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  5. Volume 10 (2008): Astronomy and Cosmology in Folk Traditions and Cultural Heritage
  6. The mythological Moon horse as reflected ...

Archaeologia Baltica

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The mythological Moon horse as reflected in Baltic archaeology, folklore and linguistics
Volume 10 (2008): Astronomy and Cosmology in Folk Traditions and Cultural Heritage, pp. 71–77
Dainius Razauskas   Vykintas Vaitkevičius  

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Pub. online: 20 December 2008      Type: Article      Open accessOpen Access

Received
2 November 2007
Revised
30 November 2008
Published
20 December 2008

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the phenomenon of crescent-shaped pendants dating back to the Late Roman Iron Age and Early Migration Period (3rd – 6th centuries AD). Placed on horse’s foreheads, these crescent-shaped pendants evidently embodied a mythological link between the moon and the horse. The same link is clearly reflected in linguistic data and folklore right up until the 20th century. We draw special attention to a horse with a white mark on its forehead called laukas (adj.), laukis (noun) in Lithuanian, which derives from the I-E root *louk- ‘shining, bright’, as also does the Latin luna (< *louksnā). Considering the data as a whole, we propose an unexpected link between the Baltic and Roman traditions.

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Keywords
the Moon horse crescent-shaped pendants Roman Iron Age

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