Myths about the Slavic gods: Rod, Svarog, Dazhdbog, Mokoshi. Slavic myths Slavic mythology for children

Peoples' ideas about the world, expressed in religious beliefs, rituals and cults. It is closely connected with paganism and cannot be considered separately from it.

Slavic myths (summary and main characters) are the focus of this article. Let's consider the time of their origin, similarity with ancient legends and tales of other peoples, sources of study and the pantheon of deities.

The formation of Slavic mythology and its connection with the religious beliefs of other peoples

The myths of the peoples of the world (Slavic myths, ancient Greek and ancient Indian) have much in common. This suggests that they have a single origin. They are connected by a common origin from the Proto-Indo-European religion.

Slavic mythology was formed as a separate layer of Indo-European religion over a long period - from the 2nd millennium BC. e.

The main features of Slavic paganism, reflected in mythology, are the cult of ancestors, belief in supernatural forces and lower spirits, and the spiritualization of nature.

Ancient Slavic myths are strikingly similar to the tales of the Baltic peoples, Indian, Greek and Scandinavian mythology. In all the myths of these ancient tribes there was a god of thunder: the Slavic Perun, the Hittite Pirva and the Baltic Perkunas.

All of these peoples have a main myth - this is the confrontation between the supreme deity and his main opponent, the Serpent. Similarities can also be traced in the belief in the afterlife, which is separated from the world of the living by some barrier: an abyss or a river.

Slavic myths and legends, like the tales of other Indo-European peoples, also tell about heroes fighting a snake.

Sources of information on legends and myths of Slavic peoples

Unlike Greek or Scandinavian mythology, the Slavs did not have their own Homer, who would engage in literary processing of ancient tales about the gods. Therefore, now we know very little about the process of formation of the mythology of the Slavic tribes.

The sources of written knowledge are the texts of Byzantine, Arabic and Western European authors of the period VI - XIII centuries, Scandinavian sagas, ancient Russian chronicles, apocrypha, teachings. In a special place is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” which contains a lot of information about Slavic mythology. Unfortunately, all these sources are only retellings of the authors, and they do not mention the entire tales.

Slavic myths and legends are also preserved in folklore sources: epics, fairy tales, legends, conspiracies, proverbs.

The most reliable sources on the mythology of the ancient Slavs are archaeological finds. These include idols of gods, places of worship and ritual, inscriptions, signs and decorations.

Classification of Slavic mythology

Gods should be distinguished:

1) Eastern Slavs.

2) Western Slavic tribes.

There are also common Slavic gods.

The idea of ​​the world and the Universe of the ancient Slavs

Due to the lack of written sources, practically nothing is known about the beliefs and ideas about the world of the Slavic tribes. Sketchy information can be gleaned from archaeological sources. The most obvious of them is the Zbruch idol, found in the Ternopil region of Ukraine in the middle of the 19th century. It is a tetrahedral pillar made of limestone, divided into three tiers. The lower one contains images of the underworld and the deities inhabiting it. The middle one is dedicated to the human world, and the upper tier depicts the supreme gods.

Information about how the ancient Slavic tribes imagined the world around them can be found in ancient Russian literature, in particular, in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Here in some passages there is a clear connection with the World Tree, myths about which exist among many Indo-European peoples.

Based on the listed sources, the following picture emerges: the ancient Slavs believed that there was an island (possibly Buyan) in the center of the World Ocean. Here, in the very center of the world, either lies the sacred stone Alatyr, which has healing properties, or the World Tree grows (almost always in myths and legends this is an oak tree). The bird Gagana sits on its branches, and below it is the snake Garafena.

Myths of the peoples of the world: Slavic myths (creation of the Earth, appearance of man)

The creation of the world among the ancient Slavs was associated with such a god as Rod. He is the creator of everything in the world. He separated the visible world in which people live (Yav) from the invisible world (Nav). Rod is considered the supreme deity of the Slavs, the patron of fertility, and the creator of life.

Slavic myths (the creation of the Earth and the appearance of man) tell about the creation of all things: the creator god Rod, together with his sons Belbog and Chernobog, planned to create this world. First, Rod from the ocean of chaos created three hypostases of the world: Reality, Nav and Rule. Then the Sun appeared from the face of the supreme deity, a month appeared from the chest, and the eyes became stars. After the creation of the world, Rod remained in Prav - the habitat of the gods, where he leads his children and distributes responsibilities between them.

Pantheon of deities

Slavic gods (myths and tales about which have been preserved in very small quantities) are quite extensive. Unfortunately, due to extremely scarce information, it is difficult to restore the functions of many Slavic deities. The mythology of the ancient Slavs was not known until they reached the borders of the Byzantine Empire. Thanks to the records of the historian Procopius of Caesarea, it was possible to learn some details of the religious beliefs of the Slavic peoples. The Laurentian Chronicle mentions gods from the Vladimir pantheon. Having ascended the throne, Prince Vladimir ordered idols of the six most important gods to be placed near his residence.

Perun

The Thunder God is considered one of the main deities of the Slavic tribes. He was the patron of the prince and his squad. Among other peoples it is known as Zeus, Thor, Perkunas. First mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. Even then, Perun headed the pantheon of Slavic gods. They made a sacrifice to him by slaughtering a bull, and in the name of God they sealed oaths and contracts.

The Thunder God was associated with high places, so his idols were installed on hills. Perun's holy tree was the oak.

After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', some of Perun’s functions were transferred to Gregory the Victorious and Elijah the Prophet.

Solar deities

The sun god in Slavic myths was in second place in importance after Perun. Horse - that's what they called him. The etymology of the name is still unclear. According to the most common theory, it comes from Iranian languages. But this version is very vulnerable, since it is difficult to explain how this word became the name of one of the main Slavic deities. The Tale of Bygone Years mentions Khors as one of the gods of the Vladimir pantheon. There is information about him in other ancient Russian texts.

Khors, the sun god in Slavic myths, is often mentioned along with other deities related to the heavenly body. This is Dazhbog - one of the main Slavic gods, the personification of sunlight, and Yarilo.

Dazhbog was also a fertility deity. The etymology of the name does not cause any difficulty - “the god who gives prosperity”, this is its approximate translation. It played a double function in the mythology of the ancient Slavs. As the personification of sunlight and warmth, he gave fertility to the soil and at the same time was a source of royal power. Dazhbog is considered the son of Svarog, the blacksmith god.

Yarilo - there are many ambiguities associated with this character of Slavic mythology. It has not yet been established precisely whether he should be considered a deity, or whether this is a personification of one of the holidays of the ancient Slavs. Some researchers consider Yarilo to be a deity of spring light, warmth and fertility, others - a ritual character. He was represented as a young man on a white horse and in a snow-white robe. On her hair is a wreath of spring flowers. The deity of spring light holds ears of cereals in his hands. Where it appears, there will definitely be a good harvest. Yarilo also generated love in the heart of whoever he looked at.

Researchers agree on one thing - this character from Slavic mythology cannot be called the sun god. Ostrovsky's play “The Snow Maiden” fundamentally incorrectly interprets the image of Yarilo as a solar deity. In this case, Russian classical literature plays the role of harmful propaganda.

Mokosh (Makosh)

There are very few female deities in Slavic mythology. Of the main ones, we can only name such as Mother - Cheese Earth and Mokosh. The latter is mentioned among other idols installed by order of Prince Vladimir in Kyiv, which indicates the significance of this female deity.

Mokosh was the goddess of weaving and spinning. She was also revered as the patroness of crafts. Her name is associated with two words “get wet” and “spinning”. Mokoshi's day of the week was Friday. On this day it was strictly forbidden to engage in weaving and spinning. Mokoshi was presented with yarn as a sacrifice, throwing it into a well. The goddess was represented as a long-armed woman spinning in houses at night.

Some researchers suggest that Mokosh was the wife of Perun, so she was given an honorable place among the main Slavic gods. The name of this female deity is mentioned in many ancient texts.

After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', some of Mokosh’s features and functions were transferred to Saint Paraskeva-Friday.

Stribog

Mentioned in the Vladimir pantheon as one of the main gods, but his function is not entirely clear. Perhaps he was the god of the winds. In ancient texts, his name is often mentioned together with Dazhbog. It is unknown whether there were holidays dedicated to Stribog, since there is very little information about this deity.

Volos (Veles)

Researchers are inclined to believe that these are still two different mythical characters. Volos is the patron of domestic animals and the god of prosperity. In addition, he is the god of wisdom, the patron of poets and storytellers. It is not for nothing that Boyan from “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is called Veles’s grandson in the poem. As a gift, several unharvested stalks of cereals were left on the field. After the Slavic peoples adopted Christianity, the functions of Volos were taken over by two saints: Nicholas the Wonderworker and Blasius.

As for Veles, this is one of the demons, an evil spirit with whom Perun fought.

Slavic mythical creatures - forest dwellers

The ancient Slavs had several characters associated with the forest. The main ones were the merman and the goblin. With the advent of Christianity in Rus', exclusively negative traits began to be attributed to them, making them demonic creatures.

The goblin is the owner of the forest. He was also called the forester and the forest spirit. He carefully protects the forest and its inhabitants. The relationship with a good person is neutral - the goblin does not touch him, and may even come to his aid - lead him out of the forest if he gets lost. The attitude towards bad people is negative. The forest owner punishes them: he makes them wander and can tickle them to death.

The goblin appears before people in different guises: human, plant, animal. The ancient Slavs had an ambivalent attitude towards him - they revered the devil and at the same time feared him. It was believed that shepherds and hunters needed to make a deal with him, otherwise the goblin could kidnap cattle or even a person.

