1 Introduction1
It is a well-known fact that the Hittite god Telipinu, who was associated with fertility, was the protagonist of one of the most intriguing mythical narratives attested in 2nd millennium BCE Anatolia, namely the myth about his rage and disappearance (CTH 322–324).2 The fact that Telipinu’s name is Hattic (it means something like ‘impetuous lad’, cf. Haas 1994: 442–443) has been taken to indicate a pre-Indo-European origin for his cult. As long recognized, however, the Telipinu myth has parallels in other Indo-European (IE) mythical traditions, namely in the Greek myth of Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s rage (cf. Burkert 1979: 123–142) and the Norse myth of the death of Baldr (cf. Schröder 1962: 354–356), two myths which have long been compared with each other as well (cf. already Bugge 1889: 244–248). To these we may add the Indic narratives about the decrepitude, blindness and rage of the seer Cyavana and about the imperfect godhood of the Aśvins, which, as argued in this contribution, have correspondences in all of the above. The Hittite myth about the rage and disappearance of Telipinu may thus conceivably reflect features of an inherited Proto-Indo-European (PIE) mythical theme, which was at some point associated with a pre-existing Hattic fertility deity or superimposed upon its pre-existing mythology. This may also explain why the narrative elements and phraseology of the Telipinu myth closely match those attested in other Hittite mythical narratives about the disappearance of deities who are not specifically Hattic and who actually show reflexes of Indo-European heritage, namely the Storm-god (CTH 325) and the mother-goddess Ḫannaḫanna (CTH 334).3
In the present contribution, an attempt will be made to demonstrate that, on the one hand, all these IE myths preserve features which reflect inherited PIE poetics and themes, and that, on the other hand, the Hittite narrative lacks one feature which is attested in the Greek, Norse and Indic myths. On the assumption that generic similarities between mythological texts may often reflect universal motifs or areal diffusion,4 and not necessarily common inheritance, we shall focus on the specific “ready-made surface structures” (Watkins 2004: 77) by which these traditional texts were composed, namely formulas and narrative structures, in order to determine whether the correspondences between the myths may reflect a shared heritage. After a brief presentation of the mythical traditions examined (§ 2), eight parallels between the Hittite, Greek, Norse and Indic narratives will be identified by comparing the phraseology and themes employed to describe the existential conditions of the main characters and the features of the cosmos around them (§ 3). These correspondences will be shown to match poetic devices generally employed in several IE languages to describe any character in conditions of distress and any environment suffering from cosmic disorder, thus pointing to a PIE origin for these elements (§ 4). The Greek, Norse and Indic narratives will be shown to share one further feature as well, namely a type-scene involving horses or chariots reaching the main character; the absence of this feature in the Hittite narratives suggests that it reflects an innovation which took place after the split between Proto-Anatolian, the linguistic ancestor of Hittite, and Core Indo-European, from which Greek, Old Norse and Sanskrit later developed (§ 5).
2 Indo-European Non-Functioning Fertility Deity Myths
Let us briefly recall the essentials of the (1) Hittite, (2) Greek, (3) Norse and (4) Indic narratives which are especially relevant for the purpose of the present study. The motifs that are discussed in detail are marked in bold.5
1. The Hittite Myth of Telipinu.
For unknown reasons, Telipinu becomes enraged and disappears. Cosmic disorder follows his disappearance: mothers do not care about their children, plants do not grow and gods do not get satiated at their own feasts anymore. The goddess Ḫannaḫanna sends a bee to search for Telipinu, who is sleeping/lying down on a meadow near Lihzina. The bee finds him and forcibly makes him stand up and speak. Telipinu is not happy about the coercion and becomes even more enraged. Several ritual acts are required to appease him: among other things, the god is told to eat and drink. In the end, cosmic order is restored, as mothers care about their children and plants grow properly again.
2. The Greek Myth of Demeter and Persephone (Homeric Hymn to Demeter et al.).6
While playing with other maidens, Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, Lord of the Dead. Persephone stays calm as long as she can see the sun and the upper world, but Hades forcibly takes her to the darkness of the Realm of the Dead. Persephone’s mother Demeter searches for her, with no success. Distressed, Demeter wanders on the earth and does not eat or drink. She ends up in the countryside near the city of Eleusis. Grieved, she sits in the shadow, assuming the appearance of an old woman. Demeter is found there by some Eleusinian maidens, who bring her to the royal palace, where, sorrowful, the goddess sits on a stool and does not speak to anyone. After being made to laugh by a woman named Iambe, Demeter drinks the sacred beverage cyceon and starts talking again. After some more misadventures, she “thrusts old age away” from herself. Meanwhile, cosmic disorder has arisen after her disappearance: plants do not grow, men are starving and gods are deprived of sacrifices. Zeus takes notice and sends Hermes to bring Persephone back to the light from the darkness of the Realm of the Dead. Hermes arrives in the Underworld and finds Hades seated on a couch with Persephone, who is heavily distressed. Hades tells Persephone she’s free to leave and she springs up out of happiness. Hermes takes Persephone by chariot to the place where Demeter is. Cosmic order is restored: plants grow again, men prosper and gods receive their offerings.
3. The Norse Myth of Baldr (Gylfaginning 49 et al.).7
Pierced by a mistletoe twig thrown by his brother Hǫðr, the god Baldr falls dead. The other gods are so shocked that they are not even able to lift him up. Baldr’s death is associated with cosmic disorder, as it is explicitly stated to be the unluckiest deed that ever happened among gods and mortals. Baldr’s mother Frigg sends the god Hermóðr to bring Baldr back from Hel, the Realm of the Dead. He rides a horse to the place where Baldr is, and finds him seated. All efforts to bring Baldr back from the dead fail for the moment; when cosmic order will be restored after the End of Time, however, Baldr will come back and cornfields will grow without sowing.
