In a poem in this language, the earth, heaven, and purple seas go into labor, which causes a reed to give birth to Vahagn (“vuh-HAH-gun”). For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this language of an oral epic in which the lion-killer Mher (“muh-HAIR”) becomes the father of David, who unwittingly fights his own son, also named Mher, and curses him to be childless.
ANSWER: Armenian [or hayeren] (The poem is the History of Armenia. The epic is the Daredevils of Sassoun.)
[10m] Vahagn’s beard is made of this substance, which is called the “child of the sea” in an Old Norse kenning and a Vedic epithet. In a Roman myth, Scaevola (“SKY-voh-luh”) uses this substance for a feat so impressive that the Etruscans set him free.
ANSWER: fire [or flames or equivalents]
[10e] A blinding fire sits in one of these structures guarded by the Irish god Nechtain (“NECK-tahn”). The English word burn is cognate of the Old Norse word for these structures, and Odin gives Mimir an eye at one of them under Yggdrasil.
ANSWER: wells [or springs; or brunnr; accept Mímisbrunnr; prompt on water sources]
<Mythology>