explained, as the Vedic poets and commentators understood it, from var(-u-)
‘cover, protect’.^90 Ve ̃linas is primarily the god of the dead, and located below
the earth; hence forest pools are said to be his eyes. But this does not justify
the wel etymology. His name (with the -no- suffix) relates directly to the
Ve ̃le ̇s, the spirits of the dead.
Both Ve ̃linas and Varuna had connections with cattle, and this is the one
thing that they have in common with Velesu ̆. It is hardly sufficient to establish
an underlying identity. As for Vellaunos and Walis, they are mere names to us.
Ullr is usually etymologized as *Wulþuz‘glory, splendour’ and this is favoured
by what appears to be a theophoric name Wlþuþewa on an early runic
inscription. His essential nature is hard to make out. He carried a bow and
travelled on skis, and was invoked by warriors in single combat. In place-
names his name is often attached to fields and pastures, but there is no
evidence for any specific connection with cattle.^91 All in all, there is nothing
in this whole ragtag assemblage that we can trace back with any confidence to
the Indo-European past.
Heteronymous homologuesIt remains to ask whether we can find gods in different countries who,
while not having names that hint at any relationship, nevertheless overlap
sufficiently in their functions to suggest that they share some common
heritage.
Of course, many of the purposes for which people require gods are uni-
versal. If we find a god of healing here, there, and everywhere, we cannot
assume them to be historically connected unless they show more distinctive
identifying features. Nor is it remarkable if many peoples have a god of war to
help them to victory or defend them against defeat; war is a critical event, and
success must depend on divine support as well as military prowess. We find
war-gods, for instance, among the Indians (Indra), Greeks (Enyalios, Ares),
Scythians (‘Ares’, Herodotus 4. 62), Romans (Mars), Gauls (‘Mars’, Caes. Bell.
Gall. 6. 17. 2–5), Germans (‘Mars’, Tac. Germ. 9. 1, Ann. 13. 57, Hist. 4. 64),
and Goths (‘Mars’, Jordanes, Getica 41). Perhaps it is more noteworthy when
the war-god is also an agrarian deity, a protector of the fields, as is the case
with the Roman Mars, the Celtic ‘Mars’ Teutates, and the Slavonic Sve ̨tovit.^92
Enemy action is of course one thing that the fields need to be saved from, but
(^90) Cf. Macdonell (1898), 28; Puhvel (1987), 49; enlarged stem varu- as in varu ̄tr ́
̇
‘protector’,
váru ̄tham‘protection’, cf. Greek #ρυμαι.
(^91) On Ullr cf. de Vries (1956), ii. 153–63; Puhvel (1987), 208.
(^92) Cf. Gimbutas (1971), 160; Puhvel (1987), 172.
- Gods and Goddesses 147