Proto-Indo-European myth of creation
The Indo-European cosmogony refers to the creation myth of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European mythology.
The comparative analysis of different Indo-European tales has led scholars to reconstruct an original Proto-Indo-European creation myth involving twin brothers, *"Manu-" ('Man') and *"Yemo-" ('Twin'), as the progenitors of the world and mankind, and a hero named "*Trito" ('Third') who ensured the continuity of the original sacrifice.
Although some thematic parallels can be made with Ancient Near East (the primordial couple Adam and Eve), and even Polynesian or South American legends, the linguistic correspondences found in descendant cognates of "*Manu" and "*Yemo" make it very likely that the myth discussed here has a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) origin.
Historiography.
Hermann Güntert, stressing philological parallels between the Germanic and Indo-Iranian texts, argued in 1923 for an inherited Indo-European motif of the creation of the world from the sacrifice and dismemberment of a primordial androgyne.
Following a first paper on the cosmogonical legend of Manu and Yemo, published simultaneously with Jaan Puhvel in 1975 (who pointed out the Roman reflex of the story), Bruce Lincoln assembled the initial part of the myth with the legend of the third man Trito in a single ancestral motif.
Since the 1970s, the reconstructed motifs of Manu and Yemo, and to a lesser extent that of Trito, have been generally accepted among scholars.
Myths.
Primordial state.
The basic Indo-European root for the divine creation is *"dheh1", 'to set in place, lay down, or establish', as attested in the Hittite expression "nēbis dēgan dāir" ("...established heaven (and) earth"), the Young Avestan formula "kə huvāpå raocåscā dāt təmåscā?" ("What skillful artificer made the regions of light and dark?"), the name of the Vedic creator god "Dhātr", and possibly in the Greek name "Thetis", presented as a demiurgical goddess in Alcman's poetry. The concept of the Cosmic Egg, symbolizing the primordial state from which the universe arises, is also found in many Indo-European creation myths. A similar depiction of the appearance of the universe before the act of creation is given in the Vedic, Germanic and, at least partly, in the Greek tradition.
Although the idea of a created world is untypical of early Greek thinking, similar descriptions have been highlighted in Aristophanes's "The Birds": "...there was Chasm and Night and dark Erebos at first, and broad Tartarus, but earth nor air nor heaven there was..." The analogy between the Greek "Χάος" ('Chaos, Chasm') and the Norse "Ginnungagap" ('Gaping abyss') has also been noted by scholars. The importance of "heat" in Germanic creation myths has also been compared with similar Indian beliefs emphasized in the Vedic hymn on 'cosmic heat'.
Cosmic sacrifice.
The first man Manu and his giant twin Yemo are crossing the cosmos, accompanied by a primordial cow. To create the world, Manu sacrifices his brother and, with the help of heavenly deities (the Sky-Father, the Storm-God and the Divine Twins), forges both the natural elements and human beings from his twin's remains.
Manu thus becomes the first priest after initiating sacrifice as the primordial condition for the world order. His deceased brother Yemo turns into the first king as social classes emerge from his anatomy (priesthood from his head, the warrior class from his breast and arms, and the commoners from his sexual organs and legs).
Although the European and Indo-Iranian versions differ on this matter, the primeval cow was most likely sacrificed in the original myth, giving birth to the other animals and vegetables. Yemo may have become the King of the Otherworld, the realm of the dead, as the first mortal to die in the primordial sacrifice, a role suggested by the Indo-Iranian and, to a lesser extent, in the Germanic, Greek and Celtic traditions.
First Warrior.
To the third man Trito, the celestial gods offer cattle as a divine gift, which is stolen by a three-headed serpent named *"Ngwhi" ('serpent'; and the Indo-European root for negation).
Trito first suffers at his hands, but fortified by an intoxicating drink and aided by a helper-god (the Storm-God or "*Haner", 'Man'), together they go to a cave or a mountain, and the hero finally manages to overcome the monster. Trito then gives the recovered cattle back to a priest for it to be properly sacrificed. He is now the first warrior, maintaining through his heroic deeds the cycle of mutual giving between gods and mortals.
