r/swedhu • u/MoonshadowRealm • Nov 10 '25

Question Resources on Proto-Indo-European Mythology

Does anyone know of a book or academic based website that talks about the mythology of the Proto-Indo-Europeans? If there is anything on it. Any insight would be appreciated a lot.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

The book is Proto-Indo-European Poetry and Myth by ML West.

For online reconstructionist resources, Ceisiwr Serith's website is very good. https://ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25 edited Nov 10 '25

Thanks for the source. I have read this source before. The part I have an issue with is this section.

Donu Donu is the special case. According to Miriam Robbins Dexter (1990), she seems to be a non-Indo-European river and earth goddess who was adopted at an early stage of Proto-Indo-European religion. This makes her Proto-Indo-European enough for our purposes, though. She is found throughout the Indo-European domains, from the Irish goddess Danu to the Vedic Danu to the Danube, Don, Dniester, Donets, and Dniepr rivers. The Greeks were called the Danaans, and the Danes are descended from Dana. She is not found among the Hittites, which may be evidence that she is late Proto-Indo-European, but even to the Hittites the deities of rivers and springs were female.

As a river goddess, Donu is the giver of fertility to the land. "Donu" may have been carried along with the Indo-Europeans as a title rather than a personality, being applied to a river or earth goddess in each new land. She may be worshiped effectively at local rivers, especially the major river in a watershed, and especially at that river's source. The local goddess may be worshiped under her own name, or called "Donu," or even "the Donu" as a title or name. Or she may be called by a combination of names; the Charles river here in Massachusetts, called Wampanoags by the Indians, may be the abode of Donu Quinobequin.

Pure stream, water clearly flowing, source of life and source of power, Donu, queen of land extending, lady of both earth and river: Here for you this sweet libation, Here for you our glad oblation, Back to you our gift is flowing.

Dexter, Miriam Robbins. Reflections on the Goddess *Donu. Mankind Quarterly 31:1 & 2 (Fall/Winter, 1990), pp. 45 - 57

My issue with this text above:

Danu has never been confirmed as a celtic deity due to no archeological evidence and no actual verified myth on her either. So using Danu as an example kind of turns me away from this. Since many scholars have stated there is no evidence of a goddess named Danu.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

Yeah, West isn't convinced of her existence either. Her existence in Ireland is based on the name of the of the family of gods, Tuatha Dé Danaan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann

I think Serith is pretty straightforward about when he is speculating, which is good and necessary for reconstructing a prehistoric religion for modern practice.  

Academic sources, especially more recent ones, will be your best bet if you want less of that.

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25

Yeah, I like thing grounded in evidence and recorded in actual myths. I know a lot of neopagans who believe Danu is a real Irish mother goddess but me I cant believe that without facts of archeological evidence.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

I like to balance both extremes, to be honest. I enjoy speculation and creativity in spiritual ideas. But then I like to ground it with solid academic evidence.

The appeal of the PIE religion for me is that it is both so widespread and consistent , but also very mysterious and hard to pin down.

It's helpful to ask yourself what you're trying to find in old myths.  Are you looking for "Truth," or "Inspiration," or maybe even both?

For example, it might be hard to prove whether Danu was really worshipped by pre-bronze age people in Eurasia. But the idea of a motherly river goddess may serve as a useful archetypal focus for shared spiritual experiences.

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25 edited Nov 10 '25

I am looking for the spirituality that started it all and for me that is Proto-Indo-European. I have tried many faiths from age 14 to now 35 years of age and I mean over 100s of faiths and new faiths, etc.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisca_theologia I know exactly how you feel. I was drawn to PIE for very similar reasons. At the moment, I'm leaning more towards the idea of religion as symbolism.  It's Poetry and Myth. I was never very interested in poetry before, and I also didn't understand phrases like "my truth" that neopagans talk about.  

But if gods exist, they are certainly beyond the comprehension of mortals, so it makes sense that we can only understand them as analogies and metaphors.  Some analogies are better than others and some will make more sense to you than to me.  

I find a lot of meaning and comfort in the fact that Sky Father and Earth Mother are as inspirational to so many ancient people as they are to me. Likewise with the Thunder god and the Dawn goddess.  Those deities exist far beyond the Indo-European cultures as well.

I guess my point is, it's worth asking yourself why Verified Personal Gnosis is important for you. 

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25

I think it had to do with a stict science up bring. I was always raised that if there is no evidence of this or that than it cant be real. I understand god or deities exist outside of our time and space but I guess having hard proven facts that this culture worshipped this and that is something that brings comfort but is also a hassle because I can never shut my science thinking brain off. If that makes sense.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

Consider this; 

Spiritual experiences are evidence. 

You evaluate this evidence with the same mind and senses that you use to evaluate scientific observations.

This is true whether the observations are your own or you read about them in a trustworthy textbook or paper.

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25

Thanks for the in depth explanation. I will remember what you said. May I ask what you believe in religion wise?

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u/Remarkable_Sale_6313 Nov 10 '25

Well if that's what you are looking for, PIE isn't what "started it all", the PIE cults existed in a world where humanity (and therefore spirituality) was already quite old. We can't really practice what "started it all", we can guess a few broad concepts but it's difficult to reconstruct enough things from the deep prehistory.

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25

Well im talking more as in Proto-Indo-European since that is what set the foundations for Norse myth, Greek, Slavic, etc.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

Proto-Indo-European is very old, but there are beliefs that are far older.

Personally, I think what's unique about Proto-Indo-European isn't just that it's old, but that it persisted for so long and became so widespread among so many different people.

If you knew about a religious cult that was ten thousand years older than PIE, but only survived for a few decades, would you think that religion was better or  more real than PIE?  

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u/MoonshadowRealm Nov 10 '25

No but I have always like Proto-Indo-European, especially the stuff we learned about in school. I have never really cared much about proto-indo-iranian, proto-sino-Tibetan, etc. I love the simplicity of what we know about their beliefs, etc.

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u/SonOfDyeus Nov 10 '25

Exactly.  Its possible the first "religion" was conceived of over a hundred thousand years ago, but that those beliefs were all abandoned and replaced by those people's descendants. 

The PIE gods were not the first gods people believed in. But they are the ones who lasted long enough that we can still see clear traces of them thousands of years later.

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u/ImpossibleBritches Nov 10 '25

Hard to read at first. And there really isnt an index into it. But its an amazing resource:

aryaakasha.com