Banquet of the gods, Book III, an Indo-European rite, portrayed on the walls of Etruscan tombs, compared to the Rig Veda

7/13/2011 Banquet of the gods, Book III, on Soma and the Rig Veda,
as relating to an Indo-European rite portrayed on the walls of Etruscan tombs.
Part of a work relating to Etruscan Phrases

(1) Sacred Writings, The Rig Veda, Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith, Quality Paperback Book Club, NY, 1992, copyright Motilal Banarsidass Publishers PVT. LTD. All quotes from the Rig Veda are from this volume.
(2) "Sovran of the Forest," the tall tree, vanaspati, out of which is made the sacrificial post to which the victim is tied [Griffith's note].
(3) The Sacrificial Posts are in alignments, from the east toward the fire! Could the British (including Brittany) stone alignments have served this purpose?
(4) "The pillars with rings upon them," may be pillars with meanders, that would look like horns (ram horns); the hatchet would have been part of the ritual; as can be seen in Etruscan designs (See the Prince Serelus tombstone, with the fasces) the hatchet or double-axe is important and may recall the double-axe of Minoan times.
(5) "ye cast down the ninety forts which the Dasas held," refers to the destruction of the forts of the brown-skinned, non-Aryan inhabitants of the Saraswati river basin. Griffith notes that the ninety-nine is an indefinite number. The number is used frequently with regard to their number of forts. To the ancient Mycenaean Greeks a city and a fort were one and the same; and this is true of the Celts.
(6) "they bear the cursing of the people," suggests that the bards were experiencing some dissent with regard to the sacrifice to Indra. Was there a faction splitting off from the five Aryan tribes? "they come," those who revile and hinder the worship of Indra [Griffith's note].
(7) "a hundred fortresses of stone," does not suggest the Harappa culture, for they were made of brick, as far as I know. This verse dates Book 4, in my opinion.
(8) "Reproached," may refer to on-going splits among the Aryan tribes on the worship, or to Agni as Professor Ludwig thinks [based upon Griffith's note].
(9) "immortal by my children." This poses interesting questions: Does it mean without children there is no immortality? How do children beget immortality? Since the Aryans of the Rig Veda, as well as the Celts and Greeks, put so much emphasis on "fame," it would appear that part of the immortality, at least, involved one's continued name. The ability to change shape or reincarnate, as shown in the case of Hanuman or Rama in The Ramayana recalls the story in the Welsh tale, Mabinogion, of Pwyll Lord of Dyved who changed places with Arawn King of Annwvyn (annwvyn means "no place,"), the two chiefs –through Arawn's power –changing shape and appearing in each other's form. They ruled each other's domain for a period of one year, during which time Pwyll slept with Arawn's wife.
(10) Here we are witnessing how the early stages (chapters) of the Rig Veda referred to unbelievers, how they chided the Aryans of the banquet; now the cause has gotten more serious: to subdue all regions of the earth ( a fervor the Christian and Moslem religions adopted as well); not content to practice their own faith in freedom, they decided to make sure everyone follows their faith. Book 6 records the enemies and forts and castles defeated by the Aryans, reflecting a higher level of organizational control over the territory, mentioning the city Hariyupiya (Harappa?) that Indra smote, etc. (Book 6, Hymn XXVII.5)
(11) In Greek mythology the god Pan, one of the youthful gods, was the shepherd god and is credited with inventing the pan-pipe. He lived in the mountains where he danced and sang with the nymphs and played his pipes. He had goat legs and horns and played the pipe called the syrinx. He, as well as everyone around, was so delighted in his music he challenged Apollo, who played the lyre, to a contest. Apollo won. A Phrygian version of Pan is in Marsyas. Since singing and dancing were an important part of the Aryan rite, no doubt Pusan must have have had same relationship to those arts.
(12) This tribe of neighboring people would have been forced into Afghanistan, following the thesis; and thus one should be able to find remnants of the indigenous culture moving westward (fleeing to the mountains, as is generally the case with displaced peoples).
(13) This records a battle between two of the five Aryan tribes, the Bharatas being those who won the battle against the Purus.
(14) The Simyu foe can be added to our list of foes: the Dasyus and Nahus. Subsequent passages of this and the next hymns catalogue the conflicts between the Aryans and other peoples.
