Many people are pointing out that the Norse and the Greek pantheons are related because they both have common roots in Indo-European religion. This trope of one generation killing an earlier one is common to several Indo-European religions (and, if I'm not mistaken, a few non-Indo-European religions). Here are a few older threads I can point to about Indo-European religion:
Just as a start, the Wikipedia article about the Indo-European pantheon has a listing of the etymological connections between many of the Indo-European gods' names (their roles are analogous). Not every god, not every common story element, not every myth, not every ritual survived long enough to be recorded in writing. In fact, it's safe to say that most don't, which means it's very difficult to reconstruct what Proto-Indo-European religion looked like. In this sense, we can see that religion in many ways changes much more quickly than language and in more irregular ways. It's especially difficult because, religion more easily introduces new elements than language and, while two it's unlikely that two languages develop similar structure, it's actually much more likely that two religions do. Which is to say, it's not surprising that non-European religions have a trope of an older generation of gods being usurped by a younger generation of gods, even if we might also identify that as a common Indo-European element. As I said in a different older comment:
On a more basic level, there's wide agreement that there was an Indo-European pantheon, though when you look more carefully at it you realize just how much these myth changed even as their names remained related, though then you some parts (like the three fate goddesses) reoccur clearly across space and language. But even these are strongly present some places and completely absent others (I know of no direct Vedic equivalent, for example, though there are several three headed gods and goddess, Durga for instance, as well as triple goddesses like Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati that could potentially be related). It's hard to do. Mythology is more fluid than language, especially before writing, and with language you would traditionally use a Swadesh list of a two hundred or so words to establish a genuine genetic relationship between languages. You just wouldn't even expect that many deities, so you have some religious terms, some mythic tropes, some members of the pantheon, and some specific phrasings (a la Watkins), but it's hard to weave them all together.
I'm unfortunately only up on the literature through about the 1980's (I read through the old works of one of my favorite scholars, Bruce Lincoln, for fun as an undergraduate, and he left the subject in the 1980's) so, while I can give more detail than other posters here about Indo-European religion (they're giving two or three line responses), I actually don't know that much more detail than what I wrote up in the post linked above. I certainly don't know what the state of the art historical thinking is about Indo-European religion.
And a related question, was the succession of the new gods over the old all part of the mythology, or were there earlier versions of these cultures who worshiped the old gods, only to have their religion supplanted by the new generation?
Just a clarification:
The Greek pantheon didn't kill anyone, they defeated their progenitors and imprisoned them but they lay imprisoned still in Tartarus, the deepest underworld. Enkelados for example is basically the gigantas (hundred armed giant) responsible for earthquakes, as he keeps trying to get out of his underground prison below the volcano Etna. Actually anyone above demigod status is immortal (and some demigods get elevated to god status post mortem if they were good guys while alive), and even though they can be gravely wounded they will heal from their wounds rapidly. For example the titan Prometheus regenerated his innards every night while being punished by Zeus for being a very naughty boy, stealing fire from Olympus and giving it to humans, and Ares was severely wounded by an Achaean in the Iliad, but got better. However if they're born ugly or deformed that's it after a short while, they're deformed their entire immortal life. Hephaestus the god of blacksmiths and engineers was born so ugly that his mother Hera was shocked and flung him off the mountain, so he grew up a cripple on top of being butt ugly.
I know next to nothing about Norse mythology and it's connections to Greek. However, it would be tempting to connect the Greek pantheon at least partially to earlier Mesopotamian mythology (or perhaps draw both of them from some earlier prehistoric myths). There are some interesting fundamental coincidences:
For example the way how the most important deities were associated with planets: Venus was associated in both, Mesopotamian and Greek mythology to the goddess of fertility, namely Assyro-Babylonian Ištar (earlier Sumerian Inana), who was a goddess of fertility (later also a goddes of war and underworld) ~ Greek Afrodite (fertility). Similarly Jupiter is associated with the chief god of the pantheon: Babylonian Marduk (a warrior deity who was exaled as the King of gods in Babylonian creation myth) ~ Greek Zeus (leader of the Olympian gods).
Regarding the question, killing the progenitors is also a central theme in Enuma eliš (Babylonian creation myth). In short, the first generation of gods, Tiāmat (symbolizes chaos, life-force, salt water) and Apsû (symbolizes sweet water) mingle their waters together and give birth to the second generation of gods (which symbolize different elements and central functions of the universe in a very abstract sense). The younger generation becomes noisy by "dancing around" preventing Tiāmat and Apsû from sleeping. Apsû decides to destroy the young generation, but Ea (fifth generation) manages to kill him before he executes his plans. After this, Tiāmat decides to revenge the death of her "husband" by creating an army of monsters. However, now Marduk (Ea's son) is called to stop her and ultimately he triumphs over Tiāmat (from this point begins the actual creation of the material world, but I will not discuss it here; in the end also Marduk is raised over the pantheon as their ruler).
Thus in short, also in Enuma eliš, the later generation of gods kill their progenitors, which here are the first two primeval deities.
