h₂éwsōs or h_aéusōs (PIE: *''h₂éusōs'', ''*h_aéusōs'' and other variants; lit. 'the

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

') is the reconstructed

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

name of the

dawn goddess A dawn god or goddess is a deity in a polytheistic religious tradition who is in some sense associated with the dawn. These deities show some relation with the morning, the beginning of the day, and, in some cases, become syncretized with similar ...

in the

Proto-Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested � ...

. h₂éwsōs is believed to have been one of the most important deities worshipped by

speakers due to the consistency of her characterization in subsequent traditions as well as the importance of the goddess Uṣas in the ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

''.' Her attributes have not only been mixed with those of

solar goddesses A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

in some later traditions, most notably the Baltic sun-deity

Saulė Saulė ( lt, Saulė, lv, Saule) is a solar goddess, the common Baltic solar deity in the Lithuanian and Latvian mythologies. The noun ''Saulė''/''Saule'' in the Lithuanian and Latvian languages is also the conventional name for the Sun and o ...

, but have subsequently expanded and influenced female deities in other mythologies.

Name

Etymology

The reconstructed

name of the

, ''*h₂éwsōs'', derives the verbal root ''*h₂(e)wes-'' ('to shine, glow red; a flame') extended by the suffix ''-ós-''. The same root also underlies the word for 'gold', ''*h₂ews-om'' (lit. 'glow'), inherited in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''aurum'',

Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...

''ausis'', and

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

''áusas''. The word for the

as a meteorological event has also been preserved in

Balto-Slavic The Balto-Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, traditionally comprising the Baltic and Slavic languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits not found in any other Indo-European branc ...

*''auṣ(t)ro'' (cf. Lith. ''aušrà'' 'dawn, morning light', PSlav. *''ȕtro'' 'morning, dawn', OCS ''za ustra'' 'in the morning'), in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

''uṣar'' ('dawn'), or in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

αὔριον ('tomorrow').' A derivative adverb, ''*h₂ews-teros'', meaning 'east' (lit. 'toward the dawn'), is reflected in Latvian ''àustrums'' ('east'),

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

''ušatara'' ('east'), Italic ''*aus-tero-'' (cf. Latin ''auster'' 'south wind, south'),

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

''ustrŭ'' ('summer'), and Germanic ''*austeraz'' (cf.

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''austr'',

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

''east'', MHG ''oster''). The same root seems to be preserved in the Baltic names for the northeast wind: Lith. ''aūštrinis'' and

Latv LATV (; originally pronounced on-air as from 2007 to 2014 and, since 2014, serving as a backronym for its on-air slogan, "Latino Alternative Television") is an American bilingual broadcast television network, digital publisher and media company ...

. ''austrenis'', ''austrinis'', ''austrinš''.Straižys, Vytautas; Klimka, Libertas. "The Cosmology of the Ancient Balts". In: ''Journal for the History of Astronomy: Archaeoastronomy Supplement''. Vol. 28. Issue 22 (1997): p. S74

/ref> Also related are the

'' Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri, Austri'', described in the ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with th ...

'' as one of four dwarves that guard the four cardinal points (with him representing the east), and ''

Austrvegr The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a medieval trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Eastern Roman Empire. The route allowed merchants along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade with the Empir ...

'' ('The Eastern Way'), attested in medieval Germanic literature.

Epithets

A common epithet associated with the Dawn is *''Diwós D^huǵh₂tḗr'', the 'Daughter of

Dyēus ''*Dyḗus'' ( lit. "daylight-sky-god"), also ''*Dyḗus ph₂tḗr'' (lit. "father daylight-sky-god"), is the reconstructed name of the daylight-sky god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. ''*Dyēus'' was conceived as a divine personification of t ...

', the

sky god The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's ''Motif-In ...

Cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

s stemming from the formulaic expression appear in three traditions: 'Daughter of

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

' in the ''

'' (as an epithet of Uṣas), 'Daughter of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

' (probably associated with Ēṓs in pre-Homeric Greek), and 'Daughter of

Dievas Lithuanian Dievas, Latvian Dievs, Latgalian Dīvs, Old Prussian Dìews, Yotvingian Deivas was the primordial supreme god in the Baltic mythology and one of the most important deities together with Perkūnas and he was brother of Potrimpo. He ...

' (an epithet transferred to a Sun-goddess in the Lithuanian folklore).

Depiction

Eternal rebirth

The Dawn-goddess is sometimes portrayed as un-ageing and her coming as an eternal rebirth. She is ('early-born', 'born in the morning') as an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of Eos in the Ancient Greek ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'', and the Ancient Indian ''

'' describes Uṣas, the daughter of Dyáuṣ, as being born from the harnessing of the

Aśvins The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful div ...

, the divine horse twins driving the chariot of the sun.

