Slavic gods of Russia myths. Ancient Slavic gods: list

Slavic-Aryanpeople

He is in It has always been distinguished by its original and original culture, about which numerous treatises have been written by famous researchers and not so much, from Herodotus to modern historians. Strength of mind and a unique craving to know the unknown - these are far from all the special character traits of the ancient Slavs. In order to convey their sacred knowledge, accumulated over the centuries, the Slavs used a combination of metaphors and mythology.

Slavic mythology at first glance is extremely simple, since it is based on symbolic-esoteric intersexuality. According to this paradigm, our ancestors lived and developed for more than one century. No one will argue that the modern world has changed a lot, and not for the better. More and more people are becoming alien to the concepts of "humanity, love, respect", but if among a thousand people there is at least one who is guided by such principles, it means that not everything is lost in our society.

Gods as the basis of Slavic mythology

The basis of the mythology of the Slavs- Slavic gods, amazing creatures that our ancestors worshiped for centuries, offered gifts, sang laudatory songs. It is difficult to talk about whether there were real people behind the images of the gods, and this question is quite controversial. Perhaps in a few centuries the secret of the origin of the gods will be revealed, but now we will talk about the pantheon of the Slavic gods in a slightly different context - their symbols, essence and ideas that were invested by our ancestors in each bright and peculiar image.

This section is dedicated to all the gods who occupied a certain place in the life and life of our ancestors. The gods that were worshiped, feared, praised and revered. If we turn to the results of studies of chronicles and archaeological excavations, then on the territory of Ancient Russia in different time periods the gods of Slavic mythology changed their meanings somewhat - Light (Yasuni) and Dark (Dasuni) in different parts of Russia were somewhat different. The reason for this was internecine wars, and attacks by external enemies, and a rethinking of the nature of things, and inevitable progress. But at the same time, the list of Slavic gods and the scheme of Slavic gods remained practically unchanged - Rod was the supreme god (although there are references to Perun as the world ruler), Lada is one of the incarnations of Rod, which combines vitality, loyalty and love. It is worth saying that the list of gods of Slavic mythology at different times varied somewhat and changed its composition, so it is impossible to unequivocally say who was on this list. It is impossible to say with absolute certainty that the data on the gods given on our website have real documentary evidence - we have collected maximum information not only from open sources, but from highly specialized scientific works, so we hope that these data will appeal to connoisseurs of the commandments of the Slavic gods and to all who are interested.

Kostroma

This Slavic goddess was the sister of Kupala and has long symbolized the element of primordial water, fertility, harvest, summer warmth, helping lovers meet each other. All sources indicate that Kostroma and Kupala are indivisible images, because, not knowing that they are brother and sister, they fell in love with each other, but could not come to terms with the fact that they could not be in a place as lovers. Kostroma has always symbolized girlish purity and femininity, embodying the image of true love - sincere and tragic at the same time. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here➡

Kupala

A solar deity (still possible names are Kupailo or Kupaila), but often called Kupailo. It is the apotheosis of all solar energy and is similar to

original elemental fire. Kupala cannot be imagined separately from Kostroma, its sister, personifying water. According to the legend, Kupala and Kostroma, not knowing that they were brother and sister, kindled true love for each other, but after learning about blood ties, they committed suicide together. The image of Kupala clearly expresses the concepts of our ancestors about honor and justice, that truth always wins. Night on Ivan Kupala also migrated to Christianity, combining paganism and biblical stories. Invariably, the symbol of this god helped in love, recovery, spiritual and physical cleansing.
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Mara

They can also be called (Morena, Morana.) In the image of Mary, fertility and death, witchcraft and justice are simultaneously combined. In some sources, you can find information that Mara is the daughter of Kashchei, but in most literature it is widely believed that she is one of the three daughters of the first generation of gods who appeared from the sparks from the hammer of Svarog on the sacred Alatyr. Mara always appears as a beautiful young girl, but only her beauty is cold - light skin, dark hair, bright clothes. This goddess could control the elements and various energies, but at the same time she used her powers only if she happened to be friends with Yaga. The symbol of Mary is ice, which combines energy, cold, and strength at the same time, so for the ancient Slavs this symbol was negative. Often, it was Mara that symbolized winter, so the Slavs, during prayers to her, asked for less severe cold and the early onset of spring.

Symbols

Makosh

The goddess Makosh is as ancient as the great Rod itself. She is original and she gave birth to gods and life. In this case, Rod and Makosh are considered as two opposites - male and female, which gave rise to the entire universe.
The very name of the goddess Mokosh comes from the merger of two words: “kosh” or “kosht”, which means fate, destined, and the prefix “ma”, which is an abbreviation for the word mother. It turns out that Makosh is a mother who knows the fate of everything she has generated. It is worth noting that the image of fate among many ancient peoples was associated with the canvas, which was woven by three goddesses. In ancient Greek mythology, these were Moira, and in the Slavic epic, this niche was occupied by Makosh and her two assistants - Dolya and Nedolya. They, together with the mother of all destinies, the goddess Makosh, spun the fabric of the universe, and they tied together the life lived and the deeds committed. Only they had the right to decide who would live and who would die. The Slavs revered the goddess Makosh as the great Spinner of Fates.

Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

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Perun

If the ancient Slavs heard thunder, then they knew that it was the work of Perun, the patron saint of valiant warriors, the son of Lada and Svarog, the most famous of the Svarozhich family. Regardless of who he is to the supreme gods (son or grandson), he is one of the most famous gods worshiped by our ancestors. Many can draw an analogy with the ancient Greek Zeus, but Perun has always been more loyal to people and ready to stand up for them. The image of Perun was imitated by many Slavic military leaders - a red cloak, a mighty horse and a club. The symbol of this god is the ax, which is both a weapon and a talisman for warriors, or a swastika. Prayers to Perun were always said by the defenders of their native land, who went for a just cause. In Christianity, Perun was not forgotten - he was simply replaced with the image of the prophet Elijah. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Genus

Rod is more than just the creator of the world. It was thanks to him that the universe appeared in the form that is familiar to us. The ancient Slavs preferred not to think about where Rod came from, because the appearance of the supreme god is not a topic for reasoning of mere mortals. Before the appearance of Rod, there was neither light nor darkness, there was nothing. It was thanks to him that all living things appeared on earth. After the creation of the world, Rod divided it into Yav, Rule, Nav. The genus is the progenitor of all Slavic gods and prabogs. The ancient Slavs especially revered this god, which is why in our language so many words associated with the most expensive take their roots from the word “genus”. The symbol of the Genus is very reminiscent of a modern image of our Galaxy from space - a stylized swastika (where such an accurate image came from is a question for historians and theologians). Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Semargl.

This god has always symbolized the original fire and fertility. Under his leadership, all Svarozhichs became an invincible force, while he often helped Svarog and Perun in the fight against darkness. Little is known about the power of Semargl, but all sources emphasize that he was a kind of catalyst for other gods. According to many, it was he who acted as the messenger of the gods, transmitting to Yav the information necessary for everyone. Semargl was presented in different ways - either in the form of a warrior, or in the form of a fiery dog, or in the form of a fabulous bird (most often a falcon that brings victory in battle). Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Veles

One of the wisest gods, who was a werewolf, patronized the arts. Veles ruled over sorcery, since only he managed to know both light and dark forces. You can talk about the secret knowledge that he possessed for hours, especially since Veles obeyed the elements and he could change the rules of the universe. In the culture of the ancient Slavs, Veles was especially valued as the patron of the family economy, prosperity and fertility. Travelers revered this god no less, as he brought them good luck on the road. He appeared to people either in the guise of a gray-haired old man, or a bear. By the way, the six-pointed star, known to everyone as the Star of David, has always been considered a symbol of Veles. The ancient Slavs prayed to this god for many reasons - they asked for good luck on the road, good sleep, thanked for the success of some events. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Yarila or Yarilo

Quite often this god was called Jaromir and he symbolized passion, irrepressible energy and spring. This illegitimate son of Veles personified spring warmth and sincere feelings. Yarilo is the god of the sun in Slavic mythology, but the spring sun is warm and pleasant. The name of God came into use of the Slavs as a symbol of the retreat of the cold. The symbol of this god is a five-pointed star, which found no less use in Slavic mythology than in the occult sciences of European cultures. The god of youth and carnal pleasures, Yarilo loves all women, delighting them with the warmth of the spring sun and sincere feelings. Jaromir was always portrayed as a young guy who is the dream of all girls, earthly and heavenly. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Stribog

