Uranus (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Uranus (/ˈjʊərənəs/ YOOR-ə-nəs, also /jʊˈreɪnəs/ yoo-RAY-nəs),[3] sometimes written Ouranos (Ancient Greek: Οὐρανός, lit. 'sky', [uːranós]), is the personification of the sky and one of the Greek primordial deities. According to Hesiod, Uranus was the son and husband of Gaia (Earth), with whom he fathered the first generation of Titans. However, no cult addressed directly to Uranus survived into classical times,[4] and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes of Greek painted pottery. Elemental Earth, Sky, and Styx might be joined, however, in solemn invocation in Homeric epic.[5] Uranus is associated with the Roman god Caelus.[6][7][8][9]
"Ouranos" redirects here. For the Maltese ferry in service 1999–2007, see MS Ouranos.Etymology[edit]
Most linguists trace the etymology of the name Οὐρανός to a Proto-Greek form *Worsanós (Ϝορσανός),[10] enlarged from *ṷorsó- (also found in Greek οὐρέω (ouréō) 'to urinate', Sanskrit varṣá 'rain', Hittite ṷarša- 'fog, mist').[11] The basic Indo-European root is *ṷérs- 'to rain, moisten' (also found in Greek eérsē 'dew', Sanskrit várṣati 'to rain', or Avestan aiβi.varəšta 'it rained on'), making Ouranos the "rain-maker",[11] or the "lord of rain".[12]
A less likely etymology is a derivative meaning 'the one standing on high' from PIE *ṷérso- (cf. Sanskrit várṣman 'height, top', Lithuanian viršùs 'upper, highest seat', Russian verh 'height, top'). Of some importance in the comparative study of Indo-European mythology is the identification by Georges Dumézil (1934)[13] of Uranus with the Vedic deity Váruṇa (Mitanni Aruna), god of the sky and waters, but the etymological equation is now considered untenable.[14]
Comparative mythology[edit]
Váruṇa[edit]
It is possible that Uranus was originally an Indo-European god, to be identified with the Vedic Váruṇa, the supreme keeper of order who later became the god of oceans and rivers, as suggested by Georges Dumézil,[13] following hints in Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912).[55] Another of Dumézil's theories is that the Iranian supreme God Ahura Mazda is a development of the Indo-Iranian *vouruna-*mitra.[56] Therefore, this divinity has also the qualities of Mitra, which is the god of the falling rain.[57]
Uranus is connected with the night sky, and Váruṇa is the god of the sky and the celestial ocean, which is connected with the Milky Way.
Georges Dumézil made a cautious case for the identity of Uranus and Vedic Váruṇa at the earliest Indo-European cultural level.[13] Dumézil's identification of mythic elements shared by the two figures, relying to a great extent on linguistic interpretation, but not positing a common origin, was taken up by Robert Graves and others. The identification of the name Ouranos with the Hindu Váruṇa, based in part on a posited Proto-Indo-European language root *-ŭer with a sense of "binding"—ancient king god Váruṇa binds the wicked, ancient king god Uranus binds the Cyclops, who had tormented him. The most probable etymology is from Proto-Greek *(W)orsanόj (worsanos) from a Proto-Indo-European language root *ers "to moisten, to drip" (referring to the rain).