A merman is a spirit that lives in bodies of water. He was represented as an old man with a fish tail, beard and mustache. Can take the form of a fish, bird, pretend to be a log or a drowned man. It is especially dangerous during major holidays. The merman loves to settle in pools, under mills and sluices, and in ice holes. He has herds of fish. It is hostile towards humans and always tries to drag under the water someone who came to swim at inopportune times (noon, midnight and after sunset). The aquatic's favorite fish is catfish, which he rides like a horse.

There were other, lower creatures, for example, the forest spirit. In Slavic myths it was called Auka. He never sleeps. He lives in a hut in the thicket of the forest, where there is always a supply of melt water. A special freedom for Auki comes in winter, when the goblins fall asleep. The forest spirit is hostile towards humans - it will try to lead a random traveler into a windfall or force him to circle until he gets tired.

Bereginya - this mythical female character has an unclear function. According to the most common version, this is a forest deity who protects trees and plants. But the ancient Slavs also considered beregins to be mermaids. Their sacred tree is the birch, which was highly revered by the people.

Borovik is another forest spirit in Slavic mythology. Outwardly it looks like a huge bear. You can distinguish it from a real beast by the absence of a tail. Subordinate to him are boletus mushrooms - the owners of mushrooms, similar to little old men.

Swamp kikimora is another colorful character in Slavic mythology. He does not like people, but will not touch him as long as the travelers are quiet in the forest. If they make noise and harm plants or animals, the kikimora can cause them to wander through the swamp. Very secretive, rarely visible.

Swamp - it would be a mistake to confuse it with a merman. The ancient Slavs always considered a swamp a place where evil spirits lived. The swampman was considered a terrible creature. This is either a motionless eyeless fat man, covered with a layer of algae, silt, snails, or a tall man with long arms, overgrown with dirty gray fur. He does not know how to change his appearance. It poses a great danger to a person or animal caught in a swamp. He grabs the victim stuck in the quagmire by the legs and drags him to the bottom. There is only one way to destroy a swamp - by draining its swamp.

Slavic myths for children - briefly about the most interesting things

Acquaintance with examples of ancient Russian literature, oral tales and myths is of great importance for the comprehensive development of children. Both adults and children need to know about their past. Slavic myths (5th grade) will introduce schoolchildren to the pantheon of the main gods and the most famous legends. The literature anthology includes an interesting retelling of A.N. Tolstoy about Kikimora, there is information about the main characters of the mythology of the ancient Slavs, and an idea of ​​such a concept as “temple” is given.

If desired, parents can introduce their child to the pantheon of Slavic gods and other mythological creatures at an earlier age. It is advisable to choose positive characters and not tell young children about such frightening creatures as navys, evil spirits, and werewolves.

To get acquainted with the characters of Slavic mythology, we can recommend the book by Alexander Asov “Myths of the Slavs for children and their parents.” It will be interesting to both the younger and older generations. Svetlana Lavrova is another good author who wrote the book “Slavic Tales”.

The mythology of the ancient Slavs was created in distant times when there was no writing. What is known today was collected through folk art, beliefs and rituals. Myths reflect the ideas of people of those times about the forces of nature and the world around them.

The pantheon of gods of the ancient Slavs consisted of many gods, many of whom were identified with the forces of nature. People revered all gods and did not divide them into good and evil. Each god could do good deeds and help people, but at the same time punish.

The gods were imagined to be similar to humans, with the ability to transform into animals. Super abilities and changes in the surrounding world distinguished the gods from people. Each god had his own sphere of influence, responsibility for one part of the world. Sometimes the effect on the non-subject part was temporary and not lasting.

Slavic myth Yarilo

The Slavs revered Yarila as the god of the sun, fertility, and passion. He was also considered a skilled warrior and the very first farmer. Myths tell that the Slavs were not always farmers and did not know bread at all. The Slavs considered Mother Earth inviolable and could not hurt her. Having visited an overseas country and tasted bread cakes there, Yarilo learned to make them himself. When Yarilo gave bread to the gods to try, the gods all together decided to pass on to people the knowledge of cultivating the soil and baking bread. The Earth Goddess gave permission to Mikula Selyanovich, her son, to make the first furrow where Yarilo sowed grains.

Days associated with Yarilo and revered by the ancient Slavs:

March 20-21 is the spring solstice.
April 23 is the day of the first furrow.
July 1 is the peak of summer, peasants begin to prepare hay for the winter.

In addition, Yarilo is revered as the Wolf Shepherd, to whom shepherds turned to protect domestic animals from wild animals. He adopted the ability to be a werewolf and possess masculine strength from his father Veles. Yarilo inherited his attractiveness from his mother, Diva Dodola, which is why he is also revered as the God of Passion.

Slavic myth about the creation of the world

At the very beginning of time there was only Chaos. The Almighty lowered to Earth an egg containing Rod. He descended to earth and began to create the world. First of all, Rod separated darkness and light, released the sun from the golden egg, which illuminated everything around. Then the moon took its place in the sky. The time has come for the water world, and, of course, the land along which various animals ran. The clan divided the world into 3 kingdoms: earthly, heavenly and underworld. He left the sky to the gods to keep order from above, gave the earth to people, and the underworld to the dead. Thus, Rod created the world, nature (under Rod).

Son of Svarog in Slavic myths

Svarog is one of the main gods, heading the next pantheon of gods after Rod. He is considered the patron saint of blacksmiths. god of heavenly fire. Svarog taught people to forge iron by dropping blacksmith's tongs from the sky. So that people could make jewelry and weapons, Svarog sent heavenly fire to earth. In the mornings, Svarog brought the sun into the sky and it warmed everything with its warm rays. The Slavs also owe the appearance of the first plow to Svarog. He taught our ancestors to plow the land. Today we consider an iron horse shoe to be a talisman, as it is made of iron, which was considered sacred in ancient times. Svarog also taught people to live according to the laws. All of Svarog’s children were called Svarozhichi, after his retirement, his children began to rule the world, the very first of them - Dazhdbog.

Svarog's next son was Semargl

The most famous of the sons is Perun.

Slavic myths about the earth

Slavic myths about the birth of the world tell how the earth was created and how people settled on it.

There are several legends:

1. One myth tells of three golden eggs, the underworld and a princess. The hero descends into the world of the dead, which is called the dead, then moves into the golden and silver kingdom. In gold, he meets the princess and she gives him 3 eggs (the personification of life). Then the hero returns to the world of the living and scatters the eggs in three directions. Three kingdoms appear.
2. Another myth tells that at first there was only a vast ocean. A duck flew over the ocean and dropped an egg, which opened and gave birth to the world. The firmament of the earth formed below, and the firmament above.
3. The third myth tells about the fight between a snake and a hero for a golden egg. The good fellow won and broke the egg - three kingdoms were formed: earthly, heavenly and the dark kingdom of the dead.

Slavic myths Perun

Perun in Slavic mythology was the god of thunder and lightning, and also patronized warriors. His appearance was distinguished by a strong physique, golden armor, and a red cloak. Perun always has a sword or hammer in his hands. They depicted him on a chariot, in a team of deer or a mighty horse. The Slavs turned to him if they needed to make rain to save the harvest. Hurricanes and other destructive phenomena in nature were regarded as a manifestation of a warlike nature. The oak was considered the sacred tree of Perun, and when there was a thunderstorm, they believed that a deity was located in its crown. Cult images have always been in an elevated place.

In the pantheon of Prince Vladimir, Perun was the supreme deity who patronized the ruling military elite, princes and squads, and punished for non-compliance with the laws.

Slavic myths Mermaid

In Slavic mythology, mermaids are seen as malicious creatures, with long green hair (always flowing) and fish tails. Mermaids never had their hair braided; sometimes they wore a wreath of flowers on their heads. These were girls with beautiful faces and slender bodies. The ancient Slavs never doubted that mermaids exist. But where they come from, opinions vary. In some places it was believed that mermaids were drowned women, in others they were dead unbaptized children. In any case, the meeting with the mermaid did not bode well. She could make a young man fall in love with her and drag him to the bottom of a reservoir, she could tickle him to death, sink a boat, or take away milk from a cow. To protect themselves from evil spirits, people came up with amulets.

Slavic myths reader's diary, example of filling

The myth of Perun and Diva

Names of the main characters

1. Perun is the god of thunder and lightning.
2. Diva is the goddess of thunder, wife of Perun.
3. Dyy is the god of the night sky, the father of Diva.
4. Black Sea Serpent.
5. Veles is the god of wealth and domestic animals.

Plot outline

1. Perun and Diva meet, Perun asks her father for her hand in marriage.
2. The Black Sea Serpent invites Diva to marry him.
3. Diva's refusal to the Black Sea Serpent.
4. The Black Sea Serpent is approaching the Irian Garden in darkness.
5. Dyi and Perun are fighting the Serpent.
6. Veles invites Diva to escape from the wedding.
7. Perun and Diva are chasing the Black Sea Serpent and Veles across the sky.

Description of the plot.

One day Perun, walking in the Irian Garden, met Diva-Dodola (daughter of the moon goddess Libya and the god of the night sky Dyya), who was very beautiful. And Perun liked her so much that he went to her father to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. But, Diva liked not only Perun, but also the Black Sea Serpent (the Subbottom Tsar). Snake asked Diva to marry him, but she rejected him. The Black Sea Serpent got angry and moved in darkness onto the Irian Garden, turning into a three-headed serpent. An icy wind blew from one mouth, sparks scattered from another, and a scream came from the third. But, they found justice for him. Two eagles flew in (they were Perun and Dyi) and began throwing lightning. Then the Serpent went home, to the bottom of the Black Sea. But, during the wedding of Perun and Diva, another misfortune happened: Veles (son of Rod) fell in love with Diva and began to persuade her to run away from the wedding, but Diva did not agree. And Perun and Diva Veles and the Black Sea Serpent began to chase across the sky, spewing thunder and lightning. And after the thunder, rain began to pour on the ground.

the main idea

Victory over evil forces. You cannot force someone to love and marry an unloved person. The myth tells not only about the acquaintance and wedding of Perun and Diva, but also about when rain began to water the earth.