4. The Indic Myth of Cyavana, Sukanyā and the Aśvins (Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 4.1.5, Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa 3.120–128, Mahābhārata 3.122–125 et al.).8
The seer Cyavana has become very old and lies down near a lake. King Śaryati arrives with his people and Cyavana is harassed by them, e.g. blinded by Śaryati’s daughter Sukanyā. Cosmic disorder follows, as Cyavana becomes enraged and makes mothers not recognize their sons, fathers fight with sons and brothers with brothers. To appease the seer, Śaryati takes Sukanyā by chariot to where Cyavana is and marries her to the seer. Cosmic order is thus restored and discord among the tribe members ends, i.e. they recognize their children and siblings again. Later on, the Aśvins approach Sukanyā as suitors and are thereafter told by Cyavana that they are not whole, because they do not drink soma, the food of the gods; he also tells them that the gods do not sacrifice properly, a sign of cosmic disorder. The Aśvins make Cyavana young again, removing his old age “like a cloak”, and they make him see again. Cyavana, thankful, instructs the Aśvins on how to sacrifice properly together with the gods. The Aśvins become whole again (by joining the other gods and drinking soma with them) and restore cosmic order (by making the gods sacrifice properly).
Some relevant motifs are also attested in the apparently unrelated narrative about Cyavana’s rage against King Kauśika (MBh. 13.52–55):
Cyavana is angry at King Kauśika and goes to live in his palace in order to test him in several ways. For instance, he tells the king not to wake him up while he lies down sleeping for weeks. When he finally does rise up of his own will, he does not speak to anyone. Cyavana thus hopes that Kauśika will forcibly wake him up or make him speak, as such disrespectful acts would allow him to curse the king. Kauśika, however, does nothing of the sort and, after several of these tests, he wins Cyavana’s favor back.
Cyavana does not appear often as a main character in Indic myths and his non-functioning state of anger in this narrative justifies its inclusion among the comparanda.
The provenance and date of composition of all these Indo-European narratives is diverse, ranging from Scandinavia to India and from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. Nonetheless, they all may be integrated in a common basic mythical theme, which essentially consists of two main elements:
-
Some sort of distress in which one (or more, as in the case of Greek and Indic) of the main characters find themselves: they are angry, sad, blind, resting, asleep, old, dead or in the Realm of the Dead; we may conventionally label this their “non-functioning state”, as against the “functioning state” in which they are supposed to be and which they desire to return to.
-
A cosmic disorder, which we may label “non-functioning cosmos”, somehow linked to (and usually caused by) the non-functioning state of the protagonist(s); this prompts other characters to try and restore cosmic order (the “functioning cosmos”) by eliminating the distress of the main character(s) (bringing them back to a functioning state).
The indissoluble connection between the well-being of the cosmos, often associated with the growth of crops, and the well-being of the protagonists is precisely what justifies their conventional definition as “fertility deities”, even though the Norse god Baldr is never explicitly connected with fertility (but has several correspondences with the Norse fertility god Freyr)9 and the Indic seer Cyavana is actually a “human” character (who, however, acts like a powerful god, even defeating the king of the gods, Indra, in MBh. 3.125).10 In what follows, all these narratives will thus be conventionally referred to as “Non-Functioning Fertility Deity Myths”. As we shall see, they share several further devices which are attested in the Hittite tradition as well, whereas one specific feature is attested only in the later IE traditions, namely Greek, Norse and Indic. Let us first turn our attention to those features which are attested in Hittite as well, namely the poetic devices which describe the existential conditions of the main characters and of the cosmos around them.
3 Parallels between the myths: a System of Structural Oppositions
The descriptions of the non-functioning state of the protagonists and of the non-functioning cosmos allow for the establishment of several parallels and ultimately of a system of structural oppositions. This may be summarized as in the following table:
|
IE non-functioning fertility deity myths |
Status of the main character |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
non-functioning |
functioning |
||
|
Features of the main character |
(1) stand, move upwards |
– |
+ |
|
(2) see, be in the light |
– |
+ |
|
|
(3) eat, drink |
– |
+ |
|
|
(4) speak |
– |
+ |
|
|
(5) (sexually) vigorous |
– |
+ |
|
|
Features of the cosmos |
(6) family ties work |
– |
+ |
|
(7) plants grow |
– |
+ |
|
|
(8) sacrifices work |
– |
+ |
|
Whenever a main character is not functioning properly (because he/she is angry, sad, dead, etc.), he/she is explicitly said, inter alia, to (1) not stand or (2) not see. These may at first seem unmarked features; they must however be analysed as marked, as they stand in structural opposition to the acts of (1) standing or (2) seeing, with which the main characters’ functioning state is explicitly associated in the texts. The same is valid for the descriptions of the non-functioning cosmos, which is linked to the main characters’ distress: among other things, if a main character is not functioning, (6) family ties do not work anymore within the cosmos around him/her; in contrast, once the main character is functioning again, (6) family ties work. In what follows, each of these associations (1–8) will be illustrated by a selection of passages quoted from the Hittite, Greek, Norse and Indic myths.
1. The non-functioning main character is said to not stand (i.e. sit, lie down, sleep) or move downwards (i.e. fall).
Hittite myth: KUB 33.10 ii 7–8 šumeš=a=wa=mu šašandan [kuwat aranutten] “[Why] did you [make] me (Telepinu) [rise], when I was sleeping/lying?”
Greek myth: HDem. 197–201 (Demeter) ἔνθα καθεζομένη προκατέσχετο χερσὶ καλύπτρην: / δηρὸν δ᾽ ἄφθογγος τετιημένη ἧστ᾽ ἐπὶ δίφρου, […] / ἧστο πόθῳ μινύθουσα βαθυζώνοιο θυγατρός “Sitting there, she held her veil before her face, and for a long time she sat on the stool in silent sorrow. […] She sat there pining for her deep-girt daughter;” HDem. 343–344 (Persephone) ἥμενον ἐν λεχέεσσι σὺν αἰδοίηι παρακοίτι / πόλλ᾿ ἀεκαζομένηι μητρὸς πόθωι “(Hermes found Hades) seated on his couch with his modest consort, who was full of resistance from longing for her mother.”
Norse myth: Gylf. 49 […] ok fell hann dauðr til jarðar. […] Þá er Baldr var fallinn þá fellusk ǫllum Ásum orðtǫk ok svá hendr at taka til hans […] “and he fell dead to the ground. […] When Baldr had fallen, then all the Æsir’s tongues failed them, as did their hands for lifting him up;” […] sá þar sitja í ǫndugi Baldr […] “there he saw Baldr, sitting in the seat of honour.”
