Agni, fire, god of fire; Lat. ignis; Lith. ugnis; O.-S.
ogni.

4. Sans. Surya, sun; Lat. sol; Gr. [Greek: helios], also [Greek:
Seirios]; Cymr. seul.

5. Sans. Mas, moon; Gr. [Greek: mene]; Lat. mena; Lith. menu.

Mars=Maruts, Manu=Minos=Mannus, Varuna=Ouranos, and other equations
formerly brought forward, are not now relied on by etymologists.]

[Footnote 7: The comparative absence of ancestor-worship among the
Greeks leads Dr. Schrader to doubt whether their religion is Aryan.
The Semites and the Greeks occupy the same position in this respect
(see chapter x., chapter xvi.).]

But those of whom we are speaking worshipped other gods besides those
of the household. The second great characteristic of Aryan religion
is its adoration of gods who are neither local nor tribal, but
universal. Dyaus, the sky, the heaven-god, can be worshipped
anywhere; so can the earth, so can the heavenly twins, who were
objects of early Aryan religion, so can the sun and moon. Not that
the Aryans always remembered that these beings were not local or
tribal. The god of heaven could be the god of a particular place too,
having a special name there; or he could be appropriated by a tribe
who gave him a title as their own particular patron. Each family
could have its own heaven-god as well as its own hearth-god. Nor are
we to think that when they worshipped beings who could be found in
every place, the Aryans overlooked the sacred places, and the sacred
objects worshipped formerly. They had themselves risen out of
savagery, and still held many of the ideas of savages. Though they
had a few great gods they could still believe in a large number of
smaller ones. The tree, the stream, still had its spirit for them,
the cave or the dark fissure its bad demon. And many a piece of magic
did they practise, such as the rain-charm which would cause even the
highest god to send what was needed. The world was well peopled with
gods, and to keep on good terms with them all was, no doubt, a matter
that required much attention and skill.

Other features which have been stated to be characteristic of Aryan
religion are its non-priestly character, and the fact that its gods
are generally arranged in a monarchical pantheon. But neither of
these constitutes a specific difference of the kind we are in search
of. All primitive religions are non-priestly; a religion becomes
priestly at a certain stage of its growth, when it is organised
separately