Rudlós part 2.5: Additional possible cognates
Some other possible reflexes of Rudlos are much harder to prove and provide, in my opinion, little additional detail. They might corroborate previously shown characteristics. Many of these are Celtic(Gaulic) deities who are poorly attested but whose symbology may be more helpful than the very poorly attested, but linguistically relevant, Rudianos/Rudiobus. Many continental Germanic and Celtic deities are represented by kennings and epithets, rather than their 'original' names. As Ceisiwr Serith (2009) suggests in his book about ancient PIE religion, this may have been common for many cultures descended from the PIE language groups; to utter the name of a god was to attract their attention, which was not always desired. And to shower one in descriptive epithets was to prove devotion and knowledge of them in prayer.
The name Faunus is generally thought to stem from Proto-Italic *fawe or *fawono (variant *fawōn(jo)), cognate with Umbrian fons(foner) meaning 'merciful'. It may ultimately derive from PIE *bʰh₂u-n ('favourable'), which also reflects Old Irish búan ('good, favourable, firm') and Middle Welsh bun ('maiden, sweetheart').
Another theory(Briquel, 1974, and Sergent, 1991) contends that Faunus is the Latin outcome of PIE *dhau-no- ('the strangler', thus denoting 'wolf'. This etymology initially confused me, but it may be a reference to the fact that wolves often specifically target the necks of their prey and lock their jaws around them until death, thus appearing to 'strangle' them in their jaws, as well as an example of the original IE term for wolf being replaced because of word taboo, seen in several other branches. The Albanian and Messapic terms for wolf are cognate), a proposition suggested by the fact that the two Luperci ("wolf-men", from Latin lupus, 'wolf') are commonly treated as temporary priests of the god Faunus.
He was strongly associated with the Greek Pan, and would alter be depicted in a similar manner. However, the oldest depictions do not ascribe bestial features to him at all. It is believed that he was worshiped by traditional Roman farmers in another capacity before he became a nature deity. He was associated directly by the ancient, and at times seemingly identical, Lupercus.
The name Silvānus is a derivation from Latin silva ('forest, wood'). It is cognate with the Latin words silvester ('wild, not cultivated'), silvicola ('inhabiting woodlands') or silvaticus ('of woodlands or scrub'). The earlier etymology of silva is unclear.
He was associated with Mars, who is also sometimes depicted wearing a wolf's pelt, and seeing as Cato refers to him consistently as Mars Silvanus, giving him a warlike, martial aspect, and a solid wolf connection. Silvanus as an aspect of Mars combined with his association with forests and glades, give context to the worship of Silvanus as the giver of the art of forest(read ambush/mobile stealthy) warfare. In particular, the initiation rituals of the Evocati appear to have referenced Silvanus as a protective god of raiding for women and cattle. Some have argued that this could be Etruscan influence but it would line up very well with our already established character of Rudlos as a god of aggressive warfare, wild nature, and the village plundering, cattle/women stealing Koryos/Mannerbund.
Hraste and Vukovic connect Faunus/Silvanus to Rudra/Shiva. To qoute:
" Contemporary history of religion affirms that Roman Faunus and Silvanus represent the same divinity. This article argues for the Indo-European parallel between Faunus/Silvanus and Vedic Rudra/Shiva based on several similarities. They both possess two names that should be interpreted thus: one as wild and savage (Silvanus/Rudra) and the other as favorable and propitious (Faunus/Shiva). The male divinity can appear in both the plural and the singular, or he can have a homonymous female counterpart (Faunus/Fauna/Fauni — Rudra/Rudrání/Rudrás). They have a cult and abode distinct from other gods, closely associated with woods and wilderness. They are in special relation to animals, cattle, in particular. They have common abilities, such as healing all creatures. Their destructive character puts them in relation to the god of war. Poetry is the function of Faunus while Rudra's sons, the Maruts, accompanying Indra on his martial exploits, sing hymns of praise"
Faunus may also have been associated with divination and arcane knowledge older Roman religion, based on an interaction that occurs in The Aeneid (7.80 ff.) in which Latinus is troubled by omens and seeks out the oracle of Faunus. At this oracle, a fountain nestled deep in the woods, a priest performs a divination ritual by sleeping on the hides of sacrificed sheep, and both Gods and spirits of the dead visit Latinus. Ovid describes a similar ritual (Fasti 4.649-7) in which King Numa sacrifices two sheep in a sacred grove(one to Faunus, the other to Sleep), has the hides laid on the ground, himself sprinkled with water and wine, and two beech wreaths are placed on his head. He then wraps himself in the fleeces, prays, and dreams, wherein Faunus appears with an oracle.