Colours

A characteristic generally given to the dawn h₂éwsōs is her 'brilliance' and she is generally described as a 'bringer of light'. Various

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

s associated with the dawn-goddess indeed derive from the

root ''*b^heh₂-'', meaning 'to glow, shine'. The

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Uṣas is described as ''bhānty Usásah'' ('the Dawns shine'), the

Ušå as ''uši ... bāmya'' ('shining dawn') and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Ēṓs as φαινόλις ('light-bringing'), φαεσίμβροτος ('shining on mortals'), or λαμπρο-φαής ('bright-shining'), attested in an

Orphic hymn Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to ...

to the Dawn. h₂éwsōs is usually associated with the natural colours of the dawn:

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

, saffron-yellow,

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, or

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, ''Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colo ...

. The Dawn is 'gold-coloured' (''híraṇya-varṇā'') in the ''

'', 'the golden-yellow one' (''flāua'') in

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''

Amores Amores may refer to: * ''Amores'' (Ovid), the first book by the poet Ovid, published in 5 volumes in 16 BCE * ''Amores'' (Lucian), a play by Lucian; also known as ''Erotes'' * Erotes (mythology), known as Amores by the Romans * ''Amores'', a bo ...

'', and 'gold-throned' (''khrysóthronos''; χρυσόθρονος) in a Homeric formula. In Latvian folk songs, Saulė and her daughter(s) are dressed of shawls woven with gold thread, and Saulė wears shoes of gold, which parallels

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

describing Ēṓs as 'golden-sandalled' (''khrysopédillos;'' χρυσοπέδιλλος). Ēṓs is also 'saffron-robed' (κροκόπεπλος) in

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

ic poems, while Uṣás wears crimson (rose-red) garments and a "gleaming gold" veil. The Hindu goddess is also described as a red dawn shining from afar; "red, like a mare", she shoots "ruddy beams of light", "yokes red steeds to her car" or "harnesses the red cows" in the ''

Samaveda The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. A ...

''. Saffron-yellow, red and purple are colours also associated with the Dawn by the Latin poet

. The Baltic Sun-goddess

has preserved some of the imagery of h₂éwsōs, and she is sometimes portrayed as waking up 'red' (''sārta'') or 'in a red tree' during the morning. Saulé is also described as being dressed in clothes woven with "threads of red, gold, silver and white". In the Lithuanian tradition, the sun is portrayed as a "golden wheel" or a "golden circle" that rolls down the mountain at sunset. Also in Latvian riddles and songs, Saule is associated with the color red, as if to indicate the "fiery aspect" of the sun: the setting and the rising sun are equated with a rose wreath and a rose in bloom, due to their circular shapes.Laurinkiene, Nijole. "Saulės ir metalų kultas bei mitologizuotoji kalvystė: Metalų laikotarpio idėjų atšvaitai baltų religijoje ir mitologijoje" ULT OF THE SUN AND METALS AND MYTHOLOGIZED BLACKSMITHING: REFLECTIONS OF THE IDEAS OF THE METAL AGES IN BALTIC RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY In: ''Būdas'', 2019, Nr. 5 (188), p. 51. According to Russian folklorist

Alexander Afanasyev Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief, Afanasiev or Afanas'ev, russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) ( — ) was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer who published nearly 600 Russian fairy and folk ta ...

, the figure of the Dawn in Slavic tradition is varied: she is described in a Serbian folksong as a maiden sitting on a silver throne in the water, her legs of a yellow color and her arms of gold; in a Russian saying, the goddess Zorya is invoked as a "красная девица" (''krasnaya dyevitsa'', "red maiden"); in another story, the "red maiden" Zorya sits on a golden chair and holds a silver disk or mirror (identified as the sun); in another, a maiden sits on a white-hot stone ( Alatyr) in Buyan, weaving red silk in one version, or the "rose-fingered" Zorya, with her golden needle, weaves over the sky a veil in rosy and "blood-red" colours using a thread of "yellow ore". She is also depicted as a beautiful golden-haired queen who lives in a golden kingdom "at the edge of the White World", and rows through the seas with her golden oar and silver boat.Kos-Lajtman, Andrijana; Horvat, Jasna.
Utjecaj ruskih mitoloških i usmenoknjiževnih elemenata na diskurs Priča iz davnine Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić
nfluence of Russian mythological and oral literary elements on the discourse of ''Priče iz davnine'' by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić In: ''Zbornik radova Petoga hrvatskog slavističkog kongresa''. 2012. p. 160.

