This is a subject which I have been reflecting on for many years, that the basis of all Indo-European religions are these two deities or deified elements, the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. Indeed, I would go much further than this and claim that this is the basis of ALL religions, even the so-called monotheistic ones. For the purpose of this essay and for the sake of brevity, I am going to confine myself to discussing the Indo-European Weltanschauung only. In a future essay, I hope to extend my theory to non-Indo-European religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic.
In order to bring some structure to this discussion, I am going to deal with each major branch of the Indo-European tree separately, starting with the Germanic.
The Germanic Sky Father
Scholars consider the reconstructed Proto-Germanic Sky Father to be *Tiwaz. There is sufficient linguistic evidence to accept this theory but the remarkable thing is that He was displaced as Sky Father by Odin and Thor (using their Norse names). The reason(s) for his displacement are worthy of a separate discussion which I aim to cover in a future essay.
The root of His name survives in the Old Norse Týr, the Old English Tir and the Old High German Ziu. Via Tuesday, His name is fossilised in the third day of the week. 'Tuesday' derives from the Old English, Tīwesdæg, the day of Tiw. This is cognate with the Old Norse, Týsdagr, from which Tyrsdag/Tysdag (Norwegian), Tisdag (Swedish) and Tirsdag (Danish) are derived, but strangely, not modern Icelandic, although it is more closely related to Old Norse than any other modern North Germanic language. The Frisian Tilsdag also preserves the god's name but not Modern Dutch, which it is closely related to, or Modern German, but it is preserved in Old High German as Ziestag (the day of Ziu). Despite this, the Modern German, Dienstag and the Modern Dutch Dinsdag preserve an echo of the god as the meaning of both terms is 'day of the Thing', which my readers will know is sacred to *Tiwaz. The Icelandic þriðjudagur ('third day') is a complete outlier, and this is due to the Icelandic Christian reform of the pre-Christian calendar. With the exception of Saturday (laugardagur, 'washing day'), sunnudagur ('day of the sun') and mánudagur ('day of the moon') , the days of the week were numbered. It is curious though, that they left Sunday and Monday intact! This reform was a slow development which occured between the 12th and 16th centuries with the increasing power of the Church. We see a similar development in German where Wodanstag (Wodan's Day) was replaced by Mittwoch ('mid-week'). This whole fascinating issue deserves an essay all of its own!
The Sky-Father is also reflected in names of the runes: the Common Germanic rune name, Tiwaz, the Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Frisian rune name, Ti/Tir, the Younger Futhark rune name, Týr and the Gothic letter name, teiwa (T). The Gothic name for the Christian 'god' is Guþ, but the generic name for 'a god' is teiwa, which is clearly cognate with the Old Norse týr, a generic term for 'a god' and is used as a suffix in some heiti for Odin in the extant Old Norse sources:
. Hangatýr-the Hanging-God/God of the Hanged.
. Sigtýr-the Victory-God.
. Farmatýr-the Cargo-God.
. Hrafntýr-Raven-God.
. Valtýr-Slain-God/God of the Slain.
The fact that týr/teiwa survived as a common noun for 'a god' in Old Norse and Gothic is highly significant and provides further evidence to support the reconstructed name for the primaeval Proto-Germanic Sky Father being *Tiwaz. However, the surviving Old Norse myths give no indication of His former primacy as Sky Father. His role as father of the gods, law-giver and ruler of the cosmos has been usurped by the later Odin. His role as the thunderer is now the preserve of Thor. His roles as a god of oaths and war, He still retains, but the latter is also shared with the other primary gods. Indeed, His place in the divine hierarchy is now quite minor. The Norse myths do not preserve his original status as Sky Father but the etymology and significance of His name cannot be denied. It should be noted however, that this is not a mistake, but an indication of and evidence for a real historical development. The act of replacing Tyr with Odin and Thor was a deliberate act by the Germanic peoples and occurs nowhere else among the Indo-Europeans. The reasons for this act need to be reserved for a future essay.
*Tiwaz is symbolically portrayed in the rune of that name, which is very clearly intended to represent a spear, a symbol of Germanic authority and kingship. The shape, function and mythic association of this rune stave with the Sky Father is beyond dispute. As I have already mentioned, Tyr preserved His associations with war and oath takings. He is a god of justice and associated with single combat and He is invoked with weapons, His rune being carved on spears, swords and shields to ensure victory in combat. Only later, in the Norse period, did the spear then become associated with Odin.
The spear is seen as a vertical axis which connects the sky and the earth, as depicted by the shape of the rune stave.
Old English Rune Poem
Tir is a guiding star, shining steadfast above the night; it never wanders from its course, a sure sign for sailors.
This verse refers to Tir as being the North Star, rather than the god, but it still embodies the qualities of guidance, direction, straightness and oath-keeping, all symbolised by the Germanic spear.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Tyr is the one‑handed god, who trusted the wolf with his pledge.
This rune poem makes it clear that the Tiw referred to in the previous poem is a deity, despite the heavy Christian overtones of the Old English Rune Poem.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Týr is the one‑handed god, and the wolf’s legacy is his loss; yet he remains the bravest in battle.
Linguistic comparison of *Tiwaz with other Indo-European Sky Fathers demonstrates His Proto-Indo-European descent:
Greek
Zeus Pater.
Roman
Iupiter ('Jupiter)
Vedic
Dyaus Pitar
Along with *Tiwaz, all these deities derive from the Proto-Indo-European *Dyēus ph₂tēr. The spear symbolism is also present in the Sky Father of the Irish Celts, Lugus, who shares similar characteristics with Odin, and with the Roman Mars, who likewise wielded a sacred spear. The Vedic Indra, who shares characteristics with Thor, owns a thunder-spear, the vajra. The pan-Celtic thunder god, Taranis wields a spear along with His wheel. Likewise, the Slavic thunder god, Perun, throws lightning-spears as well as an axe, as does the closely cognate Baltic Perkūnas.
In summary, *Tiwaz demonstrates His status as the primordial Proto-Germanic Sky Father both linguistically and by virtue of His spear, but the mythic evidence, while present, is not as strong, due to his displacement in the divine hierarchy by Odin and Thor.
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