TWINS

There is one remarkable feature that links Minoan/Mycenaean and central European/Nordic Bronze Age religion, which has often been ignored or overlooked. That is the twin gods and goddesses. They march hand in hand with a penetrating twin symbolism or duality in the whole religious structure and in the accompanying material culture of both societies, and may even have structured the political leadership, as we shall see demonstrated later.

Since this duality of the twin gods appears as a structuring principle both in the Aegean and in northern Europe during the early mid-second millennium BC we should look more closely at its possible manifestation in Indo-European religion.

Common to all societies is the recognition of origin, a beginning, which refers to a cosmological point of origin, such as the birth of Christ or Mohammed. This underscores a perception of cosmological continuity, a shared heritage, which may be broken only by exceptional circumstances of major historical disruptions and social transformations. In early state societies genealogical lists of kings and ancestors would constitute a time frame that linked mortals and gods together, supported by myth, such as the story of Gilgamesh, an early king of Uruk from the mid-third millennium BC. His adventures (with his “twin” brother Enkidu) evolved into a heroic and mythological prototype about the relation between humans and gods, the meaning of life and how to become heroic and wise. It was translated and preserved for more than 2000 years throughout the Near East, as part of a common cultural heritage. It thus transcended its original cultural context and became part of a larger cosmological context that was shared by the societies of the Near East and the east Mediterranean during the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, who in turn incorporated part of it into their local myths and tales. It thereby exemplifies how shared traditions and local cultures co-existed during the Bronze Age, being part of what we have called the Bronze Age world system.

A concrete example of that was the shared religious and political institution of the Sun Maiden and her Divine brothers, which would be incorporated and renamed time and time again during the Bronze Age. It appeared in the written texts from India to the Baltic and Greece over a period of more than 1000 years, changing only the names, but not the basic structure of the myth and its institution. This persistence in the written record can be verified by independent archaeological means, as we shall demonstrate.

The beginning of a new cosmological time in the North was marked by a major social transformation around 1500 BC. Within one or two generations there emerged a new Nordic tradition in metalwork, a new chiefly culture that reshaped landscape and settlements, and a building programme of monumental barrows for the local chiefly elites (Kristiansen 1998). Within a brief period of 200 years it resulted in the construction of tens of thousands of barrows, which even to day dominate the landscape in many regions in southern Scandinavia. The adoption of the spiral motif was a conscious choice to signal that the ancestors of the Nordic culture originated in Minoan and Mycenaean culture, whose institutions they had selectively adopted and recontextualised during the preceding generations. By 1500 BC, in an explosion of creativity, the new social order was materialised into a new cultural order that persisted for nearly 1000 years in unbroken tradition, yet incorporating new rituals and symbols along the way. Central among these was the institution of the Sun Maiden and her twin brothers, linked to and supporting the institution of twin rulers.

In a special study of the "Divine Twins" Donald Ward (1968) has defined their roles and attributes in Proto-Indo-European religion in some detail. The Indo-Iranian tradition, especially the Rig-Veda, constitutes the most detailed and important source on the Divine Twins, but the Greco-Roman and Baltic traditions also entail strong evidence. It is also clear that they are going back to the same source, as they share so many similar traits that any random or separate development can be eliminated. What interest us here, however, are the roles and attributes of the Divine Twins and their sister the sun-goddess/maiden, as they can be demonstrated archaeologically. The Divine Twins are called the Asvins in the Rig-Veda and the Diskouroi in the Greek traditions, in both cases sons of the sky-god.

Here there is also an old Vedic name for the father of the Divine Twins. His name *Tw-atr, meaning two-star, goes back to Proto-Indo-European language and Tocharian, and attests an old origin in the Caucasus for this myth. (Colarusso 2002: 240ff.).

The recent discovery of a bronze disc of the universe with moon, sun and stars in silver from Nebra near Halle, accompanied by twin swords and axes, is an illuminating example of the central symbols of the Divine Twins from the seventeenth-sixteenth centuries BC. It further demonstrates their relationship with the course of the sun, moon and stars.

                     -Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas B. Larsson, The Rise of Bronze Age Society.

 

That the Dioscuri, when they have appeared at important functions in Greek or Roman history, wore scarlet chlamydes can be deduced from the traditional account of their heroical deeds, which frequently make mention of their dress and involve us in the belief that the colour is significant: no doubt if the coins or other monuments, on which they are represented riding victoriously towards or from some great enterprise, could talk to us in colour as well as in form, they would say the same thing, for it is the same chlamys in metal or stone that is described as red in the prose of the historians: and just as we know that their horses, wherever represented, are, for the most part, white, so we know that their robes, flying in the wind, are red.

With regard to the Dioscuri themselves, the association of red colour with them, is not a mere Roman peculiarity: it must be an Aryan idea, for we find that the Veda says that red is the proper colour of the Asvins (the Indian horsemen, who correspond to the Dioscuri).

