Zalmoxis - The Vanishing God

Contents......Page 2
Preface......Page 3
Religious Meanings of Ethnic Names......Page 5
Military Initiations: Ritual Transformation into a predatory animal......Page 7
The Club & the Standard......Page 9
The "Dacians" - A Martial Brotherhood......Page 11
Mythico-ritual scenarios of the wolf......Page 12
Carnivores, hunters, warriors......Page 14
Herodotus 4. 94-96......Page 15
The Underground Chamber......Page 17
Ritual Caves: Occultation & Epiphanies......Page 18
Zalmoxis & Immortalization......Page 20
Ecstatics & Thaumaturges......Page 22
The Shaman-Philosophers......Page 24
Greek Shamanism......Page 25
Zalmoxis, Ecstasy, & Immortality......Page 26
Etymologies & History of Religions......Page 27
Zalmoxis & Freyr......Page 28
The Sacrifice of the Messenger......Page 29
Gebeleizis......Page 30
Zalmoxis & the Healer-Priests......Page 32
Zalmoxis & Decaeneus......Page 33
Solitaries & Sages......Page 34
Dacia Capta......Page 37
The Metamorphosis of Zalmoxis......Page 39
The Cosmogonic Dive......Page 42
Southeastern European Versions......Page 43
Polish, Baltic, and Mordvinian Variants......Page 45
God's Weariness......Page 46
Slavic Dualism?......Page 48
Some Russian Legends......Page 51
The Cosmogonic Dive among the Ugrians......Page 52
Altaians, Mongols......Page 53
Buriats, Yakuts......Page 55
Iran......Page 57
North American Cosmogonies......Page 60
Aryan India......Page 61
Pre-Aryan India & Southeast Asia......Page 62
Origin & Dissemination of the Myth......Page 64
Structure & Meaning of the cosmogonic Dive......Page 66
4 - Prince Dragos & the "Ritual Hunt"......Page 69
The Chroniclers......Page 70
"Ritual Hunt" & Animal Guides......Page 71
Origin Myths......Page 73
Hunor & Magor......Page 75
The Aurochs & the Bull......Page 76
Religious Role of the Stag......Page 77
The Stag Hunt in India......Page 79
Indo-Aryans, Finno-Uggrians, Altaians......Page 81
Concluding Remarks......Page 84
Folk Poetry & Religious Folklore......Page 86
Some Balkan Ballads......Page 89
The Exegesis: Folklorists, Historians of Literature, Stilkritiker......Page 90
Construction Rites: Morphology & History......Page 93
Blood Sacrifices & Cosmogonic Myths......Page 95
Archaism & Survival......Page 97
Bandinus & the Incantatores......Page 99
Rites of Defense against the plague......Page 101
The Fall of the Rusali......Page 103
Shamanism & Incantations......Page 105
7 - The Cult of the Mandragora in Romania......Page 106
"A thing holy and touching..."......Page 117
Historians, Folklorists, Philosophers......Page 118
Traditionalists & Modernists......Page 120
Constantin Brailoiu's Exegesis......Page 122
The Prestige of the Ballad......Page 123
Analysis of the Themes......Page 124
Postexistence, Posthumous betrothals, "Mioritic Nuptials"......Page 127
Prehistory of the Ballad......Page 129
The "Terror of History" & the Shepher's Response......Page 130
Index......Page 132