(15) "hair knots," or single lock of hair left on the head at tonsure, which, according to the Scholiast, it was characteristic of the Vasisthas to wear on the right of the crown of the head [Griffith's note]. The recalls the Greek custom mentioned in the Iliad, where Achillês cuts the lock that he was supposed to have dedicated to the river god back home and puts it in the hand of the dead Patroclos upon the funeral pyre. This also calls to mind the Indus seal with the Horned God midst the plant and his seven attendants who have hair-knots on the right side of their head.
(16) There are several metaphors in the Rig Veda that refer to shipping and ships at sea. The seaport of Dwaravati, the home of Krishna, becomes important in the Mahabharata. A mystery in the origin of the Aryans of India is perhaps centered in this place, which may be modern Dwarka, where a temple of Krishna is located. While there is no doubt that northwestern India is the center of the action in the Rig Veda, and there is no doubt that the bards of the Rig Veda sang about traveling to the sea, referring occasionally to ships and using metaphors with "ships"– the bier upon a son's pyre is called a ship, for instance. Equally mysterious – and perhaps related – is the fact that the dolmens of southern India are attributed to the Dravidians and not the Aryans, with the theory being that the dolmens – which date to about 300 B.C. at the earliest – resemble Numidian dolmens, according to certain specialists. Throughout the "Aryan world" we witness a horsed culture which sees it most appropriate to place the contents of their departed under mounds, constructed with or marked by megalithic stones. Non-Aryans may have raised mounds as well, but at least we know that the Aryans – the Greeks, Trojans, Persians, Etruscans, Celts and Germans – were mound builders. Some of them had urn fields and others laid their dead in trench graves. The Rig Veda hardly addresses what a "proper burial" should be. We compare this to the fact that in the Iliad one must be given a proper burial: placed on a pyre, with feast, games and sacrifices and oblations, beginning at dawn, with the raising of a mound over the remains. The Etruscans marked their culture with elaborate tombs of this kind. And perhaps one of the cleverest tombs ever constructed by the Aryan people was the tholos tomb of Antiochus (deposed 38 B.C.) which is a mound thrown up on top of a mountain in Turkey. The reality every king faces in constructing and equipping his tomb is the fact that someone may attempt to break into the tomb and rob it of its gold and silver grave goods. Antiochus, son of Mithridates, had small stones heaped up over his tomb on top of a mountain, thinking that grave-robbers would be discouraged that if every time they scooped away the covering the covering caved in, like digging a hole in a beach. To this day, archeological efforts to find his tomb atop his mountain have failed. Now it may be an insult to 21st century technology if, when archeologists finally get to the tomb, they find grave-robbers already have visited the place. We can see that the nobility of the Aryans went to great lengths to raise a mound, or tholos, over their tomb. In the Middle East and Egypt tombs could be rock-cut or free-standing buildings, such as the tomb of Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria in southwestern Asia Minor, which was built between about 353 and 351 B.C. It was one of the seven wonders of the world. Another form of burial was the "hypogeum," an underground series of shafts or vault, such as in Malta. During the period of the Rig Veda in the region of the "seven sacred rivers," including the Sarasvati, there is little or no evidence that an Aryan people lived there. The evidence of an Aryan people seems to be in southern India, Kerala. To read an anthropological discussion on its fascinating history go to: http://www.shelterbelt.com/KJ/khmundarace.html. Here the author of the Kerala Story asks whether the Dravidian stock of southern India may have its source in Numidia (southern Egypt). Dolmens have been found in Numidia as well as a large stone alignment. In light of these mysteries we must ask how it is that the Aryans of the Rig Veda recall Aryan rites but have abandoned the practice of raising tumuli for their nobles and threw their ashes into the river instead (or hung them in a tree?). The Rig Veda refers to the conquest of stone cities, when the Harappa Civilization built cities of brick. Were these sacred hymns remembering previous conquests on the way from the Black Sea to India? Did these people have anything to do with destroying the Hittite cities in Turkey ~ 1180 B.C.? And why is it that the Indus Valley seals carry a Horned God, like Cernunnos the Celtic god, a god that resembles the description of Shiva, the Hindu Lord of Beasts, but has the form of Indra sitting midst a divine plant. In the Rig Veda we have seen Indra, the chief of the gods, as the principal lover of Soma, he, being the chief, for whom Soma is offered. And after the Soma passes through the mouth of the beaker, "Indra's throat," it is offered to others: gods and guests. The Rig Veda makes it clear that the Dasyas, the natives, are riteless and it describes those who do not participate in the sacrifice of Soma and worship of Indra as being "riteless" or "godless." Based on this, upon examination of the Indus Valley seals with the Horned God, it would appear that the Harappa Civilization was the same as that which created the Rig Veda. One can dissect the Rig Veda, but one thing one cannot do is cut out the parts that include the worship of fire, the offering of the meath, or Soma, to the gods and guests at sunrise, the worship of the thunder-god Indra, and the sacrifice of horses. If one were to trim these things out of the Rig Veda one would be left with no hymns to speak of. With this in mind, it is probable that the Harappa Civilization that produced the several hundred seals is Indo-European, and if this is so, its development would not be expected to precede the development of the Hittite Civilization.
