(), also (), is the reconstructed name of the daylight-sky god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. was conceived as a divine personification of the bright sky of the day and the seat of the gods, the . Associated with the vast diurnal sky and with the fertile rains, was often paired with *Dðéõðà Âm, the Earth Mother, in a relationship of union and contrast.
While its existence is not directly attested by archaeological or written materials, is considered by scholars the most securely reconstructed deity of the Indo-European pantheon, as identical formulas referring to him can be found among the subsequent Indo-European languages and myths of the Vedic Indo-Aryans, Latins, Greeks, Phrygians, Messapians, Thracians, Illyrians, Albanians and Hittites.
The divine name *DyÃÂus derives from the stem *dyeu-, denoting the "diurnal sky" or the "brightness of the day" (in contrast to the darkness of the night), an expanded form of the root *di or dey- ("to shine, be bright"). Cognates in Indo-European languages revolving around the concepts of "day", "sky" and "deity" and sharing the root *dyeu- as an etymon, such as Sanskrit dyumán- 'heavenly, shining, radiant', suggest that DyÃÂus referred to the vast and bright sky of the day conceived as a divine entity among Proto-Indo-European speakers.
A vá¹Âddhi-derivative appears in *deywós ("celestial"), the common word for "god" in Proto-Indo-European. In classic Indo-European, associated with the late Khvalynsk culture (3900âÂÂ3500), *DyÃÂus also had the meaning of "Heaven", whereas it denoted "god" in general (or the Sun-god in particular) in the Anatolian tradition. The suffix-derivative *diwyós ("divine") is also attested in Latin, Greek and Sanskrit. The noun ("day"), interpreted as a back-formation of *deywós, has descendant cognates in Albanian ("break of the day"), Vedic Sanskrit dÃÂna- "day" and divé-dive ("day by day"), Lithuanian dienàand Latvian dìena ("day"), Slavic dÃÂnà("day") or Slavic Poludnitsa ("Lady Midday"), Latin Dies, goddess of the day and counterpart to Greek Hemera, Hittite siwat ("day"), Palaic Tëyat- ("Sun, day"), Ancient Greek endios ("midday"), Old Armenian tiw (ÿëÃÂ, "bright day"), Old Irish ("nine-day period"), Welsh ("today").
While the Greek goddess Pandeia or Pandia (, "all brightness") may have been another name for the Moon Goddess Selene, her name still preserves the root *di-/*dei-, meaning "to shine, be bright".
The most constant epithet associated with *DyÃÂus is "father" (*phâÂÂtá¸Âr). The term "Father DyÃÂus" was inherited in the Vedic Dyáuá¹£ Pitá¹ÂÃÂ, Greek Zeus PatÃÂr, Illyrian Dei-pátrous, Roman Jupiter (*), even in the form of "dad" or "papa" in the Scythian Papaios for Zeus, or the Palaic expression Tiyaz papaz. The epithet *PhâÂÂtá¸Âr ôenh<sub>1</sub>-tà Âr ("Father Procreator") is also attested in the Vedic, Iranian, Greek, and perhaps the Roman ritual traditions.
*DyÃÂus was the Sky or Day conceived as a divine entity, and thus the dwelling of the gods, the Heaven. As the gateway to the deities and the father of both the Divine Twins and the goddess of the Dawn (*HâÂÂéwsà Âs), *DyÃÂus was a prominent deity in the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. He was however likely not their ruler or the holder of the supreme power like Zeus and Jupiter.
*DyÃÂus was associated with the bright and vast sky, but also to the cloudy weather in the Vedic and Greek formulas *DyÃÂus' rain. Although several reflexes of DyÃÂus are storm deities, such as Zeus and Jupiter, this is thought to be a late development exclusive to Mediterranean traditions, probably derived from syncretism with Canaanite deities and the Proto-Indo-European god *PerkÃ·à «nos.
Due to his celestial nature, *DyÃÂus is often described as "all-seeing" or "with wide vision" in Indo-European myths. It is unlikely however that he was in charge of the supervision of justice and righteousness, as it was the case for Zeus or the Indo-Iranian MithraâÂÂVaruna duo, but he was suited to serve at least as a witness to oaths and treaties. Proto-Indo-Europeans also visualized the sun as the "lamp of DyÃÂus" or the "eye of DyÃÂus", as seen in various reflexes: "the god's lamp" in Euripides' Medea, "heaven's candle" in Beowulf, "the land of Hatti's torch" (the Sun-goddess of Arinna) in a Hittite prayer, Helios as the eye of Zeus, Hvare-khshaeta as the eye of Ahura Mazda, and the sun as "God's eye" in Romanian folklore.