For a critical edition of the Enuma elish, see Talon P. 2005: Enūma Eliš – The Standard Babylonian Creation Myth. SAACT IV. Helsinki (in French, contains also the original babylonian version with dictionary). Also Lambert W. G. 2008: "Mesopotamian Creation Stories", M. J. Geller and M. Schipper, (eds.) Imagining Creation, Institute of Jewish Studies Studies in Judaica, 5. (Leiden: Brill, 2008).
For the legacy of Sumerian (and also general Mesopotamian culture and mythology) the most acknowledged publication is still probably Samuel Kramer 1963: The Sumerians [also available in PDF if you google it].
In addition to the whole parent-overthrow thing, I also wonder about the connections between the Norse giant Ymir and the Hindu god Purusha - both described as enormous primeval beings who were sacrificed by later gods to create the earth. The Rig Veda's Hymn to Purusha reads:
- A THOUSAND heads hath Puruṣa, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide. 2 This Puruṣa is all that yet hath been and all that is to be; The Lord of Immortality which waxes greater still by food. 3 So mighty is his greatness; yea, greater than this is Puruṣa. All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths eternal life in heaven. 4 With three-fourths Puruṣa went up: one-fourth of him again was here. Thence he strode out to every side over what cats not and what cats. 5 From him Virāj was born; again Puruṣa from Virāj was born. As soon as he was born he spread eastward and westward o’er the earth. 6 When Gods prepared the sacrifice with Puruṣa as their offering, Its oil was spring, the holy gift was autumn; summer was the wood. 7 They balmed as victim on the grass Puruṣa born in earliest time. With him the Deities and all Sādhyas and Ṛṣis sacrificed. 8 From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up. He formed the creatures of-the air, and animals both wild and tame. 9 From that great general sacrifice Ṛcas and Sāma-hymns were born: Therefrom were spells and charms produced; the Yajus had its birth from it. 10 From it were horses born, from it all cattle with two rows of teeth: From it were generated kine, from it the goats and sheep were born. 11 When they divided Puruṣa how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet? 12 The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced. 13 The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vāyu from his breath. 14 Forth from his navel came mid-air the sky was fashioned from his head Earth from his feet, and from his car the regions. Thus they formed the worlds. 15 Seven fencing-sticks had he, thrice seven layers of fuel were prepared, When the Gods, offering sacrifice, bound, as their victim, Puruṣa. 16 Gods, sacrificing, sacrificed the victim these were the earliest holy ordinances. The Mighty Ones attained the height of heaven, there where the Sādhyas, Gods of old, are dwelling.
For comparison, the prose edda describes Ymir's death like this:
Then said Gangleri: "What was done then by Borr's sons, if thou believe that they be gods ? " Harr re- plied: "In this matter there is no little to be said. They took Ymir and bore him into the middle of the Yawning Void, her without lieth the deep sea; and along the strand of that sea they gave lands to the races of giants for habitation. But on the inner earth they made a citadel round about the world against the hostility of the giants, and for their cita- del they raised up the brows of Ymir the giant, and called that place Midgard. They took also his brain and cast it in the air, and made from it the clouds, as is here said: Of Ymir's flesh the earth was fashioned. And of his sweat the sea; Crags of his bones, trees of his hair. And of his skull the sky. Then of his brows the blithe gods made Midgard for sons of men; And of his brain the bitter-mooded Clouds were all created." and made of him the earth : of his blood the sea and the waters ; the land was made of his flesh, and the crags of his bones ; gravel and stones they fashioned from his teeth and his grinders and from those bones that were broken." And Jafnharr said: "Of the blood, which ran and welled forth freely out of his wounds, they made the sea, when they had formed and made firm the earth together, and laid the sea in a ring round about her; and it may well seem a hard thing to most men to cross over it." Then said Thridi : "They took his skull also, and made of it the heaven, and set it up over the earth with four corners ; and under each corner they set a dwarf: the names of these are East, West, North, and South. Then they took the glowing embers and sparks that burst forth and had been cast out of Muspell- heim, and set them in the midst of the Yawning Void, in the heaven, both above and below, to illumine heaven and earth. They assigned places to all fires : to some in heaven ; some wandered free under the heavens; nevertheless, to these also they gave a place, and shaped them courses. It is said in old songs, that from these the days were reck- oned, and the tale of years told, as is said in Voluspa: The sun knew not where she had housing; The moon knew not what might he had; The stars knew not where stood their places. Thus was it ere the earth was fashioned." Then said Gangleri: "These are great tidings which I now hear; that is a wondrous great piece of craftsmanship, and cunningly made. How was the earth contrived?" And Harr answered: "She is ring-shaped without, and round about
Anybody know more about the similarities between these two myths, and any possible relationship between them?
I believe i would have a follow up question, pertaining to ancient mythology. I had always assumed that nearly all religions and mythological gods had originated from the god ISIS and the son Horus. Is there any weight to that assumption?