Ceisiwr Serith, in his book Deep Ancestors, discusses both of those cases in his chapter about Proto-Indo-European divination, wherein he notes that Indo-European peoples readily adopted or created new forms of divination, but there was one particularly widespread and ancient method common to most branches. I won't discuss it in detail here, but suffice to say it is an ancient IE method in divination that is primarily focused on obtaining knowledge from the Ancestors, with the deity(if one is invoked) being less relevant, and seemingly of a liminal character, associated with the underworld and it's spirits.
Also of note here is that, originally, the fauns of Roman religion (who followed Faunus) were considered to be ghosts (genii) of rustic places. Before their conflation with Greek satyrs and Pan, they and Faunus were represented as naked men (e.g. the Barberini Faun). Later fauns became copies of the satyrs of Greek mythology, who themselves were originally shown as part-horse rather than part-goat.
Cocidius, Belatucadros, and Vernostonus
Silvanus as been identified in Romano-British religion with a northern Brittonic deity, Cocidius. He was also equated with Mars, in his capacity as a god of war and hunting, and also with Silvanus, as a god of forests, groves and wild fields. He was most likely worshiped by lower-ranked Roman soldiers, as well as by the Britons for whom he was probably a tribal god(a Genius Loci).
The name may be related to Brittonic cocco-('red'), suggesting that statues of the god might have been painted red, and connecting him to Celtic reflexes of Rudlos, Rudianos and Rudiobus, as well as the name of the Vedic Rudra.
Fanocodi was a Roman place-name mentioned in the Ravenna Cosmography for a location close to the Solway Firth; the name has been derived from Fanum Cocidii, or temple of Cocidius, and the place identified with Bewcastle. There are dedications to Cocidius around Hadrian's Wall and Cumbria, including the forts at Birdoswald and Bewcastle. Another inscription, at Ebchester, refers to him as Cocidius Vernostonus, Cocidius of the alder tree. A 2000-year-old carving of Cocidius was found in 2006 near Chesters Fort on Hadrian's Wall. This was dubbed the little man and shows a figure with its arms flung wide and legs braced firmly against the ground. Although the gender is not depicted, the shape and accessories are seemingly male, with a shield in the left hand, a sword in the right, and a scabbard hanging from the belt around his tunic. This is one of at least nine representations known in the Hadrian's Wall corridor, and a further 25 or so inscriptions dedicated to him. Most of these are along the western portion of the Wall, the most spectacular being found at Yardhope, where a figure in bas-relief brandishes spear and shield on a vertical rock-face at the entrance to a small shrine(stylized version of it pictured above).
Evidence of his cult has been found priamrily within the territories of the Selgovae, Carvetii, and Brigantes, with most of the attestations coming from the last two.
His epithet Vernostonus connects him to Alder trees, which are associated with poetry, and the gods Apollon and Odin, and Dyeus Pter. The alder was thought to have powers of divination, especially in the diagnosing of diseases. Vernostonos may be derived from the Proto-Celtic *Werno-stonos meaning 'the Groaning of Alder-trunks '.
He has been connected to the functionally similar Mars Belatucadrus, whose name is frequently translated as "fair shining one" or "fair slayer", which is reminiscent
Belatucadros is known from approximately 28 inscriptions in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall. Dedications to Balatocadrus, Balatucadrus, Balaticaurus, Balatucairus, Baliticaurus, Belatucairus, Belatugagus, Belleticaurus, Blatucadrus and Blatucairus are generally accepted as variants of the most common of these forms: Belatucadrus. Altars dedicated to him were usually small, simple and plain, leading to the suggestion that this god was mainly worshipped by people of low social status. His name never appears with a female consort and there is no certain extant representation of him.
