– Comparative analyses indicate that many attributes of the Indo-European thunder-gods are reminiscent of those of Zeus. There are some notable differences, however, which preclude the sky-god and storm-god from being equated. The Indo-European Dyēus is not a supreme god, but that role is assumed by the storm-god. The only reflection of the Sky Father in Greek and Roman religion is the king of the gods, but as a thunder-god. The supremacy among the gods in the Indo-European Pantheon cannot be tied to heaven alone, as suggested by comparative analyses of German mythology and their sovereign god Wodan/Odin. 1. There is a problem in science in determining the supreme god of the Indo-Europeans. The notion of *Dyēus as the supreme god1 is primarily related to the supreme gods derived from the same root: Zeus in the Greek Pantheon, and Jupiter in the Roman. The Greek Zeus is the king of the gods, and supreme god, whose power extends to all spheres of life, yet in the divine world of the Ṛgveda, Dyáuš has no such role. He is the father of the gods, but not their king. Only six hymns are named after him,2 and those are always in relation to the earth. The Indo-European Sky Father is a divine entity that resembles deus otiosus3 in that he can roar and thunder4. Although his rain is the seed that fertilizes the earth,5 Indra is the chief storm-god. –––––––– 1 Т. В. Гамкрелидзе, Вяч. Вс Иванов, Индоевропейский язык и индоевропейцы. Реконструкции и историко-типологический анализ праязыка и протокультуры, том 1-2, Тбилиси 1984, 791s.; G. E. Dunkel, ‘Vater Himmels Gattin,’ Die Sprache 34/1, 1988–1990, p. 1–26. 2 From the 1028 hymns of Ṛgveda. 3 M. Eliade, Myth and Reality, New York 1963. The term originates from M. Eliade. Eliade designates a god-creator who gives the first impulse to creation and then withdraws from the further formation of the divine world, and has no role in mythology and religion, like Uranus in Greek mythology. 4 RV 5. 58. 6; 10. 44. 8, 45. 4, 67. 5. 5 RV 1. 100. 3; 5. 17. 3. 12 R. Duev, Some thoughts on the Indo-european..., ŽAnt 69 (2019) 11–18 Comparative analyses with other Indo-European mythologies indicate that the storm-god is a special figure in the Indo-European pantheon and is not identified with the deified heaven.6 A number of classical philologists believe that the function of storms is tied to the great god of heaven, like Zeus in Greece and Jupiter in Rome. There are, however, other Indo-European mythologies in which thunder is not linked to a sky-god, such as the Hittite god Tarḫunna, the Vedic god Indra, the old Slavic god Perun, the old Germanic god Donar or Thor, or the Celtic god Taranus or Taranis. Undoubtedly, the Indo-European tradition has developed a special thunder-god. 2. Comparative testimonies7 date chronologically from the Vedic Indra, who brings victory in battles, among other functions.8 Vedic hymns also mention other deities related to thunder, lightning, and rain, such as Maruts and Parjanya. Parjanya is called the son of Dyáuš,9 which shows his connection to heaven.10 In Ṛgveda, he is also portrayed as a lover of the earth, who fertilizes, replacing Dyáuš,11 and is especially associated with rain, as evidenced by the noun parjánya, meaning ‘rain cloud’. The etymology of his name is most frequently associated with the Lithuanian Perkunas and the Nordic Fiọrgynn, but the problem arises when trying to reconstruct *Perkwun(y)o-, which, in fact, would form * Perkun(y)a-, while Sanskrit -janis associated with the root * -ĝan-/ ĝen-/ ĝon-. The challenge in reconstructing the singular Indo-European form is usually overcome by explaining the differences among Perun, Perkunas and Parjanya with the root *per,which can have different formats such as *per-kw and *per-ĝ-, as well as the deformation to be explained by taboos in certain religions in terms of the pronounciation of the names of the gods.12 Another Vedic god is called the son of Dyáuš,13 Indra the king of the gods,14 who is associated w