[tied] Re: Creation > IE Astronomy

I don't know enough about astronomy to ascertain how visible Mercury
might be on the northern European plain. However, the divine twins
were, IMO, known throughout the IE mythologies: Castor and Polydeuces
and also Zethus and Amphion in Greece, the Asvins in India, the
Nasatiyas to the Mitanni, Lithuanian Asviniai, Lettish Zirgeliai or
Dievas deli ('sons of Dievs'). I believe Romulus and Remus and the
Anglo-Saxon Hengst and Horsa are also versions of them. This near pan-
IE identity may go all the way back to proto-IE times. It seems to me
that the early IE peoples would have had fairly clear views of both
the rising and setting Mercuries on the steppes.

--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> That's it. The ancestors of the Balts and Slavs lived north of the
50th parallel, in the forest zone, in a lanscape with few hills, far
inland. You have to be a very determined astronomy fiend to ever see
Mercury in these conditions.
>
> Piotr
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: cas111jd@...
> To: cybalist@...
> Sent: Monday, October 08, 2001 3:38 AM
> Subject: [tied] Re: Creation > IE Astronomy
>
>
> I live on the 45th parallel and saw Mercury quite clearly just this
> summer. Of course, I happened to be on a hill not very far from the
> Pacific Ocean, and so I had a clear view just after sunset.