Perkʷūnos, often translated as "the Striker" or "the Lord of Oaks," was the Proto-Indo-European God of thunder, oaks and fertility; he is the ancestor of many thunder deities like Taranis or Thunaraz, his father is Dyēus the Sky father, and was the sibling of H₂éwsōs and the Divine Twins, Perkʷūnos' greatest enemy was the monster H₂n̥gʷʰis.
Mythology[]
Perkʷūnos and Dʰéǵʰōm[]
The relationship between Perkʷūnos and Dʰéǵʰōm is unclear, however using his descendants, Perkʷūnos could be the son of Dʰéǵʰōm, because both Thor and Parjanya were the sons of their respective mother earths (Prithvi and Jord). But Dʰéǵʰōm also could have been the wife of Perkʷūnos, as Perkūnas and Perun also had as a wife to Žemyna and Mokosh (respectively) who were descendants of Dʰéǵʰōm.
As the King of the Gods[]
Although Dyēus was the main god of the Proto-Indo-European Pantheon, but for other Proto-Indo-Europeans Peoples, more specifically those from some parts of the east, Perkʷūnos was the King of the Gods rather than Dyēus, this is evident with that deities like Perun, Teshub and others that were both the supreme deities and kings of those respective areas.
As a Demon[]
Perʷūnos although he was a benevolent deity, ironically was demonized in specific cases, in the Zoroastrian cosmogony Frasparega was a Daeva created by Ahriman and was given the title of leader of "false gods", when the Christians arrived to Finland Ukko was renamed as Perkele whose meaning is evil spirit, the word Perkele is derived from the the Proto-Indo-European word Perkʷūnos.
The Hittite god Teshub was demonized as Rimmon by the ancient Hebrews.
Legacy[]
As a day[]
The word Thursday comes from Thor's day that at the same time Thor evolves from Perkʷūnos, equally, the Slavs have their own word for Thursday that was Peründan, whose name is also related with Perkwunos.
Music[]
Perkʷūnos's descent has great musical importance in the morden world:
- Pērkons is a rock band founded in the year 1981 in Latvia.
- Perkele is a Swedish rock band founded in the year 1993.
- THOR was a Canadian heavy metal band that was active from 1971–1986, but they would return in 1997 to the present.
- Hercules was a musical drama compound by George Frideric Handel.
Elijah[]
The Saint Elijah was identified both with Perkunas and Perun, because the three has a celestial chariot made in fire and associates with the Oaks.
Gallery[]
