*Perkʷūnos
*Perkʷūnos (Proto-Indo-European: 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks') is the reconstructed name of the weather god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. The deity was connected with fructifying rains, and his name was probably invoked in times of drought. In a widespread Indo-European myth, the thunder-deity fights a multi-headed water-serpent during an epic battle in order to release torrents of water that had previously been pent up. The name of his weapon, *ml̥dʰnis, which denoted both "lightning" and "hammer", can be reconstructed from the attested traditions.
| *Perkʷūnos | |
|---|---|
| Other names | *(S)tenh₂ros |
| Abode | *Perkʷūnyós |
| Weapons | *ml̥dʰnis, *h₂éḱmō, *wóǵros |
| Symbols | Oak |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek equivalent | Zeus and Heracles |
| Roman equivalent | Jupiter and Hercules |
| Norse equivalent | Thor |
| Etruscan equivalent | Tinia and Hercle |
| Slavic equivalent | Perun |
| Hinduism equivalent | Parjanya |
| Baltic equivalent | Perkunas |
| Celtic equivalent | Taranis |
| Hittite equivalent | Tarḫunna |
*Perkʷūnos was often associated with oaks, probably because such tall trees are frequently struck by lightning, and his realm was located in the wooded mountains, *Perkʷūnyós. A term for the sky, *h₂éḱmō, apparently denoted a "heavenly vault of stone", but also "thunderbolt" or "stone-made weapon", in which case it was sometimes also used to refer to the thunder-god's weapon.
Contrary to other deities of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon, such as *Dyēus (the sky-god), or *H2éwsōs (the dawn-goddess), widely accepted cognates stemming from the theonym *Perkʷūnos are only attested in Western Indo-European traditions. The linguistic evidence for the worship of a thunder god under the name *Perkʷūnos as far back as Proto-Indo-European times (4500–2500 BC) is therefore less secured.