Piotr:
>There must have been some confusion between the PIE Rock/Thunder
>God whose name or epithet was based on *per- (or *perg-) 'strike,
>pierce' (*perwo:n and the like), and a (North European?) deity
>associated with oaks and/or other tall trees (and whose functions
>had to do with life and fertility), *perkWu-h1(o)n-.
In order to bring better light to this religious confusion, perhaps
we can further elaborate on what Piotr states as a confusion between
an oak deity and a "Rock/Thunder" god. (Gee, that name makes me
automatically think of ACDC for some reason...)
This dichotomy should be more appropriately understood as stemming
from the regional confusion concerning the "World Central Object".
The World Central Object is merely some very large cosmic object
(or being) that holds up the sky and thus keeps the universe
together. This was a vital part of the world-view of the
prehistoric eastern Mediterranean.
In some regions, particularly European, a great "tree" (such as
an oak) is the central object. Elsewhere we find central Mountains,
Pillars, Pins, Nails, etc. In my opinion, all these objects can be
related in shape to a single central Goddess prototype with
up-raised arms holding up the sky and with her feet in the waters
below. From this initial concept, the Creatrix was abstractified
to more everyday physical objects... 'cuz giant women weren't all
that common until women's bodybuilding started to gain a following
:)
Oftentimes, thanks to the continuous religious mixing that went on,
we find remnants of various central objects at once in a single
mythology. For example, Greek myth contains Mount Olympus, Atlas
and golden apples of immortality guarded by the Hesperides, all
three being regional derivatives of the same World Central Object
theme.
This being said, there was probably regional variation in belief
systems within the IE language area that may have varied between
central Trees, central Mountains and the like. I would presume
however that the Mountain theme was found more to the south.
>To aggravate matters, there were several *per- roots in PIE,
>especially the ones meaning 'pass, lead, bring across' and 'forward,
>through'
Yes, and one could "pass" between worlds if one could go up
and down a Central Tree or Mountain. Perhaps, this is part of
the function of the Central Object, as a kind of path between
worlds, which only the shaman had access to through ritual.
- gLeN
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