Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Proto-Indo-Europeans of the Pontic Caspian Steppe and other parts of Eastern Europe in the neolithic worshipped a paternal deity who they called Dyḗus ph₂tḗr “sky father”. With comparative linguistics and comparative mythology we can learn a lot about this ancient god from whom Greek Zeus, Roman Jupiter, Irish Dagda, Vedic Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ and Norse Odin and many others also derive. In this video I explain what we know about the god’s mythic roles relating to cattle, his relationship to other gods in the Indo-European religion and his association with different animals in later pagan religions.
The Sky Father is the most well attested of all the Indo-European gods and is central to our understanding of Proto-Indo-European religion.
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Art:
Alex Cristi
artstation.com/alex314
Andrew Whyte
basileuscomic.com
Christian Sloan Hall
deathlord.co.uk
Christopher Steininger
shop.smiletitans.com
Johan Jernhed
instagram.com/johanjernhed
Music in order:
theme song: Wolcensmen - Sunne
Altyn Tuu - Altai Tuva
Xuriuos - Steppe expansion
Elegiac - Ashwind interlude
Doug Maxwell - Bansure raga
Sjhof - path to the temple
Ormgård - Sjálfsforn
Stark Von Oben - Imperator
Halindir - Hedelandet II
Kevin McLeod - Dhaka
Myling - Töcken
Borg - The May queen enters the circle
Sources:
Anthony, D., ‘The Horse, the Wheel, and Language’ 2007. amzn.to/3wOUyUQ
Dumezil, G., ‘Mythe et Épopée’ 1973
Dumezil, G., ‘Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty’, 1988. amzn.to/3gON9iX
Kershaw, K., ‘The one-eyed god: Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Männerbünde’ (Journal of Indo-European studies monograph) 2000. amzn.to/3qrPUKg
Lincoln, B., ‘THE INDO-EUROPEAN MYTH OF CREATION’ 1975
Matasović, R., ‘A Reader in Comparative Indo-European Religion’ 2010
Mylonas, G. E., ‘The Eagle of Zeus’ 1946
Puhvel, J., ‘Victimal Hierarchies in Indo-European Animal Sacrifice’: The American Journal of Philology , Autumn, 1978, Vol. 99, No. 3 (Autumn, 1978), pp. 354-362
Puhvel, J., ‘Comparative Mythology’ 1987. amzn.to/3xJVdHb
00:00 Intro
01:34 Indo-Europeans and their beliefs
03:55 Comparative mythology
05:00 Linguistics
07:55 Identifying the sky father
11:15 Indo-European cosmogenesis
14:24 Celestial vs Terrestrial and Hieros Gamos
16:24 Sovereign gods
17:15 Zeus
18:34 Horse twins
19:49 Sacrificial beasts
22:28 Bulls
23:21 Eagles
24:52 Wolves
26:25 Conclusion
The Proto-Indo-Europeans of the Pontic Caspian Steppe and other parts of Eastern Europe in the neolithic worshipped a paternal deity who they called Dyḗus ph₂tḗr “sky father”. With comparative linguistics and comparative mythology we can learn a lot about this ancient god from whom Greek Zeus, Roman Jupiter, Irish Dagda, Vedic Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ and Norse Odin and many others also derive. In this video I explain what we know about the god’s mythic roles relating to cattle, his relationship to other gods in the Indo-European religion and his association with different animals in later pagan religions.
The Sky Father is the most well attested of all the Indo-European gods and is central to our understanding of Proto-Indo-European religion.
This channel depends on your support:
Patreon: patreon.com/survivethejive
SubscribeStar: subscribestar.com/survive-the-jive
Telegram: https://t.me/survivethejive
Crypto: bit.ly/3ysmtvk
Art:
Alex Cristi
artstation.com/alex314
Andrew Whyte
basileuscomic.com
Christian Sloan Hall
deathlord.co.uk
Christopher Steininger
shop.smiletitans.com
Johan Jernhed
instagram.com/johanjernhed
Music in order:
theme song: Wolcensmen - Sunne
Altyn Tuu - Altai Tuva
Xuriuos - Steppe expansion
Elegiac - Ashwind interlude
Doug Maxwell - Bansure raga
Sjhof - path to the temple
Ormgård - Sjálfsforn
Stark Von Oben - Imperator
Halindir - Hedelandet II
Kevin McLeod - Dhaka
Myling - Töcken
Borg - The May queen enters the circle
Sources:
Anthony, D., ‘The Horse, the Wheel, and Language’ 2007. amzn.to/3wOUyUQ
Dumezil, G., ‘Mythe et Épopée’ 1973
Dumezil, G., ‘Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty’, 1988. amzn.to/3gON9iX
Kershaw, K., ‘The one-eyed god: Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Männerbünde’ (Journal of Indo-European studies monograph) 2000. amzn.to/3qrPUKg
Lincoln, B., ‘THE INDO-EUROPEAN MYTH OF CREATION’ 1975
Matasović, R., ‘A Reader in Comparative Indo-European Religion’ 2010
Mylonas, G. E., ‘The Eagle of Zeus’ 1946
Puhvel, J., ‘Victimal Hierarchies in Indo-European Animal Sacrifice’: The American Journal of Philology , Autumn, 1978, Vol. 99, No. 3 (Autumn, 1978), pp. 354-362
Puhvel, J., ‘Comparative Mythology’ 1987. amzn.to/3xJVdHb
00:00 Intro
01:34 Indo-Europeans and their beliefs
03:55 Comparative mythology
05:00 Linguistics
07:55 Identifying the sky father
11:15 Indo-European cosmogenesis
14:24 Celestial vs Terrestrial and Hieros Gamos
16:24 Sovereign gods
17:15 Zeus
18:34 Horse twins
19:49 Sacrificial beasts
22:28 Bulls
23:21 Eagles
24:52 Wolves
26:25 Conclusion