Movements

h₂éwsōs is frequently described as dancing: Uṣas throws on embroidered garments 'like a dancer' (''nṛtūr iva''), Ēṓs has 'dancing-places' (χοροί) around her house in the East,

is portrayed as dancing in her gilded shoes on a silver hill, and her fellow Baltic goddess

Aušrinė Aušrinė ("dawning", not to be confused with ''Aušra'', "dawn") is a feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) in the Lithuanian mythology. She is the antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star. Her cult possibly stems from that of the Indo-E ...

is said to dance on a stone for the people on the first day of summer. According to a Bulgarian tradition, on St. John's Day, the sun dances and "whirls swords about" (sends rays of light), whereas in Lithuania the Sun (identified as female) rides a car towards her husband, the Moon, "dancing and emitting fiery sparks" on the way.Ralston, William Ralston Shedden. ''The songs of the Russian people, as illustrative of Slavonic mythology and Russian social life''. London: Ellis & Green. 1872. p. 242. The spread hand as the image of the sun's rays in the morning may also be of Proto-Indo-European origin. The Homeric expressions 'rose-armed' (''rhodópēkhus''; ῥοδόπηχυς) and 'rosy-fingered Dawn' (''rhododáktylos Ēṓs''; ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς), as well as

Bacchylides Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted i ...

' formula 'gold-armed' (''khrysopakhús''; χρυσοπαχύς), can be

semantically Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...

compared with the

formulas 'golden-handed' (''híraṇyapāṇi''-; हिरण्यपाणि) and 'broad-handed' (''pṛthúpāṇi-''; पृथुपाणि). They are also similar with Latvian poetic songs where the Sun-god's fingers are said to be 'covered with golden rings'. According to

Martin L. West Martin Litchfield West, (23 September 1937 – 13 July 2015) was a British philologist and Classics, classical scholar. In recognition of his contribution to scholarship, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 2014. West wrote on Music of Ancien ...

, "the 'rose' part is probably a Greek refinement." Another trait ascribed to the Dawn is that she is "wide-shining" or "far-shining" - an attribute possibly attested in Greek theonym '' Euryphaessa'' ("wide-shining") and Sanskrit poetic expression ''urviyắ ví bhāti'' ('

shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...

shines forth/shines out widely').

Dwelling

Another common trait of the Dawn goddess is her dwelling, generally situated on an island in the Ocean, or sometimes in an Eastern house. In

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, Ēṓs is described as living 'beyond the streams of

Okeanos OKEANOS (Oversize Kite-craft for Exploration and Astronautics in the Outer Solar system) was a proposed mission concept to Trojan asteroids, which share Jupiter's orbit, using a hybrid solar sail for propulsion; the sail was planned to be cove ...

at the ends of the earth'. A more precise location is given in the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'', by poet

: in his narration, Odysseus tells his audience that the

Aeaea __NOTOC__ Aeaea, Ææa or Eëä ( or ; grc, Αἰαία, Aiaíā ) was a Greek mythology, mythological island said to be the home of the goddess-sorceress Circe. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', Odysseus tells Alcinous that he stayed here for one year ...

n isle is "where is the dwelling of early Dawn and her dancing-lawns, and the risings of the sun". In

Slavic folklore Slavic folklore encompasses the folklore of the Slavic peoples from their earliest records until today. Folklorists have published a variety of works focused specifically on the topic over the years.See, for example, Kononenko 2007. See also * ...

, the home of the

Zorya Zorya ( lit. "Dawn"; also many variants: Zarya, Zara, Zaranitsa, Zoryushka, etc.) is a figure in Slavic folklore, a feminine personification of dawn, possibly goddess. Depending on tradition, she may appear as a singular entity, often called "Th ...

s was sometimes said to be on Bouyan (or ''Buyan''), an oceanic island paradise where the Sun dwelt along with his attendants, the North, West and East winds. The ''

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the litu ...

'' refers to a mythical eastern mountain called ''Ušidam-'' ('Dawn-house'). The ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, a man named Joseph becomes fascinated with Aušrinė appearing in the sky and goes on a quest to find the 'second sun', who is actually a maiden that lives on an island in the sea and has the same hair as the Sun. In the Baltic folklore, Saulė is said to live in a silver-gated castle at the end of the sea, located somewhere in the east,Straižys, Vytautas; Klimka, Libertas. "The Cosmology of the Ancient Balts". In: ''Journal for the History of Astronomy: Archaeoastronomy Supplement''. Vol. 28. Issue 22 (1997): p. S73

/ref> or to go to an island in the middle of the sea for her nocturnal rest. In folksongs, Saule sinks into the bottom of a lake to sleep at night, in a silver cradle "in the white seafoam".

Vehicle

Carrier

The Dawn is often described as driving some sort of vehicle, probably originally a

wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

or a similar carrier, certainly not a

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

as the technology appeared later within the

Sintashta culture The Sintashta culture (russian: Синташтинская культура, Sintashtinskaya kul'tura), around 2050–1900 BCE, is the first phase of the Sintashta–Petrovka culture. or Sintashta–Arkaim culture,. and is a late Middle Bronze Ag ...

(2100–1800 BC), generally associated with the

Indo-Iranian peoples Indo-Iranian peoples, also known as Indo-Iranic peoples by scholars, and sometimes as Arya or Aryans from their self-designation, were a group of Indo-European peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European l ...

