Dyēus Pətḗr

*For an article on Dyēus Pətḗr in an attempted reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language, see Dyēus*

Grandparents: Áḱmōn and Érā
Parents: Séwətōr and Dā́nu

**Dyēus Pətḗr** (**Dyeu Pətḗr** or simply **Dyēus**) is the God of the sky, governing all that dwells within (i.e. the moon, the winds, the sun, but **not** the rain and thunder), order and fate. He is the chief deity in the religious traditions and pantheon of the prehistoric Proto-Indo-Europeans and in the Swedhuismos tradition. He became king of the Gods after helping the Deiwōs (or Dhēses, Gods) overthrow the Gā́gontes (Giants). He is depicted as mature with sturdy figure and dark beard. However, Dyeus is not the ruler of the gods or the holder of the supreme power, as later Zeus and Jupiter are. But is "Father Dyēus." Dyēus Pətḗr would then come to mean “Sky Father”, and his position within mirrors that of a monarch. Dyeus is also the god of oaths, the god of the Ṛtós, the predictable order on which the Universe operates. Dyēus Pətḗr's consort is Diwónā, Goddess of Women and Marriage. Also with Áusōs as his consort he fathers the Diwós Súnū (others say it's Swélenā or Mēdhéwī). His symbols are the eagle, and the bull. The word dyēus as a noun means “day-lit sky, day.”As the pantheons of the individual mythologies related to the Proto-Indo-European religion evolved, attributes of Dyeus seem to have been redistributed to other deities. In Greek and Roman mythology, Dyeus remained the chief god, but in Vedic mythology, the etymological continuation of Dyeus became a very abstract god, and his original attributes, and his dominance over other gods, seem to have been transferred to gods such as Agni or Indra. In Greek mythology, his position as literal personification of the sky and consort of the Mother Earth goddess was taken by Ouranos, whom some have tied to the Hindu god Varuna (later associated with the oceans and thus identified with Poseidon).The Greeks envisioned Zeus as a powerful and proud. As Jupiter, he becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike. The Romans envisioned Jupiter as a more formal and stoic version than of his Greek counterpart. The Indo-European Dyeus counterpart is more formal and stoic like later Jupiter, but powerful like later Zeus.

## Prayers

I stand under the bright sky, shining, clear,
blue and empty of all except itself,
and praise the Sky Father,
the Shining Sky Father,
Lord of the Ártus, enforcer of justice:
you see all that is done;
may my deeds be true.

-From Ceisiwr Serith's website

## Family

* Wéstyā: Goddess of Home, Family and the Hearth.
* Dhéǵhōm Mātḗr/Pḷtǝwī: Goddess of Earth, Harvest, Agriculture and Fertility.
* Diwónā: Wife of Dyeus, and the Goddess of Motherhood and Women.
* Ápōm Népōts: Brother of Dyeus. The dreaded God of the Oceans, Storms, Earthquakes, Water, Water bodies and Sea creatures. Consort of Sā́lyā.
* Perqū́nos: Son of Dyeus. God of Thunder, stormy skies, rain, rain clouds, and War.

## Later figures etymologically connected with Dyeus

* In Greek mythology Zeus
* In Roman mythology Jupiter (pronounced Iuppiter), and Dis Pater (though connected with the underworld)
* In Historical Vedic religion Dyauṣ Pitār

Rooted in the related but distinct Indo-European word \**deiwos* is the Latin word for deity, *deus*. The Latin word is also continued in English *divine*, "deity", and the original Germanic word remains visible in "Tuesday" ("Day of Tīwaz") and Old Norse *tívar*, which may be continued in the toponym *Tiveden* ("Wood of the Gods", or of Týr).

The following names derive from the related *\*deiwos*:

* Germanic *Tīwaz* (known as *Týr* in Old Norse, *Teius* in Gothic)
* Latin *Deus* (originally used to address Jupiter, but later adopted as the name of the Christian god)
* Indo-Aryan *deva*: Vedic/Puranic *deva*, Buddhist *deva*
* Iranic '**daeva*,* daiva*,* diw'**, etc.
* Baltic *Dievas*
* Celtic e.g. Gaulish *Dēuos*
* Slavic *div(-ese)* (miracle)

## Descendant Names

* **Indo-European:** Dyēus Pətḗr
	+ Indo-Iranian: \*dyā́wš-pHtā́
		- Indo-Aryan: \*Dyā́wṣ-PHtā́
			* Sanskrit: द्यौष्पितृ (Dyauṣ-pitṛ)
		- Hellenic: \*Dzéu Patér
			* Ancient Greek: Ζεῦ πάτερ (Zeû páter), Ζεύς (Zeús)
				+ Greek: Ζευ Πατέρα (Zef Patéra), Ζευς (Zefs)
		- Italic: \*Djous Patēr
			* Umbrian: 𐌉𐌖𐌐𐌀𐌕𐌄𐌓 (Iupater)
			* Oscan: \*𐌃𐌉𐌞𐌐𐌀𐌕𐌝𐌓 (\*Diúpatír)
			* Old Latin: Diēspiter
				+ Classical Latin: Iuppiter
					- English Jupiter
					- Italian: Giove
					- Spanish: Júpiter

Estonian *Tharapita* bears similarity to *Dyaus Pita* in name, although it has been interpreted as being related to the god Thor.

