates vaguely to this
legend - where people from certain cultures jump over fires as part of a
religious ceremony. It's been a while since I read about this, so that's
about all I remember. I'll try to find more.
cj