                                                 -J. Rendel Harris, Boanerges.

 

Now the star, whether single or double, is the sign of the twin-brethren.

                                                 -J. Rendel Harris, The Dioscuri in the Christian Legends.

 

The worship of the divine twins is a universal phenomenon, and the religious concepts, the functions, and the mythological themes associated with such pairs reveal a remarkable similarity throughout the world. This universality of the phenomenon makes it difficult to isolate a specific Dioscuric tradition. Nevertheless, in considering the various twin divinities that occur among Indo-European-speaking peoples, a clearly identifiable tradition can be isolated; for, although many of the traits and functions shared by the Indo-European pairs are universal, there are many more that are exclusively Indo-European. Moreover, even with regard to the universal traits, the various pairs of Divine Twins within the Indo-European tradition reveal an agreement too striking to be explained in terms of a universal religious phenomenon. Thus the Divine Twins, sons of the Sky-God, brothers of the Sun Maiden, were well-defined deities of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon and were carried by the various migrating peoples to the new homelands where the religious concept changed remarkably little through the centuries in the new environments.

The Christian church, moreover, paradoxically contributed to the survival of Dioscuric beliefs. In the hope of accelerating the eradication of surviving Dioscuric cults, the Church introduced various pairs of saints into Germany. Since these pairs of saints had already inherited their roles from the Mediterranean Divine Twins, who performed many of the same functions as the Germanic twins, they were well suited for the task assigned them by the Church. Among the German peasants the cult of the twin saints survived right up to modern times.

The number of such pairs, some of whom is specifically called twins, is, in itself, striking. For example, there are Florus and Laurus, Kastoulous and Polyeuctes (i.e., Kastor and Polydeukes), Polyeuctes and Nearchus, Cosmas and Damian, Sebastian and Rochus, Johannes and Philippus, Protasius and Gervasius, to mention but a few. In some instances such pairs are associated with a third member, frequently a sister thus forming a Dioscuric triad; for example, Pol, Marc, and their sister Sicofolle; or Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianella; or Sissinius, Sinninodorus, and Melitene.

These examples, which could be multiplied, represent an impressive body of evidence showing detailed agreement between the Graeco-Roman Dioscuric tradition and the Christian tradition of twin saints. Thus it can be asserted with relative certainty that, at least in this instance, the pagan tradition forms the very core of the Christian tradition. One can be assured not only of a continuity of the Dioscuric tradition during the period of conversion to Christianity, but also of a continuity of the entire Indo-European tradition of the Divine Twins from the ancient period of original unity right up to modern times.

                                                                 -Donald Ward, The Divine Twins.

 

Our next instance of the connection of the Heavenly Twins………..shall be taken from the early Christian literature. It has been shown that in certain quarters, there was a belief that the Apostle Thomas, whose name means twin, was the twin-brother of Jesus.

This belief was especially strongly held in the old Syrian church of Edessa, which city was the centre of a heathen cult of the Sun and the Heavenly Twins, the two latter being probably identified with the Morning and Evening Stars. The reasons for this surprising statement are largely drawn from the Acts of Thomas, the mythical founder of the Edessan Church : and these Acts, which are of Syrian origin, make Thomas play the part of the double of Jesus, in all kinds of peculiar situations, and they make Jesus and Thomas do many things which can at once be explained if they were looked on as Dioscures ; moreover on several occasions, Thomas is definitely addressed as the Twin of the Messiah. For the proofs and elaboration of this theme, I must refer to my two tracts, the Dioscuri in Christian Legend, and the Cult of the Heavenly Twins : but we must not suppose that the belief is limited to a single Church, planted in a centre where Twin-worship was rife as a part of a solar cult. The Roman Breviary itself is in evidence for the belief, and contains sentences for St Thomas’ day which, in their uncorrected form, tell us plainly that Thomas is the twin-brother of Jesus. These sentences in the Breviary can be traced back to St Isidore of Seville, and it is quite possible that they may be ultimately due to the westerly migration of the Acts of Thomas. Even if this should turn out to be the case, it appears as if a long time had elapsed before the statement in question were recognised as heretical. And this naturally leads to the belief that the gulf in theological thought between the far East and the near West was not so deep as might, at first sight, be imagined.

                                                                          -J. Rendel Harris, Boanerges.

 

It is therefore a fact of Gospel scholarship that "Judas called Thomas" is the twin brother of Jesus, and in some older Bibles he is called "Judas the twin who is also Thomas", and "Didymus the Twin." Within these narratives lies a profound truth revealing the substance of historical information that the church has strived for centuries to conceal.

