[gothic-l] Re: The Several Shapes of Gaut

[dirk at SMRA.CO.UK]

that is very interesting, and I shall try to follow that up for a
short arcticle that I am writing about these coins. Many thanks.
As you seem to know a lot about this, can I ask you to clarify the
concept of Ares-Mars for me. Wolfram refers to Ares-Mars, but is that
the same as the Roman Mars. What does the Ares stand for? where does
it come from? thanks again. Dirk



--- In gothic-l at egroups.com, "sunburst" <sunburst at j...> wrote:
> Hails Dirk!
>
> Thank you for you interesting comments!
>
> >However, around the
> >head of Mars there is always a braket typ sign on each side, thus
> >surrounding and engulfing the head of Mars,  which does not really
> >have a correspondence on the model coins. Can anybody think of an
> >explanation? You referred to the moon symbol and its
> >significance. Could these brakets be half-moons on each side of
> >the head?
>
> They could be.  However, this description puts me in mind of some
Germanic
> artwork found on breactates and other such items in Scandinavia and
England
> (including the Sutton Hoo purse lid), which depict a man with
either
two
> wolves, and their mouths are often interpreted as ready to devour
his head.
> They are sometimes associated with the cult of Odin, and could
alternately
> represent his two pet wolves. The wide open mouths of the creatures
are
> naturally rather crescent shaped.  The battling of Tiw and/or Odin
with
> wolves is a common theme in Germanic mythology.  In Norse myth,
there are
> two wolves chasing the sun and the moon, with the idea that they
will one
> day catch them at "Ragnarok."  In the mythology of another
Indo-European
> people (Vedic) the wolves do eventually catch up, and the wolf
swallowing
> the moon is said in that tradition to be the cause of an eclipse.
>
> So perhaps there is a connection between Odin or Tiw, and the moon,
and the
> Gothic coins.  The coins, being primitive, as you say, and small,
may have
> only been able to have the wolves depiced in such a simplified
form,
the
> maker not having the space or skill to detail their full bodies
(Germanic
> artwork was always highly stylized anyway).
>
> Perhaps they are depicting Gaut.  That the figure on the coins can
be
> identified with Mars perhaps indicates that the figure with the
wolves found
> elsewhere is indeed Tiw.  This does not make it any clearer whether
Gaut is
> Odin or Tiw, because so much blending between the two occured over
the
> centuries: both are associated with battling wolves, and with war.
If the
> figure on the coin was indeed Gaut, the Mars assocation indicates
Tiw, while
> the spear indicates Odin.   However, it is important to not expect
such
> things to always be systematic over great amounts of time and in
widely
> varying locations: Tiw may well have been depicted with a spear in
some
> places, and Odin may have even absorbed the spear as his chief
weapon from
> Tiw.  Thanks for the information!
>
> Albareiks


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