Celtic scholar Anne Ross suggests that his name, and that of Cocidius, may be epithets for a common general type of Celtic horned god. A horned head was found near the shrine of Belatucadros at Netherby, Cumbria but cannot be securely identified with the god. No depictions of Cocidius show signs of being horned.
*U̯ātonos by Senobessus Bolgon
Visucius/Cissonius/U̯ātonos
Delamarre suggests a couple of meanings for Visucius, ranging from ‘Crow’ or ‘Raven’ from *uisuco or *uesākos to ‘who knows’, ‘who foretells’’ or ‘who sees’, possibly derived from *witsu. Olmstead however argues that it could mean ‘the Worthy’, coming from *Wesu. While the etymology is controversial, they all seem to point back towards a Rudlos-cognate. He is likely connected to the 'Gaulish Mercury' whose identity remains complicated but very well could be a transplanted Wodanaz. Senobessus Bolgon, a blog dedicated to Gaulish Polytheism, has a great article on the reconstructed Gaulish U̯ātonos you can read here.
Visucius was connected by by the romans via interpretatio with Mercury, and according to Miranda Green via epigraphy recorded byJan de Vries, with Mars as well. His name and associations could indicate him being a psychopomp and a deity of eloquence, trade, traveling, knowledge, oaths, magic. Mercury was also associated with the god Lugus, who shares all of the above qualities. If Visucius is similar or identical to Lugus, we may be able to assume that he is also similar to Germanic Wotan/Odin. This is likely because of the cultural cross-pollination between eastern Gaulish and continental Germanic tribes.
Not nearly as much is to be said for Cissionius, other than that the name is almost as common as Visucius in Belgic regions. According to Green, Cissionius also had a doublet goddess by the name of Cissionia, much like how Visucius had one called Visucia. For these reasons, as well as Senobessus Bolgon treats both Visucius and Cissionius as the same deity, as will we.
Lugh, Cu Chulainn, Oisín and Fionn Mac Cumhaill.
I forgot to add these last time, but I've finally remembered to return to this post. Irish religion, especially the details of its deities, can be very hard to nail down due their euhemerization or christian alteration. However, I think aspects/cognates of Rudlos can most certainly be found in Ireland.
I previously spoken about the connection between Odin, Fenrir, Lugh and Cu Chulainn, in Rudlos Part 2, Comparison of Cognates, under the section about Odin. For ease however, I'm going to paste it below.
"I also think this relates to the myths of Fenrir and Irish Cú Chulainn, who parallel each other in some interesting ways. And keep in mind that Irish religion before christian influence would likely be among the most conservative traditions. Cú Chulainn took over the role of a guard dog as a lad, like Fenrir was taken to Asgard to live among the gods despite the punishment of his siblings. He needed to be submerged in three vats of water to quell his war rage where he was dangerous to friend and foe, and Fenrir was bound three times. When Cú Chulainn is killed, after tying himself to the standing stone/menhir, Lugaid cuts his head off, then the sword falls from Cú Chulainn and cuts Lugaid's hand off just as Fenrir bites of Tyr's hand after being bound to a mountain.
Here's the really interesting thing, the myth of Fenrir and Tyr was made around the same time as the Ulfhednar were banned and considered outlaws in the Norse kingdoms. This may also explain why his father is the outlaw/trickster Loki and not the heavily wolf associated god of the Ulfhednar, Oðinn. From this point of view, Fenrir might even be a hypostasis of Oðinn in his berserker, frenzy aspect."
This would all seem to make Cu Chulainn a cognate of Rudlos. His name meaning "hound" and his berserker rage makes it particularly clear to me. He is traditionally thought to be an incarnation of Lugh, and he is son. Lugh himself is famed for his use of his legendary, unstoppable, Spear of Assal(made of yew wood, which always hit it's target and returned to him with the use of magic words, similar to Odin's spear, Gungnir. It has also been interpreted, along with his sling, as a lightning-weapon), as is the Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes famed for his use of the spear, and he rides a special, named horse, not dissimilar to Sleipnir, and accompanied by his hound, Failinis. His messengers are ravens. His patronage of war, kingship, learning and mastery of skills, trade, and harvest associations he also shares in common with, quite notably, Odin. He is even known to close one his eyes when meditating and having visions, just as Odin becomes one-eyed through his searching for more arcane knowledge. He is commonly thought to be the Irish expression of the pan-Celtic god Lugus, however this has been questioned.