Another canonical text adds to the cover-up. It is a supportable fact that the Epistle of Jude carried in today’s versions of the New Testament is called the Epistle of Judas in the FIRST English-language Vulgate of 1563. This comparable evidence reveals that sometime after the 16^th Century the church changed the title of that Epistle from Judas to Jude, thus subtly removing direct reference to Jesus’ twin brother as the possible author of that document. In today’s Bibles, the Epistle of Jude begins like this:

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James …

The same passage in the FIRST Vulgate reads:

Judas, the double of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James, Joses and Simon…

                                                            -Tony Bushby, The Twin Deception.

 

The following is from a letter written by Arch-Druid Bri Leith from Rome in 90 AD to Brân Adamnán, Abbot of Mona, cited in The Twin Deception, a book about Jesus and Didymus Judas Thomas (Twin Judas Twin). The comment added is by Tony Bushby.

When new regions are conquered, their gods, or duplicates of them, are sent to this temple, that the people from those nations, visiting the metropolis, might have their accustomed images before which to bow. Sometimes they pull down one idol and set up another, or merely change its name. The sweet little niche of Vesta is now possessed by the Sun, and Marcellian and Marcus replaced Romulus and Remus (Comment 7). And as these gods are in the Place of the Skull, so it is in other temples that stand in Roma.

Comment 7: The fact that busts of Mary’s twins replaced Romulus and Remus reveals that, because they were the bonded "sons of God" (through Tiberius to the deified Augustus), they had been individually deified after their death and honoured in the Pantheon. That conclusion is maintained today in the records of Catholicism with Marcellian and Marcus noted as being twin Saints of "noble birth." A First Century Roman Emperor deified the twins, not a Christian pope, for the construct of Christianity had not yet begun.

                                                                       -Tony Bushby, The Twin Deception.

 

 

"Romulus and Remus," by Peter Paul Rubens. Romulus and Remus the founders of Rome, suckled by a she-wolf beneath a sycamore fig tree. Notice the woodpecker bringing food to the boys. It antedates Zeus and the eagle as the thunder-god, and was the original thunderbird of the Aryans according to J. Rendel Harris.

Parallel evidence from texts of a dual, divine leadership in Rome, Scandinavia and India was demonstrated as early as 1948 by Dumezil in his book Mitra-Varuna (1988). The evidence presented here was not at his disposal at that time. Whether the Divine Twins and the dual leadership represent one and the same or two different instititutions deserves a separate study.

                     -Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas B. Larsson, The Rise of Bronze Age Society.

 

One neglected yet very significant area of research on the Rg Veda concerns the identity and role played by the twin Asvins in both early and later soma ceremonies. The Asvins role in the soma ceremony is fundamental and is connected to the preparation of a special soma drink that was considered the “divine soma mead” and “elixir of immortality.”

There is ample proof that it was the legendary Asvins soma drink, prepared during the Rg Vedic soma ceremony, that was the origin of all the "elixir theories" later found in many forms of alchemy throughout the world.

The significance of the Asvins soma drink is even more important when we realize that they are the divine physicians of the gods. As medical deities, they are themselves forever young and are forever renewed and rejuvenated by their soma drink. They are described in the hymns as continually drinking their soma mixture aboard their chariot yet never becoming intoxicated; their madhu soma drink induced ecstatic states and brought about healing, rejuvenation, longevity, and entheogenic experiences rather than intoxication. Eternal youth is another attribute of the Asvins special drink, and they bring the aged back to youthfulness with their drink in special magical rituals. They even aid the gods when they become unable to help or cure themselves of unusual illnesses or other strange misfortunes.

The Asvins who are repeatedly said to be wonderworkers, bring medicines to the priests with their honey-whipped mixtures. Through them and their soma drink miracles take place. The Asvins enable the priests to cross over to immortality and their special mixtures prolong life and are also associated with various paranormal abilities and direct travel to other worlds.

The soma madhu of the Asvins is also said to bestow mental alertness. It invigorates its drinkers and gives bliss and ecstasy. One hymn says, "When Asvins worthy of our praise, seated in the Farther’s house, you bring wisdom and ecstasy." Even the Asvins are said to be in a state of exalted ecstasy from drinking their own soma madhu. The Asvins are said to create devotional ecstasy in the hearts of the priests, who attain joyous entheogenic ecstasy when drinking the madhu.

The Asvins chariot is called the Madhuvarna (nectar-bearer). The chariot is the drink itself, comprised of the parts of the flowers and the soma sap nectar from their nectar chambers. Because of this, the chariot alone is said to bring ecstasy. As one hymn says, "For ecstasy I call the ecstatic bestowing chariot, at morning, the inseparable Asvins with their chariot, I call like Sobhari our father.” The chariot, loaded with madhu, arrives “rapid as thought, strong and speeding to grant ecstasy." The ecstasy, exaltation, and bliss are all attributes of a divine hallucinogen or entheogen.