. In the ''

'', Ēṓs appears once as a charioteer, and the Vedic Uṣas yokes red oxen or cows, probably pictorial metaphors for the red clouds or rays seen at morning light. The vehicle is portrayed as a ''

biga Biga may refer to: Places * Biga, Çanakkale, a town and district of Çanakkale Province in Turkey * Sanjak of Biga, an Ottoman province * Biga Çayı, a river in Çanakkale Province * Biga Peninsula, a peninsula in Turkey, in the northwest part ...

'' or a rosy-red ''

quadriga A () is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in Classical Antiquity and the Roman Empire until the Late Middle Ages. The word derives from the Latin contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke. The four- ...

'' in

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'' and in classical references from Greek epic poetry and vase painting, or as a shining chariot drawn by golden-red horses.

, a sun-goddess syncrethized with the Dawn, also drives a carriage with copper-wheels, a "gleaming copper chariot"Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). ''Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic myth and legend''. p. 252. ABC-CLIO. . or a golden chariot pulled by untiring horses, or a 'pretty little

sleigh A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners s ...

' (''kamaņiņa'') made of fish-bones. Saulė is also described as driving her shining car on the way to her husband, the Moon. In other accounts, she is said to sail the seas on a silver or a golden boat, which, according to legend, is what her chariot transforms into for her night travels.Laurinkienė, Nijolé. "Saulės ratų ir laivo mitiniai vaizdiniai: šviesulys paros cikle (Mythical Images of the Solar Carriage and Ship: the Heavenly Body in the Course of an Astronomical Day)". In: ''Tautosakos darbai'' t. 54, 2017. p. 13-25.

/ref> In a Latvian folksong, Saule hangs her sparkling crown on a tree in the evening and enters a golden boat to sail away.Enthoven, R. E. "The Latvians in Their Folk Songs". In: ''Folklore'' 48, no. 2 (1937): 186. Accessed April 27, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1257244. In old Slavic fairy tales, the Dawn-Maiden (''Zora-djevojka'') "sails the sea in the early morning in her boat of gold with a silver paddle" (alternatively, a silver boat with golden oars) and sails back to

Buyan In the Dove Book and other medieval Russian books, Buyan (russian: Буя́н, sometimes transliterated as Bujan) is described as a mysterious island in the ocean with the ability to appear and disappear with the tide. Three brothers—Northern, ...

, the mysterious island where she dwells.

Horses

The Dawn's horses are also mentioned in several Indo-European poetical traditions. Homer's ''

'' describes the horses of Ēṓs as a pair of swift steeds named Lampos and

Phaethon Phaethon (; grc, Φαέθων, Phaéthōn, ), also spelled Phaëthon, was the son of the Oceanid Clymene and the sun-god Helios in Greek mythology. According to most authors, Phaethon is the son of Helios, and out of desire to have his par ...

, and

calls her 'white-horsed Dawn' (λεύκιππος Ἀώς). The vehicle is sometimes portrayed as being drawn by golden-red horses. The colours of Dawn's horses are said to be "pale red, ruddy, yellowish, reddish-yellow" in the Vedic tradition. Baltic sun-goddess

's horses are said to be of a white color; in other accounts they amount to three steeds of golden, silver and diamond colors. In

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n ''dainas'' (folk songs), her horses are described as yellow, of a golden or a fiery color. The sun's steeds are also portrayed as having hooves and bridles of gold in the ''dainas'', and as golden beings themselves or of a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

colour, "reflect ngthe hues of the bright or the twilight sky". When she begins her nocturnal journey through the World Sea, her chariot changes into a boat and "the Sun swims her horses", which signifies that "she stops to wash her horses in the sea". Scholarship points that the expressions ''geltoni žirgeliai'' or ''dzelteni kumeliņi'' ('golden' or 'yellow horses'), which appear in Latvian ''dainas'', seem to be a recurrent poetic motif. Although Zorya of Slavic mythology does not appear to feature in stories with a chariot or wagon pulled by horses, she is still described in a tale as preparing the "fiery horses" of her brother, the Sun, at the beginning and at the end of the day.

Role

Opener of the doors of heaven

h₂éwsōs is often depicted as the opener of the doors or gates of her father the heaven (*

): the Baltic verse ''pie Dieviņa namdurēm'' ('by the doors of the house of God'), which

is urged to open to the horses of the son(s) of God, is lexically comparable with the Vedic expression ''dvā́rau ... Diváḥ'' ('doors of Heaven'), which Uṣas opens with her light. Another parallel could be made with the 'shining doors' (θύρας ... φαεινάς) of the home of Ēṓs, behind which she locks up her lover

Tithonus In Greek mythology, Tithonus ( or ; grc, Τιθωνός, Tithonos) was the lover of Eos, Goddess of the Dawn. He was a prince of Troy, the son of King Laomedon by the Naiad Strymo (Στρυμώ). The mythology reflected by the fifth-century vas ...

as he grows old and withers in

's ''Hymn to

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

''. A similar poetic imagery is present among Classical poets, although some earlier Greek source may lie behind these. In

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'', Aurōra opens the red doors (''purpureas fores'') to fill her rosy halls, and in

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebai ...

' ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest survi ...

'' the Dawn-goddess shakes off her sleep and leaves Kephalos' repose in order to 'open the gates of sunrise' (ἀντολίης ὤιξε θύρας πολεμητόκος Ἠώς). Other reflexes may also be present in other Indo-European traditions. In

, the goddess of the dawn ''

Utrennyaya'' open the palace's gates for her father

Dažbog Dazhbog (russian: Дажьбо́г, Дажбог), alternatively Daždźbok ( be, Даждзьбог), Dažbog, Dazhdbog, Dajbog, Daybog, Dabog, Dazibogu, or Dadzbóg, was one of the major gods of Slavic mythology, most likely a solar deity and ...

's (a Slavic Sun god) journey during the day. Her sister ''Zorya Vechernyaya,'' the goddess of

dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enou ...

, closes them at the end of the day. In a passage of the ''Eddas'' about

Dellingr In Norse mythology, Dellingr (Old Norse possibly "the dayspring"Bellows (1936:75). or "shining one"Orchard (1997:32).) is a god. Dellingr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the ...

, a Norse deity of light, a dwarf utters a charm or incantation in front of 'Delling's doors' (''fyr Dellings durum''), which apparently means "at dawn". According to scholarship, Lithuanian folklore attests a similar dual role for luminous deities Vakarine and Ausrine, akin to Slavic Zoryas (although it lacks the door imagery): Vakarine, the Evening Star, made the bed for solar goddess

, and

, the Morning Star, lit the fire for her as she prepared for another day's journey. In another account, they are Saulé's daughters and tend their mother's palace and horses.

Reluctant bringer of light

In Indo-European myths, h₂éwsōs is frequently depicted as a reluctant bringer of light for which she is punished. This theme is widespread in the attested traditions: Ēṓs and Aurōra are sometimes unwilling to leave her bed, Uṣas is punished by

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

for attempting to forestall the day, and

Auseklis Auseklis is a Latvian god, a stellar deityLurker, Manfred (2004). ''The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons''. Routledge. p. 25. . that represents a celestial body, but possibly not the same as Venus (Rīta zvaigzne) - ...

did not always rise in the morning, as she was said to be locked up in a golden chamber or in Germany sewing velvet skirts. The

Divine Twins The Divine Twins are youthful horsemen, either gods or demigods, who serve as rescuers and healers in Proto-Indo-European mythology. Like other Proto-Indo-European divinities, the Divine Twins are not directly attested by archaeological or writte ...

are often said to rescue the Dawn from a watery peril, a theme that emerged from their role as the solar steeds.

Evidence

Dawn-goddesses

Cognates stemming from the root ''*h₂éwsōs'' and associated with a dawn-goddess are attested in the following mythologies: *

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

: ''*h₂(e)wes-'', meaning "to shine, light up, glow red; a flame",' ** PIE: ''*h₂éws-ōs'', the Dawn-goddess,' *** Indo-Iranian: ''*Hušas'', ****

: Uṣás (उषस्), the dawn-goddess, and the most addressed goddess in the ''

'', with twenty-one hymns,' ****

: Ušå, honoured in one passage of the ''

'' (Gāh 5. 5), and Ušahina, the special Angel of the time separating midnight from the moment when the stars can become visible. *** Hellenic: ''*Auhṓs,'' ****

: Ēṓs (), the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

of the dawn,' and ''Aotis'', an epithet used by the Spartan poet

Alcman Alcman (; grc-gre, Ἀλκμάν ''Alkmán''; fl. 7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric Poets. Biography Alcman's dates are u ...

and interpreted as a dawn goddess. *****

Ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, are ...

: fragments of works of poet

Panyassis Panyassis of Halicarnassus, sometimes known as Panyasis ( grc, Πανύασις), was a 5th-century BC Greek epic poet from Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey). Life Panyassis was the son of Polyarchus ( grc, Πολ ...

of Halicarnassus mention epithets ''Eoies'' ("He of the Dawn") and ''

Aoos The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

'' ("man of the Dawn") in reference to

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

, as a possible indicator of his Eastern origin; the name ''Aoos'' also appears as a son of Eos; **** Mycenaean: the word ''a-wo-i-jo'' (''Āw(ʰ)oʰios''; Ἀϝohιος) is attested in a tablet from

Pylos Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is th ...

; interpreted as a shepherd's personal name related to "dawn", or

dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...

''Āwōiōi''; *** Italic: ''*Ausōs'' ''> *Ausōs-ā'' (with an ''a''-stem extension likely explained by the feminine gender),' ****

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

: Aurōra, whose attributes are a mirror reflection of the Greek deity; the original motif of *h₂éwsōs may have been preserved in

Mater Matuta Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora, and the Greek goddess Eos. Her cult is attested several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum. In Rome ...