Lugus has no widely accepted etymology, however he has been connected to Hamel and Maier proposed a derivation from proto-Celtic *lugus ("lynx"), perhaps used allusively to mean "warrior", but an article by John Carey found the evidence for the existence of such a word in proto-Celtic lacking. Other etymologies derive "Lugus" from the name of the Norse Loki, proto-Celtic *luc- ("mouse" or "rat"), and Gaulish lougos ("raven"). You may note that mice and ravens are animals closely associated with Rudlos, as is being a warrior. However, aside from the spear connection, I feel there are no solid grounds to call Lugh, Lleu, or Lugus a cognate of Rudlos.
Fionn mac Cumhaill, who will be referenced further as Fionn, is the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors(very Koryos sounding, no?), as well as being a seer and poet. His famous tale of catching the Salmon of Wisdom is quest to gain said wisdom from a source of water(symbolically representing chaos in early IE thought), not unlike Odin's and Rudra's. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword, and is himself rather young. Macgnímartha Finn is specifically about his boyhood exploits, adding to his youthful association. Water drunk from his hands is also said to heal even the most severe wounds. He is also said to have been taught the art of war and hunting by a woman called Liath Luachra("Grey One of Luachair"), who bears some similar it Scathach and her relationship to Cu Chulainn.
In Old Irish, Finn/Fionn means "white, bright, lustrous; fair, light-hued (of complexion, hair, etc.); fair, handsome, bright, blessed; in moral sense, fair, just, true". It is cognate with Primitive Irish VENDO- (found in names from Ogam inscriptions), Welsh gwyn (cf. Gwyn ap Nudd), Cornish gwen, Breton gwenn, Continental Celtic and Common Brittonic*uindo- (a common element in personal and place names), and comes from the Proto-Celtic adjective masculine singular *windos. The name seems rather generic but does bring to mind the descriptors used for Hellenic Apollon, and occasional Vedic Rudra. In myth, his mother initially named him Deimne(literally "sureness" or "certainty", also a name that means a young male deer) and several legends tell how he gained the name Fionn when his hair turned prematurely white.
He is also married to Sadhbh, who is also called Sive, pronounced the same. We're gonna get into her very soon in the second part of Rtkona series, but suffice it to say she is pretty convincing cognate and particularly my theory that Rtkona and Rudlos are lovers.
They had a son together, Oisín, who was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. His name literally means "young deer", in refernce to his mother. He is also considered a demigod, and given the age of his character and mythos, he reinforces the divinity of his parents.
Lets circle back to Bran and Sceólang, whose names mean "Raven" and "Survivor" respectively. Bran is typically male, while Sceolang is typically female, but their are a few variations. The hounds' mother, Uirne, was transformed into a dog while pregnant, hence the canine birth of her twin children. While Uirne is returned to full humanity after giving birth to her pups, Bran and Sceólang remain hounds throughout the duration of their mythos. As Uirne is the sister of Fionn's mother Muirne, Bran and Sceólang would be their masters' cousins.
I think the arguement for the relation of Cu Chulainn, Fionn, and perhaps even Oison is rather strong and more than worth updating this post.
An obvious and well-established cognate of Fionn Mac Cumhaill. He is the king of the Tylwyth Teg and ruler of the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn, and whose name means “Gwyn, son of Nudd”. Described later on as a great warrior with a "blackened face", Gwyn is intimately associated with the otherworld/afterlife in medieval Welsh literature, and is associated with the international tradition of the Wild Hunt. Gwyn is often associated with the Wild Hunt, in a role akin to Woden. Some traditions name Gwyn's chief huntsman as Iolo ap Huw, who, every Halloween, "may be found cheering Cŵn Annwn(the pair of spectral hounds associated with underworld) over Cader Idris". In the Black Book of Carmarthen Gwyn states that his finest hound is Dormarch. Existing medieval sources are limited and hard to interpret, but they paint a picture of him as a great warrior and hunter, and seemingly as the primary Brythonic psychopomp.