Review

From myths you can learn how our ancestors lived, what they believed, and how they imagined the world around them. The myth of Perun and Diva is one of the stories that essentially describes the same relationships between gods as people have.

The most ancient myths of the Eastern Slavs

From the editor

(preface for adults)

This book is the first attempt to retell the ancient myths of the Eastern Slavs in full in a form accessible to children.

We will talk about mythology, which was formed during the early history of the Slavs (before the end of the 1st millennium AD) and was a set of myths and mythological ideas, which were based, according to most scientists, on the most ancient Indo-Iranian religious beliefs.

As the Slavs settled from the territory between the Vistula and the Dnieper, from the region of the Carpathian Mountains west to the Elbe, north to the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, east to the Dnieper and south to the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula, differentiation of myths and separation of variants of Slavic mythology occurred.

As a result, three main local variants of mythological ideas were formed: the mythology of the Baltic Slavs; the mythology of the southern Slavs, due to the early adoption of Christianity, is the poorest in sources; and the mythology of the Eastern Slavs, whose tribal centers were Novgorod and, later, Kyiv. This third option longer than the others - until the X-XI centuries - retained its significance as the foundation of the religious and cultural life of the people, and in the sources that have reached our time it is presented much more fully, and therefore it was taken as the basis for our book.

But there is one and main “but”, which to this day remains a stumbling block for everyone who is in one way or another involved in the culture and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs of the pre-Christian period. The fact is that during the period of formation and dominance in the cultural life of the Slavic peoples, this mythology was not systematized or fully recorded in written sources. While we find traces of ancient Indo-European ideas in Vedic literature, and familiarity with Greek mythology is facilitated by the works of Hesiod and other ancient authors, the researcher has nothing similar when it comes to the worldview of the ancient Slavs.

We must not forget that the texts that most fully reflect the mythological ideas of the Slavs were created by authors who fought for the eradication of pagan beliefs among the Slavic peoples. It would be a mistake to equate pagan cult with mythology. However, their active mutual influence is an obvious fact both for contemporaries of that distant era and for historians of subsequent centuries. And of course, during a period of fierce polemics between supporters and opponents of Christianity, which was just beginning to establish itself on the territory of the Slavic peoples, this could not but have a negative impact on both the completeness and objectivity of the picture created by the authors.

Of course, the basis of the cultural life of modern Slavic peoples is Christianity, its sacred history and system of ethical norms. But even the most observant of us often do not suspect how many elements of ancient mythological images are preserved in our ideas, customs, and traditions. Here, however, we will use the example of the well-known holiday of Maslenitsa, which has long lost its significance as a pagan ritual, but is not included in the system of Orthodox holidays. Nevertheless, many still celebrate Maslenitsa as the week preceding Lent.

The fact that the most ancient ideas often turned out to be extremely resistant to any social and cultural changes, and many ancient mythological characters, heroes and plots of myths were adapted and reworked by the Christian Church, speaks of their great significance for the spiritual life of the Slavic peoples.

It seems that the reason is not only in the mysterious charm that history and tradition have for most people, but also in the moral wealth of our ancient culture, in its artistic value. This ancient culture penetrates into us from childhood through fairy tales, epics, songs, ditties, and through grandmother's stories. We feel its significance, but we do not always know the mythological subjects that were cultivated by our ancestors; we cannot assess the original scale of the figures, which later became the basis for fairy-tale motifs. The well-known fairy-tale Koschey the Immortal, Baba Yaga and many other heroes are only fragments of a huge mythological ancient Slavic “mirror”, only “parodies” of the ancient Slavic gods.

How can we restore destroyed ancient Slavic mythological stories if the primary sources have not survived? Only through the analysis of scientific data, written and material sources, through reconstruction and subsequent artistic processing of factual material.

Having sources such as chronicles, medieval chronicles, annals, later folklore and ethnographic collections, having data obtained as a result of studying the history and current state of the languages ​​of the Slavic peoples, their folklore, ancient monuments of art, having archaeological finds, a modern researcher can at least hope approximately restore the content of ancient mythological ideas. Using the data available in these sources, the compilers of the presented book sought to summarize the cultural, artistic and moral aspects of Slavic mythology, plots and images that left a mark on the thousand-year history of the people, “putting out of brackets” issues of faith, the religious component of Slavic myths - propaganda of paganism as a faith was in no way part of the purpose of our publication.

This path also has its undercurrents and rocks, on which the boat of any literary narrative can easily break. This is, first of all, the disunity and unconnectedness of individual mythological plots. As always in folklore, there are a large number of often contradictory plot options and simply factual gaps that can only be filled with the help of artistic interpretation of information from various sources, which are not always amenable to unambiguous interpretation.

Here artistic adaptation and generalization, the collection of images come to the rescue. For the sake of the general logic of the narrative, it is sometimes necessary to sacrifice some facts, to reconstruct connections between individual mythological plots and images, relying on the hypotheses of researchers and one’s own intuition. Therefore, the book that we offer to our readers cannot be considered a strictly scientific publication - also because there is no single view of ancient Slavic mythology even in the scientific community.

Our main task was: using the compilation method, relying on scientific research and artistic processing of mythological material, to present Slavic myths in the form of a coherent narrative that is accessible to any age group.

Perhaps there will be other attempts that have equal rights to exist as ours. And the more of them there are, the better our children will learn about the ancient culture of their people - as we know, there can never be too much knowledge. We are just trying to pave the way in this direction and give children something that will be useful and interesting to them.

The editors express gratitude to our scientific consultants - Honorary Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Andrei Lvovich Tsekhanovich and Candidate of Historical Sciences Evgeniy Vladimirovich Mironov - for their fruitful and interested cooperation, for their knowledge and talent as researchers, which they generously shared with the editors in the process of preparing the book for publication.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the release of this book!

Slavic mythology was formed during a period when writing was still unknown to this people. Unfortunately, unlike Greek mythology, Slavic mythology does not have historical documents that would confirm its presence and reveal the essence of the religions of the ancient people.

Myths were passed down orally, from generation to generation, and over many centuries most information about the life and religion of the ancient people was lost. Slavic mythology received a huge transformation and information loss from the Christian religion, which the ancient inhabitants adopted in 988.

The whole point is that the moral standards of the new religion, to put it mildly, did not correspond to the pagan ideas of people about life, therefore the ancient religion was suppressed in every possible way by the followers of Christianity.

The plots of the myths of the ancient Slavs have been preserved to this day, in epics, fairy tales, riddles, folk art, that is, embroidery, pottery, wood carving and other crafts.

Ancient pagan Slavic gods

The religion of the ancient Slavs was based on the worship of the forces of nature and the deepest respect for deceased ancestors. The main deity was considered the supreme god - Perun or Svarog (his strength and power corresponded to the Greek deity Zeus).

Lord of the skies, lord of lightning and thunder. The rest of the gods were the descendants of the supreme god - the Svarozhichs. For each tribe, the gods had some differences in names and their functions, which served as a negative factor, in view of historical data about the ideas of our ancestors about the universe and deities.

The sun god Dazhdbog or Horus was one of the main gods. He warmed the entire earth with the warmth of the sun, patronized harvests, weddings, and meetings of young people who later got married. Dazhdbog ended winter and gave people summer and warmth. The sacred animal of this god was the lion. He was depicted as a man with a lion's head or riding in a chariot drawn by lions.

Also in Eastern Slavic mythology, there was the god of the winds Stribog, the god of wealth and livestock Veles, Yarylo was responsible for generous grain harvests, Kupalo gave large harvests of fruits,

The court knew everything about the destinies of people, Semargl was the god of seeds, Chur guarded the borders of villages, lands, and so on. Some gods remained unknown, for example, it is not known for certain what the god Trojan was responsible for.

Goddesses were also present in the mythology of the ancient Slavs. Makosh is the goddess of fortune telling and harvests, Lelya is the goddess of the spring awakening of nature, Lada guarded the hearth, Dennitsa personified the morning star. Morena is the goddess of dark forces, cold and winter.

Mythical creatures

It was believed that, in addition to the highest gods, the whole world was inhabited by fantastic creatures: mermaids, goblins, water creatures, brownies, barnacles, and so on.

Mermaids lived not only in water, but also in forests, meadows and valleys. In some Slavic tribes it was believed that this was a forest or water spirit in the form of a beautiful girl. There was also a belief that these were the unrestrained souls of drowned young girls who became mythical creatures.

Mermaids were always naked and had long hair. According to the ideas of ancient people, only mermaids living in water had tails, but such beliefs did not belong to all tribes.

These mythical maidens were extremely dangerous, they had a beautiful appearance, an amazing voice that could put a person into a trance and force them to follow a mermaid into the unknown. According to mythical legends, people who met mermaids did not survive.

The goblin, that is, the forest spirit, lived in every forest. He had a human appearance, but his distinguishing features were bright green glowing eyes and bast shoes worn on the wrong leg. Left to right and right to left.

His eyebrows and eyelashes are not visible, and his right ear is also missing. You can calculate it by looking through the horse’s right ear, then the goblin will be blue, because he has blue blood. This mythical hero can take the form of any animal, bird, and even a branch or cramp. He is the rightful owner of everything that is in his forest; animals and plants obey him.

