This Yamnaya warrior was buried in a kurgan (burial mound) on the steppe with this mighty weapon from prehistoric warfare. Is it the mythical weapon of Indra; the cudgel Vajra? What does it have to do with Hercules and Thor?

We discuss the mythology of the Striker-Thunderer and talk about Yamnaya burial practices and how this image of the Yamnaya warrior inspired my work.

The Indo-European myth of the Striker / Thunderer is seen in the forms of Thor, Herakles, and Indra. He is a thunder god - the sun of the sky father - who strikes with a hammer or an axe or club / cudgel. He makes thunder, sends lightning bolts crashing to earth, and he is a wandering hero who slays the serpent and other monsters.

Elements of the Striker / Thunderer merged with the figure of the sky father in the form of Zeus while the heroic deeds and monster slaying elements found expression in his sons Herakles and Perseus. Thor has a short handled hammer while Herakles famously has his wooden club.

This deity's name amongst the ancient steppe herders may have been Perkwunos meaning 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks' because of the way lightning tends to strike oak trees. In the most cosmic version of his myth the god uses his celestial weapon to strike down the monster who is holding back the life giving waters.

**I've been astonished by the number of people enraged by the running joke, a visual gag intended to add amusement.**

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Sources

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language - David Anthony ➜ https://amzn.to/3aD3Rhu
How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics - Calvert Watkins ➜ https://amzn.to/3yeyXXe
Myth, Ritual, and the Warrior in Roman and Indo-European Antiquity - Roger D. Woodard ➜ https://amzn.to/3w9sYB3
A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project Report ➜ https://amzn.to/3bvqp4v
An Indo-Iranian Symbol of Power in the Earliest Steppe Kurgans - P. Kuznetsov
https://www.academia.edu/3836804/An_I...
Murphy, E., & Khokhlov, A. (2016). "Biocultural Analysis of the Prehistoric Populations of the Volga Region." In D. Anthony, D. Brown, A. Khokhlov, P. Kuznetsov, & O. Mochalov (Eds.), A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes: The Samara Valley Project. (pp. 149-216):
https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portal...

I read quite a few articles by Curwen at Arya Akasha on this subject over the last couple of years and learned a lot (I also used one of their images in the video). Here is a link to a new article which has links to more:
https://aryaakasha.com/2021/03/09/ind...

Bronze Age Warfare series

Watch all the Bronze Age Warfare series here:    • Bronze Age Warfare Playlist  

Koryos:    • The Koryos: the Indo-European Warband...  
Trepanation:    • Are These Skulls Evidence of Bronze A...  
Indra's Cudgel:    • The 5,000-Year-Old Yamnaya Copper Club  
Thor's Hammer:    • The Stone Battle Axe of Neolithic Europe  
First Berserkers:    • The First Berserkers: the Bronze Age ...  
Army of the Dead:    • The Cult of the Ancestors | Bronze Ag...