Gwyn means "fair, bright, white", cognate with the Irish fionn, both deriving from a reconstructed Proto-Celtic stem *windos 'the white one'. As such, he has some connection to the Irish hero Fionn mac Cumhail, whose maternal great-grandfather was Nuada. The name of Gwyn's father, Nudd, appears like Nuada to be cognate with the Brythonic deity Nodens.
He is also associated with divination and the future, a common association with the dead and those in-between. According to the Speculum Christiani, a fourteenth century manuscript against divination, Welsh soothsayers would invoke Gwyn's name before entering woodlands, proclaiming: "to the king of Spirits, and to his queen— Gwyn ap Nudd, you who are yonder in the forest, for love of your mate, permit us to enter your dwelling."
The celebrated fourteenth-century bard Dafydd ap Gwilym refers to Gwyn in a number of texts, suggesting that the character was widely known in Wales during the medieval period. In Y Dylluan, he describes the eponymous owl as the "fowl of Gwyn ap Nudd".
According to a 14th-century Latin manuscript against witchcraft, Welsh "dynion hysbys" (soothsayers) would repeat the following:
Ad regem Eumenidium,
et reginam eius:
Gwynn ap Nwdd
qui es ultra in silvis
pro amore concubine
tue permitte nos venire domum.
To the King of the Faeries,
and to his Queen:
Gwyn ap Nudd
thou who art far in the forest
for the love of your consort
permit us to enter thy dwelling.
Importantly, both Fionn Mac Cumhaill and Gwyn ap Nudd, seem to be directly descended from a Proto-Celtic deity named *windos/*windonos. This deity is a also found in Gaul.
In ancient Gaul and Britain, Apollo was commonly associated with the sun and healing attributes. He may have been equated with fifteen or more different names and epithets (including Belenus, Vindonnus, Grannos, Borvo, Maponus, Moritasgus, among others).
The god was venerated as Apollo Belenus at the curative shrine of Sainte-Sabine (Burgundy), where he was invoked by pilgrims seeking cures for their sickness. If Belenus is interpreted as meaning 'shining, brilliant', it can be compared to the Celtic epithet Vindonnus (from *windo- 'white'), attached to Apollo as a deity who restored light and vision to people with eye disease at Essarois (Burgundy).
There is also the attestation of Vindedus in the territory of the Helvetii. Vinotonus is a god from Celtic mythology of which little is known. Only four altars dedicated to Vinotonus have been found all of which are located near the Roman fort at Bowes. The ancient Romans found Vinotonus to be equivalent to Silvanus, the god of agriculture, and that he was a wilderness god. It was common for the Romans to assign the names of popular Roman gods to local Celtic deities as Silvanus was also equated with the Celtic god Cocidius.
It is a well attested academic theory that the Gaulish "Mercury", more regularly associated with the names Lugus and *Uatonos, may be a more or less singular figure connected to these deities.
Հայկ Նահապետ is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. He is a central figure in Armenian mythology and national identity, and is traditionally regarded as the eponymous ancestor from whom the Armenian people, the "Hay", derive their name. His tale is recounted in the History of Armenia attributed to the 5th-century historian Movses Khorenatsi, as well as in the Primary History attributed to Sebeos. Additional fragments of his legend survive in other medieval sources and continue to be echoed in Armenian oral tradition and epic poetry.
According to legend, Hayk was a mighty archer and chieftain who defied the tyranny of the Babylonian ruler Bel. After leading his people out of captivity, he established their freedom by slaying Bel in the legendary Battle of Hayots Dzor around 2492 BC, near Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. This foundational battle, in which Hayk is said to have struck Bel with a powerful arrow, symbolized both the spiritual triumph of justice over despotism and the birth of the Armenian nation.
