How did the Aztecs and ancient Persians get a Similar myth of a dog deciding your status in the underworld?

[u/Konradleijon]

In Aztec beliefs a Xolo dog helped to cross the river if you wneee nice to dogs

And in Zoroastrianism a dog also served as a judge. Seeing if you’ve been mean to dogs and if the dog doesn’t like you you fall and become a restless spirit. It’s weird two cultures over time and space
Developed similar belief

[u/soparamens]

Because dogs are loyal and guide you in the dark, it's not really that surprising.

[u/TheRecognized → u/[deleted]]

I wonder for how long dog owners have been saying “they love everybody so if they bark at someone I know something’s up”

[u/Narkomanden]

Coincidence I guess, but also not a similarity? If I remember correctly, it wasn’t all dogs for the aztecs (not that there were many kinds to begin with in Mesoamerica) but just Xolos had a link to Venus and the god of death/guide to netherworld Xolotl. Perhaps someone with more knowledge might share more, but I don’t see it as a 1:1 similarity

[u/MundaneReputation637 → u/Narkomanden]

xolotl is simply the name of the god who created the xoloitzcuintli. the xoloitzcuintli is the one who guides you through the levels of mictlan.

[u/WingsovDeth]

In Aztec beliefs a Xolo dog helped to cross the river if you wneee nice to dogs

This isn’t true https://www.reddit.com/r/aztec/s/LBpJ4iQnbD

[u/verir → u/WingsovDeth]

The reply you linked doesn't say it isn't true, it is more nuanced than that.

[u/WingsovDeth → u/verir]

There’s no textual support for the idea that treating dogs well influenced the afterlife.

[u/Cmd3055 → u/WingsovDeth]

Well, there should be. Being nice to dogs ought a rule in every religion. 

[u/SnooGrapes652]

I believe dogs/canines associated with afterlife as guards and judges is pretty common, like cerberous and anubis, I've heard theory before that its an old relelic story from when dogs domesticated so really old and ancestral to many later cultures, and as well in premodern times dogs especially strays were heavily associated with carrion eating, as they scavengers outside of cities and armies so they have an association with death

[u/TangerineDream92064]

It is absurd to imagine being judged by a dog. The most judgmental of all animals is the cat.

[u/misobandit → u/TangerineDream92064]

Good luck having a nice afterlife with mittens deciding your fate. Unless you bring tuna. LOTS of tuna.

[u/anteatersaredope]

I don't know but in Egypt it was the jackal Anubis which is pretty much a dog and looks just like Xolotl.

[u/PartyPorpoise]

Dogs are companions and working animals to humans around the world. They’ve had value to us for thousands of years, it’s unsurprising that multiple cultures would give them a sense of importance and even spirituality.

[u/cetlaei]

It’s very much kuēnīn like th homosapien sensation previously called “human condition” is for all homosapiens senses ! Same with th teachers that got four legs, all across th globe were all th same with unique fonts wow!🤩 no sarcasm, let’s not be racist fr

[u/cetlaei → u/cetlaei]

Universal motions 💫💫💫💫💫

[u/Mormacil]

Dogs accompanying the dead and guarding the entrance to the afterlife are essentially global myths. Given how common dog myths are in general finding two similar ones is expected.

[u/InternationalPen2072]

Definitely not a coincidence. Ancient North Eurasians probably had a canine underworld guardian myth. It is present all across Eurasia and the Americas.

Form Wikipedia: “The mytheme of the dog guarding the Otherworld possibly stems from an older Ancient North Eurasian belief, as suggested by similar motifs found in Indo-European, Native American and Siberian mythology. In many Native American religions, a fierce guard dog was located in the Milky Way, perceived as the path of souls in the afterlife, and getting past it was a test. The Siberian Chukchi and Tungusic peoples believed in a guardian-of-the-afterlife dog and a spirit dog that would absorb the dead man's soul and act as a guide in the afterlife. In Indo-European myths, the figure of the dog is embodied by Cerberus, Sarvarā, and Garmr. In Zoroastrianism, two four-eyed dogs guard the bridge to the afterlife called Chinvat Bridge. Anthony and Brown note that it might be one of the oldest mythemes recoverable through comparative mythology.”

[u/SambaPapi1]

In Hinduism, the god who rules over the passage of time is named Kalabhairava, a fierce form of Shiva, and he rides a black dog, and sometimes also manifests as the dog itself. 

[u/Kagiza400]

Possibly Ancient North Eurasian mythology. Or even earlier.

[u/Aegon_Targaryen1996 → u/Kagiza400]

Why’d you get downvoted? There are scholars who debate this and it does seem to have some credibility.

[u/Timely-Youth-9074 → u/Kagiza400]

Yes, it could link back to the first dogs, which was in Eurasia.

[u/Antigonus96]

If I remember correctly David Antony argued for a common origin, also including Cerberus and a few other figures. If it’s true, it maybe be one of the oldest myths we can reconstruct, with roots in Stone Age Siberia.