;' ''Eous'' or ''Eoös'', an obscure poetic term meaning 'east' or 'oriental', is attested in

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

's ''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'', is a Roman epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Gre ...

'', in

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...

's ''

Fabulae Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammati ...

'', in the lost epic of the ''

Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; grc, , , Titan battle) was a ten-year series of battles fought in Ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Twelve Olympi ...

'', and as the name given to one of the Sun's horses in

's ''

'', ** PIE: ''*h₂ws-s-i'', locative singular of ''*h₂éwsōs'', *** Armenian (Proto): ''*aw(h)i-,'' evolving as ''*awi̯ -o-'', then ''*ayɣ^wo-'', ****

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Ayg (այգ), the Dawn-goddess. *** Germanic: *''Auzi/a-wandalaz'', a personal name generally interpreted as meaning 'light-beam' or 'ray of light', ****

Aurvandil Aurvandill (Old Norse) is a figure in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the god Thor tosses Aurvandill's toe – which had frozen while the thunder god was carrying him in a basket across the Élivágar rivers – into the sky to form a s ...

, whose frozen toe was made into a star by

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

, ****

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

: Ēarendel, meaning "dawn, ray of light", ****

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

: Aurendil, Orentil; Lombardic: Auriwandalo, ****

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

: auzandil (𐌰𐌿𐌶𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌻), Morning Star,

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

("light-bringer"), **PIE: ''*h₂ews-rom'' (or ''*h₂ews-reh₂''), "

matutinal Matutinal, matinal (in entomological writings), and matutine are terms used in the life sciences to indicate something of, relating to, or occurring in the early morning. The term may describe crepuscular animals that are significantly active dur ...

, pertaining to the dawn", ***

: ''*Auṣ(t)ro'', ****

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

: ''*Auš(t)ra'', "dawn", *****

, personification of the Morning Star (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

), said to begin each day by lighting a fire for the sun;' ''Aušra'' (sometimes ''Auska''), goddess of sunrise, given as the answer to a Baltic riddle about a maiden who loses her keys; and ''Auštra'' (interpreted as "dawn" or "northeast wind"), a character in a fable that guards the entry to paradise, ***** Latvian:

(''ausa'' "dawn" attached to the derivative suffix ''-eklis''), personification of the Morning Star, and a reluctant goddess of the dawn; female personal names include '' Ausma'' and ''

Austra Austra is an island on the border between Trøndelag and Nordland counties in Norway. The island is shared between the municipalities of Bindal, Leka, and Nærøysund. The highest point is the Romsskåla. The village of Årset lies on the ...

'';Palmaitis, M.-L. "Romeo Moses and Psyche Brünhild? Or Cupid the Serpent and the Morning Star?". In: Paris, Catherine (éditeur). ''Caucasologie et mythologie comparée, Actes du Colloque international du C.N.R.S.'' - IVe Colloque de Caucasologie (Sévres, 27 - 29 juin 1988). Paris: PEETERS. 1992. p. 181. words ''ausma'' and ''ausmiņa'' denoting "Morgendämmerung" ('dawn, daybreak'); **** Slavic: ''*(j)ȕtro'', "morning, dawn", *****

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: Jutrzenka or Justrzenka;

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

: Jitřenka, name and personification of Morning Star and Evening Star, *****

Polabians Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern German ...

: Jutrobog (

: Jutry Bog or Jutrny Boh), literally "Morning God", a deity mentioned by German historians in the 18th century, and

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ' ...

: a town in east Germany named after the Slavic god, *****Historically, the

Kashubians The Kashubians ( csb, Kaszëbi; pl, Kaszubi; german: Kaschuben), also known as Cassubians or Kashubs, are a Lechitic ( West Slavic) ethnic group native to the historical region of Pomerania, including its eastern part called Pomerelia, in nort ...

(in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) were described to worship Jastrzebog and the goddess Jastra, who was worshipped in

Jastarnia Jastarnia ( csb, Jastarniô, german: Heisternest) is a resort town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodship, northern Poland. It is located on the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic Sea. It is a popular Polish seaside resort and small fishing port. The m ...

, from which the Kashubian term for Easter, ''Jastrë'', was derived. These names may be related with Polabian god Jutrobog, be influenced by Proto-Germanic deity ''*Austrōn'' (see below), or may come from the word ''jasny'' ('bright'). *** Germanic: ''*Austrōn'', goddess of the springtime celebrated during a yearly festival, at the origin of the word '

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

' in some West Germanic languages, **** Romano-Germanic: ''matronae Austriahenae'', a name present in votive inscriptions found in 1958 in Germany. ****

: Ēastre, personification of Easter, ****

: *''Ōstara'' ( pl. ''Ôstarûn''), personification of Easter (

Modern German New High German (NHG; german: Neuhochdeutsch (Nhd.)) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language, starting in the 17th century. It is a loan translation of the German (). The most important characteristic o ...