Stribog was one of the first-born from the sparks of the gods or from the breath of the Family (the versions differ somewhat, but everyone agrees on one thing - this is one of the highest gods). Stribog is rightfully considered one of the militant gods who fight on the side of the world. He always symbolized the wind, he patronized birds and simply the elements of air. Ancestors revered Stribog no less than Perun, since he is from the older generation of deities. They represented him only as a gray-haired old man with a bow in his hands, not very talkative, but at the same time strong and fair. Due to the fact that Stribog was considered the god of the wind, he was especially revered by merchants and merchants, since it was he who filled their sails. This god was also respected for the fact that he could be uncontrollable, destroy with a hurricane everything that he did not like. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Dazhdbog

Dazhdbog is the god of fertility and the god of the sun in Slavic mythology, and the mention of him as a solar god is found in many sources that have survived to our times. Naturally, it was always symbolized by the disk of the Sun, on the position in the sky of which the harvest depends. God has always been considered peaceful, but in the original war he took part on the side of the world. He was always represented as a mighty hero in golden armor. Dazhdbog was rightfully considered one of the highest gods, so his idols were located in almost all settlements, since it was very important for the Slavs to get a good harvest and prosperity. The god had his own rune, which was often applied to the tools on which the crop depended. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Alive

This is the female incarnation of the Family, which patronizes Reveal and gives life. According to many sources, Zhiva had a power similar to the power of Rod. Alive could change matter, granting energy to all who deserved it. If you look at it, then it is she who is the first female image in the pantheon of Slavic gods, the scheme of which is quite diverse. Zhiva had a sufficient supply of wisdom and knowledge so as not to interfere in people's lives, so there are not so many references to her as to other gods. The female images of the gods - Lelya, Lada and Makosh - are an interpretation of Alive at three different ages, as they symbolize the stages of the formation of a woman, as a successor to the family. Alive was represented as a middle-aged woman who patronized all living things, especially plants. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

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Lada

Many sources doubt whether she was the daughter of Svarog or his wife, but at the same time everyone agrees that she was the goddess of beauty, love and happiness. The family hearth was also guarded by Lada, personifying the ideal of a woman, but not a woman-mother (it is important not to confuse). Lada is the image of a woman who is ready for marriage, ready to love, ready to give her warmth to a warrior. This goddess gathered in herself the power of the sun of all Yasuns. In her image, almost all the positive qualities of the bright gods are collected - wisdom, honesty, sincerity. The Lada star was rightfully considered a symbol of the feminine and was made of gold, copper, bronze and was worn by women throughout their lives, since wisdom and prudence should always accompany her. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

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Svarog

Svarog was rightfully considered the first earthly image of the Family and was the father of the first generation of Slavic gods. He is credited with the formation of land on which people live. Svarog has long symbolized an experienced warrior-defender who, in case of danger, gathered all the bright gods under his banners. The symbol of Svarog is an all-destroying and at the same time life-giving fire. In Slavic mythology, he was the patron of labor, since only labor allows you to create something great and significant. A star with eight rays is a symbol of Svarog, which very often denoted the sacred stone Alatyr. God was at the same time a peaceful blacksmith and the strongest warrior who did not let go of the hammer, which turned from a tool into a formidable weapon. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Lelya

Since ancient times, spring among the Slavs has been a symbol of the awakening of life, and therefore the image of her young goddess Lelya, which combines spring, girlish love and beauty. The image of Lely is a pure young girl who is about to get married. Lelya was rarely identified with everyday life, since she thinks more about the spiritual, and not about the material. Even the name "Lelya" in translation from Sanskrit is translated as "game". This goddess was symbolized by a birch tree familiar to the Slavic gaze - fragile, joyful and playful. Lelya patronized all young girls who dreamed of getting married, gave them sincere feelings and picked up a couple with whom they could live their whole lives carefree. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

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Horse

The god of the sun in Slavic mythology, the winter sun, along with Yaril and Dazhdbog. God is positive, protecting people in the cold season from Chernobog. He can be associated with Santa Claus - he is ruddy, cheerful and a little sad because he cannot constantly protect people from dark forces. Horsu is the lord of winter, who can calm the blizzard, make the winter warmer or colder. Khors enjoyed special honor among farmers, since the harvest of winter crops directly depended on the mood of the god. The ancient Slavs tried not to anger this god, because on the road he could send a snowstorm and hit with severe frost, if you treat him with respect, he granted a warm winter with plenty of snow. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Belobog

Belobog in Slavic mythology had many names that symbolized him as the bright god of the supreme pantheon. Belobog has a clear opposite - Chernobog, but at the same time embodies goodness, honor and justice. He was always portrayed as a gray-haired, wise old man in a white robe. This is perhaps the only god who has nothing to do with military affairs - he did not participate in the battles of the gods. The image of Belobog reflects the basic principles of the universe, the structure of the world and its purpose. According to the myths of the ancient Slavs, he helped those who worked in the field and at home, were not lazy and went to the intended goal through obstacles. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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The number-bog is credited with the systematization and ordering of the movement launched by Veles, therefore he belongs to the higher gods. It was Chislobog who gave the ancient Slavs not just a calendar, but a whole system of predicting events based on the energy of the earth and space. Numberbog is the patron of stability and change, the god who protects the human race, the god who administers the court of conscience after death, determining a person by his actions. The priests of Chislobog were especially revered, as they were able to predict the future and they possessed unique knowledge. It is difficult to find an image of this god in the sources, since he tried not to show himself to people especially, controlling the river of time, which is merciless. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Chernobog

The ancient Slavs often called Chernobog the Black Snake, in which all the dark forces are collected. He was rarely revered and no idols were set up. If we talk about absolute evil, then it is he who personifies it, since his main mission is the destruction of all life. He was depicted in various guises - and in the form of a basilisk, and in the form of a snake, and in the form of a raven. In terms of his abilities and strength, he is not inferior to any god, so the gods of Yavi were able to defeat him only by uniting. But at the same time, our ancestors understood that there is a part of Chernobog in every person - this is his dark side. It cannot be said unequivocally that the deeds of Chernobog were aimed only at destruction, because without the destruction of the old it is impossible to build a new one. It is worth remembering that good exists only in the presence of evil, which is why it is impossible to defeat Chernobog, because every person has a part of him. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Ruevit

Ruevit is rightfully considered the patron of warriors who defend their lands. He guards the stars and lands of Yarila and Mokosh. The main purpose of God is the fight against dark forces, in which he is helped by no less militant gods. Ruevita's main weapon is the sword and fire, which he is ready to use at the moment when it is necessary to protect the weak and offended. This god did not protect all the borders between Yavu and Naviu, but only certain, most difficult sections, giving Perun and his brethren the opportunity to pay more attention to other areas. Ruevit is an idealized warrior who has been an example for Slavic men since birth. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

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Radogost

Radegast (a more faithful version of Radegast or Radogost) is often called Radegast - this is a god who was famous for hospitality, helps in trade and brings a rich harvest. According to experts, Radegast is one of the interpretations of Svetovit. The god looked very interesting - a young half-naked youth with animal symbols and armed with an axe. Quite often, warriors worshiped Radogost as a militant god, and not as a god of life and wealth. But God can not be called evil, he helped in trade and diplomacy. Very often, the ancient Slavs considered Radegast as the embodiment of kindness and openness. Archaeologists confirm that in the territories where the ancient Slavs lived, there were a lot of sanctuaries to Radogost, which testifies to his honor and respect for him. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Baba Yaga

The ancient Slavic Baba Yaga (Goddess) was the progenitor of the legendary heroine of Russian fairy tales. She was a dark sorceress, the daughter of Viy. Do not think that she was a terrible old woman, she is often described as a young woman who is comparable in beauty to Lada. Baba Yaga understood the languages ​​of animals, animals and plants. Yaga was indifferent to the wars of light and darkness, considering them not worthy of her attention. She was the wife of Veles, who sincerely loved her for who she was. Yaga ruled the upper underground kingdom of Navi, which no longer belonged to the world of the living, but was not the world of the dead either. Baba Yaga was neither a god nor a man, she was rather a collective image of unknown forces that could not be attributed to either good or evil. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

