Hades and Kore (was Re: [tied] Nostradamus and Dumezil)

From: jdcroft@...
Message: 9542
Date: 2001-09-17

João wrote:

> I think Yamm, the sea serpent-god, is related to some traits of
Poseidon.
> The three Ugaritic brothers Baal-Yamm-Mot are similar to
> Zeus-Poseidon-Hades.

This is an interesting one. Given that this tripartite division is
not found with Mycenaean Poseidas and Zeus, it is quite possible that
you are right, with the date of the transition occuring as a part of
the Phoenician period which led to a heavy orientalising tendency in
Hellas from the 8th Century. I feel it is interesting in this
context as regards Hades, who is clearly the youngest (and least
formed) of the Trio. It would seem that the coming of Hades-Mot
superceded the worship of a Goddess of the Underworld (Prosepina-
Kore), leading to her "rape" by the younger God. Again a Middle-
Eastern parallel seems appropriate here. Ereshkigal was
similarly "raped" by her future Husband - Nergal, after her earlier
spouse, Gulaganna, the "Wild Bull of Heaven" (the constellation
Taurus) had been disposed of by Enkidu.

This makes the Eleusian myth of Demeter-Kore even closer to the
Inanna-Erishkigal prototype. Eleusis, however, was definitely pre-
Mycenaean in origin so the Emeter-Kore link is extremely early
(possibly Neolithic). In this case perhaps it comes from a common
core in Anatolia of both the Eleusis and Inanna story.

Regards

John