Indic myth: ŚB 4.1.5.5 (Cyavana) […] púruṣa evā̀yaṃ jī́rṇiḥ kr̥tyā́rūpaḥ śete […] “Yonder lies a man, decrepit and ghostlike”; MBh. 13.52.31ab na prabodhyo ’smi saṃsupta ity uvācātha bhārgavaḥ “The son of Bhr̥gu (Cyavana) said to them, ‘Do not, while I sleep, awake me.’ ”
In contrast, the functioning main character must stand or move upwards (i.e. rise).
Greek myth: HDem. 370–371 […] γήθησεν δὲ περίφρων Περσεφόνεια, / καρπαλίμως δ᾽ ἀνόρουσ᾽ ὑπὸ χάρματος […] “So he spoke, and prudent Persephone was delighted, and promptly jumped up in joy.”
Indic myth: MBh. 13.52.36ab (Cyavana) bhārgavas tu samuttasthau svayam eva […] “The son of Bhrigu rose of his own accord.”
2. The non-functioning main character is said to not see or not be in the light (i.e. be in the shadow/darkness).
Greek myth: HDem. 80–81 (Persephone) […] ὃ δ᾽ ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα / ἁρπάξας ἵπποισιν ἄγεν […] “He (Hades) seized her, and was taking her on his chariot down to the misty darkness”; HDem. 98–100 (Demeter) ἕζετο δ᾽ […] τετιημένη ἦτορ, […] / ἐν σκιῇ […] “She had sat down […] sick at heart […] in the shade.”
Indic myth: DBP 7.3.37b–38a […] andhasya […] / […] jarārtasya krodhanasya viśeṣataḥ “of the blind, oppressed by old age, and, above all, very irritable (Cyavana).”
In contrast, the functioning main character is said to see (the light) or be in the light.
Greek myth: HDem. 33–37 (Persephone) ὄφρα […] / λεῦσσε θεὰ […] / αὐγάς τ᾽ ἠελίου, […] / τόφρα οἱ ἐλπὶς ἔθελγε μέγαν νόον […] “Now so long as the goddess could still see the light of the sun, […] so long her great mind had the comfort of hope […];” HDem. 336–338 ὄφρ᾿ Ἀΐδην μαλακοῖσι παραιφάμενος ἐπέεσσιν / ἁγνὴν Περσεφόνειαν ἀπὸ ζόφου ἠερόεντος / ἐς φάος ἐξαγάγοι […] “(Zeus sent Hermes to the Underworld) to persuade Hades with soft words and bring chaste Persephone out from the misty dark to the daylight.”
Indic myth: DBP 7.5.46 (Cyavana) […] andhasya ca ativr̥ddhasya bhogahīnasya kānane / yuvābhyāṃ nayane datte yauvanaṃ rūpam adbhūtam “I was blind, very aged and without any enjoyment in the forest, through you two I was given eyes, youth and exquisite beauty.”
3. The non-functioning main character is said to not eat and/or not drink anything or a specific (sacred) food.
Greek myth: HDem. 49–50 (Demeter) οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἡδυπότοιο / πάσσατ᾽ ἀκηχεμένη […] “and in her grief she did not once taste ambrosia and the nectar sweet to drink;” HDem. 200–201 (Demeter) ἀλλ᾿ ἀγέλαστος ἄπαστος ἐδητύος ἠδὲ ποτῆτος / ἧστο, πόθωι μινύθουσα βαθυζώνοιο θυγατρός “but she sat there unsmiling, tasting neither food nor drink, pining for her deep-girt daughter.”
Indic myth: JB 3.124.4 (Aśvins) […] yuvaṃ vā asarvau stho yau devau santāv asomapau sthaḥ […] “You are not complete, who, being gods, are not soma-drinkers.”
In contrast, the functioning main character must eat and/or drink something or a specific (ritual) food (cyceon in the Greek myth, soma in the Indic one).
Hittite ritual: KUB 33.11 ii 11–12 [nu=za] išpāi […] [nu=za] ninga “[…] [and] satisfy your hunger (Telipinu)! | […] [and] satisfy your thirst!”
Greek myth: HDem. 208–211 (Demeter) […] ἄνωγε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἄλφι καὶ ὕδωρ / δοῦναι μίξασαν πιέμεν γλήχωνι τερείνῃ. / […] δεξαμένη δ᾽ ὁσίης ἕνεκεν πολυπότνια Δηώ “she (Demeter) told her to mix barley and water with the graceful pennyroyal and give it to her to drink. […] The lady Deo (Demeter) took it for custom’s sake.”
Indic myth: JB 3.127 (Aśvins) […] tāv adhvaryū āstām tat tāv apisomāv abhavatām […] “they (the Aśvins) acted as two Adhvaryus and became partakers of Soma.”
4. The non-functioning main character is said to not speak.
Hittite myth: KUB 33.10 ii 8 [nu=wa=mu] šāntan kuwat memanutten “[And] why did you make [me] (Telipinu) speak, when I was sullen?”
Greek myth: HDem. 198–199 δηρὸν δ᾽ ἄφθογγος τετιημένη ἧστ᾽ ἐπὶ δίφρου, / οὐδέ τιν᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἔπεϊ προσπτύσσετο οὔτε τι ἔργῳ “For a long time she sat there on the stool in silent sorrow. She greeted no one with word or movement.”
Indic myth: MBh. 13.55.3b akiṃcid uktvā gamanaṃ bahiś ca […] “(Cyavana, what was thy object in) going out speaking to no one?”
In contrast, a functioning main character is said to speak.
Greek myth: HDem. 202–207 πρίν γ᾿ ὅτε δὴ χλεύηις μιν Ἰάμβη κέδν᾿ εἰδυῖα / πολλὰ παρασκώπτουσ᾿ ἐτρέψατο πότνιαν ἁγνήν / μειδῆσαι γελάσαι τε καὶ ἵλαον σχεῖν θυμόν· / […] ἔφασκεν “(Demeter did not speak,) until at last dutiful Iambe with ribaldry and many a jest diverted the holy lady so that she smiled and laughed and became benevolent. […] (Then, Demeter) said […].”
5. The non-functioning main character is said to be not (sexually) vigorous, i.e. decrepit.
Greek myth: HDem. 101–102 (Demeter) γρηὶ παλαιγενέι ἐναλίγκιος, ἥτε τόκοιο / εἴργηται δώρων τε φιλοστεφάνου Ἀφροδίτης “she looked like an ancient crone, debarred from motherhood and the blessings of garland-loving Aphrodite.”