The ancient history of the Eastern Slavs, the details of their life and beliefs have not yet been finally clarified by historians, various aspects of life and many facts have not been established. All information about the ancient Slavs was extracted from the meager lines of historical and geographical works belonging to ancient Roman and Byzantine authors, as well as chronicles of the later Christian period, which were created, of course, not with the purpose of describing pagan myths.

Archaeological finds have shed light on some events, but their interpretation sometimes gives rise to many opinions and points of view. For every small drop of solid knowledge there is a whole ocean of assumptions and conjectures. Thus, the early history and culture of the Eastern Slavs is no less mysterious and mysterious than the history of Atlantis. That's why I was attracted to the topic

I wanted to explore this side of our multifaceted history, delve deeper into the topic and turn to the origins of our distant past.

Having studied the materials on this issue, I became convinced that the Eastern Slavs left us the greatest spiritual heritage, and, perhaps, in their worship and unity with nature they were even higher and more intelligent than us - the “kings” of all living things. The ancient religion of our ancestors, which some consider forgotten, continues to live in our customs to this day. But it is in these customs that our worldview is rooted. Therefore, in order to better understand everything that is happening now, it is necessary to study and analyze our past...

1. Idea of ​​earthly structure

News from chronicles, archaeological finds, records of ancient beliefs and customs make it possible to literally recreate, bit by bit, the complex and original religious system of the Eastern Slavs.

The ideas of the pagan Slavs about the earthly structure were very complex and confusing.

Slavic scholars write that it seemed to them like a large egg; in the mythology of some neighboring and related peoples, this egg was laid by a “cosmic bird”. The Slavs have preserved echoes of the legends about the Great Mother, the parent of Earth and Sky, the foremother of Gods and people. Her name was Zhiva, or Zhivana. But not much is known about her, because, according to legend, she retired after the birth of Earth and Heaven.

In the middle of the Slavic Universe, like a yolk, is itself located
Earth. The upper part of the “Yolk” is our living world, the world of people. The lower "underside" side is the Lower World, the World of the Dead, the Night Country. When it's day there, it's night here. To get there, you need to cross the Ocean-Sea that surrounds the Earth.
Or dig a well right through, and the stone will fall into this well for twelve days and nights. Surprisingly, whether it is an accident or not, the ancient Slavs had an idea about the shape of the Earth and the cycle of day and night.

Around the Earth, like egg yolks and shells, there are nine heavens (nine - three times three - a sacred number among a variety of peoples). That's why we still say not only "heaven" but also "heavens." Each of the nine heavens of Slavic mythology has its own purpose: one for the Sun and stars, another for the Moon, another for clouds and winds. Our ancestors considered the seventh to be the “firmament,” the transparent bottom of the heavenly Ocean. There are stored reserves of living water, an inexhaustible source of rain. Let us remember how they say about a heavy downpour: “the abysses of heaven opened up.” After all, the “abyss” is the abyss of the sea, the expanse of water. We still remember a lot, we just don’t know where this memory comes from or what it relates to.

The Slavs believed that you can get to any sky by climbing
The World Tree, which connects the Lower World, the Earth and all nine heavens. According to the ancient Slavs, the World Tree looks like a huge spreading oak tree. However, on this oak tree the seeds of all trees and herbs ripen. This tree was a very important element of ancient Slavic mythology - it connected all three levels of the world, extended its branches to the four cardinal directions, and with its “state” it symbolized the mood of people and Gods in various rituals: a green tree meant prosperity and a good share, and a dried one symbolized despondency and was used in rituals where evil Gods participated.

And where the top of the World Tree rises above the seventh heaven, in
"the abyss of heaven" is an island. This island was called "irium" or "virium".
Some scientists believe that the current word “paradise”, which is so firmly associated in our life with Christianity, comes from it. Iriy was also called Buyan Island. This island is known to us from numerous fairy tales. And on that island live the ancestors of all birds and animals: “elder wolf”, “elder deer”, etc.

The Slavs believed that migratory birds fly to the heavenly island in the fall. The souls of animals caught by hunters ascend there and answer to the “elders” - they tell how people treated them.
Accordingly, the hunter had to thank the animal for allowing him to take his skin and meat, and in no case mock him. Then the “elders” will soon release the beast back to Earth, allow it to be born again, so that fish and game will not be transferred. If a person is guilty, there will be no trouble... (As we see, the pagans did not at all consider themselves “kings” of nature, who were allowed to plunder it as they pleased. They lived in nature and together with nature and understood that every living creature has no less right for life than a person.)

2. Levels of Slavic mythology

Slavic mythology had three levels: highest, middle and lowest.

At the highest level were the Gods, whose “functions” were most important for the Slavs and who participated in the most widespread legends and myths. These are Svarog (Stribog, Sky), Earth, Svarozhichi (children of Svarog and Earth - Perun, Dazhdbog and Fire).

The middle level could include deities associated with economic cycles and seasonal rituals, as well as gods who embodied the integrity of closed small groups: Rod, Chur among the Eastern Slavs, etc. It is possible that most of the female deities belonged to this level, revealing close ties with the collective, sometimes less human-like than the gods of the highest level.

At the lowest level there were various highly specialized beings, less human-like than the Gods of the highest level. These included brownies, goblins, mermaids, ghouls, banniki (baenniks), etc.

The common Slavic word “God” was probably associated with the designation of share, luck, happiness: one can compare the words “rich” (having God, share) and “poor” (opposite meaning), in the Ukrainian language - nebogo, neboga - unfortunate, beggar. The word "God" was included in the names of various deities -
Dazhdbog, Chernobog and others. Slavic data and evidence from other most ancient Indo-European mythologies allow us to see in these names a reflection of the ancient layer of mythological ideas of the Proto-Slavs.

For clarity, you can depict a diagram of the levels of the Slavic Gods:

3. Supreme Gods of the Slavs
3.1. Mother Earth and Father Sky

The ancient Slavs considered the Earth and the Sky to be two living beings, moreover, a married couple, whose love gave birth to all living things. God
Heaven, the Father of all things, is called Svarog. This name goes back to an ancient word meaning “sky”, as well as “something shining, brilliant.” Scientists note that another name for Heaven was Stribog - translated into modern language
"Father God" Legend tells that Svarog once gave people blacksmith's pliers, taught them how to smelt copper and iron, and before, according to the Slavs - and this is very similar to modern ideas - the Stone Age reigned on Earth, people used clubs and stones. In addition, Svarog established the very first laws, in particular, he ordered each man to have only one wife, and a woman to have one husband. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
- a famous monument of literature created at the end of the 12th century - among the richest pagan symbolism you can find an allegorical name for the winds:
"Stribozh's grandchildren." This means that the winds were considered the grandchildren of Heaven.

We still call the Earth Mother, and this is difficult to dispute. But people don’t always treat her as respectful children should.
The pagans treated her with the greatest love, and all the legends say that the Earth paid them the same. In one of the epics, the hero is warned not to fight with such and such a hero, because he is invincible - “Mother Earth loves him”...

On the tenth of May they celebrated the “name day of the Earth”: on this day it could not be disturbed - plowing, digging. The earth witnessed the solemn oaths; at the same time they touched it with the palm of their hand, sometimes they took out a piece of turf and placed it on their head, mystically making a lie impossible.
It was believed that the Earth would not carry a liar.
Some scientists believe that the Goddess of the Earth was called Makosh (however, others, no less authoritative, argue fiercely with them.) You can try to carefully select the word according to its composition. "Ma-" means mother, mother. What does "cat" mean?
Let's remember the words “WALLET”, where wealth is stored, “Koshara”, where living wealth - sheep - is driven. “KOSH” is the name given to the leader of the Cossacks; “KOSH” was also used to refer to lot, fate, and happiness. And also a box, a large basket, where they put the harvested crop - the fruits of the earth, but it was this that constituted the wealth, fate and happiness of the ancient man. So it turns out: Earth-
Makosh is the Universal Mother, Mistress of Life, Giver of the Harvest.

3.2. Dazhdbog Svarozhich

The ancient Slavs considered the Sun, Lightning and Fire - two heavenly Flames and one earthly - to be siblings, sons of Heaven and Earth.

The Sun God is called Dazhdbog (or, in another pronunciation, Dazhbog). His name does not come from the word “rain,” as is sometimes mistakenly thought. “Dazhdbog” means “the giving God,” “the giver of all good things.” The Slavs believed that Dazhdbog rode across the sky in a wonderful chariot drawn by four white golden-maned horses with golden wings. And sunlight comes from the fiery shield that Dazhdbog carries with him. At night, Dazhdbog crosses the lower sky from west to east, shining on the Lower World.
Twice a day (morning and evening) he crosses the Ocean on a boat drawn by waterfowl - geese, ducks, swans. Therefore, our ancestors attributed special power to amulets (this word comes from the verb “to protect”, “to protect” and means an amulet, a talisman) in the form of a duck with a horse’s head. They believed that the Sun God would help them wherever he was - in the Day World or in the Night World, and even on the road from one to the other. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" Russian people are called "Dazhbozh's grandchildren" - the grandchildren of the Sun. Although it tells about events that took place almost two hundred years after the official adoption of Christianity. This shows that the influence of paganism persisted for a very long time even in the conditions of Christianity, and some elements of paganism entered deeply into Russian Orthodoxy.

The Morning and Evening Dawns were considered sister and brother, and the Morning Dawn was the wife of the Sun. Every year, during the great festival of the summer solstice (now known as Midsummer), their marriage was solemnly celebrated.