: ''Ostern''), ****

Old Saxon Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It i ...

: *''Āsteron'', possibly attested in the name ''asteronhus'' ('Easter-house').

Epithets

The formulaic expression "Daughter of Dyēus" is attested as an epithet attached to a dawn-goddess in several poetic traditions: * PIE: ''*diwós d^huǵh_atḗr'', "Daughter of

", **

: ''duhitā́r-diváh'', "Daughter of Heaven", epithet of Uṣas,' **

: ''thugátēr Diós'', "Daughter of Zeus", probably a pre-Homeric Greek epithet of Ēṓs,' **

: ''dievo dukra'', "Daughter of

", epithet of the Sun-goddess which likely took the attributes of h₂éwsōs.'

Poetic and liturgic formula

An expression of formulaic poetry can be found in the Proto-Indo-European expression ''*h₂(e)ws-sḱeti'' ("it dawns"), attested in

''aušta'' and ''aũšti'', Latvian ''àust'',

''usaitī'', or

''ucchāti''.'Lejeune, Michel; Haudry, Jean; Bader, Françoise. "Grammaire comparée". In: ''École pratique des hautes études''. 4e section, sciences historiques et philologiques. Livret 2. Rapports sur les conférences des années 1981-1982 et 1982-1983. 1985. p. 204. www.persee.fr/doc/ephe_0000-0001_1981_num_2_1_6849 The poetic formula 'the lighting dawn' is also attested in the Indo-Iranian tradition: Sanskrit ''uchantīm usásam'', and Young Avestan ''usaitīm'' ''uṣ̌ā^̊ŋhəm''. – See entries ''vas- ' and ''usás-.'' A

hapax legomenon In corpus linguistics, a ''hapax legomenon'' ( also or ; ''hapax legomena''; sometimes abbreviated to ''hapax'', plural ''hapaxes'') is a word or an expression that occurs only once within a context: either in the written record of an entire ...

''uşád-bhiḥ'' ( instr. pl.) is also attested. Other remnants of the root ''*h₂éws-'' are present in the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...

prayer to the dawn ''Hoshbām'', and in ''Ušahin gāh'' (the dawn watch), sung between midnight and dawn. In

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

historical and sacred literature, namely, the ''

Bundahishn ''Bundahishn'' (Avestan: , "Primal Creation") is the name traditionally given to an encyclopedic collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known. Although the ''Bundahishn'' d ...

'', in the chapter about the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

of the

Kayanid dynasty The Kayanians (Persian: دودمان کیانیان; also Kays, Kayanids, Kaianids, Kayani, or Kiani) are a legendary dynasty of Persian/Iranian tradition and folklore which supposedly ruled after the Pishdadians. Considered collectively, the Kay ...

, princess Frānag, in exile with " Frēdōn's Glory" after escaping her father's murderous intentions, promises to give her firstborn son, Kay Apiweh, to "Ōšebām". Ōšebām, in return, saves Franag. In the ''

Yasht The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. ''Yasht'' chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as ''Yt.'' Overview The wo ...

'' about

Zam Zam or ZAM or similar may refer to: Places *Zam, Burkina Faso, a town **Zam Department *Zam Rural District of Iran *Zam, Hunedoara, a commune in Romania *Zam (river), Hunedoara County, Romania People *ZAM-1, Australian artist and designer *Che ...

, the Angel of the Munificent Earth, a passage reads ''upaoṣ̌ā^̊ŋhə'' ('situated in the rosy dawn'), "a hypostatic derivation from unattested ''**upa uṣ̌āhu'' 'up in the morning light(s)'". A special carol, ''zorile'' ("dawn"), was sung by the ''

colindă A colindă (pl. colinde; also colind, pl. colinduri) is a traditional Christmas carol in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Origins Although the text of all ''colinde'' is concerned with the events of the Nativity, certain elements of the fol ...

tori'' (traditional Romanian singers) during funerals, imploring the Dawns not be in a hurry to break, or begging them to prevent the dead from departing this world. The word is of Slavic origin, with the term for 'dawn' attached to the Romanian article ''-le''. Stefan Zimmer suggests that

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

literary expression ''ym bronn y dyd'' ("at the breast/bosom of the day") is an archaic formula possibly referring to the Dawn goddess, who bared her breast.

Legacy

According to linguist

Václav Blažek Václav Blažek (born 23 April 1959 in Sokolov, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech historical linguist. He is a professor at Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the seco ...

