Dan Davis History | The 5,000-Year-Old Yamnaya Copper Club @DanDavisHistory | Uploaded May 2021 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
This Yamnaya warrior was buried in a kurgan (burial mound) on the steppe with this mighty weapon from prehistoric warfare. Is it the mythical weapon of Indra; the cudgel Vajra? What does it have to do with Hercules and Thor?
We discuss the mythology of the Striker-Thunderer and talk about Yamnaya burial practices and how this image of the Yamnaya warrior inspired my work.
The Indo-European myth of the Striker / Thunderer is seen in the forms of Thor, Herakles, and Indra. He is a thunder god - the sun of the sky father - who strikes with a hammer or an axe or club / cudgel. He makes thunder, sends lightning bolts crashing to earth, and he is a wandering hero who slays the serpent and other monsters.
Elements of the Striker / Thunderer merged with the figure of the sky father in the form of Zeus while the heroic deeds and monster slaying elements found expression in his sons Herakles and Perseus. Thor has a short handled hammer while Herakles famously has his wooden club.
This deity's name amongst the ancient steppe herders may have been Perkwunos meaning 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks' because of the way lightning tends to strike oak trees. In the most cosmic version of his myth the god uses his celestial weapon to strike down the monster who is holding back the life giving waters.
***I've been astonished by the number of people enraged by the running joke, a visual gag intended to add amusement.***
*Support the Channel*
Patreon ➜ patreon.com/dandavisauthor
PayPal ➜ paypal.me/DanDavisAuthor
Ko-fi ➜ ko-fi.com/dandavis
*My Books*
Your FREE Bronze Age fantasy story the Wolf God ➜ dandavisauthor.com
Godborn: Gods of Bronze 1 ➜ amzn.to/3nm2au1
All my books on Amazon ➜ amzn.to/3xngwz5
*My Links*
Website dandavisauthor.com
Facebook: facebook.com/dandavisauthor
Twitter: twitter.com/DanDavisWrites
Instagram: instagram.com/dandavisauthor
*Art*
Includes works by:
Graman: twitter.com/GramanhFolcwald
Christian Sloan Hall: americanvendetta.co.uk
*Sources*
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language - David Anthony ➜ amzn.to/3aD3Rhu
How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics - Calvert Watkins ➜ amzn.to/3yeyXXe
Myth, Ritual, and the Warrior in Roman and Indo-European Antiquity - Roger D. Woodard ➜ amzn.to/3w9sYB3
A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project Report ➜ amzn.to/3bvqp4v
An Indo-Iranian Symbol of Power in the Earliest Steppe Kurgans - P. Kuznetsov
https://www.academia.edu/3836804/An_Indo_Iranian_Symbol_of_Power_in_the_Earliest_Steppe_Kurgans
Murphy, E., & Khokhlov, A. (2016). "Biocultural Analysis of the Prehistoric Populations of the Volga Region." In D. Anthony, D. Brown, A. Khokhlov, P. Kuznetsov, & O. Mochalov (Eds.), A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project. (pp. 149-216):
pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/42562597/CHAPTER_8_Murphy_and_Khokhlov_pdf.pdf
I read quite a few articles by Curwen at Arya Akasha on this subject over the last couple of years and learned a lot (I also used one of their images in the video). Here is a link to a new article which has links to more:
aryaakasha.com/2021/03/09/indra-herakles-trita-iolaus-vak-athena-against-hydra-vritra-a-distillation-arya-akasha-arka
*Bronze Age Warfare series*
Watch all the Bronze Age Warfare series here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUyGT3KDxwC8xD2S2Q1IqH_S_ocWwXWHv
Koryos: youtu.be/LbIwi1HxmpE
Trepanation: youtu.be/ic8jxFYIV6g
Indra's Cudgel: youtu.be/cYEBxo6ZEy4
Thor's Hammer: youtu.be/X1PduS2ocl8
First Berserkers: youtu.be/zEXXA0naXkk
Army of the Dead: youtu.be/oqOp81KQO4A
This Yamnaya warrior was buried in a kurgan (burial mound) on the steppe with this mighty weapon from prehistoric warfare. Is it the mythical weapon of Indra; the cudgel Vajra? What does it have to do with Hercules and Thor?
