--- In cybalist@..., "Sergejus Tarasovas" <S.Tarasovas@...> wrote:
>
> Looks like a romantic fiction as well. What is your source?
>
> Sergei
I hardly remember. It's been too long. I find parallels with other IE
mythologies and so I believe they have some merit. Different Balto-
Slavic accounts suggest various authors found folklores from various
parts of the Baltic and Slavic lands. Some may be latter day folklore
as removed from the ancient mythology as is the American "the Ghost
of Sleepy Hallow" is from Herne the Hunter. Some may be latter day
neo-pagan inventions. Its rather impossible for a westerner to expect
a high degree of authentic Balto-Slavic mythology has been translated
into English, unfortunately. As you know, Christianity and communism
didn't exactly foster documenting ancient mythology, and there were
no Snorris from those places to write anything down long ago.
However, some commonalities in the myths I have read suggest to me an
ancient mythological source. The 'celestial wedding' between the
supreme sky god and goddess, the 'abduction' or 'elopement' of the
Venus goddess, the death of one of the twin horsemen and the ascent
of the other to heaven are replayed in varying accounts.
In Greece we have Castor dying and Polydeuces ascending to heaven.
However, Zeus allowed each to perpetually spend one day in heaven and
then die. This one day seems to be analagous to the quick rotation of
the planet Mercury, IMO. The Dioscuri also are involved in a wedding,
crashing it to carry off the brides Phoebe and Hilaeira, together
known as the Leucippidae for their father, Leucippus ('White Horse').
They also save their sister Helen (a version of Venus, IMO), whom
Theseus abducted. They rescued her while Theseus was on an expedition
to the Underworld. Thus he may have been a moon-god on his god dark
phase.
The Hindu Asvinai are also involved in the 'celestial marriage' and
become immortalized as gods (don't recall a lot of details here). In
Rome we have Romulus and Remus: Remus dies, Romulus becomes a god,
assimilated with Quirinus. Romulus leads the abduction of the Sabine
women. I believe the twin gods are also recalled in the Anglo-Saxon
Hengst and Horsa as part of a 'foundation' myth recalled in Romulus
and Remus. Thus, as state gods, the 'divine twins' known as the
Nasatiyas were also invoked in a treaty by the Mitanni with the
Hittites.