Koschey

Koschey, who is correctly called Kashchey, is one of the most famous characters in the mythology of our ancestors. Kashchei is the son of Chernobog, distinguished by wisdom and malice towards all living things. He practically did not take part in the battles between darkness and light, preferring to plot intrigues in his dark kingdom. Koschei looked like a grey-haired evil old man who could turn into a crow. The peculiarity of Kashchei is that he could control the dead, who were ready to fulfill his any, even the most cruel, plan. The image of Koshchei found a worthy place in the fairy tales and legends of the Slavs as the most negative hero, who had a deep mind and special cynicism. He walked in the armor spoken by Mara herself, which is not afraid of any earthly weapon. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Volkh is the son of the Fire Serpent and the Earth. He was a werewolf, identifying in himself the courage and fury of the Slavs. According to legend, the Fire Serpent deceived Mother Raw Earth, and when Volkh was born, his goal in life was revenge for his mother, for all the offended and humiliated. The image of the Volkh was associated with a young warrior who is ready to protect his native land from misfortunes and dangers. There is a legend that armor and weapons were forged by Svarog himself, and this god received all the skills from the best teachers - Mokosh, Veles, Yaga. Volkh symbolized a warrior who not only thoughtlessly rushes into the thick of battle, but makes the most verified decisions and is able to control any army of comrades-in-arms. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Vyshen

Vyshen is one of the incarnations of the great Family, which at all times was especially revered by the Slavs, who loved the freedom of spirit, soul and thoughts. This god was associated with the universe and its endless expanses. Vyshen was rightfully considered the patron of all Slavs and Aryans on earth. But at the same time, God was especially strict towards those who tried to misuse the path of Spiritual development for base purposes. He is especially favorable to those who seek new knowledge and try to comprehend everything incomprehensible. An honest and noble person could always count on the support of this god. If we turn to chronicles and legends, then the Vyshen is a symbol of wisdom that operates in all worlds. A gray-bearded old man holding a sword in his hands is always ready to help believers and punish those who have gone astray. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Tara

This goddess patronized all living things, especially forests. Kindness and sincerity are essential traits of Tara's character. For her, a person is not just a creature, but a part of wildlife, which is the basis of everything around. There is a lot of controversy around the image, but everyone agrees in one opinion - this is a young girl with dark hair, who spends most of her time in search of healing herbs and roots. Tara can be called a real witch who knows perfectly well about all the secrets of the forest and not only about them. She has fundamental knowledge about the structure of the universe, but does not tell anyone. Often she is called Dara, as she gave the Slavs warmth, love and joy, without demanding anything in return. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

Even the highest gods have assistants, Perun has Indra, who always helps him in the battles of light and darkness. Indra symbolizes courage, courage and hatred for all enemies - internal and external. Indra is a celestial warrior who does not descend to earth, but is in constant battle in interstellar space. Indra is the guardian of the Weapon of Retribution, which brings victory to the forces of light, while he is the main one among the 30 protector gods. Warriors especially revered Indra, as he personified courage and steadfastness in the struggle for a just cause - the protection of his home and loved ones. It combines the strength and wisdom that are inherent in all Slavic warriors fighting for a just cause. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Zimun

This is the Mother of God of Perun, Veles and many other higher gods. Zimun is a collective image of a loving mother, waiting for her children, ready to give everything she has for their happiness. From time to time, the goddess turned into a Heavenly cow, since in such an image it is much easier to control the heavenly herds. From time immemorial, Zimun, in the view of the Slavs, looked like a beautiful aged woman, from whom warmth and kindness radiated. Her maternal feelings for all people, not only for her children, were especially emphasized. If we talk about the image of a cow, then it symbolized the prosperity and well-being that such cattle brings to the house. Prayers to Zimun were addressed most often by women who were waiting for their sons from military campaigns and wishing well-being and a comfortable life for their descendants. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

Howal

There is no specific information about where Hovala came from, it is only known that he looked like a gray-haired old man who was on his way through the endless world all the time. He never speaks to anyone, only smiles and examines everyone with his piercing gaze. The main purpose of this demigod is to bring light, life and joy to everyone. With his gaze, he incinerates evil and deceit, the objects and people he looks at can turn into dust. Khovalu is often called the avenging god, who is a punishment that sooner or later overtakes the guilty. It is impossible to say unequivocally whether it belongs to light or darkness, it is impossible, since little is known about its appearance. Khovala is a symbol of justice and noble retribution. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Goddess Karna

The goddess Karna is an ambiguous figure in Slavic mythology. Perhaps this goddess was revered by our ancestors, as responsible for the rebirth of souls, for the continuous circle of being in the universe. In the historical treatise "The Word of St. Gregory", the goddess Karna is mentioned under the name Koruna. There is also a mention of the companion of Karna, the goddess Jelly. It is quite possible that they personified the destiny and fate in the fate of man.
The goddess Karna is also present in the Roman pantheon, and was revered by the ancient Romans as the goddess of human flesh. This version is supported by the fact that the alleged etymology of the name of the goddess Karna is rooted in the word "corn", which means "meat", "flesh".

In a later period, the ancient Romans venerated the goddess Karna under the name Karda and even Cordelia. She was revered as the goddess of door locks. Of course, a slightly strange destiny for the goddess, but do not forget that the words we perceive today in the literal sense were previously perceived by our ancestors more deeply. If among the Slavs the goddess Karna was the goddess of the rebirth of the soul, then she led the souls from one world to another, and back. Gates were necessary for the transition, call the doors whatever you want. Perhaps in the understanding of the ancient Romans, Karna was a goddess that guarded the passages to the other world. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

Many people know that in Roman mythology the goddess of hunting is Diana, and in Slavic mythology Devan. This young slender huntress was considered the patroness of hunters and the entire forest world. But she did not like hunting for fun, not food (those who did so died from the bites of poisonous snakes). Devana always had a bow and arrows in her hands, a cloak with a bear or wolf head on her shoulders. Despite her closeness to nature, Devana was not symbolized with totem animals, since she was not a warrior, but a hunter. Shrines to this goddess are still found in old forests, which could not be entered on a moonlit night when she went hunting. At the same time, Dewana helps forest animals survive in winter, avoid dangers, and not get caught by people. But the hunters were not offended by the attention - those of them who love nature and hunt for food could count on the help of the goddess. Want to learn more about the goddess? The full description is here ➡

Rooftop

Kryshen is Rod's younger brother, although much younger. The purpose of this god is to help in the liberation of people from the power of Chernobog. According to legend, during the reign of Chernobog, people were left without fire, and Kryshen was able to return fire to people, but he himself was captured in an ice prison. By this, he very much resembles the well-known Prometheus, who did the same feat. According to Slavic legends, Kryshen was a young and strong young man who was the patron saint of solar heat. Often Kryshen is depicted as patrolling the air on a giant bird. Want to know more about God? The full description is here ➡

Conclusion

Slavic gods are not just interpretations of gods from other religions and beliefs, they are a separate category of beliefs that our ancestors developed over thousands of years. Everyone who is interested in the history of their people should know not only their Slavic patron gods by date of birth, but also everyone else, as they are an integral part of our history. Some skeptics may say that in Slavic mythology, the symbols of the Slavic gods and the gods themselves are very much reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman ones, but it’s worth considering who borrowed beliefs and traditions from whom. And that's not all the gods, the section will be replenished after the accumulation of information.

The paganism of the ancient Slavs. On the eve of the adoption of Christianity (the Slavic peoples were baptized in the 9th-10th centuries), paganism reached its highest development among the Slavs. The ancient Slavs worshiped the natural elements on which their lives depended, the labor of the farmer. An important role was played by the veneration of ancestors. There were many gods. There were even more spirits with which the Slavs inhabited all the nature around them. Different tribes especially revered different gods. But all the Slavs have long worshiped two main deities - Perun and Veles.

