Changing of the Gods

Elizabeth Wayland Barber and Paul T. Barber wrote a fascinating book titled When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth. They outline a thesis that explains the relationship of ascendence and fall of principle gods and the changes in the night sky cycle of solstices and equinoxes. An archaeological link may have been unearthed in Greece with the discovery of an altar that predates the worship of Zeus. As one researcher pointedly put it to the New York Times:

As Dr. Romano remarked, quoting a quip by a friend, “We went from B.C. to B.Z., before Zeus.”

From a religious/mythological perspective this is just about right. The dating is also in line with Barber and Barber. Chaos was overthrown by Uranus. Uranus overthrown by Saturn. Saturn overthrown by Zeus. The Father replaced by the Son. If gods come and go, in the west they seem to have a two millennium shelf life. Which means we're probably overdue for a new one.