Apollo, Óðinn, Dian Cecht and Brihaspati: The High Priest of the Word
Part 1
Brihaspati, Shukra and Usana
In his post entitled "Odin as Brihaspati," Thomas Rowsell has argued that the Norse god Óðinn has the mythos associated with the Vedic god Brihaspati. He points to the power of resurrecting the dead, which Óðinn learns via the 12th rune he receives from hanging on the windy tree (and an associated chant), a power which the son of Brihaspati, Kacha, also learns from Shukracharya by way of the Mriti Sanjeevni mantra. This seems to us perfectly on the right track, though there is a complication in it that should be expanded on, in that it is Shukracharya who himself first gains this mantra from a great show of devotional asceticism to Shiva, and Brihaspati's son, in this version of the myth, only gains it from him second. Shukracharya also has one eye poked out by lord Vishnu, leaving him with a missing eye similar to Óðinn (though the context is dissimilar to Óðinn's myth). Thus the question is raised, whether Óðinn matches more closely sage Brihaspati, or sage Shukra. Óðinn and Shukra both seem to be the first to seek out this knowledge, in order to gain an advantage in the Great War. While Brihaspati becomes the sage and preceptor of the Devas in the Deva-Asura war, Shukra becomes the same for the Asuras, or "Demons." But Shukra's position is complex, and due to the ambivalent status accorded to sages, and due to a complicated circumstance, Brihaspati's son was able to learn from Shukra the power of resurrecting the dead for the side of the Devas.
One resolution of this difficulty may be to see Brihaspati and Shukra merely as doubles of one another, coming perhaps from the same original root, a "light" and "dark" version of one deity. This is warranted by a few observations. First, Shukracharya has no hymns addressed to him in the Rig Veda, while Brihaspati is a prominent Rig Vedic god. The recognized predecessor of Shukracharya, Kavya Usana, on whom Dumezil wrote the book The Plight of a Sorcerer, does appear in the Rig Veda, but only in hymns to other gods, and is often associated with Indra. Brihaspati is also closely tied to Indra, sometimes as almost his sidekick, and sometimes taking his place, an exemplar of a warrior sage who often is depicted as the liberator of the solar cattle from the cave of Vala. Brihaspati in the Veda is essentially the high priest god of the spoken word, the god whose earthly representative is the chanter at the sacrifice. Meanwhile, Kavya Usana has the title "Kavya" or "poet, seer," clearly indicating his status as a kind of a sage of the sacred word as well. Brihaspati and Shukracharya are even taught by the same teacher, the sage Angirasa. They each have the identical role with respect to their "side," each one the teacher and sage, and in the end they each are associated with gaining the power of reviving the dead, Shukracharya doing so for himself, and Brihaspati indirectly via his son. While Brihaspati is said to be born of the light, with his seven rays, who "blew and dispersed the darkness" (Rig Veda, 4.50.8), Shukra's name means "brightness, clearness, light." Thus Usana/Shukra, who are continuations of one figure, despite being on the side of the "demons," is still the poet-sage of brightness. As Brihaspati is the high priest of the spoken or sung hymn, so in Rig Veda it says also of Usana: "Like Usana, the priest a laud shall utter, a hymn to thee, the Lord Divine" (RV 4.16.2).
Roshen Dalal in Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide makes an interesting remark when he states that "according to one passage in the Mahabharata, Shukra divided himself into two, and became the guru of the Devas and the Asuras" (Dalal). But we have already noted that Brihaspati is known as the guru of the Devas. Hence this passage seems to be conflating the two, while also referring to the god dividing himself in two in order to fulfill the same function for both sides, just as we have proposed. As it turns out, other potential versions of this deity also are ambivalent with respect to what side they are on. Brihaspati has a grandson who seems to incarnate his role in the Kurukshetra war, that is, Drona. Drona, however, fights on the side of the forces that oppose the incarnations of the gods of society and order, the Kauravas. Yet, at the same time, he is the teacher of the warriors of both sides, and various warriors from both sides have affection for him as such. Like Shukra/Usanas, Drona is on the side of the "demons," but is still in a somewhat ambivalent role as the teacher of the youths regardless of their side, and is even the grandson and likely partial incarnation of Brihaspati himself.