The Asvins have close ties with the Greek Dioscuri, twins who are said to have been aliens to Attica and probably came from India, or are at least of Indo-European descent. The Athenians adopted the twins and then included them into the greater mysteries. They are usually depicted with star-shaped flowers on their heads, just like the Asvins. On a striking Attic vase of the fifth century B.C.E. that portrays the mysteries, the figures of the Dioscuri can be seen. It is thought that their association with Eleusis may have arisen from some actual part that their statues played in the mystic ritual. Since entheogenic plants were used in the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Dioscuri probably played the same role there as the Asvins do in the more ancient soma ceremony, that is, as a representation of psychoactive plants that form a special drink that is mixed with other beverages or consumed alone for various healing and entheogenic effects.

The gods live and maintain their immortality by drinking this visionary nectar, amrta (ambrosia or mead). "I have partaken wisely of the [madhu] sweet food, that stirs good thoughts, best banisher of trouble, the food round which all deities and mortals, calling it nectar-mead, collect together."

In the Rg Veda , Tvastr, the artisan of the gods and creator of all forms, is said to drink the special soma mead. His drink is connected to paranormal methods of direct creation.

 The terms madhu and soma are both mentioned as the drink to which the Asvins are invited, and the two are synonymous throughout the Rg Veda: "These are soma for you to drink madhu." Soma is specifically said to be a madhu drink, and the Asvins, their color, their chariot, and their horses are all called madhu. Thus, the entire madhu soma drink comes from the Asvins.

This was seen as an alchemical union of the dual principles of day and night, personified as the sun and moon. This union of sun and moon created the drink that induced the experience of light as Anthropos within the priests.

The Asvins union of the sun and moon plants in the Rg Veda soma ceremony is not only the oldest written form of the creation of the original elixir of immortality, it is also the oldest documented alchemical ritual for producing the "elixir of life." This knowledge is very ancient and is found in the oldest part of the Rg Veda associated with the soma ceremony, as well as in the art of the Indus Valley cultures. It is the probable origin of the union of the sun and moon motif found in European alchemical traditions.

                                               -David L. Spess, Soma : The Divine Hallucinogen.
 

 

 

Obelisks were a prominent part of the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, who placed them in pairs at the entrance of temples.The obelisk symbolized the sun God Ra, or Re as some know him, and during the brief religious reformation of Akhenaten, was said to be a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk. It was also thought that the God existed within the structure.

Maypoles are manifestations of the same thing as the obelisk. Usually on May 1. people arranged as male-female, and holding onto multi-colored lanyards connected to the top of the maypole, dance around it. This dancing around a maypole is still practiced all over the world. These celebrations descend from fertility rites practiced in spring at the equinox. On a very small Danish island called Avernakø, situated south of Fyn, lies two small villages. In both a pole is raised at Pentecost, in Munke it is called a "majstang" (maypole), and in Avernak By it is called a "majtræ" (maytree). In Germany the maypole is always called a "maibaum" (maytree). This tree/pole symbolises Yggdrasil, Irminsul and the axis mundi.

"Vintersolhvervsblót" ("Wintersolsticeblot" at Uppsala temple, Sweden), by Carl Larsson (1915).

In Finland too, especially on the Åland Islands where ethnic Swedes predominate, the maypole custom is strong. Atop the maypoles stands the "faktargubbe," a little man carved out of wood who wears a cap and uniform. He spins and waves his arms in the wind, or as in other cases four ships are arranged in a cross sailing around the pole, all reminiscent of the stars turning around the poles.

The circle with a cross and the circle with a point are some of the first non-pictorial graphs to appear when humankind was on the threshold of the Bronze Age. They are common on rock carvings from all over the world. These symbols derive from the fact that when you take a staff, stick it vertically in the earth, and then draw a circle around it, you have an instrument with which the two equinoxes, and summer and winter solstice can be found. The equinoxes are found by marking the shadow cast by the staff on the circle at sunrise and sunset. The day of the year, when a line drawn between these two points goes through the staff, that day is the equinox. This line will run east/west. Summer solstice is on the day when the midday shadow of the staff is at its shortest, and winter solstice is on the day when the midday shadow of the staff is at its maximum. This line runs north/south. Thus the three nails used to crucify Jesus (morning, midday and evening shadow) and thus the sun cross and the staff of the prophets.

The Sun Cross, as a compass, with rose, lily and star.

Crucifix at Am Steinhof Church.

Vaticanus graecus 1291.

Fresco Paintings from Rila Monastery.

 

That which today is called the Christian religion existed among the Ancients, and has never ceased to exist from the origin of the human race, until the time when Christ himself came, and men began to call Christian the true religion which already existed beforehand.            -St. Augustine.

                       -Mateus Soares de Azevedo (editor), Ye Shall Know the Truth.