(17) "the house of clay," the grave [Griffith's note].
(18) The Sarasvati, one of seven sacred rivers, is the focus of many hymns in the Rig Veda. The Indus river (Sindhu) is mentioned as well, and it would thus appear that though the Sarasvati here and in other places is described as flowing from the mountains to the sea, one is tempted to believe that the Indus river is indicated, rather than the dry Sarasvati. I think, however, in the context of "flooding" the Sarasvati may have had greater impact than the Indus. The Ganges river is one of the seven sacred rivers.
(19) Any images falling into the list here that are found on the Indus Valley seals would identify whether these people were friends or foes of the Aryans of the Rig Veda. The owl is sacred to the Greek goddess Athena, a major player in the Iliad. The eagle is a powerful Indo-European symbol, and it is interesting that the bard considers those who worship it as sorcerers. Curiously, in The Ramayana Rama's last weapon was a flock of eagles which descended upon and consumed the snakes Ravana threw at Rama.
(20) Here the Soma is compared to wine: whereas wine results in drunkenness Soma results in strength, etc.
(21) Vak, or Vac, vox: voice, speech personified. Unintelligible speech might be expected from a priest who had a bit too much Soma and may recall the "speaking in tongues" Paul introduced in Christianity. While rapture can be induced through group participation (speaking in tongues, dancing, singing and other odd behavior at odd times) no doubt the drug-effects of Soma was usually experienced.
(22) "pressed among the Races Five," the Arjikas are apparently a non-Aryan people in the North-West [Griffith's note]. This suggests that the Aryans may have been obtaining their Soma pressings from others. "Saryanavan's bank" is said to be on the borders of the Kuruksetra country [Griffith's note].
(23) "three-fold meath," according to Sayana, mixed with the Vasativari water, curds and milk. Probably, poured into three separate vessels, one for each of the three deities mentioned [Griffith's note].
(24) "thine iron-fashioned home," must be the wooden vat, fashioned by axe. This, like other passages, dates the Rig Veda. All other articles used in the making of Soma are skins and pottery. The reference to iron in the Rig Veda increases in pace in the last two chapters, with "iron claws," "iron teeth," etc.
(25) "rests in Indra's heart"; if the place is in the jars, then it may be that the jars are heart-shaped (round bottomed). Such jars are seen in the hands of characters bringing offerings in Etruscan murals.
(26) "within Indra's throat," appears to be the strainer or the top of the beaker; the beakers or jars, would then be "Indra's heart."
(27) "pressed by wise Nahusyas," probably a neighboring people [Griffith's note].
(28) "the Rsis, seven holy singers," recalls the seven attendants in the Indus Valley seal showing the Horned god seated midst a plant.
and they may be the seven holy rivers, including the Sarasvati.
(29) The jars or beakers may look like cows udders, confirming that they, appearing also as Indra's heart, are round bottomed, as many, if not most, beakers were. For a discussion on beakers, see The Age of Sonehenge, by Colin Burgess, Castle Books, Edison New Jersey, 2003; originally published by J. M. Dent, Great Britain, 1980.
(30) The many comparisons to Soma as a Steed impresses the thought that the Uffington horse may be a representation of the mead, possibly used in rituals as among the Hindus.
