Temple in Gniezno When writing about Niya, Długosz mentions a temple that was to be built in his honour in Gniezno. Archaeological research carried out at
Lech Hill revealed the presence of a stone structure in the form of a mound on which were found fragments of animal bones and early-medieval ceramics, probably representing traces of sacrifices there. In addition, at the top of the hill there was a periodically wet basin, which in the theological vision of the world could emphasize the sacred (aquatic-chtonic) character of the place. Archaeologist Paweł Szczepanik interprets it as a remnant of a cult site corresponding to the temple mentioned in the chronicle of Długosz.
Interpretations Grzegorz Niedzielski believes that Tiya (and/or Diya) is not a distortion of the name Niya but rather the other name of Niya. He derives Diya and Tiya from
dąć,
tchnąć – "to blow, breathe" from which comes
dech,
tchnienie – "breath", followed by
duch "spirit",
dusza "soul",
natchnienie "inspiration". The Greek term for god –
θεός (
theós) – is to come from the same indoeuropean root *
dheu-. He also notes the connections between characters with similar names and the underworld in Greek mythology:
nymph Thynia is said to be the mother of
Delphus who replaced
Python as
Delphic oracle and the name Python is derived from the same root as the Indic mythological serpent
Ahi Budhnya and
badnjak.
Semele changed her name to Thyone after she was rescued by her son
Dionysus from
Hades and she is related to Dionysian frenzy – inspiration.
Anthesteria is festival of Dionysus where dead were resurrected. A similar relationship can be found in Slavdom:
vilas,
Bulgarian wilněja ("crazy, someone who lost his mind"),
Czech wilny ("voluptuous"), Slavic
velna ("wave, waters") and Panslavic god of underground
Veles (probably from *
wel – death). Latin word
thya,
thyon means "fragrant tree" and brings to mind a wooden log depicting badnjak. He also notes the similarity of the names of Niya, badnjak, badnik and
bannik, suggesting the common sound cluster "b-(d)-n-j" (also existing in the name Ahi Budhnya), similar to the word
bezdenna [przepaść], the "bottomless [pit]" connected to the abode of god of underground. In that case Niya's name could mean "Disappearing [in the abyss]" and be equivalent to the meaning of Hades's name "The Unseen One, The Invisible One". For
Alexander Gieysztor, Niya is the equivalent of Pluto. Brückner, who was hypercritical of the Długosz pantheon, said that Niya could indeed be a pagan remnant. According to
Krzysztof Witczak, Niya is the Slavic equivalent of the Greek goddess
Enyo. Both were supposed to be the remains of a
proto-Indo-European goddess, "the perpetrator, the performer of disappearance, i.e. drying, disappearing", and reconstructed the name of this goddess as *
Nūyā. Szczepaniak states that Niya is a female deity, caring for the dead, human fate and the community of the living. For Kolankiewicz, Niya was the equivalent of Veles as guardian of souls of the dead and synonymous with the
moon. == References ==