God Perun. An ancient Byzantine author wrote about what the Slavs consider their master to be the god - the creator of lightning. The god of thunder Perun was represented as a middle-aged strong man with a gray-haired silvered head, with a golden mustache and beard. He rode across the sky on a horse or in a chariot, armed with lightning bolts, axes or arrows. Perun was the ruler of the upper part of the world - the top of the World Tree, he was the master in the sky and on the mountains, commanded the clouds and heavenly waters. It was in his power to water the earth with life-giving rain or punish with drought or storm. Perun's arrows could hit anyone on earth.

Over time, Perun becomes the patron of the prince and the squad, their assistant in military affairs. Perun was especially revered by the East Slavic princes. Prince Vladimir the Red Sun installed a wooden image of this god with a silver head and a golden mustache in Kyiv, on a mountain next to the princely palace, and proclaimed Perun the chief among the gods.

Bulls and roosters were sacrificed to Perun; they were placed near the idol of the god or near the sacred oak. In especially important cases, when they wanted to ask God for help in defeating enemies, Perun was offered human sacrifices. They killed captives or even fellow tribesmen by lot: “We draw lots on a boy or a girl; on whom it falls, we will slaughter him for God.

God Veles. No less than Perun, the ancient Slavs revered Veles (or Volos, that is, hairy, shaggy) - the "cattle god", the patron saint of domestic animals, trade and wealth. The word "rich" originally meant "having a god", "enjoying the patronage of God"; poor, "poor" - on the contrary, meant "devoid of God." In ancient times, the ancestors of the Slavs represented Veles in the form of a huge fire-breathing Serpent. He could also take the form of a shaggy bear, in general he was much for all sorts of transformations. He was considered the ruler of the underworld, the master of earthly waters.

The Slavs did not have a very clear distinction between the "occupations" of the gods. Therefore, Veles, although he was considered primarily a "cattle god", but also influenced other economic affairs. From him, according to the legends of the Slavs, the fertility of the earth depended. He was close to mother earth; abundance, fertility and wealth were in his power.

Farmers sacrificed to the god of fertility, leaving a bush of ears of corn on the field after the harvest - “on the beard of Veles”. In honor of Veles, ritual feasts were held - brothers.

Apparently, Veles was also "in charge" of the afterlife - the "thirtieth kingdom." It was believed that in this distant kingdom, lying "beyond distant lands, beyond the rivers and beyond the sea", everything was made of gold - both mountains and trees. And the owner of all the gold is Veles the Serpent.

If Perun eventually became the patron of the prince and the squad among the Eastern Slavs, then Veles remained the people's intercessor, the patron of "all Russia". In ancient times, Veles was undoubtedly a kind deity. But after the adoption of Christianity, having given his good traits to Christian saints (Nikola, Blasius), Veles (aka a snake, a bear, a goblin) turned into the leader of the dark forces.

Mokosh is the only female deity among the Slavs. Perhaps she was considered the wife of Perun. Mokosh patronized women's home crafts, but also influenced fertility. Spinning was her main occupation. Of the days of the week, Mokosh was dedicated to Friday. Out of respect for the goddess, women did not spin or wash on this day. The violator of the ban was threatened with severe punishment: the goddess could stab her with a spindle or make her spin at night. Even after the baptism of Russia, women gathered for secret meetings, where they prayed to Mokosh and sacrificed live and honey to her. Under the influence of Orthodoxy, the positive features of the pagan goddess eventually passed to St. Paraskeva (Praskovya) Friday, and the “mokoshka” began to be considered an evil spirit, a demon that inclines women to evil deeds.

Gods of fire, sun and wind. The ancient Slavs inhabited the upper part of the world with a whole family of solar gods. Among them was the god of fire Svarog. He gave birth to a fire, which was called "Svarozhich". He, Svarog, was a heavenly blacksmith who taught people how to use fire and work metals.

The son of Svarog was the god of the sun Dazhdbog - giving good, warmth, wealth. He traveled across the sky in a fiery chariot. This god was considered the patron and ancestor of all the inhabitants of Ancient Russia, who called themselves "Dazhd God's grandchildren." Khors was also a solar deity, the counterpart of Dazhdbog. Apparently, under this name, he was revered by representatives of the Iranian peoples, who met among the population of southern Russia and Kyiv. (In Iranian, the name Khors means "sun"). Next to them, another celestial being is mentioned - Stribog, the god of the wind, who carried the divine good across the earth.

All the higher gods among the Slavs had a human appearance, except for the winged dog Simargl. The name and appearance of this god, in all likelihood, were also borrowed from the Iranian peoples, who revered the prophetic bird Simurgh. In Russian folk legends, the Div bird had a similar appearance, which, sitting on the top of a tree, screams like an animal, portends defeat and misfortune.

Among the Western Slavs, the fiery Svarog was known under the name of Radogost or Sventovit. He was considered their main god. Local priests turned him into a deity of war. In the Baltic city of Arkona there was a temple of Sventovit crowned with a red roof (everything in this temple was red). The temple contained a wooden idol with four heads and a weapon dedicated to it. In his right hand, the idol held a horn, which was annually filled with wine. By the amount of the remaining drink, they wondered about the future harvest. If there was little wine left, a crop failure was expected. At the temple, a sacred white horse was kept, which was used for divination.

Zbruch idol

Pagan sanctuary. Unlike the Western Slavs, the inhabitants of Eastern Europe did not erect temple buildings. Sanctuaries were arranged in the open air. Each tribe had its own sanctuary. Usually it was a rounded platform (the sanctuary of Perun near Novgorod had the shape of a flower), around which low ramparts and ditches were built, which had no defensive value. A wooden idol was set up in the center of the site, ritual bonfires were kindled in front of it and sacrifices were made: grain, domestic animals.

The sanctuary of the higher gods was arranged in Kyiv in 980 by Prince Vladimir, trying to give it a nationwide significance: Simargla, and Mokosh. Idols-idols looked like pillars with a carved image of a human head. Unfortunately, the wooden idols have not come down to us. Several stone Slavic idols are known. The most famous of them is the Zbruch idol, found in the Carpathians. The faces of the gods were depicted schematically, roughly, not endowed with individual features. Ritual actions in the sanctuaries were performed by magician priests, or sorcerers. Elders and princes acted as priests.

In ancient Russia, in those days when Christianity had not yet been adopted, the Slavs idolized otherworldly incorporeal beings. The pagan gods of ancient Russia, according to the ideas of the ancients, are endowed with supernatural powers to influence everything that exists. They are responsible for all the fundamental principles of human existence, they control both the fate of the people themselves and everything that surrounds them.

Each deity performs a specific, utilitarian function. The history of the depths of centuries keeps many dozens of names, of which only a part is known to us now. This part has survived to this day thanks to the pagan rituals and rituals passed down from generation to generation, which over time became the basis of the customs of the Slavic family.

At the hierarchical top stands the supreme god, under his command are the gods of the environment for the existence of all living things, then the gods of human destinies and everyday life of people, at the bottom of the pyramid are the elements and forces of darkness.

Table pagan gods of ancient Russia:

No. p / p	Deity name	purpose
1	GENUS	Supreme god of heaven and earth
2	HORSE	Sun God
3	YARILO	God of the spring sun. Son of Veles
4	DAZHDBOG	God of fertility and sunshine
5	SVAROG	Master of the Universe. sky god
6	PERUN	god of lightning and thunder
7	STRIBOG	wind god
8	VELES	God of fertility (cattle)
9	LADA	The female incarnation of the Family
10	CHERNOBOG	Lord of the powers of darkness
11	MOKOSH	Goddess of the earth, harvest and female destiny
12	PARASKEVA-FRIDAY	Ruler of revelry
13	MORAINE	Goddess of Evil, Disease and Death

Ancient Slavic God Rod

This is the supreme god, commanding all things in the universe, including all other gods. He heads the top of the pagan pantheon of gods. He is the creator and ancestor. He is omnipotent and affects the entire cycle of life. It exists everywhere and has no beginning or end. This description is fully consistent with the idea of ​​God in all modern religions.

The clan governs life and death, abundance and poverty. No one has ever seen him, but he sees everyone. The root of his name is sewn into human speech - into the words by which people interpret (voiced) their dominant spiritual and material values ​​​​in the material world. Birth, relatives, homeland, spring, harvest - in all this there is a Genus.