The Slavs considered the Sun to be an all-seeing eye, which strictly monitors the morality of people and the fair observance of laws. It is not for nothing that at all times criminals waited for the onset of night, hiding from justice - not only earthly, but also heavenly, and the eclipse in the same "Word and Regiment"
Igor" is taken as a terrible sign.

And since time immemorial, the sacred sign of the Sun has been... The Cross! It is not difficult to see if you squint at the Sun. Is this why the Christian cross, so similar to the ancient pagan symbol, has taken root so well in Rus'? Sometimes the Solar Cross was circled, and sometimes it was drawn rolling, like the wheel of a solar chariot. This rolling cross is called a swastika. It was turned in one direction or the other, depending on which Sun they wanted to depict - “day” or “night”. By the way, not only in Slavic legends do sorcerers, when casting their spells, walk “salt” (that is, on the Sun) or “anti-salt”, depending on whether their magic is good or evil. Unfortunately, the swastika was used in fascist symbols and is now disgusted by most people as a fascist sign. However, in ancient times it was highly revered and was widespread from India to Ireland. It is often found on ancient Russian jewelry found by archaeologists. It can even be seen in the ornaments and patterns on clothes in the Ryazan Museum of Local Lore. As for the “fascist sign”, it is easy to see that it depicts exactly
"night" Sun rolling along the inner side of the lower sky. Thus, the real object of “worship” of fascist mystics is not the Sun, but rather its absence—the darkness of the night.

The interpretation of the swastika in the Buddhist tradition is interesting. It is called
"manji" and is considered a symbol of perfection. The vertical line indicates the relationship between Heaven and Earth, the horizontal line indicates the struggle between the eternal opposites Yin and Yang, the essence of which we will not consider here. As for the transverse strokes, if they are directed to the left, then, from the point of view of Buddhists, this personifies movement, gentleness, compassion, goodness; to the right—firmness, constancy, intelligence and strength. Thus, the two types of manji complement each other: love and compassion are helpless without strength and firmness, and soulless intellect and strength without mercy lead only to the increase of evil. In general, “good must be with fists,” but—precisely Good.

3.3. Perun Svarozhich

Perun is the Slavic God of Thunder, the God of thunder and lightning. The Slavs imagined him as a middle-aged, angry husband with a red-gold, swirling beard. Let us immediately note that a red beard is an indispensable feature
God of Thunder among a variety of peoples. In particular, they considered their redbeard
The Thunderer (Thor) are Scandinavians, neighbors and relatives of the Slavs in the Indo-European family of peoples.

The hair of the Thunder God was likened to a thundercloud. Scandinavian legends note that an angry Thor "shaked his hair." It is not definitely said what color Thor’s hair was, but the Slavic Perun’s hair is really like a thundercloud - black and silver. No wonder the statue
Perun, which once stood in Kyiv, is described in the chronicle as follows: “The head is silver, the mustache is gold.” The Slavs saw their God rushing among the clouds on horseback or in a chariot drawn by winged stallions, white and black. By the way, the magpie was one of the birds dedicated to Perun, precisely because of its black and white color.

The name Perun is very ancient. Translated into modern language it means
“The one who hits hard”, “Striking”. Some scientists see a connection between the name
The Thunder God with words like "first" and "right". Concerning
"first", then Perun was indeed the most important God in the pagan pantheon
Kievan Rus and probably the eldest son of Svarog. The similarity of his name with the “right” is not without meaning: our ancestors considered Perun the founder of the moral law and the very first defender of Truth.

Perun's chariot rushing desperately thunders across the uneven clouds - that's where the thunder comes from, that's why it "rolls" across the heavens. However, there were different opinions on this matter. They also said that thunder and lightning are the echo and reflection of the blows with which Perun rewards the Serpent Veles, who seeks to rob the Gods and people - to steal the Sun, cattle, earthly and heavenly waters. And in distant antiquity, it was believed that thunder was actually a “cry of love” at the wedding celebration of Heaven and Earth: it is known how well everything grows after a thunderstorm... According to some sources, Perun’s lightning was of two kinds: lilac-blue , “dead”, striking to death, and golden, “living”, creating, awakening earthly fertility and new life.

It has long been noticed how clean and fresh the air is after a thunderstorm. The pagan Slavs found an explanation for this too. The whole point, they said, is that evil spirits scatter in fear before Perun’s wrath, hide in holes and do not dare to appear out for a long time.

Perun, who is largely “responsible” for fertility, has a special relationship with bread. A legend has been preserved about how a certain woman went to the field to work on the holiday of Perun (July 20), which, according to custom, was impossible to do. The angry Perun initially restrained his anger. But when the child, left at the boundary, soiled his diapers and the mother wiped him with a bunch of ears of grain (according to another version, a piece of baked bread was desecrated), a whirlwind arose and carried away the entire harvest into the cloud. They still managed to grind some of it back, but the bread was never “hundred-eared” (a hundred ears on each stalk) again...

The legend about the origin of pearls is also connected with heavenly thunder. The Slavs believed that it originates from the reflection of lightning captured in the eyes of a pearl mollusk at the moment when it fearfully slams its shell shut at the sight of a thunderstorm...

Perun's weapons were initially stones, later - stone axes and finally - a golden ax: The gods “progressed” together with people.
Since ancient times, the ax - the weapon of the Thunderer - has been attributed miraculous power. An ax was used to hit the bench on which someone had died: it was believed that by doing so Death would be “cut down” and expelled. The ax was thrown crosswise over the cattle so that they would not get sick and would reproduce well.
With an ax they drew the Solar Cross over the sick person, calling on two brothers-Gods for help at once. And symbolic images of the Sun and Thunder were often engraved on the blades of axes. Such an ax, planted in a door frame, was an insurmountable obstacle to evil spirits seeking to penetrate human habitation. There are countless customs and beliefs associated with the axe.
Even the well-known “chicken god”, a pebble with a hole in the middle, which caring owners are now trying to hang in the chicken coop, is nothing more than a memory of an ancient stone ax, one of the symbols of the pagan God of the Storm...

Another symbol of Perun is the so-called thunder sign, similar to a wheel with six spokes. Scientists believe that ancient people used the shape of a snowflake here, because the sanctuaries of Perun were built as close as possible to the clouds and the Sky - on the most elevated places where snow appears first. This sign can still be seen on the old huts. It was cut both for beauty and for purely “practical” reasons - as a lightning rod...

When the Slavs had princes and fighting squads, Perun began to be considered the patron saint of warriors. Therefore, some researchers now write that Perun is an exclusively “army-princely” God, not at all popular among the common people. It is unlikely that this was really the case! After all, a thunderstorm is not only a heavenly battle, it is also necessary for a plowman waiting for the harvest. And Perun’s main feat was precisely that he returned fertility to the Earth, returned the Sun and rain.

An animal was dedicated to Perun - a wild aurochs, a huge, mighty forest bull. Unfortunately, in the wild, the last aurochs was killed back in 1627, and only the domesticated descendants of aurochs - domestic bulls and cows - have survived to this day. The tour was much more aggressive than the angriest domestic bull. Predatory animals were powerless against him, and among people, hunting aurochs was considered a feat.
People believed that Perun, walking around the world, willingly takes the form of a forest bull. And on July 20 (the holiday of Perun), the turs allegedly ran out of the forest themselves and allowed themselves to be slaughtered for a sacred feast. Later, when people angered the Gods with something, the tours stopped appearing, and sacrificial bulls were specially fattened in the villages. This tradition was strictly observed in many places even in the last century. Only now a pagan feast was held near the church, and a Christian priest blessed it.

Perun also had his own tree - an oak tree, and he also had a favorite flower, which
Bulgaria is still called "Perunika". It has six lilac-blue petals (thunder sign), overgrown with golden hairs (lightning). It blooms in the spring, when the first thunderstorms thunder. This iris flower means “rainbow” in Greek.

Perun's sanctuaries were built in the open air. They were shaped like a flower; in those sanctuaries that have been excavated by archaeologists, there are usually eight “petals”, but in ancient times, according to scientists, there were six.
The “petals” were pits in which unquenchable sacred fires burned. A sculptural image of God was placed in the middle. It is sometimes said that the ancient Slavs believed in idols. But this is the same as saying that Christians believe in icons. An altar was placed in front of the image of God, usually in the form of a stone ring. Offerings were placed there, sacrificial blood was shed: most often animal blood, and if the people were threatened with serious misfortune, then human blood. Life has always been considered a sacred gift of the Gods: human sacrifice was an extraordinary, exceptional act. And we must also take into account that, according to the plots of some films and works of art, the person designated as a sacrifice did not necessarily burst into bitter tears and try to escape. The sacrifices were also voluntary: a person went to the Gods to tell them about the needs of his people, to ask for help, to avert trouble - as we would put it now, he “closed the embrasure,” that is, he performed a revered feat...

After the adoption of Christianity, Perun was not forgotten. Only a few customs that have survived to this day are mentioned here; in fact there are a great many of them. When the Orthodox Church forbade praying to the former Gods, the sanctuaries were destroyed with the same unnecessary cruelty with which churches were destroyed almost a thousand years later by militant atheists. However, scientists say that Christianity not only “smashed” paganism, but also tried to peacefully coexist with it, subordinating it to its hierarchy of values. It is no coincidence that particularly acute conflicts rarely occurred, because over time a kind of symbiosis arose. In particular, having been baptized, yesterday's pagans continued to honor the old Gods, only under new names. So Perun “transferred” many of his qualities to Ilya the Prophet, one of the most revered Christian saints. Another “heir” of the Thunder God is Saint George, the serpent fighter, whom we still see on the coat of arms of Moscow today.

