ORIGIN Hindu (Vedic) [India]. Creator god.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1500 BC or earlier until present.
SYNONYMS the Sanskrit dyaus is derived from the Indo-European root which also gives Deus (Roman); ZEUS (Greek); TYR (German), etc.
CENTER(S) OF CULT none specific.
ART REFERENCES none.
LITERARY SOURCES Rg-veda and other Vedic texts.
Dyaus pitar is a creator god associated with the goddess Prthivi; the primordial couple are normally addressed as Dyavaprthivi. Between them they created the rest of the Vedic pantheon, placed heaven and earth in conjunction with one another and generally preserved the cosmic order.
Dyaus is overshadowed and superseded by the rain god INDRA in later Hindu tradition, possibly because he was brought into India by the Aryan settlers from the north who had been used to a cold, bleak climate and who needed a supreme deity more relevant to a hot, dry environment.
Witch's Well 