Hierarchy of the pagan gods of Russia

Under the authority of the Family, all Slavic deities and other spiritual entities are distributed according to the steps corresponding to their impact on the everyday affairs of people.

The upper step is occupied by deities that manage global and national affairs: wars and ethnic conflicts, weather disasters, fertility and hunger, fertility and mortality.

At the middle stage are the deities responsible for local affairs. These are the patrons of agriculture, crafts, fishing and hunting, family concerns. People liken their face to their own.

The stylobate of the foundation of the pantheon is reserved for spiritual entities, whose bodily appearance is unlike that of a human being. These are kikimoras, ghouls, goblin, brownies, ghouls, mermaids and many others like them.

The Slavic hierarchical pyramid ends here, in contrast to the ancient Egyptian one, where there was also an afterlife with its own governing deities and laws, or let's say, where the basis is a numerous pantheon of gods.

Slavic gods in importance and power

God of the Slavs Khors and his incarnations

Khors is the son of Rod and the brother of Veles. This is the god of the Sun in Ancient Russia. Horse's face is like a sunny day - yellow, radiant, dazzlingly bright. It has 4 incarnations:

• Kolyada
• Yarilo
• Dazhdbog
• Svarog.

Each hypostasis operates in a certain season of the year, and people expect help from each divine incarnation, with which the corresponding rituals and ceremonies are associated.

We still observe the traditions of the ancient Slavs: we tell fortunes at Christmas time, we fry pancakes at Maslenitsa, we burn bonfires and weave wreaths at Ivan Kupala.

1. God of the Slavs Kolyada

Kolyada begins the annual cycle and rules from the winter solstice to the spring equinox (December 22 - March 21). In December, people greet the young Sun and praise Kolyada with ritual songs; The festivities last until January 7th. This is the Saints.

By this time, the owners are slaughtering their pets, opening pickles, and stocks are being taken to fairs. Throughout Christmastime, people arrange gatherings, plentiful feasts, guessing, having fun, getting married and playing weddings. In general, doing nothing becomes quite legal. Kolyada treats with his mercy all benefactors who show mercy and generosity to the poor.

2. God of the Slavs Yarilo

He is Yarovit, Ruevit, Yar - the solar god of a young age with the face of a barefoot young man on a white horse. Wherever he looks, shoots will sprout, where he passes, the grass will sprout. On his head is a crown of ears of corn, in his left hand he holds a bow and arrows, in his right - the reins. Its time is from the spring equinox to the summer solstice (March 22 - June 21). The people in the house have depleted supplies, and there is a lot of work. When the sun turned back, then the tension in the labors subsided, the time of Dazhdbog had come.

3. God of the Slavs Dazhdbog

He is also Kupala or Kupail - a solar god with the face of a man of mature age. Its time is from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox (June 22 - September 23). The celebration on the occasion of the meeting due to employment is postponed on July 6-7. On this mysterious night, people burn Yarila (or rather, a stuffed animal) on a large fire and jump over it, the girls let wreaths of flowers woven from flowers down the river. Everyone is looking for the wishing fern in bloom. There is also a lot of work during this season: mowing, harvesting fruits, repairing the house, preparing the sled.

4. God of the Slavs Svarog

The weary sun is sinking lower and lower towards the horizon. In its slanting rays, the tall, strong old man Svarog (aka Svetovid), whitened with gray hair, takes over the baton of domination. He looks to the north, clutching a heavy sword in his hand, with which he smashes the forces of darkness. He is the husband of the Earth, the father of Dazhdbog and all other gods of natural phenomena. His time from September 23 to December 21 is a period of satiety, peace and prosperity. People do not grieve about anything, arrange fairs, play weddings.

Perun god of thunder and lightning

This is the god of war. In his right hand, Perun holds a rainbow sword, in his left - lightning arrows. Clouds are his hair and beard, thunder is his speech, wind is his breath, raindrops are the fertilizing seed. He is the son of Svarog (Svarozhich), and is also endowed with a formidable disposition. He patronizes brave warriors and everyone who makes efforts for hard work, gives them good luck and strength.

Stribog god of the wind

He is a god above the gods of the elemental forces of nature (Whistle, Weather and others). Stribog is the lord of the wind, hurricanes and snowstorms. He can be touchingly kind and fiercely evil. When he angrily blows the horn, an element arises; when he is kind, the foliage simply rustles, streams murmur, the wind howls in the crevices of trees. From these sounds of nature came music and songs, and with them musical instruments. They pray to Stribog that the storm subsides, and the hunters ask him for help in pursuing a sensitive and shy beast.

Veles pagan god of wealth

This is the god of agriculture and cattle breeding. Veles is also called the god of wealth (aka Volos, Month). He rules over the clouds. As a young man, he himself was tending the heavenly sheep. In anger, Veles sends heavy rains to the earth. After reaping, people still leave him one harvested sheaf. In his name, they swear an oath of honor and fidelity.

Lada goddess of love and beauty

Goddess Lada is the patroness of the hearth. Her clothes are snow-white clouds, and the morning dews are tears. In the predawn haze, she escorts the shadows of the dead to the other world. Lada is the earthly incarnation of the Family, the high priestess, the mother goddess, surrounded by a retinue of young servants. She is beautiful and smart, bold and dexterous, flexible like a vine, a resounding flattering speech flows from her lips. Lada gives people advice on how to live, what can and cannot be done. It condemns the guilty and justifies the falsely accused. A long time ago, her temple stood on Ladoga, now her abode is the blue of heaven.

God of the Slavs Chernobog

Many ancient legends are said about swamp evil spirits, but not all of them have come down to us. After all, they are patronized by the powerful Chernobog - the lord of the dark forces of evil and whim, serious illnesses and bitter misfortunes. This is the god of darkness. His abode is terrible forest thickets, ponds covered with duckweed, deep pools and marshy swamps.

He holds a spear in his hand with malice and rules over the night. The evil forces subordinated to him are numerous: goblin, confusing forest paths, mermaids, dragging people into the whirlpools, cunning banniki, malicious and insidious ghouls, capricious brownies.

God of the Slavs Mokosh

Mokosh (Makesha), is the goddess of trade, like the ancient Roman Mercury. In Old Slavonic, mokosh means "full purse." She prudently uses the harvest. Another purpose is to control fate. She is interested in spinning and weaving; with spun threads, she weaves the destinies of people. Young housewives were afraid to leave an unfinished tow for the night, believing that Mokosha would ruin the yarn, and with it fate. Northern Slavs consider Mokosha an unkind goddess.

God of the Slavs Paraskeva-Friday

Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa is the concubine of Mokosha, who made Paraskeva a deity who rules over riotous youth, gambling, drinking parties with vulgar songs and obscene dances, as well as dishonest trade. Therefore, Friday was a market day in Ancient Russia for a long time. On this day, women were not allowed to work, because for disobedience, Paraskeva could turn a disobedient woman into a cold toad. She poisoned the water in wells and underground springs. Today, this goddess has no power and is almost forgotten.

God of the Slavs Morena

The goddess, the ruler of evil, incurable diseases and death, is Maruha or Morena. She sends fierce winters, rainy nights, epidemics and wars to Earth. Her image is a terrible woman with a dark wrinkled face with deeply sunken small eyes, a sunken nose, a bony body and the same hands with long curved nails. She is served by ailments. She herself never leaves. She is driven away, but she appears again and again.

The ancient Slavic pantheon is very complex in structure and numerous in composition. Most of the gods were identified with various forces of nature, although there were exceptions, the most striking example of which is Rod, the creator god. Due to the similarity of the functions and properties of some gods, it is difficult to determine for sure which names are just variations on the names of the same god, and which belong to different gods.

The entire pantheon can be divided into two large circles: the elder gods who ruled all three worlds in the primordial stage, and the second circle - the young gods who took the reins of government in the new stage. At the same time, some older gods are present in the new stage, while others disappear (more precisely, there are no descriptions of their activities or interference in anything, but the memory that they were, remains).

In the Slavic pantheon, there was no clear hierarchy of power, which was replaced by a tribal hierarchy, where sons obeyed their father, but brothers were equal among themselves. The Slavs did not have pronounced evil gods and good gods. Some deities gave life, others took it away, but all were revered equally, since the Slavs believed that the existence of one without the other is impossible. At the same time, the gods, good in their functions, could punish and cause harm, while the evil ones, on the contrary, help and save people. Thus, the gods of the ancient Slavs were very similar to people, not only outwardly, but also in character, since they simultaneously carried both good and evil.

