Zojz (deity)


Zojz is a sky and lightning god in Albanian pagan mythology. An epithet considered to be associated with him is "father", thought to be contained in an Albanian name for the Supreme Being: Zot, analyzed as Sky Father. In some of his attributes, Zojz could be related to Perëndi, to the weather gods Shurdh and Verbt, and to the mythological demigod drangue.

Etymology

Zojz is the Albanian continuation of *Dyḗus, the name of the Proto-Indo-European daylight-sky-god. Cognates stemming from the root *Dyḗus with a similar phonological developement are the Messapic Zis and Greek Zeus. Other cognates are the Rigvedic Dyáuṣ and Latin Jovis. This root is found also in the second element of the name Perëndi, used in Albanian to refer to the Supreme Being.

Epithet

The zero grade radical of *di̯ēus and the epithet "father" are thought to be contained in an Albanian term for the Supreme Being: :wikt:zot#Albanian|Zot, which is considered to be derived from Proto-Albanian *dźie̅u ̊ at-, an old compound for "heavenly father", from PIE :wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dyew-|*dyew- + :wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/átta|*átta, thus a cognate with PIE *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr and with its descendants: Illyrian Dei-pátrous, Sanskrit द्यौष्पितृ, Proto-Italic *djous patēr, Ancient Greek Ζεῦ πάτερ. Some linguists have also proposed the Proto-Albanian etymology *dzwâpt .

Mythology

In Albanian mythology, Zojz resides on the peak of mountains such as Mount Tomorr, the highest and most inaccessible mountain of central Albania, considered the home of the deities. This tradition has been preserved in folk beliefs until recent times.

Citations