The name of the patriarch, Hayk, is not exactly homophonous with the Armenian name for "Armenia," Haykʻ . In Classical Armenian, Haykʻ is the nominative plural of hay, the Armenian word for "Armenian." While Robert W. Thomson considers the etymology of Haykʻ from Hayk to be impossible, other scholars consider the connection between the two to be obvious and derive Hayk from hay/Haykʻ via the suffix -ik. Armenian historiography of the Soviet era connected Hayk and hay with Hayasa, a people mentioned in Hittite inscriptions. Some authors derive Hayk and hay from Khaldi/Ḫaldi, the chief god of the Urartian pantheon, and also identify Hayk with the Urartian deity. Armen Petrosyan proposes a possible connection between the name Hayk and the Proto-Indo-European *poti- "master, lord, master of the house, husband."
Petrosyan describes Hayk as "a complex epic figure that combines the characteristics of the god creator, the father and patriarch of gods, the thunder god, and the war god" that derives from Indo-European archetypes and influenced by Near Eastern mythology. Hayk is a culture hero and an etiological founding figure, like Asshur for the Assyrians, for example. The figure slain by Hayk's arrow is variously given as Bel or Nimrod. Hayk is also the name of the constellation Orion in the Armenian translation of the Bible. Hayk's flight from Babylon and his eventual defeat of Bel has been compared to Zeus's escape to the Caucasus and eventual defeat of the Titans. Petrosyan considers the Indian deity Rudra to be the most similar mythological figure to Hayk. Both are associated with the constellation Orion, both have descendants or followers of the same name (Hays and Rudras) and both are archers that kill their enemy with an arrow.
Orion(also Dionysus, sorta)
This one is also a stretch but I feel there are some shocking connections when you dig into it.
Orion was a Gigas huntsman, companion of the goddess Artemis, who Zeus (or maybe Artemis herself) placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion.
The stories of his birth are numerous, his death even more so. I will link his wikipedia article here, as it covers most of the relevant details of one does not wish to go through each individual account.
The parts of most importance are this:
He was blinded and regained his sight(think of Odin's lost eye)
The star Sirius is called his dog(In India, it was associated with Rudra), As are Canis Major and Canis Minor.
Went to Crete where he hunted with Artemis and her mother Leto, and threatened to kill every beast on Earth.
Gaia (Apollon in some versions, disapproving of his sister's relationship with a male) objected and sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion.
It succeeded in killing him, and after his death, the two goddesses asked Zeus to place Orion among the constellations.
In several versions, Eos(very ancient IE goddess) falls in love with him and takes him to Delos, where Artemis kills him.
In one version, he plans to marry Artemis, before Apollon orchestrates his death.
Artemis mourns him greatly
His name may come from the ancient Greek word oros, which means "mountain". It may also come from the word horion, which means "boundary" or "limit". Both seem fair origins and either could reasonably relate to an epithet of Rudlos. However, it has also been argued, very speculatively, that it come from Akkadian Uru-anna, meaning “heaven's light”.
Orion had a hero cult in the region of Boeotia(the area surrounding Thebes). The number of places associated with his birth suggest that it was widespread. Hyria, the most frequently mentioned, was in the center of Boeotia. A feast of Orion was held there as late as the Roman Empire. Maurice Bowra argues that Orion was a national hero of the Boeotians, much as Castor and Pollux were for the Dorians. He bases this claim on the Athenian epigram on the Battle of Coronea in which a hero gave the Boeotian army an oracle, then fought on their side and defeated the Athenians.
I want you to keep in mind the panhellenic hero cult of Herakles, who is widely regarded as a cognate of the IE thunder god, Perkwunos, was also believed to have been a historic mortal man and even had several graves where his body was believed to have been laid to rest. Orion also had a grave in Boeotia, at the foot of Mount Cerycius(Now Tanagra), enhancing his mountain connection. Indeed, if Orion was once Rudlos, it is very possible aspects of his myth and cult split off from him and on to other deities, namely his more establish but originally Anatolian cognate, Apollon. Dionysus was similarly euhemerized although this happened much later.
Also keep in mind, Orion is not a human, but a member of the Gigantes, often translated as Giants, although they were no more than a foot taller than the average Greek, not the monsters that snap trees like tooth-picks they are often depicted as. Gigantes were known for their size and strength, and were considered the children of Gaia. Orion himself was considered to be the pinnacle of mortal hunting ability, and incredibly strong. The current consensus, backed up by Homer, is that Orion's name, myth, and cult, predate the naming of the constellation.