Indic myth: ŚB 4.1.5.5 (Cyavana) […] púruṣa evā̀yaṃ jī́rṇiḥ kr̥tyā́rūpaḥ śete […] “Yonder lies a man, decrepit and ghostlike.”
In contrast, the functioning main character is described as (sexually) vigorous, i.e. young. Old age is removed as if it were a material object.
Greek myth: HDem. 275–276 (Demeter) ὣς εἰποῦσα θεὰ μέγεθος καὶ εἶδος ἄμειψε / γῆρας ἀπωσαμένη […] “With these words the goddess changed her form and stature, thrusting old age away.”
Indic myth: RV 5.74.5 (Cyavana) prá cyávānāj jujurúṣo / vavrím átkaṃ ná muñcathaḥ / yúvā yádī kr̥tháḥ púnar / ā́ kā́mam r̥ṇve vadhúvaḥ “You remove the covering like a cloak from Cyavāna, who had become old; as a youth—since you made him so again—he meets the desire of his wife.”
Let us now turn to the descriptions of the non-functioning cosmos caused by the main character’s distress.
6. When the main character is non-functioning, family ties do not work: parents do not recognize their children, brothers fight against each other.
Hittite myth: KUB 17.10 + KBo 55.8 i 8–9 UDU-uš=za SILA4-ŠU mimmaš GU4=ma AMAR-ŠU mimmaš “The ewe rejected her lamb. The cow rejected her calf.”
Indic myth: ŚB 4.1.5.3 sá śāryātébhyaś cukrodha tebhyó ’saṃjñāṃ cakāra pitaìvá putréṇa yuyudhe bhrā́tā bhrā́trā “He (Cyavana) was wroth with the Sâryâtas, and sowed discord among them: father fought with son, and brother with brother”; JB 3.121.3–4 […] so ’saṃjñāṃ śāryātyebhyo ’karot tan na mātā putram ajānān, na putro mātaram […] “He (Cyavana) sowed discord among Śaryāta’s people: then the mother did not recognize her son, nor the son his mother.”
In contrast, when the main character is functioning, family ties work again: parents recognize their children again.
Hittite myth: KUB 17.10 + KBo 55.8 iv 24–25 nu=za annaš DUMU-ŠU penništa UDU-uš SILA4-ŠU penništa GU4 AMAR-ŠU penništa “The mother nurtured her child. The ewe nurtured her lamb. The cow nurtured her calf.”
Indic myth: ŚB 4.1.5.7 […] tásya ha táta eva grā́maḥ saṃjajñe […] “And from that same time his tribe was at peace.”
7. When the main character is non-functioning, plants do not grow anymore.
Hittite myth: KUB 17.10 + KBo 55.8 i 13–17 nu namma ḫalkiš ZÍZ-tar UL māi […] n=ašta par(a)šduš UL wēzzi “Therefore barley and wheat no longer ripen […] shoots do not come (forth).”
Greek myth: HDem. 306–307 […] οὐδέ τι γαῖα / σπέρμ᾽ ἀνίει, κρύπτεν γὰρ […] Δημήτηρ “The land allowed nothing sown to come up, for fair-garlanded Demeter kept it hidden.”
In contrast, when the main character is functioning, plants grow.
Norse myth: Vsp. 621–4 Muno ósánir | acrar vaxa / bǫls mun allz batna | Baldr mun koma “without sowing cornfields will grow; all harm will be healed, Baldr will come.”
Greek myth: HDem. 470–471 […] Δημήτηρ / αἶψα δὲ καρπὸν ἀνῆκεν ἀρουράων ἐριβώλων […] “Demeter quickly made the produce of the loam-rich ploughlands come up.”
8. When the main character is non-functioning, sacrifices or divine feasts do not work.
Hittite myth: KUB 17.10 + KBo 55.8 i 19–20 GAL-iš=za dUTU-uš EZEN4-an yēt nu=za 1 LIM DINGIRMEŠ ḫalzaīš eter n=e UL išpiyēr ekwiēr=ma n=e=za UL ḫašš[i]kker “The Great Sun God made a feast and invited the Thousand Gods. They ate but couldn’t get enough. They drank but couldn’t quench their thirst.”
Greek myth: HDem. 311–312 […] γεράων τ᾽ ἐρικυδέα τιμὴν / καὶ θυσιῶν ἤμερσεν Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχοντας “(Demeter) would have deprived the Olympians of their honorific privileges and their sacrifices.”
Indic myth: JB 3.126 […] devā vā ete kurukṣetre ’paśīṛṣṇā yajñena yajamānā āsate te taṃ kāmaṃ nāpnuvanti yo yajñe kāmaḥ […] “The gods are now sacrificing in the Field of the Kurus; but their sacrifice has no head. They do not obtain what they desire to obtain with the sacrifice.”
In contrast, when the main character is functioning, sacrifices or divine feasts work again.
Hittite myth: KUB 33.19 iii 8–9 (CTH 327.1 “The Storm-god of the Queen Ḫarapšili”) [azzik]kanzi n=at=za išpiyēr ˹namma˺ [akkušk]anzi=ma n=at=za ḫaššikke[r] ˹namma˺ “They (the gods) [a]te, and they satisfied their hunger again. They [dran]k, and they quenche[d] their thirst.”
Indic myth: ŚB 4.1.5.15 […] tā́v adhvaryū́ yajñásyābhavatāṃ tā́v etád yajñásya śíraḥ práty adhattāṃ […] “those two (Aśvins) became the Adhvaryu priests of the sacrifice, and restored the head of the sacrifice.”
The Hittite, Greek, Norse and Indic mythical traditions appear to have several close correspondences. These may of course reflect (mass-scale) borrowing or areal diffusion. As we shall see, however, this assumption seems simply unnecessary once we compare the phraseology and themes shared by these mythical narratives with phraseology occurring in non-related IE texts.