## As an ordinary noun

Dyēus's name also likely means "the daytime sky":

* In Sanskrit as *div-* (nominative singular *dyāus* with vrddhi), its singular means "the sky" and its plural means "days".
* Its accusative form *\*dyēm* became Latin *diem* "day", which later gave rise to a new nominative *diēs*. The original nominative survives as *diūs* in a few fixed expressions.
* Finnish *taivas* Estonian *taevas*, Livonian *tōvaz* etc. (from Proto-Finnic *\*taivas*), meaning "heaven" or "sky," are likely rooted in the Indo-European word. The neighboring Baltic *Dievas* or Germanic *Tiwaz* are possible sources, but the Indo-Iranian *\*daivas* accords better in both form and meaning. Similar origin has been proposed for the word family represented by Finnish *toivoa* "to hope" (originally "to pray from gods").

## As a God of the Human Race

Dyeus was the patron of Proto-Indo-European Kings. He inspires Justice, Law, Honor, Order,
keeping of Oaths, Hospitality, Leadership, and enforcer of the Ártus. Lord Dyeus punished
evil doers and killed anyone who broke their oaths. Dyeus represents the household life of a man and the
ultimate face of Proto-Indo-European civilization and culture.

## Appearance and Personality

Dyeus has long dark grey hair with a grey-and-black beard. He has matching grey eyes with a grim and stoic but handsome and proud face. Dyeus dresses in the Neolithic-early Bronze Age style loincloth, woolen wrap, or tunic and belt. Dyeus in personality is formal and stoic like later Jupiter, but powerful like later Zeus.

## Miscellaneous on Dyeus

* Dyeus manifested in the avatar of a bear in the *Everlasting Honey* myth in the presence of a queen.
* In one version of the creation myth, Dyeus helps Manus create the world out of the dismembered body of Yemos.

## In modern culture

Dyēus Pətḗr (mostly as Zeus but less often as a composite of Zeus and Jupiter as well) is depicted in many films, TV series, comics, etc:

* In *Jupiter på jorden*, the first known film adaptation to feature Zeus, he (Zeus) is played by Axel Ringvall.
* In the 1963 film *Jason and the Argonauts*, Zeus is played by Niall MacGinnis.
	+ In the 2000 remake, he is played by Angus MacFadyen.
* In the TV series *Shazam!*, Zeus is voiced by Lou Scheimer. He (Lou Scheimer) is uncredited in the TV series.
* In the original 1981 film *Clash of the Titans*, Zeus is played by Laurence Olivier.
	+ In the 2010 remake and it's 2012 sequel *Wrath of the Titans*, he is played by Liam Neeson.
* In the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys films, Zeus is played by Anthony Quinn.
	+ In the TV series, in season 3 episode 15 "Judgement Day", he is played by Peter Vere-Jones.
		- In season 4, he was played by Roy Dotrice.
		- In season 6 episode 8 "Full Circle" and in *Xena: Warrior Princess* season 5 episode 12 "God Fearing Child", he is played be Charles Keating.
			* In the spinoff prequel TV series *Young Hercules*, his only appearance is in season 1 episode 50 "Valley of the Shadow". He is played by Josh Bach.
			* In the animated film, he is voiced by Peter Rowley.
* In the 1997 Disney animated film *Hercules*, Zeus is voiced by Rip Torn.
	+ In the 1998 spinoff TV series, he is voiced by Corey Burton.
	+ In the TV series Once Upon a Time, his only appearance is in season 5 episode 21 "Last Rites". He is played by David Hoflin.
* In the 2009 animated film *Wonder Woman*, Zeus is voiced by David McCallum.
* In the animated TV series *The Fairly OddParents*, Zeus' only appearance is in season 7 episode 4b (episode 7) "Freaks and Greeks". He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He is depicted as immature, obsessed with partying, and with the typical personality of a Western adolescent.
* In the 2010 film *Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief*, Zeus is played by Sean Bean.
* In the animated TV series *The Super Hero Squad Show*, Zeus' only appearance is in season 2 episode 5 "Support Your Local Sky Father". He is voiced by Travis Willingham.
* In the TV series *Supernatural*, Zeus' only appearance is in season 8, episode 16 "Remember the Titans". He is the main antagonist and is killed with a silver arrow by his daughter Artemis in the climax. He is played by John Novak.
* In the 2013 film *Thor: The Dark World*, Tyr is played by Clive Russell.
	+ In the 2022 film *Thor: Love and Thunder*, Zeus is played by Russell Crowe.
* In the 2014 animated shorts *Shazam!*, Zeus is voiced by Kevin Conroy.
* In the 2017 film *Justice League*, Zeus is played by Sergi Constance.
* In the 2018 miniseries *Troy: Fall of a City*, Zeus is played by Hakeem Kae-Kasim.
* In the TV series *American Gods*, Tyr is played by Denis O'Hare.

## References

* http://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Dyeus
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyeus
* http://ceisiwrserith.com/prayers.htm
* http://greekmythology.wikia.org/wiki/Zeus

## See also

* Swedhuismos
* Proto-Indo-European religion