In Dionysus (1976), Karl Kerényi portrays Orion as a shamanic hunting hero, surviving from Minoan times (hence his association with Crete). Kerényi derives Hyrieus (and Hyria) from the Cretan dialect word ὕρον hyron, meaning "beehive", which survives only in ancient dictionaries. From this association he turns Orion into a representative of the old mead-drinking cultures, overcome by the wine masters Oenopion and Oeneus. (The Greek for "wine" is oinos.) Fontenrose cites a source stating that Oenopion taught the Chians how to make wine before anybody else knew how.
In some versions, he is the son of Poseidon, who grants him the power to walk on water.
Joseph Fontenrose wrote Orion: the Myth of the Hunter and the Huntress (1981) to show Orion as the type specimen of a variety of grotesque hero. He views him as similar to Cú Chulainn, that is, stronger, larger, and more potent than ordinary men and the violent lover of the Divine Huntress.
The Boeotian school of epic poetry was primarily focused with the genealogies of the gods and heroes. Several other myths are attached to Orion in this way: A papyrus fragment of the Boeotian poet Corinna gives Orion fifty sons (a traditional number). This included the oracular hero Acraephen, who gave a response to Asopus regarding Asopus' daughters who were abducted by the gods. Corinna sang of Orion conquering and naming all the land of the dawn. Bowra argues that Orion was believed to have delivered oracles as well, probably at a different shrine.
The stories surrounding Orion resemble those of several other mythical hunters of the Boeotian region. The hunter Kephalos (Cephalus), for example, was also said to have been seduced by the goddess Eos. Another, Aktaion (Actaeon), was similarly killed by Artemis while out hunting. And finally, the earth-born Boeotian giant Tityos attempted to violate the goddess Leto(just as Orion assaulted Opis/Artemis) and was destroyed by Apollon and Artemis with their arrows.
Now, as a Hellenist, I would argue the myth involving Apollon orchestrating Orion's death is one to be interpreted as illustrating the function of Apollon as the god who brings us back to reason. u/messageofapollo over on reddit made a small post in r/Hellenism that I feel sums up an excellent Hellenist reading of the story, which I will link here.
However, in the name of PIE reconstructionism I would also argue this interpretation of that same myth: It may also represent the cult of Apollon, who would become a symbol of Greek-ness(Hellenismos, if you will) itself and one of the most widely spread and consistent cults of Greece, overtaking what remained of Orion's and retaking what it had once been and much more. A cognate of Rudlos circumventing and usurping another cognate, albeit a small, euhemerized one, to great acclaim.
It also like to you to take a look at this article by Michael Janda, specifically section 2 which starts on page 4. It compares a myth of Rudra defending Ushas from Prajapati to the myth of Orion, specifically the version involving Eos. They're connections to the same stars, the same symbols, and a remarkably similar narrative. I do not agree with all of his conclusions, including his statement that a parallel between Greek and Indic sources = it's definitely PIE, but they're both archaic enough I'm also not too worried and about mutual influence. I don't think the PIE's drank wine either, although they almost certainly had some form of alcohol.
I'd also caution that while I see his point, I do not believe Artemis to be all that reflexive of the Dawn Goddess. Rather, I think the relevance is in her being his sister. And while Eos/Ushas and her earlier incarnations could have held a consistent nocturnal role, I don't see strong evidence for it.
Later in the article he makes an argument for the reflexive nature of Dionysus, which I feel is largely adequate. I'm not personally motivated much by Dionysus as a cognate, even if he indeed is. He has been altered so heavily I don't feel he adds much to the table.
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Let's take a step back, look at all the cognates. We have very well documented, direct attestations, in the Germanic, Vedic, and an Anatolian/Greek cognate that backs up both very well. A pair poorly understood potential cognates in the Roman tradition. A whole series of Celtic cognates, back up by linguistics, comparative mythology, and by Interpretatio romana. And a possible Greek reflex, not of Rudlos himself, but perhaps his relationship with Rtkona.