We discuss the mythology of the Striker-Thunderer and talk about Yamnaya burial practices and how this image of the Yamnaya warrior inspired my work.
The Indo-European myth of the Striker / Thunderer is seen in the forms of Thor, Herakles, and Indra. He is a thunder god - the sun of the sky father - who strikes with a hammer or an axe or club / cudgel. He makes thunder, sends lightning bolts crashing to earth, and he is a wandering hero who slays the serpent and other monsters.
Elements of the Striker / Thunderer merged with the figure of the sky father in the form of Zeus while the heroic deeds and monster slaying elements found expression in his sons Herakles and Perseus. Thor has a short handled hammer while Herakles famously has his wooden club.
This deity's name amongst the ancient steppe herders may have been Perkwunos meaning 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks' because of the way lightning tends to strike oak trees. In the most cosmic version of his myth the god uses his celestial weapon to strike down the monster who is holding back the life giving waters.
***I've been astonished by the number of people enraged by the running joke, a visual gag intended to add amusement.***
*Support the Channel*
Patreon ➜ patreon.com/dandavisauthor
PayPal ➜ paypal.me/DanDavisAuthor
Ko-fi ➜ ko-fi.com/dandavis
*My Books*
Your FREE Bronze Age fantasy story the Wolf God ➜ dandavisauthor.com
Godborn: Gods of Bronze 1 ➜ amzn.to/3nm2au1
All my books on Amazon ➜ amzn.to/3xngwz5
*My Links*
Website dandavisauthor.com
Facebook: facebook.com/dandavisauthor
Twitter: twitter.com/DanDavisWrites
Instagram: instagram.com/dandavisauthor
*Art*
Includes works by:
Graman: twitter.com/GramanhFolcwald
Christian Sloan Hall: americanvendetta.co.uk
*Sources*
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language - David Anthony ➜ amzn.to/3aD3Rhu
How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics - Calvert Watkins ➜ amzn.to/3yeyXXe
Myth, Ritual, and the Warrior in Roman and Indo-European Antiquity - Roger D. Woodard ➜ amzn.to/3w9sYB3
A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project Report ➜ amzn.to/3bvqp4v
An Indo-Iranian Symbol of Power in the Earliest Steppe Kurgans - P. Kuznetsov
https://www.academia.edu/3836804/An_Indo_Iranian_Symbol_of_Power_in_the_Earliest_Steppe_Kurgans
Murphy, E., & Khokhlov, A. (2016). "Biocultural Analysis of the Prehistoric Populations of the Volga Region." In D. Anthony, D. Brown, A. Khokhlov, P. Kuznetsov, & O. Mochalov (Eds.), A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project. (pp. 149-216):
pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/42562597/CHAPTER_8_Murphy_and_Khokhlov_pdf.pdf
I read quite a few articles by Curwen at Arya Akasha on this subject over the last couple of years and learned a lot (I also used one of their images in the video). Here is a link to a new article which has links to more:
aryaakasha.com/2021/03/09/indra-herakles-trita-iolaus-vak-athena-against-hydra-vritra-a-distillation-arya-akasha-arka
*Bronze Age Warfare series*
Watch all the Bronze Age Warfare series here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUyGT3KDxwC8xD2S2Q1IqH_S_ocWwXWHv
Koryos: youtu.be/LbIwi1HxmpE
Trepanation: youtu.be/ic8jxFYIV6g
Indra's Cudgel: youtu.be/cYEBxo6ZEy4
Thor's Hammer: youtu.be/X1PduS2ocl8
First Berserkers: youtu.be/zEXXA0naXkk
Army of the Dead: youtu.be/oqOp81KQO4A
