PriHyéh₂
PriHyéh₂ is the reconstructed name of the love goddess in Proto-Indo-European mythology.[1]
| PriHyéh₂ | |
|---|---|
Goddess of love and the garden | |
| Day | Friday |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek equivalent | Aphrodite, Priapos |
| Roman equivalent | Venus (flora), Priapus |
| Norse equivalent | Freyja, Freyr |
| Slavic equivalent | Příje, later Paraskeva Friday |
| Hinduism equivalent | Parvati |
| Hittite equivalent | Puru |
| Iranian equivalent | Paurwa, later Parendi, (Anahita) |
| Albanian equivalent | Prende |
| Common Germanic equivalent | Frijjō |
Background
Her name is reconstructed as PriHyéh₂, meaning "beloved, friend," and has cognate forms in many Indo-European languages.[1] It is ancestral to Sanskrit priya "dear, beloved" and common Germanic Frijjō.[2][3]
PriHyéh₂, is reconstructed[4] as “beloved, friend”, the god(dess) of the garden. She is known in Hittite as the object of the Purulli festival, in Sanskrit as Parvati.[4]
In Greek she is recognized as Aphrodite, although this name does not quite fit the expected phonology, and apparently means the “goddess of the garden”, related word “paradise.” In Latin Venus takes her place. Her name is not cognate at all, but confer how Norse descendants of *PriHyéh₂, Freyr and Freyja belong to the race of so-called Vanir, which comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root *wenh₁-.[5] Freyja is possibly worshipped under the name Perun in southern Slavic-speaking areas.[4] In Albanian she is Perendi, Christianized as St. Prendi. J. Grimm refers to an Old Bohemian form Příje, used as a gloss for Venus in Mater Verborum.[6] Many of these goddesses give their name to the fifth day of the week, Friday. They are also very well known in lesser form such as the Germanic Elves and the Persian Peris, charming and seductive beings in folklore.[4]
There are also masculine forms of this deity, Greek Priapos, borrowed into Latin as Priapus, and Old Norse Freyr.[4]
In Avestan, she is demonized as Paurwa, but replaced by Anahita.[4] Possibly due to the efforts of Zarathustra.[1] However, *PriHyéh₂ was eventually reintegrated into Zoroastrianism as Parendi, and a hymn called Yasht was created to praise her. In later Persian folklore, she was depicted as the Peris, small spirits known for their alluring beauty.[1]
In Slavic mythology she was christianized as Paraskeva Friday, yet despite objections from church authorities, women continue to worship her on Fridays with dancing and votive offerings.[1]
One of the prominent elements linked to *PriHyéh₂ are various myths, among which the most famous involves her necklace of beauty being stolen or borrowed and subsequently returned. Depending on what is more treasured in each region, different kinds of jewels such as pearls, amber, and gold beads are regarded as her tears. Her most significant celebrations are connected to fruit trees, and typically occur around the time of their blooming in the spring, with May 1st being the general date, although the exact timing varies across cultures.[1]
See also
References
- "Pria, a Proto-Indo-European Goddess". web.archive.org. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- Wodtko et al., Nomina im Indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg (2008) ISBN 978-3-8253-5359-9, s.v. "preyH", pp. 568-573.
- Bader, Françoise (1990). "Autobiographie et héritage dans la langue des dieux : d'Homère à Hésiode et Pindare". Revue des Études Grecques. 103 (492): 383–408. doi:10.3406/reg.1990.2486.
- Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World, by J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006
- de Vaan 2008, p. 663.
- • Grimm, Jacob, Deutsche Mythologie (English title Teutonic Mythology, translated by Stallybrass), George Bell and Sons, London, 1883. PAge 303