Outwardly, the gods were similar to people, while most of them could turn into animals, in the form of which they usually appeared before people. From ordinary beings, the gods were distinguished by superpowers that allowed the deities to change the world around them. Each of the gods had power over one of the parts of this world. The impact on other parts beyond the control of the deities was limited and temporary.

The most ancient supreme male deity among the Slavs was Rod. Already in Christian teachings against paganism of the XII-XIII centuries. they write about Rod as a god worshiped by all peoples.

Rod was the god of the sky, thunderstorms, fertility. They said about him that he rides on a cloud, throws rain on the ground, and from this children are born. He was the ruler of the earth and all living things, he was a pagan creator god.

In Slavic languages, the root "genus" means kinship, birth, water (spring), profit (harvest), such concepts as people and homeland, in addition, it means red and lightning, especially ball, called "rhodium". This variety of cognate words undoubtedly proves the greatness of the pagan god.

Rod is a creator god, together with his sons Belbog and Chernobog, he created this world. Alone, Rod created Rule, Yav and Nav in the sea of ​​chaos, and together with his sons he created the earth.

The sun then went out of His face. A bright moon - from His chest. Frequent stars - from His eyes. Clear dawns - from His eyebrows. Dark nights - yes from His thoughts. Violent winds - from the breath ...

"The Book of Carols"

The Slavs had no idea about the appearance of the Rod, since he never appeared directly in front of people.

Temples in honor of the deity were arranged on hills or simply large open areas of land. His idol was phallic in shape or simply made in the form of a pillar painted red. Sometimes the role of an idol was performed by an ordinary tree growing on a hill, especially if it was old enough. In general, the Slavs believed that Rod is in everything and therefore you can worship it anywhere. There were no sacrifices in honor of Rod. Instead of them, holidays and feasts are arranged, which are held directly near the idol.

The companions of the Sort were Rozhanitsy - female deities of fertility in Slavic mythology, the patroness of the clan, family, home.

Belbog

Son of Rod, god of light, goodness and justice. In Slavic mythology, he is the creator of the world along with Rod and Chernobog. Outwardly, Belbog appeared as a gray-haired old man dressed as a sorcerer.

Belobog in the mythology of our ancestors never acted as an independent individual character. As any object in the world of Reveal has a shadow, so Belobog has its integral antipode - Chernobog. A similar analogy can be found in ancient Chinese philosophy (yin and yang), in Icelandic Ynglism (rune yudzh) and in many other cultural and religious systems. Belobog, thus, becomes the embodiment of bright human ideals: goodness, honor and justice.

A sanctuary in honor of Belbog was built on the hills, turning the idol to the east, towards the sunrise. However, Belbog was revered not only in the sanctuary of the deity, but also at feasts, always making a toast in his honor.

Veles

One of the greatest gods of the ancient world, son of Rod, brother of Svarog. His main act was that Veles set the world created by Rod and Svarog in motion. Veles - "cattle god" - the owner of the wild, the owner of Navi, a powerful wizard and werewolf, interpreter of laws, teacher of arts, patron of travelers and merchants, god of luck. True, some sources point to him as the god of death ...

At the moment, among various pagan and native faith directions, a fairly popular text is the Book of Veles, which became known to the general public in the 1950s of the last century thanks to the researcher and writer Yuri Mirolyubov. The Veles book actually consists of 35 birch planks, covered with symbols, which linguists (in particular, A. Kur and S. Lesnoy) call Slavic pre-Cyrillic writing. It is curious that the original text does not really resemble either Cyrillic or Glagolitic, but the features of the Slavic runic are also indirectly presented in it.

Despite the great distribution and mass veneration of this god, Veles was always separated from other gods, his idols were never placed in common temples (sacred places in which images of the main gods of this territory were installed).

Two animals are associated with the image of Veles: a bull and a bear; in the temples dedicated to the deity, the magi often kept a bear, which played a key role in the rituals.

Dazhdbog

God of the Sun, giver of heat and light, god of fertility and life-giving power. The solar disk was originally considered the symbol of Dazhdbog. Its color is gold, which speaks of the nobility of this god and his unshakable strength. In general, our ancestors had three main solar deities - Khors, Yarila and Dazhdbog. But Khors was the winter sun, Yarilo was the spring sun, and Dazhdbog was the summer sun. Of course, it was Dazhdbog who deserved special respect, since a lot depended on the summer position of the sun in the firmament for the ancient Slavs, the people of the tillers. At the same time, Dazhdbog never had a sharp temper, and if a drought suddenly attacked, then our ancestors never blamed this god.

The temples of Dazhdbog were arranged on the hills. The idol was made of wood and placed facing east or southeast. Feathers of ducks, swans and geese, as well as honey, nuts and apples were brought as a gift to the deity.

Devana

Devana is the goddess of hunting, the wife of the forest god Svyatobor and the daughter of Perun. The Slavs represented the goddess in the form of a beautiful girl dressed in an elegant marten fur coat trimmed with a squirrel. Over the fur coat, the beauty put on a bearskin, and the head of the beast served as her hat. With her, Perun's daughter carried an excellent bow with arrows, a sharp knife and a horn, with which they go to a bear.

The beautiful goddess not only hunted forest animals: she herself taught them how to avoid dangers and endure harsh winters.

Dewana was primarily revered by hunters and trappers, they prayed to the goddess to grant good luck in hunting, and in gratitude they brought part of their prey to her sanctuary. It was believed that it was she who helped to find the secret paths of animals in the dense forest, avoid skirmishes with wolves and bears, but if the meeting did take place, the person would emerge victorious from it.

Share and Nedolya

Share - a kind goddess, Mokosh's assistant, weaves a happy fate.

It appears in the guise of a sweet young man or red-haired girl with golden curls and a cheerful smile. He cannot stand still, he walks around the world - there are no barriers: a swamp, a river, a forest, mountains - The share will overcome in an instant.

He does not like lazy and negligent, drunkards and all sorts of bad people. Although at first he makes friends with everyone - then he will figure it out and leave the bad, evil person.

NEDOLYA (Nuzha, Need) - the goddess, Mokosh's assistant, weaves an unhappy fate.

Share and Nedolya are not just personifications of abstract concepts that do not have objective existence, but, on the contrary, they are living faces, identical to the maidens of fate.

They act according to their own calculations, regardless of the will and intentions of a person: the happy one does not work at all and lives in contentment, because the Share works for him. On the contrary, Nedolya's activities are constantly directed to the detriment of man. While she is awake, misfortune follows misfortune, and only then does it become easier for the unfortunate when Nedolya falls asleep: “If Likho is sleeping, don’t wake him up.”

Dogoda

Dogoda (Weather) - the god of fine weather and a gentle, pleasant breeze. Young, ruddy, blond-haired, in a cornflower blue wreath with blue, gilded butterfly wings around the edges, in silvery bluish clothes, holding a thorn in his hand and smiling at the flowers.

Kolyada

Kolyada - the baby sun, in Slavic mythology - the embodiment of the New Year cycle, as well as a holiday character similar to Avsen.

“Once upon a time, Kolyada was perceived not as a mummer. Kolyada was a deity, and one of the most influential. They called the carol, called. New Year's Eve was dedicated to Kolyada, games were arranged in her honor, which were subsequently performed at Christmas time. The last patriarchal ban on worshiping Kolyada was issued on December 24, 1684. It is believed that Kolyada was recognized by the Slavs as the deity of fun, which is why they called him, called on New Year's festivities by cheerful gangs of youth ”(A. Strizhev.“ People’s Calendar ”).

Rooftop

The son of the Almighty and the goddess Maya, was a brother to the very first creator of the world Rod, although he was much younger than him. He returned fire to people, fought on the shores of the Arctic Ocean with Chernobog and defeated him.

KUPALO

Kupala (Kupaila) is the fruitful deity of summer, the summer incarnation of the sun god.

“Kupalo, as I think, was the god of abundance, as with the Hellenes Ceres, who is insane for the abundance of thanksgiving at that time, when the harvest is imminent.”

