The Celtic, Irish, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Baltic, Slavic, and Hindu thunder gods are (probably) all connected, and descended from an ancient thunder god worshipped 6000 years ago.
The Proto-Indo-Europeans
About six thousands years ago, somewhere on the border between Europe and Asia, there lived a people called the Proto-Indo-Europeans . They spoke the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language, and their religion is called the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) religion.
Their descendants spread out over the next 3000 years to cover most of Europe, Persia, and northern India. In central and Western Europe they became the Celtic culture, in Northern Europe they formed the Germanic cultures, in Eastern Europe the Baltic and Slavic cultures, in Italy they formed the Roman Culture, in Greece the Ancient Greek Culture, in Iran they became the Iranian/Zoroastrians, and in India, the Vedic Hindu culture. The languages and religions of all these cultures were related, and so were many of their gods. Names, words, and stories evolved and changed, but certain themes and ideas were passed down over the thousands of years. Similar mythical figures seem to pop up all over Europe, and this is no coincidence.
This is the first in a series of posts I am writing to show how different gods are related in all these different pagan religions.
This one will focus on the thunder gods, and all the gods mentioned here are likely descended from an original, Proto-Indo-European (PIE) thunder god. By tracing back the names of different Indo-European thunder gods, we can reconstruct the name of this original thunder god: we think he was called something like “Perkwunos”.
His name probably came from *pérkʷus, the PIE word for the oak tree, and his descendants remained associated with oaks in many European religions. There is also the reoccurring theme of a weapon, which is made of stone in the earliest stories of many of these gods. Many of them are said to have ridden chariots. They are all shown to be mighty warriors, and another reoccurring theme is the thunder-god battling and slaying a giant serpent-like monster. All these thunder gods are either the head gods, or sons of the head god. All of them have names coming either from the PIE name for their thunder god, or from their word for thunder.
The Germanic Thunder God: Thor
Name: The Germanic thunder god did not come from the name “Perkunos”, but instead comes from the Proto-Germanic word *thunraz, meaning “Thunder”. Thunraz is descended from the PIE word *tenh₂-, also meaning thunder. In Old Norse, this thunder god was Thor, in Old High German, he is Donar, and in Old English he is named Thunor. It is from this god that we get the word “Thursday”, and Thunraz is also the origin of the word “thunder” in English. Additionally, the name of Fjörgyn, the mother of Thor, is thought to be descended from the name Perkwunos.
Description: A red bearded, muscular man, dressed in armour. He rides a chariot pulled by goats.
Weapons: Thor, the best known of the Germanic thunder gods, is famed for his hammer Mjölnir, whose name means “the crusher”.
Associated with: Thunder, oak trees, strength, fertility, war, hammers and the swastika.
Great Deeds: Battling and slaying the great serpent monster, Jörmungandr.
The Celtic Thunder God: Taranis
Name: Like Thor, Taranis’s name comes not from Perkwunos, but from a word for thunder: the proto-Celtic word *Toranos, which is also descended from *tenh₂. The name is therefore a cousin of “Thor”. In Ireland, Taranis evolved into Tuireann.
Description: A bearded, muscular man. Often carrying a thunderbolt and a wheel.
Weapons: The thunderbolt.
Associated with: Thunder, the solar wheel, fire.
The Slavic Thunder God: Perun
Name: Perun is the most important god in the Slavic pantheon, and his name is directly descended from the PIE Perkwunos.
Description: A bearded, muscular man.
Weapons: Most well known for his great axe, Perun also used a hammer, and a bow that fired lightning-stones. He also threw golden arrows, which caused lightning bolts.
Associated with: Thunder, fire, mountains, wind, the oak tree, iris, and the eagle.
Great Deeds: Battling and slaying the evil, dragon-formed god Veles.
The Baltic Thunder Gods: Perkūnas
Name: Perkūnas is a relative of Perun (Baltic and Slavic languages being cousins), and both names come from Perkwunos.
Description: A bearded, muscular man. Sometimes rides a chariot pulled by goats.
Weapons: Usually armed with an axe and bow.
Associated with: Thunder, rain, mountains, oak trees, the sky, goats and chariots.
Great Deeds: Fighting Velnias (the devil).
The Vedic Hindu Thunder God: Indra
Name: While Indra is very likely to be related to Perkwunos, the name Indra is unrelated to the names of the European gods. However, another god associated with or equated with Indra is a thunder god called Parjanya, whose name may come from Perkwunos.
Description: The King of Heaven in Vedic Hinduism. 4 arms. Like Thor, he sometimes has red hair. He is often depicted riding a chariot (like Thor), or on an elephant.
Weapons: A thunderbolt, a bow, and a special club called a Vajra. When thrown, the Vajra returns to his hand, just like Thor’s hammer.
Associated with: Thunder, rain, the sky, the rainbow, fertility, strength, war.
Great Deeds: Battling and slaying the many headed serpent monster, Vritra.
Greek and Roman: Zeus and Jupiter
Names: These two gods are not directly descended from Perkwunos, but rather from Dyēus Phter, the sky-father of Proto-Indo-European. However, their associations with thunder may suggest that they absorbed traits from earlier thunder gods. One possible relic of “Perkwunos” is the Greek word for thunderbolt, “keraunós”.
Description: Bearded, muscular men wielding thunderbolts. Often accompanied by an eagle.
Weapons: Thunderbolts.
Associated with: Thunder, storms, oak trees, the sky, fertility, strength, war, eagles.
Great Deeds: Zeus battled and slayed the many headed serpent monster, Typhon.
Other related thunder gods
In Albanian (another IE religion), the thunder god was Perendi, descended from Perkwunos.
In the Illyrian religion was likely the ancestor of the Albanian religion, and they called him “Perëndi”.
In the Hittite religion the god Tarḫunna is possibly descended from the PIE thunder god, with the name being related to Thor and Taranis.
The Sami thunder god Horagalles may be borrowed from Thor. The Eastonian god Tharapita could also have come from Thor, although this is debated.
If you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to like my Facebook page! I’ll be sharing more posts like this soon.
Superb explanation. Thank you.
Agree. Stumbled across Starkey Comics on Twitter and will use this for an astrology talk in Australia on Saturday – discussing Jupiter. Thank you!
Additionally, according to the Perun: his day is the fourth day of the week (“chetverg” in Russian or 4 “chetvara” in Sanskrit). Celebration Perun – 2 August (20 July on old style). The canonical way: the rider on the white horse piercing big snake, this is similar with the Iranian Rustam of the Shahnameh and Indra from Vedas.
During the military campaigns of Russ against Byzantium in the 10th century, preserved by the oath of the Russ on the contracts where they swore by name of the two gods, Perun and Veles, emphasizing their relevance to the Russ.
Perhaps Veles (Vels, Velnias – Balts) the God of cattle, underworld-netherworld, wealth, wisdom and trade was similar to the Indian – Vala, Vritra and Scandinavian Loki.
You didn’t mention anything about Iranian. Indra and even Mithra was a Mittanian god in north mesopotamia before spreading to Indra and Europe.