A READER IN COMPARATIVE INDO-EUROPEAN MYTHOLOGY

Of the Old Iranian deities that slowly infiltrated Mazdaism after Zarathuštra's reforms, Haoma
is of course the Avestan equivalent of the Vedic Sóma-, from the PIE verb *sew- 'press' (Ved.
sunóti, Av. hunaoiti), and Vāyu- 'Wind' is the Vedic Vāyu- (see above). Apąm Napat is a
divinity connected with the waters (his name means literally 'descendant of waters' and is
parallel to Ved. Apām Napāt , which is usually an epithet of Savitar or Agni, e.g. in RV II
35); Ātar- is the fire deified, derived from the root *h 2eh 1- 'to burn' (cf. Hitt. hašša-
'hearth'), and Arəduuī Sūra Anāhita is one of the very few goddesses in the Avestan
corpus; her name means 'strong (Sūra) and immaculate (Anāhita) Arəduuī; since she is
associated with the rivers, Arəduuī is usually related to Ved. ardati 'moves, goes' and dū-
'liquid'. Miθra is an old Indo-Iranian divinity, and his name is the same as that of Ved.
Mitra- (see above). Rašnu is the divine judge presiding over the dead souls; his name is
connected with Av. rāzaiieiti, Ved. rājati 'rules', from PIE *h 3reg'- 'to stretch, direct, rule'.
Vərəθraγna 'Victory' is a compound name parallel to Ved. Vṛta-hán- 'the slayer of Vrtra',
which is an epithet of Indra. Sraoša „obedience“ is derived from PIE *k'lew- 'to hear' (Ved.
śru-, Gr. klýō, OCS slyšati, etc.). Tištriia refers to the star Sirius, which is associated with
rain in the Avesta; its name is related to Ved. tiṣya- 'divine archer, Sirius'. Finally, Yima is
the original Man, the ancestor of all the humans; his name is, of course, the same as Ved.
Yáma- (see above).
Another important, although late, source for the study of Iranian religion, are the legends of
the Narts, preserved among the Iranian Ossetians on the Caucasus. These legends were
collected by Russian and Soviet ethnographers only in the 20th century, but they show traces
of a long history of oral transmission, and it has been claimed (especially by Georges
Dumézil, the first western scholar who studied them) that they preserve many Indo-European
motives. However, the names of all the leading Nart (e.g. the divine smith Kurdalaegon, the
iron-bodied hero Soslan, the brave Wazirmaeg, and the lady Satana). Since Nart heroes are
also attested in Circassian folk-lore, as well as in the traditions of other Caucasian peoples, it
is difficult to disentangle the various influences that shape them, both Indo-European and
non-Indo-European.
1. Zarathuštra's metaphysical lament, Yasna 29 1-2
xšmaibiiā gǝ:uš uruuā gǝrǝždā kahmāi mā θβarōdūm kǝ: mā tašat
ā mā aēšǝmō hazascā rǝmō [ā]hišāiiā dǝrǝšcā tǝuuišcā
nōit mōi vāstā xšmat aniiō aθā mōi sąstā vohū vāstriiā
adā tašā gǝ:uš pǝrǝsat aṩǝm kaθā tōi gauuōi ratuš
hiiat hīm dātā xšaiiaṇtō hadā vāstrā gaodāiiō θβaxšō
kǝ:m hōi uštā ahurǝm yǝ: drǝguuō dǝbīš aēšǝmǝm vādāiiōit
The soul of the cow complains to You: For whom did You shape me? Who fashioned me?
Wrath and oppresion, fury, spite and violence, hold me fettered.
I have no other shepherd other thanYou. So appear to me with good pastoral work.