Gaulish Myth of the Cycle of the Seasons? — Druid Hearth: Site of Cunolugus Drugaisos

The cycle of the seasons has been on my mind lately, probably because of the autumnal equinox. In European traditions, the cycle of the seasons usually involves a myth of a deity descending to the Underworld, during which time winter is upon the earth and then, upon their return to the world above, there is […]

Gaulish Myth of the Cycle of the Seasons? — Druid Hearth: Site of Cunolugus Drugaisos

Re’em

Sunday, 6 September 2020

A re’em, also reëm (Hebrew: רְאֵם), is an animal mentioned nine times in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Old Testament (3rd-2nd c. BC) translated re’em as „unicorn“ which stayed as the main translation of this word until the end of the 19th century…

Then, in 1899, Johann Ulrich Duerst discovered that the word „re’em“ it was based on the Akkadian cognate „rimu“, meaning „Auroch“, the Eurasian wild cattle…This has been „generally“ 🙂 accepted today as the correct translation, „even among religious scholars“ 🙂….

Now, I would like here to talk about the folklore related to re’em. Which is really interesting as it is directly based on the ancient Hebrew solar cult from the time of the First Temple…You can find more about this cult in my post „Sun god from the First Temple„. Pic: Sun on the seal of the kingdom of Judah (739-687 BC)

Re’em in folklore: read more; http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2020/09/reem.html

A vessel from Tepe Hissar

Sunday, 2 August 2020

Vessel from Tepe Hissar, a prehistoric site, continuously occupied between 5th to the 2nd millennium BC, Northeastern Iran. It depicts leopard and ibex (bezoar) goat

 

 
It seems that these two animals had a special significance for the people of Tepe Hissar…Here are two more bowls from the period 4500-4000 BC, one with Bezoar goats and one with leopards…
 
 
Bezoar and leopard were used in Western Asia, Mesopotamia and Central Asia as calendar markers for „rain season“, because their mating seasons (Bezoar: Nov-Jan and Leopard: Jan-Mar) span the middle of the rain season (Oct-May). 
 
Look at the flowing water and plant depiction on the middle vessel above…
 
This is the temperature and rain chard from the area where Tepe Hissar is located