A Terminological and Genealogical Investigation of “Goat” in Indo-European Languages and Tracing its Roots in Artworks of Water and the Tree of Life

A goat is one of the most influential animals in human culture, and it has been given particular and distinct characteristics in different parts of the world. In Iranian motifs, this animal is represented as “intelligence, astuteness, the protector of the earth and the tree of life, and is associated with water, the moon, and femininity.” By highlighting the noteworthiness of the goat’s role and images as well as its relationship with both water and the tree of life, this article attempts to introduce and analyze the myth of the goat in Iran and the world through linguistics, describes the roots and genealogy of the myth. Also, this research investigated and traced the words šahāz in Lori meaning “a goat leading the herd”, ožka in Lithuanian and այծ in Armenian, meaning “goat”, in the aforementioned motifs. The primary purpose of the research is to determine the modality of the process of concocting the sign of the goat as a symbol of water and guardian of the tree of life accomplished.
The analytical research method commensurate with linguistics was used to explore the links between the roots of the goat words and the myths of the world. Additionally, the frequent appearance of this animal in artistic motifs has been studied.In keeping with the findings of this scrutiny, it has been demonstrated that mythological symbols in mankind originate from straightforward and non-abstract signifiers that in goats encompassing “leaping, fighting, smelling, chewing”.