His holiday is dedicated to the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The night was also sacred, on the eve of this day - the Night on the eve of Kupalo. All that night, feasting, games and mass bathing in reservoirs continued.

They sacrificed to him before the collection of bread, on June 23, on the day of St. Agrippina, which was popularly nicknamed the Swimsuit. Young people decorated themselves with wreaths, laid out a fire, danced around it and sang Kupala. The games went on all night. In some places, on June 23, bathhouses were heated, grass bathing suit (buttercup) was laid in them, and then they swam in the river.

On the very Nativity of John the Baptist, weaving wreaths, they hung them on the roofs of houses and on stables in order to remove evil spirits from the dwelling.

Lada

LADA (Freya, Preya, Siv or Zif) - the goddess of youth and spring, beauty and fertility, the all-generous mother, the patroness of love and marriages.

In folk songs, “lado” still means a dearly beloved friend, lover, groom, husband.

Freya's outfit shines with the dazzling brilliance of the sun's rays, her beauty is charming, and the drops of morning dew are called her tears; on the other hand, she acts as a militant heroine, rushing through the heavenly spaces in storms and thunderstorms and driving rain clouds. In addition, she is a goddess, in whose retinue the shadows of the dead march into the afterlife. The cloudy fabric is precisely that veil on which the soul, after the death of a person, ascends to the kingdom of the blessed.

According to the testimony of folk verses, angels, appearing for a righteous soul, take it in a shroud and carry it to heaven. The cult of Freya-Siva explains the superstitious respect that Russian commoners have for Friday, as a day dedicated to this goddess. Whoever starts a business on Friday, he, according to the proverb, will back away.

Among the ancient Slavs, the birch, personifying the goddess Lada, was considered a sacred tree.

Ice

Ice - the Slavs prayed to this deity for success in battles, he was revered as the ruler of military actions and bloodshed. This ferocious deity was portrayed as a terrible warrior, armed in Slavic armor, or all-weapon. At the hip, a sword, a spear and a shield in his hand.

He had his own temples. Going on a campaign against the enemies, the Slavs prayed to him, asking for help and promising plentiful sacrifices in case of success in military operations.

Lel

Lel - in the mythology of the ancient Slavs, the god of love passion, the son of the goddess of beauty and love Lada. About Lele - this cheerful, frivolous god of passion - is still reminiscent of the word "cherish", that is, undead, love. He is the son of the goddess of beauty and love, Lada, and beauty naturally gives rise to passion. This feeling flared up especially brightly in the spring and on the Kupala night. Lel was portrayed as a golden-haired, like a mother, winged baby: after all, love is free and elusive. Lel threw sparks from his hands: after all, passion is fiery, hot love! In Slavic mythology, Lel is the same god as the Greek Eros or the Roman Cupid. Only ancient gods strike the hearts of people with arrows, and Lel kindled them with his fierce flame.

The stork (heron) was considered his sacred bird. Another name for this bird in some Slavic languages ​​is leleka. In connection with Lel, both cranes and larks, symbols of spring, were revered.

Makosh

One of the main goddesses of the Eastern Slavs, the wife of the Thunderer Perun.

Her name is made up of two parts: "ma" - mother and "kosh" - purse, basket, koshara. Makosh is the mother of full cats, the mother of a good harvest.

This is not the goddess of fertility, but the goddess of the results of the economic year, the goddess of the harvest, the giver of blessings. The harvest every year determines the lot, fate, so she was also revered as the goddess of fate. An obligatory attribute in her image is a cornucopia.

This goddess connected the abstract concept of fate with the concrete concept of abundance, patronized the household, sheared sheep, spun, punished the negligent. The specific concept of “spinning” was associated with a metaphorical one: “spinning fate”.

Makosh patronized marriage and family happiness. It was presented as a woman with a big head and long arms, spinning at night in a hut: beliefs forbid leaving a tow, "otherwise Makosha will spin."

Moraine

Morena (Marana, Morana, Mara, Maruha, Marmara) is the goddess of death, winter and night.

Mara is the goddess of death, the daughter of Lada. Outwardly, Mara looks like a tall beautiful girl with black hair in red clothes. Maru can not be called either an evil or a good goddess. On the one hand, it bestows death, but at the same time it also bestows life.

One of Mary's favorite activities is needlework: she loves to spin and weave. At the same time, like the Greek Moiram, he uses the threads of the fate of living beings for needlework, leading them to turning points in life, and, in the end, cutting the thread of existence.

Mara sends her messengers all over the world, who appear to people in the guise of a woman with long black hair or in the guise of doubles of people who are meant to be warned, and portend an imminent death.

In part of Mary, no permanent places of worship were erected; honors could be paid to her anywhere. For this, an image of the goddess, carved from wood or made from straw, was installed on the ground, stones were laid around the place. Directly in front of the idol, a larger stone or wooden plank was installed, which served as an altar. After the ceremony, all this was sorted out, and the image of Mary was burned or thrown into the river.

Mara was revered on February 15, and flowers, straw and various fruits were brought as a gift to the goddess of death. Sometimes, during the years of severe epidemics, animals were sacrificed, bleeding them directly at the altar.

Meeting spring with a solemn holiday, the Slavs performed the rite of expelling Death or Winter and plunged an effigy of Morana into the water. As a representative of winter, Morana is defeated by the spring Perun, who smashes her with his blacksmith's hammer and casts her into an underground dungeon for the whole summer time.

According to the identification of Death with thunder spirits, ancient belief forced these latter to fulfill its sad duty. But since the thunderer and his companions were also the organizers of the heavenly kingdom, the concept of Death was bifurcated, and fantasy portrayed it either as an evil creature, dragging souls into the underworld, or as a messenger of the supreme deity, accompanying the souls of the deceased heroes to his heavenly chamber.

Diseases were considered by our ancestors as companions and helpers of Death.

Perun

The God of Thunder, a victorious, punishing deity, whose appearance excites fear and awe. Perun, in Slavic mythology, the most famous of the Svarozhich brothers. He is the god of thunderclouds, thunder and lightning.

He is represented as stately, tall, with black hair and a long golden beard. Sitting on a flaming chariot, he rides through the sky, armed with a bow and arrows, and strikes the wicked.

According to Nestor, the wooden idol of Perun, placed in Kyiv, had a golden mustache on its silver head. Over time, Perun became the patron of the prince and his squad.

Temples in honor of Perun were always arranged on hills, and the highest place in the district was chosen. Idols were made mainly of oak - this mighty tree was the symbol of Perun. Sometimes there were places of worship to Perun, arranged around an oak tree growing on a hill, it was believed that this way Perun himself designates the best place. In such places, no additional idols were placed, and the oak, located on a hill, was revered as an idol.

Radegast

Radegast (Redigost, Radigast) is a lightning god, a killer and a devourer of clouds, and at the same time a radiant guest who appears with the return of spring. The earthly fire was recognized as the son of Heaven, brought down to the bottom, as a gift to mortals, a fleeting lightning, and therefore the idea of ​​​​an honorary divine guest, an alien from heaven to earth, was also connected with it.

The Russian settlers honored him with the name of a guest. At the same time, he received the character of a saving god of any foreigner (guest), who appeared in a strange house and surrendered himself under the protection of local penates (i.e. hearth), the patron god of merchants who came from distant countries and trade in general.

The Slavic Radigost was depicted with the head of a buffalo on his chest.

Svarog

Svarog is the creator god of earth and heaven. Svarog is the source of fire and its master. He creates not with a word, not with magic, unlike Veles, but with his hands, he creates the material world. He gave people the Sun-Ra and fire. Svarog threw a plow and a yoke from heaven to earth to cultivate the land; a battle ax to protect this land from enemies, and a bowl for preparing a sacred drink in it.

Like Rod, Svarog is the creator god, he continued the formation of this world, changing its original state, improving and expanding. However, blacksmithing is Svarog's favorite pastime.

Temples in honor of Svarog were arranged on hills overgrown with trees or shrubs. The center of the hill was cleared to the ground and a fire was made in this place; no additional idols were installed in the temple.

Svyatobor

Svyatobor is the god of the forest. Outwardly, he looks like an aged hero, representing an old man of strong build, with a thick beard and dressed in animal skins.