*DyÃÂus is often paired with *Dðéõðà Âm, the Earth goddess, and described as uniting with her to ensure the growth and sustenance of terrestrial life; the earth becomes pregnant as the rain falls from the sky. The relationship between Father Sky (*DyÃÂus PhâÂÂtá¸Âr) and Mother Earth (*Dðéõðà Âm MéhâÂÂtÃÂr) is also of contrast: the latter is portrayed as the vast and dark dwelling of mortals, located below the bright seat of the gods. According to Jackson however, as the thunder-god is frequently associated with the fructifying rains, she may be a more fitting partner of *PerkÃ·à «nos than of *DyÃÂus.
While Hausos and the Divine Twins are generally considered the offsprings of *DyÃÂus alone, some scholars have proposed a spouse-goddess reconstructed as *Diwà Ânàor *Diuà ÂnehâÂÂ, with a possible descendant in Zeus's consort Dione. A thematic echo occurs in the Vedic tradition as Indra's wife IndrÃÂnë displays a similar jealous and quarrelsome disposition under provocation. A second descendant may be found in Dia, a mortal said to unite with Zeus in a Greek myth. After the mating of Dia's husband Ixion with the phantom of Hera, the spouse of Zeus, the story leads ultimately to the birth of the Centaurs (who may be seen as reminiscent of the Divine Twins, sons of *DyÃÂus). Another reflex may be found in the Mycenaean Greek Diwia, possibly a feminine counterpart of Zeus attested in the second part of the 2nd millennium BC and which may have survived in the Pamphylian dialect of Asia Minor. The reconstruction is however only based upon the GreekâÂÂand to a lesser extent the VedicâÂÂtradition, and it remains therefore not secured.
If the female goddesses Hera, Juno, Frigg and Shakti share a common association with marriage and fertility, Mallory and Adams note however that "these functions are much too generic to support the supposition of a distinct PIE 'consort goddess' and many of the 'consorts' probably represent assimilations of earlier goddesses who may have had nothing to do with marriage."
Cognates deriving either from the stem *dyeu- ("daylight, bright sky"), the epithet *DyÃÂus Ph<sub>2</sub>ter ("Father Sky"), the vá¹Âddhi-derivative *deiwós ("celestial", a "god"), the derivative *diwyós ("divine"), or the back-formation (a "day") are among the most widely attested in Indo-European languages.
Ritual and formulaic expressions stemming from the form *DyÃÂus Ph<sub>2</sub>ter ("Father DyÃÂus") were inherited in the following liturgic and poetic traditions:
Other reflexes are variants that have retained both linguistic descendants of the stem *<u>dyeu</u>- ("sky") alongside the original structure "Father God". Some traditions have replaced the epithet *ph<sub>2</sub>ter with the nursery word papa ("dad, daddy"):
Other variants are less secured:
Cognates stemming from *deywós, a vá¹Âddhi-derivation of *dyÃÂus (the sky-god), are attested in the following traditions:
Other cognates are less secured:
Other cognates deriving from the adjective *diwyós (*dyeu "sky" + yós, a thematic suffix) are attested in the following traditions:
Other cognates are less secured:
As the pantheons of the individual mythologies related to Proto-Indo-European religion evolved, attributes of *DyÃÂus seem to have been redistributed to other deities. In Greek and Roman mythology, *DyÃÂus was the chief god, while the etymological continuant of DyÃÂus became a very abstract god in Vedic mythology, and his original prominence over other gods largely diluted.
After the first access of the ancestors of the Albanians to the Christian religion in antiquity, the presumable Albanian term for Sky-Father â Zot â has been used for God, the Father and the Son (Christ). In Albanian folk beliefs the peak of the highest mountains like Tomorr in central Albania has been associated with the sky-god Zojz. The enduring sanctity of the mountain, the annual pilgrimage to its summit, and the solemn sacrifice of a white bull by the local people provide abundant evidence that the ancient cult of the sky-god on Mount Tomorr continues through the generations almost untouched by the course of political events and religious changes.
At one point, early Slavs, like some Iranian peoples after the Zoroastrian religious reformation, demonized the Slavic successor of *DyÃÂus (abandoning this word in the sense of "heaven" at the same time, keeping the word for day, however, and abandoning many of the names of the other Proto-Indo-European gods, replacing them with new Slavic or Iranian names), while not replacing it with any other specific god, as a result of cultural contacts with Iranian peoples in the first millennium BC. Hence, after the process of demonization by the Slavs, *DyÃÂus is considered to have originated two continuations: *divo ("strange, odd thing") and *divà("demon"). The result of this demonization may be Pan-Slavic demons, e.g. Polish and Czech dziwoà ¼ona, or Div occurring in The Tale of Igor's Campaign.
According to some researchers, at least some of *DyÃÂuss traits could have been taken over by Svarog (Urbaà Âczyk: Sun-Daà ¾bóg â heavenly fire, Svaroà ¾iàâ earthly fire, Svarog â heaven, lightning). Helmold recalls that the Slavs were also supposed to believe in a god in heaven, who only deals with heavenly matters and commands other gods.
Various loanwords of *deiwós were introduced in non-Indo-European languages, such as Estonian taevas or Finnish taivas ("sky"), borrowed from Proto-Indo-Iranian into these Uralic languages.