3.4. Fire Svarozhich

The third brother of the Sun and Lightning, the third son of Heaven and Earth was Fire.
We are still talking about the “fire of the hearth” - although most homes do not have fireplaces, but gas or electric stoves. In ancient times, Fire was truly the center of the world in which a person’s entire life took place, and even after death, a funeral pyre often awaited his body. In ancient times, Fire drove away darkness, cold and predatory animals. Later, he gathered around himself several generations of the clan - a large family, symbolizing its indivisible community.

During the meal, Fire was treated to the first and best piece. Any wanderer, a complete stranger, became “one of our own” as soon as he warmed himself by the fireplace. He was protected as if he were his own. Evil spirits did not dare to approach Fire, but Fire was able to cleanse anything defiled. Fire was a witness to vows, and this is where the custom of jumping in pairs over fires comes from: it was believed that if a guy and a girl were able to fly over the flames without releasing their hands, then their love was destined to live a long life.

What was the name of the God of Fire? Some scientists believe that the Western Slavs who lived along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea called it Radogost (Radigost). These researchers have serious evidence, and their no less authoritative rivals have refutations, so the final word has not yet been said. Most likely, the name of the God of Fire was so sacred (after all, this God did not live somewhere in the seventh heaven, but directly among people) that they tried to pronounce it out loud less often, replacing it with allegories. And over time, it was simply forgotten... This happened in the same way as the real name of the bear was forgotten: people tried to call strong and dangerous animals allegorically (in relation to a bear - “clubfooted”, “brown”). So the word “bear” means “knowing honey” - “loving honey.” Its real name is apparently lost forever.

But a great many signs and beliefs associated with Fire have not been forgotten. In the presence of Fire, it was considered unthinkable to swear: “I would tell you... but you can’t: stove in the hut!”

A Russian matchmaker, who came to woo the bride, would certainly stretch out her hands to the stove, warming her palms, no matter what time of year this happened: thereby she called upon Fire to be her ally and enlisted its support. The young husband solemnly led the newlywed three times around the hearth. And if at the moment of the birth of a child the Fire suddenly died out, then this was seen as a sure sign of the birth of a future villain. And here, finally, is why they break a plate in front of the newlyweds (“For good luck”), and before they broke a pot that had just been in the Fire: “How many pieces, so many sons!” Now most often they do not remember the meaning of this action.

A special sacred power was attributed to Fire, obtained in the most primitive way - friction. Why did everything ancient enjoy such honor, and still do today? The fact is that all the most ancient customs, techniques and tricks were believed to have been learned directly from the Gods by the forefathers and foremothers of living people. Let us remember the blacksmith's tongs and the plow, “fallen from heaven,” or the “first” laws! Accordingly, all subsequent technical and social progress was partly a distortion of the ancestral “divine” wisdom, higher than which, in the opinion of ancient people, nothing could be.

So, Fire produced by friction was considered “pure”, not in contact with any defilement. The coming of the new year was celebrated every time by lighting such a fire. At the same time, it was believed that all the sins of the past remain in the past year along with the extinguished old Fire: thus, every year the world is given a chance to be reborn, to become kinder and better. Let us note in passing that the beginning of the New Year in Rus' was repeatedly postponed, it was celebrated either in March or in September, but scientists still recognize the New Year as one of the oldest, celebrated on the days of the winter solstice, December 22-23.

The pagan Slavs also associated the emergence of people with Fire. According to some legends, the Gods created a Man and a Woman from two sticks, between which Fire ignited - the very first flame of love... According to another legend, Perun and Fire competed in accuracy, and at the moment when the flame and lightning struck the same point. unexpectedly for the Gods themselves, the first people appeared.

And this is not all that can be said about Fire. There are a great many striking examples of modern traditions that have come to us from ancient times. Where, for example, did our “cheesecake” come from? This is from the Ancient word “vatra”, that is, “hearth”.

4. Other Gods of the ancient Slavs

4.1. Rod and Rozhanitsy

It has already been said that the light irium was considered by the ancient Slavs to be the source of all life, the ancestral home of plants, birds and animals. There were gods, especially
“responsible” for the prosperity and offspring of all living things in nature, as well as for the multiplication of the human race, for marriage and love between people. This is Rod and
Women in labor mentioned in ancient Russian literature.

Scientists have long argued about how important the Slavs played a role
God named Rod. Some argue that this is a small “family” Deity like the Brownie. Others, on the contrary, consider Rod one of the most important, supreme Gods who took part in the creation of the Universe: according to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, it is he who sends the souls of people from heaven to Earth when children are born. In addition, researchers suggest paying attention to how many important words come from the root “clan”, which is consonant with the name of this God: RODNYA, UROZHAY, HOMELAND, NATURE.

The Goddesses of Birth are usually spoken of in the plural. Ancient manuscripts speak briefly about them, only mentioning bread, honey and “cheese” (previously this word meant cottage cheese), which were sacrificed to them. However, the manuscripts were compiled by Orthodox figures, so it is difficult to find detailed and accurate descriptions in them. However, modern scientists, having processed a large amount of archaeological, ethnographic, linguistic material, turning to information concerning neighboring peoples, came to the conclusion that there were two Rozhanits: Mother and Daughter.

The Slavs associated the Mother in Childbirth with the period of summer fertility, when the harvest ripens, becomes heavier, and becomes full. The ancient Slavs gave her a name
Lada, and perhaps no fewer words and concepts are associated with him than with Rod. All of them have to do with establishing order: “GET GOOD,” “IMPROVE,” etc.
The order in this case was conceived primarily as a family one: “LADA”, “LADO” - an affectionate address to a beloved spouse, husband or wife. "LADINS" - wedding conspiracy. Bulgarian "LADUVANE" - fortune telling about grooms. But the scope of activity
Lada is by no means limited to the home. Some researchers admit
The Great Lada is the mother of twelve months, into which the year is divided.

The ancient Slavs had a Goddess named Lelya - the daughter of Lada, the youngest
Woman in labor. Let’s think about it: it’s not for nothing that a baby’s cradle is often called a “cradle”; a tender, caring attitude towards a child is conveyed by the word “cherish.” The stork that supposedly brings children is called “leleka” in Ukrainian. The Slavs believed that it was Lelya who took care of the barely hatched seedlings—the future harvest. Lelya-Vesna was solemnly “called out” - invited to visit, and went out to meet her with gifts and refreshments.

The holiday of Rozhanitsa was celebrated in the spring - April 22-23. On this day, sacrifices were made with vegetable and dairy products, which were solemnly eaten at a sacred feast, and then at night bonfires were lit: huge, in honor
Lada, and around it there are twelve smaller ones - according to the number of months of the year.
According to tradition, it was a women's and girls' holiday, and men watched it from afar.

4.2. Yarila

Often, unfortunately, Yarila is mistakenly considered the God of the Sun. Among the ancient Slavs, Yarila had a different role.

What do we mean by the word "rage"? In Russian language dictionaries you can find: “fury; a puree of blind, spontaneous, often meaningless force.” And there are many more related words, and they all talk about strong emotions uncontrollable by reason. This side of love, which poets call “ebullient passion,” was “under the jurisdiction” of the Slavic God
Yarily. Even in the last century, in some places in Russia they celebrated the holiday “Yarilki”, timed to coincide with April 27, the very peak of the spring riot of nature.
It was believed that this love increases the harvest, which meant so much to the ancient farmer. After all, as we remember, the pagans did not oppose themselves to nature and did not reject its laws.

Yarila was imagined as a young man, an ardent, loving groom.
In some places, wanting to emphasize his youth and beauty, they dressed up a girl as “Yarila”.
They put her on a white horse, put on a wreath of wild flowers, gave her ears of corn in her left hand, and in her right... a symbol of death - an image of a human head.
The horse and “Yarila” were led through the fields, saying: “Wherever you step, there is a heap of life, and wherever you look, an ear of corn blooms!”

According to another version, Yarila appeared before people in the spring as a boy on a young stallion, in the summer as an adult man on a strong horse, and in the fall as an old man on an old horse.

The ears symbolized life, and the image of the head may be due to the fact that he, like the Egyptian Osiris, died and was reborn every year. The holiday was also dedicated to the farewell and “funeral” of the bald, aged Yarila. People knew: winter would pass and Yarila would return and rise.
Just as a grain buried in the ground is resurrected as a stalk, an ear, and ultimately a new grain. It is no coincidence that grain crops that are sown in the spring (as opposed to winter crops) are called “spring”...

4.3. Snake Veles

Scientists write that a fairy tale is a myth that has ceased to be sacred for those who tell and listen to it. This is a myth that is no longer widely believed. (By the way, in Ancient Rus' the word “fable” denoted a reliable story, more often a written one. And what we now call a fairy tale was then denoted by the word “fable”. From it came the modern “fable” and the expression “fabulous” - embellished, fantastic , legendary.

So, there are many fairy tales about the Serpent Gorynych, who kidnaps (or is given as tribute to) beautiful girls and with whom heroes and heroes fight - from the epic Dobrynya Nikitich to Ivanushka the Fool. But this is also an echo of an ancient pagan myth that has survived to this day.
The myth about the struggle of the thunderer Perun with his eternal enemy - the monstrous
We're a snake. Similar legends exist among many nations.