(31) Soma flowing through the filter is sweet-scented.
(32) "upon the ox's skin," in the context used suggests that Soma, through the pressing and the filtering operations, being upon the ox's skin, would be a Tawny Steer.
(33) Indra, the chief of the gods, is bearded like Zeus, but youthful with a yellow beard.
(34) "Wealth to the seven," refers to the seven priests [based on Griffith's note].
(35) "The fifteen-told strong juices," according to Sayana, the juices of the Soma-plant whose leaves grow during the light half of the month and die away during the dark-half [Griffith's note]. Often anomalies offer new areas of investigation that lead to better insight into a matter (and open new vistas as well). This is an anomaly that leads nowhere at the moment, from my point of view.
(36) 'The cow which was barren is the Sami tree, which brings forth the Asvattha, and from the wood of these two trees are made the arani, the two pieces of wood which are rubbed together to produce the sacred fire – the upper and harder piece is the Sami (the Acacia Suma), and the lower and soft is the Asvattha (the Ficus religiosa).' –Wilson [Griffith's note].
(37) It is interesting how convenient demons and devils are used before the gods in most religions. "Possessed by the devil," is a common admonition from the hearts of Christians, Moslems, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus. In the Bible one either with God or not with him (See http://www.maravot.com) for my extensive comments in this regard).
The story of Rama, in his devotion and pledge to rid the world of evil, is a good illustration of what is probably going on in the hearts of men. In the story Rama is dedicated to destroying Ravana, a ten-headed monster who is king of the demonic. His world is not heaven nor the earth, but a third world, where demons and monsters are dedicated to consuming mankind. It's something like Hades, and if one were to compare the final-resort weapon Ravana threw at Rama in their last and final battle, one will find a striking similarity between that weapon and the Etruscan Tuchulcha. Rama was Vishnu incarnate and not vulnerable to all weapons. Having thrown his weapon, the Trident, and seeing it fall short of Rama, Ravana was convinced that he must be battling with a god, but he resolved, "...whoever it may be, I will not stop my fight until I defeat and crush him or at least take him prisoner. With this resolve, Ravana next sent a weapon which issued forth monstrous serpents vomiting fire and venom, with enormous fangs and red eyes. They came darting in from all directions.
"Rama now selected an asthra called 'Garuda" (which meant 'eagle'). Very soon thousands of eagles were aloft, and they picked off the serpents with their claws and beaks and destroyed them. Seeing this also fail, Ravana's anger was roused to a mad pitch and he blindly emptied a quiverful of arrows in Rama's direction. Rama's arrows met them half way and turned them round so that they went back and their sharp points embedded themselves in Ravana's own chest." [The Ramayana, translated by R. K. Narayan, Penguin Books, 1977, pp. 157, 158]
(38) "Who has no nest to dwell in," refers to Indra as the sun [based on Griffith's note]. This is a precept used by Christ. Old myths tell of Jesus Christ having travelled in India. There are many precepts in the Rig Veda that are fundamental to the Bible (raising the weak over the strong, etc.), that God is a defender of the poor, the weak and the humble. The Didichae, perhaps the oldest document in Christianity, repeats a precept Jesus expounded: "If they (the priests) ask for money, don't go to them!" As can be seen in the Rig Veda and is evident in established religions, ancient and modern, the priesthood depends upon the charity of the worshippers. In the Old Testament the burden of the priesthood was recognized and set, not to exceed 10%. The Jewish priests were forbidden to raise any other money or means of support, being totally dependent upon the 10% God allowed. When Jesus went into the temple and threw over the tables of the money-changers he reminded the priests who were money-changers of this Law of Moses. I don't condemn priests or pastors as a rule, but would pass on the injunction to beware of them that ask for money, for the struggle to receive richer benefactors eventually becomes a political struggle and the noble cause of God in defending the poor, the weak, and the humble thus is compromised.
(40) "the third act," or third sacred duty, that of continuing their family; religious study and sacrifice being the first and second–Sayana {Griffith's note].
(41) This is a hymn recalling the fleeting spirit of a man at the point of death [based on Griffith's note]. This would appear to be the foundation of the Hindu precept of reincarnation, which is hardly mentioned in the Rig Veda.