Based on this evidence, it may be that in the earliest Indo-Iranic form of this mythos the god was seen as aligned with the forces that oppose the gods of society, and this may have had an esoteric meaning, indicating his status as one of the "indifferent" primal forces, just as we see the incarnations of the gods of the Sun, the Sky, and Destiny aligned on the side of these indifferent, oppositional forces in the archaic alignment found in the Kurukshetra War god-incarnations. In possibly the same way, Apollo, who we will compare with this grouping of sages, fights on the side opposing the protagonist Greeks. He fights on the Trojan side, which, as we have shown, is the side precisely cognate to the Kauravas, on which side Drona fights. It may be that over time the esoteric meaning of the alignment of this god with the forces of fate was understood less and less, and it came to be seen as undesirable for the great sage god to fight on the side of "darkness," and so he was doubled and given to the other side as well. Or it may also be that Usana/Shukra was simply a specialized version of this god type, emphasizing certain more ambivalent and potentially dangerous traits contained within the high priest god, such traits as are indicated in Dumezil's use of the word "sorcerer" for him, and the fact that his story concludes with a tale of almost Faustian hubris. Dark and light sides or versions of this god could always have been present, and it is difficult to speculate on.
Furthermore, as Dumezil's study shows, Kavya Usana/Shukracharya seems to have been an Indo-Iranic development, and this supposition is supported by the fact that in the other branches we do not tend to find cognates of him that are distinct from the "Brihaspati" mythos. There seems to be only one god in these branches who covers this deity archetype as a whole (or a god and his son, as with Brihaspati and son Kacha or Bharadwaja, but no "demonic double"). Thus, we will hypothesize that the "Brihaspati" mythos extends to Brihaspati, Kavya Usana/Shukracharya, Brihaspati's sons, and possibly his grandson Drona as well. With a hypothetical circle drawn around this grouping of archetypal sages (of the word), seemingly branches of one original sage god mythos, we will proceed to a closer comparison with the Greek, Norse, and Irish cognates.
The starting point for this set of comparisons is, as we have mentioned, Brihaspati as high priest of the invocation, the spoken liturgical word, the hymn, etc. If Usana's title Kavya means "poet," it is not in a low, common sense, but in the highest sense. Whereas the Gandharva is divinity of bards and myth-tellers, Brihaspati is god of the the purohitas (priests) who channel the most sacred hymns of the whole tradition. This god is the sacred seer-poet, rishi, invoker of the sacrifice. As Encyclopedia Brittanica says, the name Brihaspati is Sanskrit for "Lord of the Sacred Speech," and he is "the master of sacred wisdom, charms, hymns and rites," the "preceptor" and "sage counselor." In addition, he is said to be the "prototype of the class of Brahmans [the priestly class]" (Brittanica, Brihaspati), all of which supports the idea that Usana/Shukra are simply split from this original prototype.
As such, Brihaspati forms a pair and a contrast with the other main high priest god, Agni. Agni, as opposed to Brihaspati, is the fire priest, the god of fire seen as priest of the sacrificial fire, the governing divinity of that fire and of the priests who are its officiants. There are times when Agni and Brihaspati may seem to have overlapping traits, as when the Rig Veda states, "Usana Kavya stablished thee, oh Agni, as invoking Priest" (RV 8.23.17), however, in general there is a sharp and meaningful distinction between the two central priest gods. They are two sides of the high-priestly office, and perform their own roles, generally working in conjunction (curiously, Drona is killed by the incarnation of Agni, Dhrishtadyumna). These two priestly gods may also be seen as sub-aspects of Varuna in his role as the primordial priest-king, which may explain why, as we have suggested, both the Agni and Brihaspati archetypes may be aspects of Óðinn (considered as Varuna).
Thus Brihaspati connects to all forms of spoken charm as well as the arcane knowledge of the high priest sage generally. In iconography his body is made golden, and he is often said to wield a bow. For, as aforesaid, he is also a powerful warrior associated closely to Indra, sometimes almost being assimilated to an aspect of Indra as a warrior-priest (Indra-Brihaspati of the Rig Veda). Importantly, Brihaspati also has sons who share aspects with him. We have mentioned his son Kacha, who goes to Shukra to learn the mantra of reviving the dead. In addition, there is his son Bharadwaja, also known as Brhaspatya, the father of Drona. This Brhaspatya, son of Brihaspati, is strongly associated with the medical function, and this will become key in our later comparisons. He is known as a great physician and is even referred to in Ayurvedic treatises such as Charaka Samhita, in which it is said he was taught the medical sciences by Indra in order to aid humans on their spiritual journey, and his name means "bringing about nourishment."
As we will see, such medical knowledge is always connected to the gods who parallel Brihaspati in each branch (Óðinn, Apollo, and Dian Cecht) and is often specially embodied in a son of those gods as well. This medical role would connect to the general role of sage as knower of arcane knowledge, such as medical science, but more specifically to the healing charms and chants that are the special provision of the priest of invocation. Óðinn, for instance, is called "Fadr Galdr" or Galdr Father, the god of the galdrs. Galdrs are invocations or spells that were sung or chanted for specific effects. Some galdrs are clearly used for healing purposes, as to heal women during childbirth in the Eddic poem Oddrunargratr. Or as Óðinn says in stanza 146 of the Havamal, discussing the galdrs he knows, "A second I know, which the son of men,/must sing who would heal the sick" (Poetic Edda, Havamal, 146). The mantra for reviving the dead that Óðinn learns, and which Shukra and Kacha alternately gain, can be said to fall under this type of healing chant as well (as the most extreme form of healing).