Interpretations.
Three Functions.
According to Lincoln, Manu and Yemo seem to be the protagonists of "a myth of the sovereign function, establishing the model for later priests and kings", while the legend of Trito should be seen as "a myth of the warrior function, establishing the model for all later men of arms". He has thus interpreted the narrative as an expression of the priests's and kings's attempt to justify their role as indispensable for the preservation of the cosmos, and therefore as essential for the organization of society. The motif indeed recalls the Dumézilian tripartition of the cosmos between the priest (in both his magical and legal aspects), the warrior (the Third Man), and the herder (the cow).
Primeval hermaphrodite.
Some scholars have proposed that the primeval being Yemo was depicted as a two-folded hermaphrodite rather than a twin brother of Manu, both forming indeed a pair of complementary beings entwined together. The Germanic names "Ymir" and "Tuisto" were understood as "twin", "bisexual" or "hermaphrodite", and some myths give a sister to the Vedic Yama, also called Yamī ('Twin'). The primordial being may therefore have self-sacrificed, or have been divided in two, a male half and a female half, embodying a prototypal separation of the sexes that continued the primordial union of the Sky Father (Dyēus) with the Mother Earth (Dhéǵhōm).
Cattle-raiding myth.
The story of Trito served as a model for later cattle raiding epic myths and most likely as a moral justification for the practice of raiding among Indo-European peoples. In their legends, Trito is portrayed as only taking back what rightfully belongs to his people, those who sacrifice properly to the gods. Although cattle raiding is a common theme found in all societies keeping cattle, it was particularly popular among Indo-European peoples, as attested by the legends of Indra and the Panis, Beowulf and Grendel, the quest of Queen Medb for the Bull, or Odysseus hunting down the cattle of Helios.
The myth has been variously interpreted as a cosmic conflict between a heavenly hero and an earthly serpent; as a depiction of the male fellowships' struggle to protect society against external evil; or as an Indo-European victory over non-Indo-European people, the monster symbolizing the aboriginal thief or usurper. The Vedic serpent Vṛtrá is indeed described as a *"dāsa", an aboriginal inhabitant who is inimical to the Indo-European invaders; the Iranian serpent Aži Dahāka carries in his name the pejorative suffix "-ka"; and the Latin inimical giant Cācus is depicted as a non-Indo-European aborigine ("incola"), hostile to Romans and Greeks alike. According to Martin L. West, the Proto-Indo-European name "*Trito" ('Third') may have been a "poetic or hieratic code-name, fully comprehensible only with specialized knowledge".
Linguistic evidence.
Manu and Yemo.
Cognates deriving from the Proto-Indo-European First Priest "*Manu" ('Man', 'ancestor of humankind') include the Indic Mánu, legendary first man in Hinduism, and Manāvī, his sacrificed wife; the Germanic Mannus (from Germ. "*Manwaz"), mythical ancestor of the West Germanic tribes; and the Persian Manūščihr (from Av. "Manūš.čiθra", 'son of Manuš'), Zoroastrian high priest of the 9th century AD.
From the name of the sacrificed First King "*Yemo" ('Twin') derive the Indic Yama, god of death and the underworld; the Avestan Yima, king of the golden age and guardian of hell; the Norse Ymir (from Germ. *"Yumiyáz"), ancestor of the giants ("jötnar"); and most likely Remus (from Proto-Latin "*Yemos"), killed in the Roman foundation myth by his twin brother Rōmulus. Latvian "jumis" ('double fruit'), Latin "geminus" ('twin') and Middle Irish "emuin" ('twin') are also linguistically related.
Trito and Ngwhi.
Cognates stemming from the First Warrior "*Trito" ('Third') include the Vedic Trita, the hero who recovered the stolen cattle from the serpent Vṛtrá; the Avestan Thraētona ('son of Thrita'), who won back the abducted women from the serpent Aži Dahāka; and the Norse þriði ('Third'), one of the names of Óðinn. Other cognates may appear in the Greek expressions "trítos sōtḗr" (τρίτος σωτήρ; 'Third Saviour'), an epithet of Zeus, and "tritogḗneia" (τριτογήνεια; 'Third born' or 'born of Zeus'), an epithet of Athena; and perhaps in the Slavic mythical hero "Troyan", found in Russian and Serbian legends alike.
