Siva and Vishnu

[N. Ganesan]

Thanks, David, for the reply.

Because the corpus of writing from the third millennium BCE Near East
and Egypt is ever growing, are there example(s) where
good/righteousness is equated with light, and evil/wicked with
darkness from those times? Probably from clay tablets or hieroglyphs
we may find this imagery. After 1000 BCE, there were Orientalizing
influence even in Greece from Persia.

In the poems from the Book of Job quoted, good = light
and evil = darkness. In Job, or Sons of Light and Darkness myth, etc.,
is there mention of good = "white" and evil = "black"?

>The RV references seem much more racially focused, although it may be that
>the darker indigenous peoples were initially regarded as evil because of
>practices that the composers of the RV found morally
>abhorrent.

In Iranian and Vedic sources, "black" vs. "white" contrast is
well portrayed in addition to "light" vs. "darkness".
While Black is not seen in good light in the Rgveda,
the Avestan makes godly beings as "white".

Hock, Through a glass darkly, p. 158
" At least within Eurasia, there is ample further precedent
for an "ideological" use of the notions 'dark/black'
and 'light/white'. This is found not only in the black
hats of the "bad guys" and the white hats of the "good
guys" in American Western movies, or in the similar use
of ancient Greek m'elas or Latin niger. It is also found
much closer to "home", in ancient Iranian. See [19].

[19] - Yt 10: 126: The truthful Goddess Razizta Cista is white
    and dressed in white garments (Sim. Yt 5.7)
     - Yt 5: 12: The same Goddess' horses are characterized as
       white
     - Yt 8: 21: A demon named 'Drought' with the body of
       a black horse attacks Tistrya who in $ 18 is characterized
       as having the body of a white horse."

In the Bible or in pre-1000 BC Egypt & Near East materials, are
the "black, white" colors get mixed with light=good and
darkness=evil metaphors in religious imagery?


Regards,
N. Ganesan











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