4 Parallels in Non-Related Texts: Indo-European “Biopoetics”
From the perspective of IE poetic language, stand, see, eat, and the other concepts discussed above share the same contiguity relations and (trivial) semantic associations with the higher concept function as a living animate, i.e. live functionally, what Marcello Durante (1976: 117) called “pienezza della vitalità psicofisica”, different from the plain biological condition of being alive (which we today mostly identify with having a pulse or breathing). This semantic contiguity is evident for instance in RV 10.125.4ab máyā só ánnam atti yó vipáśyati / yáḥ prā́ṇiti yá īṃ śr̥ṇóti uktám “Through me he eats food—whoever sees, whoever breathes, whoever hears what is spoken,” i.e. whoever is functionally alive.11
Some “biopoetic”12 devices of this kind have already been shown to be inherited: the formulaic contiguity of the concepts lie down (PIE *k̑ei̯-) and be slain (PIE *gʷʰen-), as demonstrated by Calvert Watkins (1995: 500–506), the collocation not see light as a metaphor for be dead (Marcello Durante 1976: 116–118, George Dunkel 1993: 106–108 inter alia), the collocation eat and drink as a metaphor for live (Watkins 1995: 209). Further similar poetic devices are attested in several texts in IE languages which describe the existential conditions of dead, cursed, sick and other non-functioning characters. In a similar way, parallels for the non-functioning cosmos, which is associated with the main character’s distress in our myths, may be found in various IE narratives about the “End of Time” (e.g. Ragnarök, the Norse apocalypse), the time par excellence when the universe will become non-functioning.
Fragments of the system of structural oppositions which was set up above for the “Non-Functioning Fertility Deity Myths” may thus be recognized in texts which are not directly connected to these narratives. In what follows, seven semantic associations corresponding exactly to the first seven shared features of the “Myths of Non-Functioning Fertility Deities” will be illustrated by a selection of passages.
1. A non-functioning character is said to not stand, i.e. sit, lie down, or sleep.
As pointed out by Watkins (1995: 500–506), a character who has been slain (*gʷʰen-) is often said to lie (*k̑ei̯-) by formulaic association:
Greek: Il. 18.20 κεῖται Πάτροκλος, νέκυος δὲ δὴ ἀμφιμάχονται γυμνοῦ “Low lies Patroclus, and around his corpse they are fighting—his naked corpse.”
Vedic: RV 1.32.10d dīrgháṃ táma ā́śayad índraśatruḥ “He whose rival was Indra lay there in the long darkness (of death).”
Avestan: Yt. 10.80 yahmi sōire miϑrō.drujō / aipi vīϑiši jata / pauruua mašiiākā̊ŋhō “At whose divinatory trial men false to contract lie in masses, slain.” (tr. Watkins)
A slain or impure character may also sleep (Watkins 1995: 506–507); Vedic attests the figurative employment of make sleep for make die, i.e. slay (Jamison 1982–1983: 11). The association of the concept sit with the condition of being dead and that of lie with other non-functioning states such as old age or sadness are attested as well, cf. e.g. Od. 11.142 (“[Odysseus’ dead mother Antikleia] sits in silence near the blood”); 11.195 (“[Odysseus’ old father Laertes] lies sorrowing, and nurses his great grief in his heart”).
2. A non-functioning character is said to not see or not be in the light. As mentioned above, the figurative use of light as a metonymy for life has been widely treated.13
Greek: Il. 5.119–120 […] οὐδέ μέ φησι / δηρὸν ἔτ’ ὄψεσθαι λαμπρὸν φάος ἠελίοιο “and declares that not for long shall I look on the bright light of the sun (= I will die);” Eur. Hec. 706 ὦ τέκνον, οὐκέτ᾽ ὄντα Διὸς ἐν φάει “o child, now no more within the light of Zeus (= dead).”
Vedic: RV 1.32.10d dīrgháṃ táma ā́śayad índraśatruḥ “he whose rival was Indra lay there in the long darkness (of death).”
Conversely, a living character is said to see or be in the light:
Hittite: KUB 24.5, 8 nu=wa dUTU AN-E IGI.ḪI.A-it ušgallu “Let me see the sun of heaven with my eyes (= let me live).” (Dunkel 1993).
Old Norse: Helgakviða Hjǫrvarðssonar 393–4 buðlungr, sá er var, baztr und sólu “the king, who was the best under the sun (= the best who lived).”
3. A non-functioning character is said to not eat and/or not drink properly.
Hittite: KBo 22.178 + KUB 48.109 iii 4–5 [āšš]u adatar UL adanz[i] āššu akuwatar=mi[t U]L akuwanzi “they (the dead) do not eat [goo]d food; they do [no]t drink my good drink.”
Greek: Hes. Th. 796 οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἔρχεται ἆσσον / βρώσιος, ἀλλά τε κεῖται […] “(the cursed god) does not go near to ambrosia and nectar for nourishment, but lies there.”
Old Norse: Gylf. 34 […] Hungr diskr hennar, Sultr knífr hennar […] “her (the death goddess Hel’s) dish (is) Hunger, her knife (is) Famine.”
Conversely, the Hittite verb-phrase merism eat (and) drink means to be alive (Watkins 1995: 209) and is employed as a banishment formula in opposition to the death sentence (Dardano 2012: 627–633):
Hittite: KBo 3.1+ ii 13–15 nu=wa=za azzikkandu akkuškandu idālu=ma=šmaš=kan lē ku[itki] taggašši “Let them eat and drink (= let them live). Let no one do harm to them”; KUB 1.16 ii 33–34 nu azzikkeddu akkuškedd[u mān=aš āššuš] n=ašta šarā uiškettaru “Let him continue to eat and drink (= let him live). [So long as he is on good behavior,] let him continue to come up (to the palace).”14
4. A non-functioning character is said to not speak.
Greek: Od. 11.142 ἡ δ᾽ ἀκέουσ᾽ ἧσται σχεδὸν αἵματος, οὐδ᾽ ἑὸν υἱὸν / ἔτλη ἐσάντα ἰδεῖν οὐδὲ προτιμυθήσασθαι “she (Odysseus’ dead mother Antikleia) sits in silence near the blood and cannot bring herself to look upon the face of her own son or to speak to him”; Hes. Th. 797 […] ἀλλά τε κεῖται ἀνάπνευστος καὶ ἄναυδος […] “but (the cursed god) lies there without breath and without voice.”
Middle Welsh: BFL 44.10 Ac yna y byrywyt y kalaned yn y peir […], ac y kyuodyn tranoeth y bore yn wyr ymlad kystal a chynt, eithyr na ellynt dywedut. “Then they threw the corpses into the cauldron […], and they (= the dead) would get up the next morning fighting as well as before except that they could not talk.”