"*Ngwhi", a term meaning 'serpent', is also related to the Indo-European root for negation ("*ne-"). Descendent cognates can be found in the Iranian "Aži", the name of the inimical serpent, and in the Indic "áhi" ('serpent'), a term used to designate the monstrous serpent Vṛtrá, both descending from Proto-Indo-Iranian "*aj'hi".
Comparative mythology.
Many Indo-European beliefs explain aspects of human anatomy from the results of the original dismemberment of Yemo: his flesh usually becomes the earth, his hair grass, his bone yields stone, his blood water, his eyes the sun, his mind the moon, his brain the clouds, his breath the wind, and his head the heavens. The traditions of sacrificing an animal before dispersing its parts following socially established patterns, a custom found in Ancient Rome and India, has been interpreted as an attempt to restore the balance of the cosmos ruled by the original sacrifice.
In the Indo-Iranian version of the myth, his brother "Manu" also sacrifices the cow, and from the parts of the dead animal are born the other living species and vegetables. In the European reflexes, however, the cow (represented by a she-wolf in the Roman myth) serves only as a provider of milk and care for the twins before the creation. This divergence may be explained by the cultural differences between the Indo-Iranian and European branches of the Indo-European family, with the former still strongly influenced by pastoralism, and the latter much more agricultural, perceiving the cow mainly as a source of milk. According to Lincoln, the Indo-Iranian version best preserves the ancestral motif, since they lived closer to the original Proto-Indo-European pastoral way of life.
Indo-Iranian.
Creation myth.
Mánu ('Man, human') appears in the "Rigveda" as the first sacrificer and the founder of religious law, the Law of Mánu. He is the brother (or half-brother) of Yama ('Twin'), both presented as the sons of the solar deity Vivasvat. The association of Mánu with the ritual of sacrifice is so strong that those who do not sacrifice are named "amanuṣāḥ", which means 'not belonging to Mánu', 'unlike Mánu', or 'inhuman'. The Song of Puruṣa (another word meaning 'man') tells how the body parts of the sacrificed primeval man led to the creation of the cosmos (the heaven from his head, the air from his navel, the earth from his legs) and the Hindu castes (the upper parts becoming the upper castes and the lower parts the commoners). In the later "Śatapatha Brāhmana", both a primordial bull and Mánu's wife Manāvī are sacrificed by the Asuras (demi-gods). According to Lincoln, this could represent an independent variant of the original myth, with the figure of Yama laying behind that of Manāvī.After a religious transformation led by Zarathustra around the 7th–6th centuries BC that degraded the status of prior myths and deities, "*Manuš" was replaced in the Iranian tradition with three different figures: Ahriman, who took his role as first sacrificer; Manūščihr ('son' or 'seed of Manuš'), who replaced him as ancestor of the priestly line; and Zarathustra himself, who took his role as priest "par excellence". Manūščihr is described in the "Greater Bun-dahišnīh" as the ancestor of all "Mōpats" ('High Priests') of Pars, and it has been proposed that "*Manuš" was originally regarded as the First Priest instead of Zarathustra by pre-Zoroastrian tribes.
The Indo-Iranian tradition portrays the first mortal man or king, "*YamHa," as the son of the solar deity, *"Hui-(H)uas-uant". Invoked in funeral hymns of the "Rigveda", Yama is depicted as the first man to die, the one who established the path towards death after he freely chose his own departure from life. Although his realm was originally associated with feasting, beauty and happiness, Yama was gradually portrayed as a horrific being and the ruler of the Otherworld in the epic and puranic traditions. Some scholars have equated this abandonment (or transcendence) of his own body with the sacrifice of Puruṣa. In a motif shared with the Iranian tradition, which is touched in the "Rigveda" and told in later traditions, Yama and his twin sister Yamī are presented as the children