Magical Chants: Galdr and Paean
Proceeding from this understanding of the connection between Óðinn and the Brihaspati mythos, we move to the examples from the Greek and Irish branches. Apollo is one of the most mysterious and complicated gods in all mythology in terms of his origins and development over time. It often seems as though, by the Classical era, he has magnetized into his charismatic circle all associations and roles, becoming a kind of all-in-all god that could by no means reflect his original conception. What this original conception was, then, must be dug for in the mythological threads that can be connected to the Indo-European mosaic.
In this connection, we will examine Apollo via his byname "Paeon." This name is very archaic and is attested from Mycenaean fragments, as Pa-ja-wo-ne. R.S.P. Beekes claims that the name Paeon, coming from *παιάϝων, may mean "he who heals illness through magic." Paeon is the healer god in literature of the Homeric period, but is believed to have been a byname of Apollo based on the Mycenaean inscriptions. Despite Paeon sometimes being depicted separately from Apollo, Apollo is still often called by this epithet. This byname reflects Apollo's general association with healing, with protecting the people or city from disease etc., as well as to his several other epithets associated with the healing function: Acesius, meaning "healing," Acestor, meaning "healer," Iatrus, "physician," Medicus, "physician." Additionally, the word paean came to signify any of a specific type of solemnly chanted song, seeming to originally be a kind of healing song based on the meaning of the word, and eventually coming to describe songs flattering victors. Just as several of Óðinn's galdrs are said to give courage and victory in battle, so paeans are known to have been sung during battle to grant warriors courage and to ensure success. Aeschylus describes how "The Greeks were singing the stately paean at that time not for flight, but because they were hastening into battle and were stout of heart," while several other examples show that paeans were often sung at the beginning of battles. Óðinn, meanwhile, states, "An eleventh I know: if haply I lead/my old comrades out to war,/I sing 'neath the shields, and they fare forth mightily/safe into battle,/safe out of battle,/and safe return from the strife" (Havamal, 155). We then have galdrs and paeans both as magical chants associated with both healing and granting strength or courage for battle, and we have Óðinn as the father of galdrs in Norse myth, and Apollo as Paeon/Paean in Greek. Many galdrs are also intended to avert various kinds of injury, one even driving away witches, while Apollo was viewed as a god of protection and the averting of evil or harm, his epithet Alexikakos meaning "warding off evil," as well as Averruncus meaning "averter." Other galdrs were directed toward making people go mad, creating storms, sinking ships, and bringing battle victory itself (recall the paean as a victory song), while Apollo was famous for his far reaching arrows which could bring plague (the flipside of his healing power) and all manner of destruction. This general power of fearful destruction and the power of destruction of evil were also two sides of one coin.
As we have mentioned, Apollo has a son who himself is considered, in a more specialized manner, the god of healing. This is Asclepius, who carried a rod entwined by a snake, the snake being symbolic of healing knowledge, though its exact meaning is disputed. Asclepius and his rod were so fully identified with the healing art that even today medical facilities commonly bear this snake-entwined rod as their symbol (often substituted by the similar caduceus of Hermes). As Apollo has the byname Paean, so Asclepius too has this epithet attached to him. Thus the specialized healing god Asclepius as son of Apollo forms a very neat parallel to the specialized healing god Bharadwaja as son of Brihaspati.
Apollo and Brihaspati have several other shared attributes that deepen this comparison. While Brihaspati is the teacher of the gods, particularly during their youths, Apollo is also known for his role as the teacher of youths in general. He is the patron of the education of youths and the overseer of their coming of age, as well as the protector of youths, kourotrophos. The coming of age festival was known as the Apellai, and at this festival Apollo was known as the "Great Kouros (male youth)." Apollo is generally depicted with a bow, and as "bow-carrying" and "far-shooting." Brihaspati is said to have a bow whose string is Rta, or cosmic order. As Apollo is, so Brihaspati also is associated with the light of the sun, specifically with bringing light. Apollo is known as Phanaeus, meaning "bringing light," while Brihaspati is one who drives away darkness when he retrieves the solar cattle, symbolic of the illuminating light of the sun. Apollo is known as a pastoral herdsman god as well, which could also connect to this myth of Brihaspati freeing and returning the divine cattle. Just as Brihaspati is the god of the spoken word, in Apollo, Origins and Influences, scholar Gregory Nagy argues that “the name 'Apollon' was connected to the verb 'apeileo' and indicated that its bearer was ‘the god of authoritative speech, the one who presides over all manner of speech-acts’” (Konaris 295).