(42) Turva: equivalent to Turvasa; a prince of the clan called after the eponymous Turva. Dasas: enslaved natives [Griffith's note]. The, Dasas, the brown-skinned natives, appear to have been subjugated (and enslaved) by chapter 10 of the Rig Veda.
(43) "Lord of the Wood," the yupa or Sacrificial Post [Griffith's note]. The wooden post is a symbol of Odin or Woden, and it comes to mind, based upon the Rig Veda, that the Celtic and Germanic posts may have been used for the sacrifice, as well as gods to whom prayers were sent.
(44) "The poet addresses first the most distant rivers. Ganga: the Ganges is mentioned, indirectly, in only one other verse in the Rgveda, and even there the word is said by some to be the name of a woman. See VI.45.31. Yamund: the Jumna. Sutudri: the Sutlej or Satlaj. Parusni: the Ravi: Sarasvati: see VI.61.2. Asikni: the ancient Acesines: the Vedic name of the Gandrabhaga, the present Cenab. Vitasta: probably the Jhelum, the Hydaspes of the Greeks. Marudvrdha: meaning, increased by the Maruts: not identified. Arjikiya and Susoma are said by Yaska to be the Vipas and the Sindhu; but this is not possible, and it is uncertain what rivers are meant" [Griffith's note].
(45) "Desire," Kama, Eros, or Love [Griffith's note]. The Greek view of creation is similar. Eros existed almost from the beginning of time, being born, together with Ge (Earth) and Tartarus, out of, or at the same time as, Chaos. Eros is also viewed as the son of Aphrodite.
(46) "In the Tree," where the spirits of the pious dead rest after their labours [Griffith's note]. Yama is the god of the dead. In the Mahabharata we are told how Arjuna chose a corpse and hung it from a limb of a Sami tree: "By the road near Matsya city was a cemetery strewn over with charred corpses, and there grew a giant Sami tree, the kind whose twigs and branches are made into firesticks.
Yudhishthira said, 'Our bows and swords must be hidden or we will be known. No one will come near this tree except to burn the dead, and it will not be cut down, for it is the sacred mother of fire."
Nakula took all their bows and swords and arrows, wrapped them in leather, and carried them up the tree. he hid them where rain could not go, nor anyone see them from below. When he had come down, they saw shepherds approaching driving their sheep tot he city, and Arjuna and Bhima chose a corpse and hung it from a limb.
Yudhishthira told the shepherds, "We are hunters from the hills, and that is our mother, who has died at the age of one hundred and eighty years. We are hanging her here by the custom of our ancestors." (Mahabharata, retold by William Buck, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1973, pp. 199,200) Hanging a charred corpse from a Tree, may explain the tradition that Odin or Woden guards the dead who hang from trees (or as Britain was being Christianized, the gallows). Some tribes of American Indians placed their dead in trees. My grandmother, who was raised on a ranch in Montana, told me that the ranch bordered an Indian burial ground where the bodies were placed on biers in the trees. Trees are motifs in Etruscan tomb murals, and one can see not only the changing seasons reflected by the trees in spring, summer, fall and winter, but also the sash or girdle hanging from a limb of a tree. It may be that the girdle hanging in a tree recalls this ancient Indo-European rite expressed in the Rig Veda and Mahabharata. Stone megaliths are located next to trees (or visa versa), and in the Iliad the turning post was the base of a tree next to which two stones were placed: "Now I will tell you the mark – you can't miss it. There's a dry stump at the turn of the road standing about a fathom above the soil, oak or fir, which does not rot in the rain. Two white stones are set against it, one on each side, and the land round this is smooth for horses. It may be the mark of some man dead long ago, or set up for a post in former days, and now Achillês has fixed it for the turning-point of his race." (Iliad, translated by W. H. D. rouse, Mentor Book, by arrangement with Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1938, p. 271.) See Etruscan_Murals.html for a commentary on the girdle.

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Updated: 8.30.04; 8.31.04; 9.01.04; 9.02.04; 9.03.04; 9.10.04; 3.08.06; 10.13.09; 10.18.09; 7.13.11

Banquet of the Gods

by Mel Copeland

Book III, Hindus