5. A functioning character is expected to be vigorous and not decrepit: old age is like a covering which may be removed.
The connection between a functioning hero and the concept youth is of course very well attested, cf. e.g. Gk. ἥρως ‘hero’, which is the reflex of *Hi̯eh1rou̯- ‘the (masculine) personification of the period of bloom’ (García Ramón 2016: 53–56). In the passage of the Sanskrit myth of Cyavana quoted above, however, this association is paired with the peculiar poetic image of old age as a covering which can be removed, cf. RV 5.74.5ab: prá cyávānāj jujurúṣo / vavrím átkaṃ ná muñcathaḥ “You remove the covering like a cloak from Cyavāna, who had become old.” This feature may be inherited, as it matches closely the Homeric formulaic expression γῆρας ἀποξῦσαι “to strip away old age,” which is attested as a poetic periphrasis for make young again, cf. Il. 9.445–446 […] οὐδ’ εἴ κέν μοι ὑποσταίη θεὸς αὐτὸς / γῆρας ἀποξύσας θήσειν νέον ἡβώοντα “not even if a god himself should undertake to strip from me my old age and render me strong in youth.”15 In HDem. 275–276 (quoted above, § 3 [5]) a similar, though not identical, expression γῆρας ἀπωσαμένη “thrusting away old age” is attested at the beginning of the hexameter as well, reflecting the same poetic image of old age as a material which can be removed.
Let us now focus on the descriptions of cosmic disorder which occur in texts in IE languages.
6. Within any non-functioning cosmos, family ties do not work: parents do not recognize their children and siblings fight against each other.
Hittite: KBo 22.178 ii 3–7 + KUB 48.109 ii 4–8 (Realm of the Dead) annanekē[š UL kan]ēššanzi pappa-ŠE[ŠMEŠ UL kan]ēššanzi annaš=za DUMU-a[n UL k]anēšzi [DUMU-aš=za] AMA-a[n UL k]anēšzi “Sisters having the same mother do [not] recognize (each other). Brothers having the same father do [not] recognize (each other). A mother does [not] recognize [her] own child. [A child] does [not] recognize [its own] mother” (Hoffner 1998: 34).
Greek: Hes. Erga 183–185 (End of Time) οὐδὲ πατὴρ παίδεσσιν ὁμοίιος οὐδέ τι παῖδες, […] / οὐδὲ κασίγνητος φίλος ἔσσεται, ὡς τὸ πάρος περ “Father will not be like-minded with sons, nor the sons (with their father), […] nor will the brother be dear (to his own brother), as he once was.”16
Old Norse: Vsp. 45 (End of Time) Brœðr muno beriaz | oc at bǫnom verðaz / muno systrungar / sifiom spilla “brothers will fight and kill each other, sisters’ children will defile kinship.”17
Old Irish: CMT 838–840 (End of Time) Foglaid cech mac. Ragaid mac i lligie a athar. Ragaid athair a lligi a meic. […] immera mac a athair “Every son an enemy (of his father). The son will go to the bed of his father, the father will go to the bed of his son. […] Son will betray his father.”
Hittite kanēš- ‘recognize’ is a reflex of PIE *ǵneh3- ‘recognize, discern, perceive’ and therefore a cognate of Ved. jñā- ‘id.’.18 A collocation mother not recognize (*ǵneh3-) son thus underlies both this Hittite text and the passage of Cyavana’s myth quoted above (§ 3 [6]: JB 3.121.4 […] tan na mātā putram ajānān […] “then the mother did not recognize her son”).
7. Within any non-functioning cosmos, plants do not grow anymore.
Old Norse: Gylf. 51 (End of Time) […] vetr sá kemr er kallaðr er fimbulvetr. Þá drífr snær ór ǫllum áttum. Frost eru þá mikil ok vindar hvassir. Ekki nýtr sólar. Þeir vetr fara þrír saman ok ekki sumar milli “[…] a winter will come called ‘mighty winter’. Then snow will drift from all directions. There will then be great frosts and keen winds. The sun will do no good. There will be three of these winters together and no summer between.”
Old Irish: CMT 831 (End of Time) Ni accus bith nombeo baid: sam cin blatha […] “I shall not see a world which will be dear to me: summer without blossoms.”
The same motif occurs in the Iranian mythical tradition as well (cf. e.g. Mallory & Adams 1997: 182).
Let us summarize the conclusions reached so far. The poetic devices employed in the IE “Non-Functioning Fertility Deity Myths” to describe the non-functioning state of the main character(s) and the consequent non-functioning cosmos have several correspondences (§ 3). These poetic devices reflect phraseology and themes which are independently attested in several IE traditions and are most probably reflexes of inherited PIE poetic culture (§ 4). The most economical way to explain the parallels between the Hittite, Greek, Norse and Indic myths is therefore to assume that they reflect an inherited PIE mythical theme, the peculiarity of which consisted of the (causal) link between the (variously described) non-functioning state of one or more main characters and the (variously described) non-functioning condition of the cosmos around them.
5 Parallels Limited to Core Indo-European: an Inherited Type-Scene
A further common feature of “Non-Functioning Fertility Deity Myths” is the occurrence of a scene involving characters who ride horses or drive chariots in order to reach the non-functioning main character. These scenes are exclusively attested in the non-Hittite narratives, namely in the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, in the Norse myth of Baldr, and, partially, in the Indic myth of Cyavana, Sukanyā and the Aśvins:
Greek myth: HDem. 375–385
ἵππους δὲ προπάροιθεν ὑπὸ χρυσέοισιν ὄχεσφινἔντυεν ἀθανάτους Πολυσημάντωρ Ἀιδωνευς.ἣ δ᾽ ὀχέων ἐπέβη, πάρα δὲ κρατὺς Ἀργειφόντηςἡνία καὶ μάστιγα λαβὼν μετὰ χερσὶ φίλῃσισεῦε διὲκ μεγάρων: τὼ δ᾽ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην.ῥίμφα δὲ μακρὰ κέλευθα διήνυσαν: οὐδὲ θάλασσαοὔθ᾽ ὕδωρ ποταμῶν οὔτ᾽ ἄγκεα ποιήενταἵππων ἀθανάτων οὔτ᾽ ἄκριες ἔσχεθον ὁρμήν,ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ αὐτάων βαθὺν ἠέρα τέμνον ἰόντες.στῆσε δ᾽ ἄγων, ὅθι μίμνεν ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ,νηοῖο προπάροιθε θυώδεος […]
Then the Major General Aïdoneus harnessed his immortal steeds at the front under the golden chariot. She (Persephone) got into it, while beside her the strong Argus-slayer took the reins and the goad in his hands and urged the horses out through the halls, and they flew forward without demur. Swiftly they accomplished the long legs of their journey: neither sea nor flowing rivers nor grassy glens nor mountain peaks stayed the immortal steeds’ impetus, but they passed over them cleaving the deep air. He brought them to a halt where fair-garlanded Demeter was waiting, in front of her fragrant temple.