In Slavic pagan mythology, the “bestial God” Volos (or
Veles), clearly contrasted with Perun. His connection with the “cattle” (that is, animal) kingdom already follows from his name: Hair - hairy - shaggy - shaggy. It is possible that the word “magician” comes from the name of this God and from the custom of his priests to dress in fur turned outward,
“hairy” fur coats to imitate their Deity. Meanwhile, the name “Hair” just as definitely takes us into the world of snakes and worms. Anyone who has ever been to a village in the summer has probably heard chilling stories about “living hair” that lives in a river near the shore and can, after biting, be sucked under the skin. There is also a belief that a hair - animal or human, especially from a bad person - dropped into water or entangled in an egg, comes to life and begins to do evil deeds. In general, hair was considered an important receptacle of vitality. And there will be no misfortune if the cut and discarded hair is picked up by an unkind sorcerer... This legend could have appeared from the legend of the forge Kiya, who was able to forge a person’s fate with the help of a hair.

In a word, many good reasons force some scientists to identify Volos with the legendary Serpent - the enemy of the Thunder God.
Let's listen to their story.

According to legend, the Hair Serpent somehow combines hairiness and scales in its appearance, flies on membranous wings, knows how to breathe fire (although he is deathly afraid of fire, especially lightning) and loves scrambled eggs and milk. Therefore, another name for Volos is Smok or Tsmok, which means Sucker. Here it is appropriate to recall Smaug, the evil dragon from J. R. R. Tolkien’s fairy tale “The Hobbit”. This name was not chosen by the writer by chance!

But if you carefully re-read folk legends and fairy tales, it turns out that the Serpent in them is not so much evil as unreasonable and greedy. It is easy to see that the appearance of the Serpent is “composed” by the human imagination from parts taken from different animals. Perhaps it embodies the powers of the primeval
Chaos, the violent forces of disordered, wild, uninhabited nature, often hostile to ancient man, but essentially not at all evil?..

The pagan Slavs worshiped both divine opponents - and
Perun and the Snake. Only the sanctuaries of Perun were built, as already mentioned, in high places, and the sanctuaries of Volos - in the lowlands. There is reason to think that Volos, tamed and driven underground, became “responsible” for earthly fertility and wealth. He partly lost his monstrous appearance and became more human-like. It’s not for nothing that the last bunch of ears of corn was left in the “Beard Hair” field. In addition, there is a connection
Volos-Veles with music and poetry, it is not without reason that in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” the singer
Boyan is called “Veles’s grandson”...

In 1848, a stone idol was found in the Zbruch River, clearly reflecting the division of the pagan Universe into the World of the Gods, the World of People and the Lower World. So,
The Human World is supported from below by a kneeling, mustachioed humanoid creature. He looks unhappy. Of course, there are no explanatory inscriptions on the ancient idol, but scientists believe that this is Veles, who settled in the depths of the Earth...

4.4. Dark Gods

The life of ancient man was not always easy. Difficulties forced us to look for the culprits; they appeared in the form of evil Gods. Among the Western Slavs, Chernobog was such an embodiment of evil: this name truly speaks for itself. It is known that his sculptures were black, with a silver mustache. Whether the Eastern Slavs (the ancestors of Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians) believed in him or not cannot be said with certainty. Perhaps they believed, it is unlikely that they had less reasons for this than their Western brothers.

But the evil Goddess named Morana (Morena, Marana) was definitely known both in the West and in the Slavic East. She is associated with darkness, frost and death. Indeed, her name is related to such words as “pestilence”, “darkness”, “haze”, “haze”, “fool”, “death” and many more equally unkind ones. From India to Iceland, mythical characters are known who cause all sorts of evil: the Buddhist Mara, who tempted righteous hermits, the Scandinavian “mara” - an evil spirit capable of tormenting a sleeping person,
"trample" him to death, Morrigan, Ancient Irish Goddess associated with destruction and war; finally, the French word for "nightmare". You can also remember Morgana, Morgause and Mordred from the epic about King Arthur and his knights.

Echoes of the legends about Moran can be traced in the epics about Dobrynya and “Marinka”, who tries in every possible way to destroy the hero, in particular, turns him with her witchcraft into a tour - golden horns. The same epics tell about the unholy connection of “Marinka” with the Serpent. There is reason to see the ancient Morana in the Bulgarian legend about the “evil woman” who “killed many people” and threw a dirty veil over the silver Moon: from then on it became covered with dark spots and, frightened, began to walk above the Earth much higher than before (between By the way, astronomers write about secular changes in the orbit of the Moon...). Other legends tell how Morana and her evil minions try every morning to stalk and destroy the Sun, but each time they retreat in horror before its radiant power and beauty. Finally, the straw effigy, which is still burned in some places today during the holiday of the ancient pagan Maslenitsa, at the time of the spring equinox, undoubtedly belongs
Morana, Goddess of death and cold. Every winter she briefly takes power, but she is not allowed to establish herself forever: again and again the Sun, Life and Spring triumph...

5. Low level gods and spirits

Among the many small deities, it should be noted Dvorovoy (the owner of the courtyard), who was already slightly less benevolent than Domovoy; Ovinnik (the owner of the barn) - even less so, and Bannik, the spirit of the bathhouse, which stood at the very edge of the yard, and even beyond it, is simply dangerous. For this reason, believers considered the bathhouse - a symbol of seemingly purity - unclean. Sometimes he is represented as a tiny old man with a long, moldy beard. Fainting and accidents in the bathhouse are attributed to his evil will. To pacify Bannik, the Slavs left clean water, a broom and food in the bathhouse, otherwise the bannik could get angry and seriously harm the person, even to the point of murder. Bannik’s favorite pastime is scalding those who are washing with boiling water, splitting stones in a stove and “shooting” them at people.

Behind the fence of the courtyard of the ancient Slav the forest began. The forest provided the ancient Slav with building material, game, mushrooms, berries, etc. But in addition to the benefits bestowed on man, the wild forest always concealed many deadly dangers.
The owner of the forest was Leshy. Leshy literally means "forest". His appearance is changeable. He seemed to be either a giant or a dwarf. In different places about
Leshem is told in different ways. However, most often he looks like a person, but his clothes are wrapped “in reverse” (sometimes, however, instead of clothes he wears only his own fur). Leshy’s hair is long, gray-greenish, but on his face there are no eyelashes or eyebrows, and his eyes, like two emeralds, burn with green fire in the forest darkness. He could lead a person into a thicket, scare him, beat him, but he knew how to pay good for good.

When people began to clear forests and plow open “burns” for bread, of course, new deities appeared - Poleviki. In general, there are no fewer beliefs and signs associated with a grain field than with housing. Sometimes people also met old Belun in the field - nondescript in appearance and extremely snotty. He asked a passerby to wipe his nose. And if a person did not disdain, a purse of silver suddenly appeared in his hand. Perhaps in this way our ancestors wanted to express the simple idea that the Earth generously bestows only those who are not afraid to get their hands dirty?

The working day in the village always began early. But it’s better to wait out the midday heat. The ancient Slavs also had a mythical creature who strictly ensured that no one worked at noon. This is Midday. They imagined her as a girl in a long white shirt or, conversely, as a shaggy, scary old woman. Poludnitsy (or Rzhanitsy) were afraid: for non-compliance with the custom, she could severely punish - now we call it sunstroke. Having caught a man in the field at noon, she sometimes forced him to solve her riddles to the point of exhaustion. But Midday was not only formidable.
She taught the person who became friends with her to dance to the envy of everyone.

Living in a region abundant with rivers and lakes, the ancient Slavs naturally developed a whole complex of religious veneration for water. For example, the Slavs were sure that the most inviolable oaths were made near water; they also tested it with water in court, and used water to tell fortunes about the future. The water was turned to
"You". She could have drowned her, destroyed her for nothing. It could demand victims, wash away the village with a spring flood. That is why the Vodyanoy, the mythical inhabitant of rivers, lakes and streams, often appears in legends as a creature hostile to humans.

6. The central myth of the ancient Slavs

Now that we have become acquainted with all the main Gods of the Slavs, we can convey the content of the fundamental legend of ancient Slavic mythology. This myth tells about the appearance of evil gods and the opposition of good gods to them.

One day, the Sun-Dazhdbog and his brother Perun traveled together in the Underworld. And here, from beyond the edge of the Universe, a dark star appeared without rays, with a long bloody tail. She wanted to strike the Earth, which was fast asleep, to death - her husband, Heaven, came to the rescue: he shielded the Earth and took a cruel blow. But he was unable to completely avert the misfortune. A tailed monster swept over the entire Earth, burning forests with a terrible, unprecedented fire, and finally fell somewhere at the far edge.

The God Brothers almost drove the greyhound horses, flying to the eastern edge of the Ocean. When the boat crossed it, drawn by white swans, and the winged stallions soared again, Dazhdbog for many days did not dare to look down brightly and clearly as before. For a disfigured, dead strip stretched across the entire Earth, and there, in the black smoke, a frightened, understanding Fire was rushing about. And from the wounds of Heaven, water gushed down to the ground in streams, flooding the lowlands, destroying and washing away everything that had survived the fire...

The young Gods didn’t think twice: they rushed to save their mother and father. To save your world before it again becomes the shapeless lump it was before birth. They bandaged the wounds of Heaven with white stripes of clouds and damp shrouds of fog. Calmed the Fire. They lit a rainbow over the few surviving People, showing the way to salvation...

That’s when we saw mountains at the far edge of the Earth that were not there before, mountains that looked like monstrous clouds from a distance. They firmly fused into the body of the Earth. The Gods carefully headed towards those mountains... It turned out that the mountains were iron. Hot, they managed to cool down, and the sharp peaks breathed black frost, stored somewhere inside, and before our eyes they were overgrown with snow and ice. Never before had the young Gods seen anything like this... Well, most of these mountains fell down, beyond the edge of the Underworld, lifeless for centuries, and only one ugly ridge desecrated the face of the green Earth. The Gods saw: all living things were retreating from the Iron Mountains, everything was fleeing from the deadening cold - forests, rivers, grass, flowers...

