Teshub killing snake

Neo-Hittite basalt stele depicting Teshub, the neo-Hittite storm god standing on a bull, 9-8th century BC, Hatay Archaeology Museum, Antakya, Türkiye. Photo: Carole Raddato

Why is Teshub standing on a bull? Why is he holding a snake in his left hand? Animal calendar markers can (again) help us answer these questions🙂:

Snake is a pure solar animal. It is in our world when sun is here (day, hot half of the year) and it is in the underworld when sun is there (night, cold half of the year)...

I talked about snake as the solar symbol in many of my posts...

This is why it is the main symbol of sun's heat. Since Sumerian times...

In Mesopotamia, summer lasted seven (hot) months...Which is why local dragon (dragon = symbol of summer), had seven snake heads (snake = symbols of sun's heat)...Oh, and look, we also have dragon killer(s) and the princess 🙂 I talked about this amazing seal in my post "Seven headed dragon"...

BTW, this is also by the beast of the apocalypse has seven heads...Full symbolic analysis of the Woman of the Apocalypse, described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation can be found in my post "Apocalypse"...

Fire breathing dragon, the symbol of the destructive summer sun's heat which burns everything and brings drought (steals water), is just "an old snake", symbol of old sun's, late summer sun's heat, heat of the hottest time of the year...

This link between snakes and dragons is best preserved in Slavic folklore which help me to decipher snake and dragon mythologies in other parts of the world...They all turned out to have the same underlining solar snake root...

I talked about snake and dragon in Slavic mythology in my post "Scaring off the dragon" in which I talked about the fact that in the past, Bulgarian (and Serbian) farmers believed that droughts were caused by winged fire breathing dragon who "stole and locked up" the waters...

And so, to prevent the dragon from steeling the water, in northwest Bulgaria, on a certain date in Apr/May, Taurus, all the strong and healthy village men would gather at midnight, strip naked and walk the village land in ritual silence brandishing axes or cudgels to scare off the dragon...

It is interesting that they carried axes, just like Perun, the Slavic thunder god, but also like may other Eurasian thunder gods...The dragon slayers...

The main duty of all the thunder gods is to kill the snake/dragon and release the waters the dragon stole...Hence the thunder god Teshub depicted with a raised axe, about to kill the snake/dragon, and release the waters...

Sometimes the thunder gods were armed with spears instead of axes...Like the two dudes fighting the Sumerian dragon or like the Luwian Storm-God depicted on the Malatya relief conquering the dragon called Illuyanka. I talked about this relief in my post "Malatya relief"... 

So this is why Teshub is killing a snake (dragon)...

But why is Teshub standing on a bull? Taurus, Apr/May is the beginning of the thunderstorm season in Anatolia...

Taurus (Apr/May) originally had nothing to do with stars. It originally marked the beginning of the calving season of wild Eurasian cattle...

I talked about bull/calf as animal calendar marker in many of my posts...

Taurus, Apr/May also marks the beginning of summer, the hot half of the year...As depicted on this Neo-Assyrian seal, dated to 900 - 775 BC. Currently in the Morgan Library. I talked about it in my post "Assyrian bull and Pleiades seal"...

But in Turkey, because of its climate, bull is both symbol of the sun and thunder...Because the beginning of summer is also the beginning of the thunderstorm season...

The direct symbolic link between bull and snake/dragon can be seen on my favourite Bactrian seal depicts a snake with two heads: a snake/dragon (left) and a bull (right)...Symbolically equating snake/dragon (summer sun) and bull (summer starts in Taurus) and linking both with the sun's heat, symbolised by a snake body...I talked about this in my post "Bactrian snakes and dragons"...

Snake is an animal calendar marker in its own right too.

God most high...  

Snake: Apr/May, beginning of the main snake mating season, beginning of summer. 

Lion: Jul/Aug, beginning of the main lion mating season, end of summer.  

And in the middle, summer solstice, sun most high. I talked about this in my post "You will trample the great lion and serpent"...

Hence:

Azhi Dahāka? Aždaha? Zahak? Arimanius? Ahriman? Angra Mainiu? Nergal? Dragon? Lion? Sun. Destructive sun of summer, which causes drought and death. Summer which starts in Apr/May, when vipers start to mate...

I talked about this in my post "Snake god from Hatra"...

There is another interesting thing about snakes and thunder gods

Why is Hermes, the herald (voice) of Zeus, carrying a staff with two coiling snakes, given to him as a present by Apollo, the sun god?

Cause, as I already said above, snakes (solar animals) mate (coil) in Apr/May, (heralding) the beginning of the thunderstorm season...I talked about this in my post "Lyre of Apollo"...

So in Turkey, because of its climate, both snake and bull are animal calendar markers for the beginning of the hot season, and the beginning of the thunderstorm season...

Hence Thunder God Teshub, standing on a bull, about to strike a snake/dragon of drought with his thunder axe...I talked about the association between thunder and (stone) axes in my post "Thunder axe"...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, which are at the root of all our mythologies, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Happy to see you

3000 year old petroglyph "of a man running away from a big snake". It is one of the many Rock carvings in Tanum, Sweden. 

