Explained connections 3 so far
Argued, cited and signed.
A claim somebody argues — with what supports it and what limits it, printed at the same size.
A likeness is a question,
not an answer.
Argued, cited, limited
- A claim Two subjects, one argument
- What supports it The reasons it might be right
- What limits it Printed at the same size
- Sources and a signature What it cites, and who signed it
Connections index
Ideas in relation.
3 arguments so far, each with what supports it and what limits it.
- Documented influence Aphrodite was influenced by Inanna
Aphrodite and the Near Eastern love goddesses
A long-standing argument derives Aphrodite partly from Near Eastern goddesses of love and war — Ishtar and Astarte — transmitted through Cyprus and Phoenician contact. What supports it 3 Her two most-claimed birthplaces, Cythera and Cyprus, are both places of early and sustained Phoenician contact, and both gave her an epithet: Cytherea and Cypris. What limits it 4 It is one of at least three live proposals. The others derive her from an indigenous Cypriot goddess and from a Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess, and the question is not settled. 3 sources Read the argument - Documented influence Mithraic mysteries was influenced by Zoroastrianism
Roman Mithras and Iranian Mithra
The Roman mysteries of Mithras take their god's name from the Iranian Mithra, and very little else that can be demonstrated. What supports it 2 The name is the same, and Roman writers themselves described the cult as Persian. What limits it 4 Continuity of a name is not continuity of a cult. The Roman Mithras carries a new and distinctive imagery, and how much of the practice is continuous with Persian worship is exactly what remains debated. 2 sources Read the argument - Patronage Ashoka was a patron of Buddhism
Ashoka's patronage and the spread of Buddhism
Ashoka's inscriptions are the best-dated evidence anywhere of a state supporting a religious tradition — and the clearest case of why that is not the same as a population adopting it. What supports it 3 More than thirty inscriptions survive on pillars, boulders and cave walls across what is now India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan — the first tangible evidence of Buddhism and the earliest datable written texts from India. What limits it 4 An edict is a proclamation, not a survey. It records what a ruler had carved; it records nothing at all about what anyone believed. 3 sources Read the argument
What this means
These are so few because each one takes an afternoon and has to be signed. This is what exists; coverage reports the rest as a zero rather than rounding it up, and nothing else on this site claims to have been read.
Everything else a reader can see between two subjects is a recorded statement or a computed overlap, labelled as one. The difference between those and an explained connection is the whole product.
Two subjects in mind?
Set them side by side.
Compare shows what the records say two subjects share — and what sharing it does not prove.
Similarity is not
proof of origin.