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This article deals with the origin of the name of the Roman tutelary gods Lares, which does not have a clear etymology. It seems relevant to compare its earlier form Lasēs (the Carmen Arvale) with OInd. lásati ‘shines, glitters, appears’ (epic class.), Gr. λάω ‘look’, ἀλαός ‘blind’. Ovid’s evidence that the Lares were represented as twins allows us to suppose that this image originates from an Indo-European mytheme of the divine twins, who regularly bear names meaning ‘bright’ or ‘shining one’ in different Indo-European traditions, reflecting their solar nature.
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