They carefully drove around the Iron Mountains and, in one deep abyss, discovered a path through the Earth, all the way to the Lower World. A thrown stone would have flown there for twelve days and nights, but the sparkling chariots, of course, were faster. Soon the brothers found themselves in the Underworld. And when Dazhdbog raised his fiery shield, they saw two creatures desperately shielding themselves from the light, a man and a woman, looking more like terrible dreams than People or Gods...

It was then that for the very first time Perun wanted to swing his ax not to ignite life, but to destroy it. But the man and woman fell to their knees and began to beg for mercy. And Perun lowered his hand with the ax raised. He has not yet learned to be merciless and strike when they kneel. Perun and
Dazhdbog fed them and told them about the earthly and heavenly structure.

But a year later, frost began to come from the Iron Mountains, devastating
The land, and the Svarozhich brothers sought to pass these places as quickly as possible.

But then a lot of time passed, the Earth recovered from the blow, the wounds healed
The sky, although there was a scar left - the Milky Way, where, according to the beliefs of the Slavs, the souls of the dead flew away.

Dazhdbog warned the Month not to approach the cold mountains when he was walking in the sky, because, although the gods of the Iron Mountains kindly received the brothers, they still aroused mistrust. The Young Moon gave his word to Dazhdbog and kept it for a long time, but once he could not control his curiosity.
He directed the white bulls that drove his chariot to the Iron Mountains. A dirty blanket rose from there and dragged the Month into the cave. When the brothers-gods entered this cave, they saw the completed feast and realized that Morana had seduced the Month, and immediately celebrated the wedding.

This time Perun’s thunder sounded angrily, and his ax cut the Month in half. The brothers took the dead Moon home, where the morning star Dennitsa, their sister, cured him with living and dead water. Since then, the Moon rarely appears in the sky full, and sometimes disappears completely, and after Morana wrapped him in a veil, he was able to wash away the stains. People believed that the Moon was waning and hoped to be born pure again, but fate was merciless.

The evil Morana and the lawless Chernobog were buried for a long time in the darkness of damp caves, not daring to stick their heads out into the light.

And Perun, who desecrated his golden ax with blood, worked for a year in the workshop of the forge Kiya - he atoned for the sin. Murder was generally considered a terrible sin in Rus'. Even warriors who returned from a campaign did not sit down at the same table with their relatives for a long time and worked in forges and in the field, atonement for their guilt. Since then, all evil spirits have been afraid of iron, feeling the power of Perun, and if you line the door with iron or hang an iron horseshoe over it, then evil spirits will not dare to enter the house.

Meanwhile, Chernobog and Morana stole the snake's egg. Before this, snakes were not poisonous and lived in peace with people. They wrapped this egg around the hair of the woman who wiped the child with ears of bread and sucked out all the living things from it.
A snake hatched from the egg, which they called Volos, or Veles. He grew up quickly and became very strong. But he was not evil - just greedy and stupid. He flew around the earth, turned into whoever he wanted and committed various sins. But one day, Morana, with his help, took out an ice needle and made him an ice tooth, which could be used to put the Svarozhichi to sleep.

One day they stole Perun’s bride Lelya and Dazhdbog went to the Iron Mountains to check what was going on with Chernobog and Morana. But there Veles hit him in the back with an icy tooth, and the Sun did not rise over the Earth at the appointed hour. Perun went after Dazhdbog, leaving the Fire to shine on people and warm them. But no matter how much Perun fought with Veles, he could not defeat him - Chernobog and Morana stood behind him, helping him. Perun's eyes and heart were torn out and chained in ice.

For thirty-three years the Sun was not above the Earth, thunder did not roar and Perun’s lightning did not flash. But one day the grown-up children of the blacksmith Kiya - brother and sister Svetozor and Zorya - came to the sanctuary of Perun, lit a fire and
Svetozor sacrificed his blood. Then the earth opened up and the exhausted Perun climbed out of the crack. The cue helped him recover from his wounds, find new horses and find an ax, which, after the fatal battle, was not given to Veles, but flew away to the Earthly world.

Perun, having gained strength, with Kiy and the Kieviches came to the Iron Mountains and in a fierce duel defeated Veles, broke the ice tooth and imprisoned Chernobog and Morana in underground darkness. Despite all Morana’s assurances that it was impossible to melt the icy grave of Dazhdbog and Lelya, Perun and Kiy managed to do this and resurrected the Gods.

7. Religious holidays

If the Slavs worshiped natural phenomena, then it is easy to guess on what occasions and at what time of year they would celebrate their religious holidays, which are closely related to nature and changes in it. The holiday of Kolyada, Ivan Kupala, and Maslenitsa were deeply revered by the people. At these festivities, the Slavs worshiped stone and wooden idols - figures of gods.

These idols were placed in the center of a round platform with a raised middle or, conversely, with a funnel-shaped depression in the center. The site was surrounded by one or two ditches and low ramparts. Sometimes the inside of the shaft was fenced with a palisade. An altar was placed next to the idol. The places where idols were worshiped were called “temples” (from the Old Slavonic “kap” - image, idol), and those where sacrifices were made (“requirements”) were called “treasures”. By now, many pagan idols have already been found, but the most remarkable monument of Slavic paganism is the four-headed Zbruch idol, found in the 19th century on the Zbruch River, a tributary of the Dniester. Conventionally, this idol is called Svyatovit. This is a tall tetrahedral pillar three meters high, on each side of which there are a series of images. Three horizontal tiers of images symbolize the division of the Universe into heaven, earth and hell.
At the top, on each side of the pillar, crowned with one common cap, are carved full-length figures of four deities - the goddess of fertility, Perun, a female deity with a ring in her right hand, and a male figure with a saber at his belt. In the middle tier, figures of men and women alternate - this is the Earth and a round dance of people holding hands. In the lower tier there are three figures of mustachioed men. These are underground gods who support the Earth above them. The Slavs also had wooden statues. Around 980, the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich placed huge idols of pagan deities in his capital. Among them, the wooden idol of Perun was especially luxuriously decorated: it had a silver head and a golden mustache. Wooden idols of the Eastern Slavs are pillars, in the upper part of which human heads were carved.

Sacrifices were made to these idols: animals, grain, various gifts, and sometimes human sacrifices. Near the image of the pagan gods, fortune-telling and ritual lots took place, which were performed by mysterious “magi.”

Magi, fortune-tellers, magicians, Bedouins, witches... Very little is known about the Slavic Magi, but Sergei Mikhailovich Solovyov, in his work on the history of ancient Russia, draws a close connection from the Slavic Magi to the Finnish Magi, explaining this by the close proximity of the two peoples; and notes that after the adoption of Christianity, the Magi mainly appear in the Finnish north and from there they trouble the Slavic peoples.

CONCLUSION

Now a huge layer of Orthodox culture is returning to our lives.
And sometimes we hear that a religion worthy of being called a religion appeared among us only after the adoption of Christianity - a thousand years ago. And before that, they say, there were only barbaric, primitive cults, sometimes associated with human sacrifices. In a word, “the darkness of paganism.”
Spiritual primitiveness. However, this is not true. Sometimes they say that nothing is known about Slavic paganism. In fact, only those who are too lazy to read the books of archaeologists, ethnographers, historians of religions, specialists in the beliefs of the ancient Slavs and related peoples think so. But these scientists have been deciphering ancient manuscripts, interpreting rituals, and explaining archaeological finds for many centuries. In scientific libraries you can find a great many books in which these scientists talk about what they managed to find out.

One problem is that scientists most often write their books for specialists like themselves: it is difficult for most ordinary people to understand them. Unfortunately, when I started collecting material for my essay, I realized that there are no books about Slavic paganism, simply and clearly written, similar to those devoted to the ancient Roman, ancient Greek and other mythological systems.

However, the ancient religion of our ancestors, which some consider forgotten, continues to live on in our daily customs to this day.
There is plenty of evidence for this. For example, why can’t you shake hands across the threshold? Why do people break plates at weddings? And why, when moving into a new house, is the cat allowed in first? Many will answer: for luck. But is this an explanation? But all the listed customs come from our pagan times. There, in this mysterious and interesting world, our worldview is rooted. Is it really true that we study the Egyptian, Greek, Roman gods in every detail, but don’t even know what to call our own?.. And besides, scientists have no doubt: in the era when myths took shape, people were able to think no worse than Now. They simply thought and expressed their knowledge in a different language - the language of myths.

My work does not pretend to be comprehensive. Touching on this or that layer of material, I was always convinced that any of these topics could be covered in a separate essay, voluminous and interesting. Literally every object, upon closer examination, turned out to be amazing and unique, like the entire history of Russia, which is very diverse and rich in events, facts and secrets. While working on the essay, I got real pleasure, having learned a lot of new things and having made an interesting excursion into the past of our Motherland, I understood how our distant ancestors lived: who they worshiped, who they loved and hated, how they knew how to stand up for themselves and for their family. I really wanted my essay to be a living narrative of a person who discovered the rich and amazing world of Ancient Rus' with its beliefs, customs, rituals and holidays.

Bibliography

1. Klyuchevsky V. O. “Course of Russian History”, volume one. Moscow, 1987
2. Kostomarov I. "Slavic mythology". Moscow, 1995
3. Semenova M. “We are Slavs.” St. Petersburg, 1998
4. Solovyov S. M. "On the history of Ancient Russia." Moscow, 1993

5. Tokarev S. A. "Early forms of religion." Moscow, 1992
6. Semenova M. “Duel with a snake”, Moscow, 1996