, the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

word ''(h)yll'' ("star") finds a probable etymology in the root ''*h₂ews-'' ('dawn'), perhaps specifically in ''*h₂ws-li'' ('morning-star'). Scholars have also argued that the Roman name Aurēlius (originally ''Ausēlius'', from Sabine ''*ausēla'' 'sun') and the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

sun god

Usil Usil is the Etruscan god of the sun. This name appears on the bronze liver of Piacenza, next to ''Tiur'', the moon. Another iconic depiction features Usil rising out of the sea, with a fireball in either outstretched hand, on an engraved Etruscan ...

(probably of

Osco-Umbrian The Osco-Umbrian, Sabellic or Sabellian languages are an extinct group of Italic languages, the Indo-European languages that were spoken in Central and Southern Italy by the Osco-Umbrians before being replaced by Latin, as the power of Ancient Rom ...

origin) may be related to the Indo-European word for the dawn. A figure in Belarusian tradition named Аўсень (Ausenis) and related to the coming of spring is speculated to be cognate to ''*Haeusos''. Remnants of the root ''*haeus'' and its derivations survive in

onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...

of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. A medieval French obituary from the 12th century, from

Moissac Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through the ...

, in

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

, registers compound names of Germanic origin that contain root ''Aur-'' (e.g., Auraldus) and ''Austr-'' (e.g., Austremonius, Austrinus, Austris). Names of

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

origin are attested in a " polyptyque" of the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, containing ''aust-'' (sometimes ''host-'' or ''ost-'') and ''austr-'' (or ''ostr-'' >

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

''out-'').

Germanic personal names in Galicia Germanic names, inherited from the Suevi (who settled in Gallaecia: modern Galicia and northern Portugal in 409 AD), Visigoths, Vandals, Franks and other Germanic peoples, were often the most common Galician-Portuguese names during the early and ...

and Iberian

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s with prefix ''aus-'', ''astr-'' and ''aust-'' (> ''ost-'') also attest the survival of the root well into medieval times. A character named ''Gwawrdur'' is mentioned in the

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

tale of ''

Culhwch and Olwen ''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the Whit ...

''. Stefan Zimmer suggests either a remnant of the Dawn goddess or a name meaning "(with) the color of steel", since ''gwawr'' may also mean 'color, hue, shade'. The name also appears in the '' Canu Aneirin'' under the variants ''Gwardur'', ''Guaurud'', ''Guaurdur'', ''(G)waredur'', or ''(G)waledur''. All of these stem from the

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

''gwawr'' ('dawn'; also 'hero, prince'). According to linguist

Ranko Matasović Ranko Matasović (born 14 May 1968) is a Croatian linguist, Indo-Europeanist and Celticist. Biography Matasović was born and raised in Zagreb, where he attended primary and secondary school. In the Faculty of philosophy at the University of ...

, the latter derives from

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...

*''warī''- ('sunrise, east', cf. MIr. ''fáir''), itself from the PIE root *''wōsr-'' ('Spring').

Influences

According to

Michael Witzel Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80). Witze ...

, the Japanese goddess of the dawn

Uzume is the goddess of dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and the arts in the Shinto religion of Japan, and the wife of fellow-god Sarutahiko Ōkami. She famously relates to the tale of the missing sun deity, Amaterasu Omikami. Her name can also be p ...

, revered in

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

, was influenced by Vedic religion. It has been suggested by anthropologist

Kevin Tuite Kevin Tuite ( Irish: ''Caoimhín de Tiúit''; born April 3, 1954) is a full Professor of Anthropology at the Université de Montréal. He is a citizen of both Canada and Ireland.

that

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

goddess

Dali Dali or Dalí may refer to: Chinese history * Kingdom of Dali (937–1253 AD), centered in modern Yunnan * Kingdom of Nanzhao or Dali, Kingdom of Dali's predecessor state * Dali, Emperor Daizong of Tang's third and last regnal period (766–779) ...

also shows several parallels with Indo-European dawn goddesses. A possible mythological descendant of the Indo-European dawn goddess may be

, the Greek goddess of love and lust. Scholars posit similarities based on her connection with a sky deity as her father (

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...

) and her association with red and gold colours. In the ''

'', Aphrodite is hurt by a mortal and seeks solace in her mother's (

Dione Dione may refer to: Astronomy *106 Dione, a large main belt asteroid *Dione (moon), a moon of Saturn *Helene (moon), a moon of Saturn sometimes referred to as "Dione B" Mythology *Dione (Titaness), a Titaness in Greek mythology *Dione (mythology) ...

) bosom. Dione is seen as a female counterpart to Zeus and is thought to etymologically derive from Proto-Indo-European root *'' Dyeus''.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{Commons category-inline Proto-Indo-European deities Reconstructed words Sky and weather goddesses Proto-Indo-European mythology Dawn goddesses

Name

Etymology

Epithets

Depiction

Eternal rebirth

Colours

Movements

Dwelling

Vehicle

Carrier

Horses

Role

Opener of the doors of heaven

Reluctant bringer of light

Evidence

Dawn-goddesses

Epithets

Poetic and liturgic formula

Legacy

Influences

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links