The stories of Iroquois twin creator brothers, the tale of Roman brothers Romulus and Remus, and the Proto-Indo-European creation myths help define the theme of twin brothers and blood sacrifice in creation lore. In mythology twins can represent strength in unity or harmony in duality, dark and light, earth and sky, night and day, life and death.
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In early times, blood sacrifice was a constant in festivals, times of trouble and the development of mythology. Sometimes the sacrifice was a libation, chicken, goat, ox or bull, and sometimes a human being.
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Human sacrifice was once considered among the highest honors to the Gods, the blood of Kings or God-Kings greatest of all. Mythological King Domalde of Sweden was sacrificed when the harvest failed three years in a row. Blood sacrifice might be prisoners or slaves. In some cultures sacrificial victims number tens of thousands at a time.
In the Mesoamerican land of Aztecs, sun god Huitzilopochtli waged a constant war against darkness. If the darkness won, the world would end. To keep the sun moving across the sky and preserve all life, the Aztecs needed to feed Huitzilopochtli with human hearts and blood.
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Iroquois - Twins of Creation
In an Iroquois Seneca myth, twin brothers are born to a Chief's granddaughter and the wind. One is born normally, but the second comes out her armpit, killing her. They grow up in the care of their grandmother. The older is good and kind but the younger twin is hostile and mean.
The world is still forming. They live on a vast island, and decide it needs more lakes, mountains, plants and animals. In their efforts the brothers constantly disagree. Finally one goes to the east and one to the west of the island, and they work alone.
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Next day they're eager to see what the other has done. The older twin sees with horror the younger has created a giant mosquito which will eat all the people. He rubs it between his hands until it becomes tiny and flies away.
The younger twin visits his brother's half and is shocked to see how easy he's made it for the people. Immediately the younger one made the animals smaller and harder to catch, and made all the rivers run downstream so humans had to work for their survival instead of going with the flow.
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The two get into a huge fight and it comes to blows. Trees shake and rocks roll, volcanoes spew and rivers change their course. The older twin is killed. Upon his death he travels to the sky where good people can go when they die. The younger twin stays on the earth and spreads evil and hostility, and bad people are haunted by him forever.
Romulus and Remus - Founding of Rome
In the early days of Roman creation myth, Saturn kills his father Uranus by cutting off his testicles with a sickle. He later eats his children so they don't usurp him, and the only one to escape is Zeus, who eventually rescues the others, cuts Saturn into little bits and throws them into the flames of Taranus, the underworld. Rome's off to a bloody start.
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Some time later, twin brothers Romulus and Remus are born to the earth woman Rhea Silvia and fathered, according to her, by the God Mars. At this time the ruler of Rome, usurper Amulius, has just murdered his brother Numitor to get the throne. Rhea is Numitor's daughter. Whether Amulius believes her story or not, the twins were a threat to his authority, and he orders them thrown into the Tiber River.
Due to rain and flooding the soldiers charged with the task can't make it to the river, so they leave the infants exposed in the storm and go home. A mother wolf finds the babies, warms them up and suckles them as if they were her own pups.
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When they grow up they kill Amulius and decide to found their own city. They couldn't agree on the site and the quarrel escalated until Romulus kills Remus. In some tellings Remus is killed by a follower of Romulus. Either way, Remus dies and Rome is born. Romulus barely thinks of Remus again as he sections off the city for taxes, creates the Senate and outlaws infanticide.
Manu and Yemo - Brotherly Sacrifice
The third story is that of Manu and Yemo, two giant twin brothers in Proto-Indo-European mythology. The cosmos is nothing but a few ancient gods and some cows. One day twin brothers Manu and Yemo are walking around kind of bored.
Manu decides to sacrifice his brother and create the Earth. He kills Yemo, and with the aid of the Gods such as the Earth Goddess and Divine Twins fashions the earth, natural elements and the first humans from his body.
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He brings forth human classes - the priests from the head of Yemo, the warrior class from his arms and torso and the common people from his genitals and legs. Manu then sacrifices the primeval cow. From her blood and body arise the plants and animals of the Earth.
Despite vastly different origins, these stories illustrate the themes of twin brothers, fratricide, blood sacrifice and creation underlying many mythologies. One brother's death is the catalyst for acts of creation by the other. In myths of early people fertility and/or creation follow the spilling of blood.
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