The earth diver: Mediterranean parallels

In Mediterranean cultures the myth of the Earth Diver does not appear as su ch. Nevertheless many of its elements are reconstructed in legendary tradit ions, especially those which concern foundation sacrifices and building cer emonies (motives of the fall, precipitation, magical or artificial flight, etc.). They are also detectable in other kinds of diving: Leukade's leap, o rdeals, mystical and "shamanistic" immersions, recoverings of lost rings, e tc. A stress is laid on the dualistic and agonistic background of these the mes and on the symbolic mediation assumed by diving in tales which seem to be rooted in Babylonian culture. However this heritage has been recycled an d reinterpreted in Mediterranean cultures in contact with the Indo-European s.