Norse myth: Gylf. 49
[…] Þá reið Hermóðr þar til er hann kom at Helgrindum. Þá sté hann af hestinum ok gyrði hann fast, steig upp ok keyrði hann sporum. En hestrinn hljóp svá hart ok yfir grindina at hann kom hvergi nær. Þá reið Hermóðr heim til hallarinnar ok steig af hesti, gekk inn í hǫllina, sá þar sitja í ǫndugi Baldr bróður sinn […]
Then Hermod rode on until he came to Hel’s gates. Then he dismounted from the horse and tightened its girth, mounted and spurred it on. The horse jumped so hard and over the gate that it came nowhere near. Then Hermod rode up to the hall and dismounted from his horse, went into the hall, saw sitting there in the seat of honour his brother Baldr.
Indic myth: ŚB 4.1.5.6
sa ráthaṃ yuktvā́
sukanyā́ṃ śāryātī́m upādhā́ya prásiṣyanda sa ā́jagāma yatra rṣir ā́sa tát
He (king Śaryati) yoked his chariot, and putting his daughter Sukanyâ thereon, he set forth, and came to the place where the Rishi (Cyavana) was.
The scenes appear to have several structural and phraseological matches. The elements shared by these passages may be summarized as follows:
-
A horse/chariot is harnessed.
-
Someone (a maiden in the Greek and Indic narratives) mounts/is put on the horse/chariot.
-
The horse/chariot sets forth.
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The horse/chariot flies/jumps over an obstacle (not in Indic).
-
All contact between the horse/chariot and the obstacle is denied (not in Indic).
-
The horse/chariot reaches the place where the non-functioning main character is.
The elements (a–f) occur in identical order in Greek, Norse and (to some extent)19 in Indic, and therefore point, in my opinion, to an inherited narrative structure. This kind of ready-made thematic structures, called “traditional type-scenes” in the terminology of scholars of oral literature, were first observed in Homeric poetry by Walter Arend (1933). However, if we compare the horse/chariot-scenes in our myths with Homeric type-scenes of the type “ride on a chariot” (Arend 1933: 86 ff.), parallels may be found only for the realistic elements (a–c, f), whereas there are not matches for the fantastic elements (d–e, the horse/chariot flying over all obstacles).
In the Hittite myth of Telipinu, the god is reached by a flying object as well, namely a bee, sent by the goddess Ḫannaḫanna to search for Telipinu, whom the bee finds lying on a meadow (e.g. KUB 33.9 ii 11–12 + KUB 33.10 ii 4–5). No horses or chariots are involved; the only further correspondence with the other mythical traditions is the employment in both the Hittite and Greek scenes of the same collocation earth and water as a merism for world under the sky.20
The attestation of structurally comparable scenes involving horses or chariots in the Greek, Norse and (at least partially) Indic narratives and the absence of the same feature in the Hittite narratives points to an innovation of the poetic devices associated with the “Non-Functioning Fertility Deity Myths”: the innovation must have taken place after the split between Proto-Anatolian and so-called Core Indo-European, from which Greek, Old Norse and Sanskrit (among others) later developed. If the Greek, Norse and Indic scenes indeed reflect an inherited Core-Indo-European ready-made narrative structure, the type-scene must have originally involved horses, as chariots are first attested by archaeological sources around the 21st century BCE (Anthony 2007: 462), too late to correspond to the time of Core-Indo-European unity.21 The chariots employed in the Greek and Indic narratives must therefore reflect an even younger innovation, which may have spread together with chariot technology in the context of long-distance cultural contact attested by the archaeology of Bronze Age Eurasia (cf. e.g. Kristiansen-Larsson 2005: 197 ff.; Anthony 2007: 456–457). This would not be unparalleled, as the same must indeed be assumed for the poetic image of the “Chariot of the Sun” attested by several Indo-European traditions, which for the same reasons cannot be reconstructed as an inherited feature (cf. West 2007: 210).
6 Conclusions
The conclusions of this study may be summarized as follows:
-
A series of phraseological and thematic parallels between the Hittite myth of Telipinu, the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, the Norse myth of Baldr and the Indic myths of Cyavana may be identified. These parallels concern the poetic devices employed in the narratives to describe the non-functioning state of the main character and the consequent non-functioning cosmos: the non-functioning main characters appear to share the features not stand/move upwards, not see/be in the light, not eat/drink, not speak and not be (sexually) vigorous, while the non-functioning environments around them share the features family ties do not work, plants do not grow and sacrifices do not work. The opposite features occur once the main character(s) and (consequently) the surrounding cosmos are back to a functioning state.
-
These parallels match phraseological collocations and themes which are well attested independently in several IE traditions to describe the existential conditions of any non-functioning character (e.g. dead characters) and of any non-functioning cosmos (e.g. the world at the End of Time), respectively; the use of these poetic devices is therefore a reflex of inherited PIE poetic culture.
-
Even though the possibility of borrowing and areal diffusion remains open, the most economical way to explain the numerous parallels between the Hittite, Greek, Norse and Indic myths is to assume that they reflect an inherited PIE mythical theme about “Non-Functioning Fertility Deities”, in which the non-functioning state of one or more main characters was intimately linked with the non-functioning condition of the cosmos around them.
-
The Greek, Norse and (partially) Indic narratives attest structurally comparable scenes involving horses or chariots. The absence of the same feature in the Hittite narratives suggests that it reflects an innovation of the poetic devices associated with the mythical theme of the “Non-Functioning Fertility Deity” which must have taken place after the split between Proto-Anatolian and Core Indo-European, from which Greek, Old Norse and Sanskrit later developed.