I would strongly disagree with the interpretation. Here is why:

Does this man really look like he is running away from the snake? Of course not. He is not running away from the snake. He is welcoming the snake...

Why would he do that?

Cause of this:

Snake is a pure solar animal. It is in our world when sun is here (day, hot half of the year) and it is in the underworld when sun is there (night, cold half of the year)...I talked about it in many of my posts...

Snakes appear in the spring, with the sun...That's probably the sun above the snake...

And the man is welcoming the return of the sun and the snake, happy that the winter has ended and that the world had survived...Cause sometimes it doesn't...

Sometimes the sun and the snake go away and don't come back...For a very very very very long time...

That's it. To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Apollo and Python

Drawing after a lost Apulian red figure amphora showing Leto with Apollo and Artemis pursued by Python (early 4th century BC). 

It is interesting that according to the Delphian tradition, Apollo was born on the 7th day of the month of Bysios (Jan/Feb). Interesting why ?

Remember this post, "The marble throne of Apollo" in which I talked about why Apollo is actually a deified Serpent/Dragon, deified symbols of sun's heat...

Marble Throne of Apollo, Roman, late 1st c. AD.

Whoever made this, knew who Apollo really was and wanted to show Apollo in his true shape (serpent, dragon), sitting on his throne. 

In this post I mentioned that Apollo's (Python's) oracle  in Delphi only gave prophecies during the nine warmest months of the year. During winter months, Apollo was said to have deserted his temple. Why?

Cause snakes (including Python) are in our world when sun (god Apollo) is here (day, hot half of the year) and they are in the underworld when sun (god Apollo) is there (night, cold half of the year)...

In Greece, snake season is Feb/Mar - Oct/Nov

Feb/Mar is just after Apollo's birthday, Jan/Feb, beginning of spring. Spring which is brought by the re(birth), return of the sun (god Apollo) from the land of the dead...

So snakes again follow sun (god Apollo) to our world. Just like Python does on the above Apulian vase. BTW, did you notice that Apollo is stretching his arms towards Python? As if he wants to play with the serpent/dragon, his alter ego, and is saying: "Can we keep it?! Please!"🙂

Now I wrote about the birth of Apollo before in several of my posts. Like for instance "Cygnus"... 

When Apollo was born, "swans circled Delos seven times"...Young Sun God is born on winter solstice...And during second millennium BC, the formative period of the Greek mythology, Cygnus (Swan) constellation rose with the sun around winter solstice. The same time which migratory singing swans from Northern Europe spent in Greece...

I still believe that like all sun gods, Apollo was also born on Winter Solstice, Dec/Jan, beginning of the new Solar Year, and that what Delphian tradition calls Apollo's birthday is actually the day of his arrival from the land of the dead (end of winter, beginning of spring)...

Another interesting thing about Delphic version of the Apollo's birth is that he was born on the 7th day of the month of Bysios. Also, while usually Greek festivals were celebrated at the full moon, all the feasts of Apollo were celebrated on the 7th day of the month...

Why? No one knows, but "the emphasis given to that day (sibutu) indicates a Babylonian origin"...

That's interesting...BTW, when Apollo was born, swans circled above the new born god 7 times...Why? As a sing that he will be playing 7 string lyre? Why? No one knows...

BTW, I talked about Animal and plant calendar markers embedded into the story about the birth of Hermes, particularly the part related to him making the first lyre, which he later swapped with Apollo for the caduceus in my post "Lyre of Apollo". 

And I just realised by Apollo is dragging the lyre with him everywhere...It again has to do with Mesopotamia. Will write about it soon...If I don't forget 🙂

Anyway, Apollo and number 7...Hmmmm....

Apollo-Helios wearing a crown with 7 rays of light and a halo, fresco from Pompei, currently in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Campania, Italy.

So what's with number 7 and Apollo, who, (I proposed) is a no other than deified Serpent/Dragon, deified destructive sun's heat? Remember this?

In Mesopotamia, summer lasted seven (hot) months...Which is why local dragon (dragon = symbol of summer), had seven snake heads (snake = symbols of sun's heat)...Oh, and look, we also have dragon killer(s) and the princess 🙂. I talked about this in my post "Seven headed dragon"...

For the same reason we have this...

Vedic Sun God Surya was usually depicted riding a chariot harnessed by seven usually white horses. Or by a white horse with seven heads...I talked about this in my post "Hayagriva"...

And finally this. A reminder of the last apocalypse...Please count the heads...From my post "Apocalypse"...

Soo...I think we all learned few interesting things here 🙂 BTW, Apollo is the seven headed dragon...If you want to know what I am talking about check these posts: "Palil", "Lord of the flies", "Lions of Delos", "Apollo and dolphins", "Marble throne of Apollo", "White raven", "Threshing floor of Apollo", "Apollo the great archer"...More coming...

That's it. To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...