The Irish Case
Much of this pattern repeats in the Irish case. Dian Cecht is the god of healing, the primary god who heals the other injured gods in the myths. He heals the eye of Midir and replaces Nuada's severed arm with the famous silver one. In the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh, which is cognate with the other great battles of the gods, he is in charge of the healing well "Slainge's Well," in which he soaks the injured warriors to heal them (note that Apollo and his priests are also commonly associated with sacred healing springs). He is said to "chant" spells over this well along with his two sons and daughter. Even more striking, this well can seemingly heal anyone who has not been decapitated, implying a power of reviving even the dead in many cases. This power is made clear when the Formorians realize that their slain warriors do not come back the next day, but that this "was not the case with the Tuatha de Danann." The Tuatha de Danann would "cast their mortally-wounded men into it as they were struck down; and they were alive when they came out ... Their mortally wounded were healed through the power of incantation made by the four physicians [Dian Cecht and his children] who were around the well" (Cath Maige Tuireadh). This well becomes such a destabilizing advantage in the war with the Fomorians that they send a special envoy to fill it up with boulders, finally rendering it neutralized. A later medieval incantation says, "I save the dead-alive ... Whole be that whereon Diancecht's salve goes" (St. Gall Incantation), thus associating verbal incantation to revive the dead, or make whole those near death, with Dian Cecht, seeming to make him the patron of such incantations. Dian Cecht is also associated with the poetic art generally as the father of a line of poets, beginning with (according to some texts) his poetess daughter Etain (whose name Guillaume Oudaer says can be identical with "poetry"), who marries the Gandharvic god of eloquence Ogma, who together have a son, the satirical poet Cairbre. Dumezil also points to Dian Cecht's myth as the Irish cognate of the Usana/Shukra myth regarding the contentious power to revive the dead which unbalances the great war and must be neutralized, either by the other side gaining it as well, as in the Vedic case, or by its destruction, as in the Irish and Welsh cases. As Dumezil sums up the recurring motif, "one of the two parties possesses a technique, material or formulaic, either to revive the dead or to assure the invulnerability and immortality of its combatants, and the other side seeks to get hold of this technique or to destroy it" (Dumezil, Plight of A Sorcerer, 56).
Just as importantly, Dian Cecht has a son who himself is a powerful healing god. This is Miach, and so specialized a healing god is he that in the myths he outdoes his own father in that art. After Dian Cecht replaces Nuada's arm with a silver one, Miach makes for Nuada a fully flesh and blood arm, thus improving on his father's work, and almost as though against the law of nature itself. Because of this, Dian Cecht jealously kills his son, and from his body grow the 365 arcane healing herbs. Dian Cecht scatters these herbs, seemingly to protect the secret knowledge they represent.
Thus Apollo and his healer son Asclepius, who parallel Brihaspati and his physician son Bharadwaj, are also paralleled again by Dian Cecht and his healer son Miach. The pattern is strikingly consistent, Dian Cecht even having a second physician son named Octriuil or Oirmiach, as Brihaspati also has Kacha (and, as a sidenote, it is interesting also that Asclepius has a son named Machaon, somewhat reminiscent of Miach). But the parallelism between these father-son pairs goes much deeper. For Asclepius too is killed precisely for knowing too much of the medical art, for being too potent a healer. Not only that, but his specific crime is that he is able to bring the dead back to life, exactly the contentious power we have seen used by Óðinn, Dian Cecht, Shukra, and the other son of Brihaspati, Kacha. For thus being too skilled in the arcane healing art, in a manner that threatens the law of nature itself (and causing Pluto to complain that his kingdom of the dead is being depopulated), Zeus takes it upon himself to kill Asclepius. Thus this killing of Asclepius by Zeus is the same as Dian Cecht killing his son Miach for having too great of healing power, but it is also the same as the revivifying well of Dian Cecht being neutralized by the Fomorians. It is as though the Irish case splits into two related myths what is combined in the Asclepius myth. The neutralizing of the well is in turn the same as Kacha getting Shukra to teach him the mantra of revivification, as this knowledge neutralizes Shukra's advantage and levels the playing field in the war. Interestingly, as Nick Allen states, "Hecataeus of Miletus, as well as Pindar (FGrH 1 371), are reported to have identified Pan as the offspring of Apollo and Penelope," while Cian, who we have identified as the Irish Pan, is the son of Dian Cecht. If accurate, this would mean that at least two Greek authorities preserve the same relation between these two gods that appears also in the Irish case (though several other versions of Pan and Apollo's descents also exist).
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