-
The inherited Core-Indo-European type-scene must have originally involved horses; the chariots employed in the Greek and Indic narratives reflect an even younger innovation which may have spread together with chariot technology (after the 21st century BCE).
Acknowledgements
For valuable help, criticism and discussion, it is my pleasure to thank Andrea Lorenzo Covini, Paola Dardano, Manfred Hutter, Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar, Alwin Kloekhorst, Daniel Kölligan, Kristian Kristiansen, Guus Kroonen, Matilde Serangeli, Michael Weiss and especially José Luis García Ramón and H. Craig Melchert, who engaged in detailed discussion of the final version of the present contribution. I also wish to thank Benedicte Nielsen Whitehead and Robert Tegethoff for improving my English version, as well as the anonymous reviewer for her/his helpful remarks. The usual disclaimers apply.
The translations of Greek passages are adapted from those of the Loeb Classical Library; other translations are adapted from Davies 2007 (Branwen ferch Llŷr), Dronke 1997 (Vǫluspá), Eggeling 1885 (Śatapathabrāhmaṇa), Faulkes 1987 (Gylfaginning), Ganguli 1883–1896 (Mahābhārata 13), Gray 1982 (Cath Maige Tuired), Jamison & Brereton 2014 (Rigveda), Hoffner 1998 (Telipinu myth), Vijñanananda 1890 (Devībhāgavatapurāṇa), Vira-Candra 1954 (Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa). Unless otherwise noted, Hittite texts are quoted on the basis of Rieken et al. 2012 (KUB 17.10 + KBo 55.8), 2009a (IBoT 3.141 + KUB 33.5), 2009b (KUB 33.10), 2009c (KUB 33.11), 2009d (KUB 33.19) and Fuscagni 2012 (KBo 22.178 + KUB 48.109).
The following abbreviations for literary sources are used: BFL = Branwen ferch Llŷr; CMT = Cath Maige Tuired; DBP = Devībhāgavatapurāṇa; Gylf. = Gylfaginning; HAph. = Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite; HDem. = Homeric Hymn to Demeter; JB = Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa; MBh. = Mahābhārata; ŚB = Śatapathabrāhmaṇa; Vsp. = Vǫluspá.
On the Telipinu myth in general, cf. e.g. Haas 1994: 707–719; Haas 2006: 103–115; Hutter-Braunsar 2011; Asan 2014.
The Storm-God is the protagonist of a serpent-slaying narrative whose PIE background has been conclusively demonstrated by Calvert Watkins (1995: 321 ff.; 355–356; 444 ff.); Ḫannaḫanna’s name is a reduplicated formation of the inherited term ḫanna- ‘grandmother’ (PIE *h2enH-o- ‘id.’, cf. Latin anus ‘old woman’; HED, s.v.).
Cf. e.g. Watkins 1995: 448 ff. on Anatolian and Greek myths.
The summaries do not differentiate between the various versions of the Hittite myth of Telipinu and of the Indic myth of Cyavana, Sukanyā and the Aśvins: any version, even more recent ones, may attest ancient motifs which are not preserved by other versions.
On the Homeric Hymn and on Demeter’s myth in general, cf. e.g. Richardson 1974: 1–135; Foley 1993; Janda 2000 and 2005 passim.
On the myth of Baldr in general, cf. e.g. de Vries 1956–1957: 2, 214–238; Lindow 1997; Liberman 2016: 197–241.
On the myth of Cyavana in general, cf. e.g. Hopkins 1905; Witzel 1987; West 2017. On the etymology of his name (Cyávāna- in the RV, Cyávana- in later sources, a change whose reasons are unknown), cf. García Ramón 1999. The name is conventionally spelled Cyavana throughout this paper (but Cyavāna within quotations from Jamison & Brereton 2014).
Cf. Dietz 1974: 78–79. For parallels between Baldr and certain West-Asian fertility deities, cf. Neckel 1920; Schier 1995.
In contrast, Telipinu, Persephone, Demeter and the Aśvins are deities explicitly associated with fertility.
Cf. Jamison & Brereton 2014 ad loc.: “[…] Eating is essential to life: one can’t see, breathe, or hear without being alive […].” Contiguity-driven features of the poetic language such as merisms were most probably learned in blocks: as noted by Calvert Watkins (1995: 209), the employment of several “inherited formulaic merisms in a row” is “a recurrent feature of early Indo-European traditional texts, which may indicate that these formulas were learned in groups”.
Just like English bioethics refers to “ethical issues relating to the practice of medicine and biology” (OED, s.v.), the term biopoetics could be used to refer to those poetic devices which relate to cultural conceptions of health, healing and life in general.
Cf. the aforementioned Durante 1976: 116–118 and Dunkel 1993: 106–108, as well as West 2007: 86–87. Cf. also Bremer 1976: 37 and Kölligan 2007: 254, 274 (Greek); Roesler 1997: 264–265 and Oberlies 1998: 455–458 (Vedic).
Cf. also KBo 4.8 ii 10–12, where a banished priestess is said to live, see the sun (cf. supra) and eat “the bread of life” (H. Craig Melchert, p.c.).
Cf. also Nostoi fr. 7 Bernabé. S. Douglas Olson (2012, ad loc.) points out a peculiar use of the phrase in HAph. 223–224.
Cf. also Hes. Erga 185–189.
It should be noted that both the myth of Baldr and the myth of the End of Time (as well as several other Norse myths) are attested in the Vǫluspá and in the Gylfaginning, which, therefore, strictly speaking, are related to our myths.
Cf. LIV²: 168–170; HED, s.v. ganes(s)-, kanes(s)-; García Trabazo 2007: 293–297; Kloekhorst 2008, s.v. kane/išš-zi.
The myth of Cyavana does not attest the elements (d–e), but the chariot ride seems to be a traditional motif, as it occurs in the Kauśika narrative as well, cf. MBh. 13.55.5; 22.
Over which both the Hittite bee and the Greek chariot fly, cf. KUB 33.5 ii 17–19; HDem. 380–383.
Greek and Indo-Aryan (differentiated from Iranian) are already attested as separate branches by the 16th century BCE.
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