Svyatobor fiercely guards the forests and mercilessly punishes those who harm them, in some cases even death or eternal imprisonment in the forest in the form of a beast or a tree can become a punishment.

Svyatobor is married to the goddess of hunting Devan.

Temples in honor of Svyatobor were not arranged, their role was played by groves, pine forests and forests, which were recognized as sacred and in which neither deforestation nor hunting was carried out.

Semargl

One of the Svarozhichs was the god of fire - Semargl, who is sometimes mistakenly considered only a heavenly dog, the guardian of seeds for sowing. This (storage of seeds) was constantly engaged in a much smaller deity - Pereplut.

The ancient books of the Slavs tell how Semargl was born. Svarog hit the Alatyr stone with a magic hammer, carved divine sparks from it, which flared up, and the fiery god Semargl became visible in their flame. He sat on a golden-maned horse of a silver suit. Thick smoke became his banner. Where Semargl passed, there was a scorched trail. Such was his strength, but more often he looked quiet and peaceful.

Semargl, God of fire and moon, fire sacrifices, home and hearth, keeps seeds and crops. Can turn into a sacred winged dog.

The name of the God of Fire is not known for certain, most likely, his name is so holy. Still, because this God does not live somewhere in the seventh heaven, but directly among people! They try to say his name out loud less often, replacing it with allegories. The Slavs associate the emergence of people with Fire. According to some legends, the Gods created a Man and a Woman from two sticks, between which a Fire flared up - the very first flame of love. Semargl does not let evil into the world. At night, he stands guard with a fiery sword, and only one day a year does Semargl leave his post, responding to the call of the Bather, who calls him to love games on the day of the Autumn Equinox. And on the day of the Summer Solstice, after 9 months, children are born at Semargl and Bathing - Kostroma and Kupalo.

Stribog

In East Slavic mythology, the god of the wind. He can summon and tame a storm and can transform into his assistant, the mythical bird Stratim. In general, the wind was usually represented in the form of a gray-haired old man living at the end of the world, in a deep forest or on an island in the middle of the sea-ocean.

The temples of Stribog were arranged on the banks of rivers or seas, they are especially often found at the mouths of rivers. The temples in his honor were not enclosed in any way from the surrounding territory and were designated only by an idol made of wood, which was installed facing north. A large stone was also erected in front of the idol, which served as an altar.

Triglav

In ancient Slavic mythology, this is the unity of the three main essences-hypostases of the gods: Svarog (creation), Perun (the law of Rule) and Svyatovit (light)

According to various mythological traditions, different gods were included in Triglav. In Novgorod of the 9th century, the Great Triglav consisted of Svarog, Perun and Sventovit, and earlier (before the Western Slavs moved to the Novgorod lands) - from Svarog, Perun and Veles. In Kyiv, apparently - from Perun, Dazhbog and Stribog.

Small Triglavs were made up of gods, standing lower on the hierarchical ladder.

Horse

Khors (Korsha, Kore, Korsh) - the ancient Russian deity of the sun and the solar disk. It is best known among the southeastern Slavs, where the sun simply reigns over the rest of the world. Khors, in Slavic mythology, the god of the Sun, the keeper of the luminary, the son of Rod, the brother of Veles. Not all the gods of the Slavs and Rus were common. For example, before the Russ came to the banks of the Dnieper, Khors was not known here. Only Prince Vladimir installed his image next to Perun. But he was known among other Aryan peoples: among the Iranians, Persians, Zoroastrians, where they worshiped the god of the rising sun - Horset. This word also had a broader meaning - “radiance”, “brilliance”, as well as “glory”, “greatness”, sometimes “royal dignity” and even “hvarna” - a special mark of the gods, chosenness.

Temples in honor of Khors were arranged on small hills in the middle of meadows or small groves. The idol was made of wood and placed on the eastern slope of the hill. And as an offering, a special pie "horoshul" or "kurnik" was used, which crumbled around the idol. But to a greater extent, dances (round dances) and songs were used to pay tribute to Khors.

Chernobog

God of cold, destruction, death, evil; the god of madness and the embodiment of everything bad and black. It is believed that Chernobog is the prototype of Kashchei the immortal from fairy tales. Kashchei is a cult character of Slavic mythology, whose folklore image is extremely far from the original. Kashchei Chernobogvich was the youngest son of Chernobog, the great Serpent of Darkness. His older brothers - Goryn and Viy - feared and respected Kashchei for his great wisdom and equally great hatred for his father's enemies - the Iry gods. Kashchei owned the deepest and darkest kingdom of Navi - the Koshcheev kingdom,

Chernobog is the ruler of Navi, the god of time, the son of Rod. In Slavic mythology, he is the creator of the world along with Rod and Belbog. Outwardly, he appeared in two forms: in the first, he looked like a hunched, thin old man with a long beard, a silver mustache and a crooked stick in his hands; in the second, he was depicted as a middle-aged man of thin build, dressed in black clothes, but, again, with a silver mustache.

Chernobog is armed with a sword, which he masterfully wields. Although he is able to instantly appear at any point in Navi, he prefers to travel on horseback on a fiery stallion.

After the creation of the world, Chernobog under the patronage went to Nav - the world of the dead, in which he is both a ruler and a prisoner, since, despite all his strength, he is not able to leave its limits. The deity does not release the souls of people who got there for sins from Navi, however, its sphere of influence is not limited to one Navi. Chernobog managed to bypass the restrictions imposed on him and created Koshchei, who is the embodiment of the ruler of Navi in ​​Yavi, while the power of God in another world is much less real, but still allowed him to extend his influence to Yav, and only in the Rule Chernobog never appears.

The temples in honor of Chernobog were made of dark rocks, the wooden idol was completely upholstered with iron, except for the head, on which only the mustache was trimmed with metal.

Yarilo

Yarilo is the god of spring and sunlight. Outwardly, Yarilo looks like a young man with red hair, dressed in white clothes with a flower wreath on his head. This god moves around the world riding a white horse.

Temples in honor of Yarila were arranged on top of hills overgrown with trees. The tops of the hills were cleared of vegetation and an idol was erected in this place, in front of which a large white stone was placed, which sometimes could be located at the foot of the hill. Unlike most other gods, there were no sacrifices in honor of the god of spring. Usually the deity was revered with songs and dances at the temple. At the same time, one of the participants in the action was certainly dressed up as Yarila, after which he became the center of the whole festival. Sometimes special figurines were made in the form of people, they were brought to the temple, and then smashed against a white stone installed there, it is believed that this brings the blessing of Yarila, from which the harvest will be greater and sexual energy higher.

A little about the world order of the Slavs

The center of the world for the ancient Slavs was the World Tree (World Tree, World Tree). It is the central axis of the entire universe, including the Earth, and connects the World of people with the World of Gods and the Underworld. Accordingly, the crown of the tree reaches the World of the Gods in heaven - Iriy or Svarga, the roots of the tree go underground and connect the World of the Gods and the World of people with the underworld or the world of the Dead, ruled by Chernobog, Marena and other "dark" Gods. Somewhere in the sky, behind the clouds (heavenly abysses; over the seventh sky), the crown of a sprawling tree forms an island, here is Iriy (Slavic paradise), where not only the Gods and ancestors of people live, but also the progenitors of all birds and animals. Thus, the Tree of the World was fundamental in the worldview of the Slavs, its main component. At the same time, it is also a staircase, a road through which you can get to any of the worlds. In Slavic folklore, the Tree of the World is called differently. It can be oak, and sycamore, willow, linden, viburnum, cherry, apple tree or pine.

In the views of the ancient Slavs, the World Tree is located on Buyan Island on Alatyr-stone, which is also the center of the universe (the center of the Earth). Judging by some legends, light gods live on its branches, and dark gods live in its roots. The image of this tree has come down to us, both in the form of various fairy tales, legends, epics, incantations, songs, riddles, and in the form of ritual embroidery on clothes, patterns, ceramic decorations, painting dishes, chests, etc. Here is an example of how the Tree of the World is described in one of the Slavic folk tales that existed in Russia and tells about the extraction of a horse by a hero-hero: forehead red sun ... ". This horse is a mythological symbol of the entire universe

Of course, in one post it is not possible to cover all the gods that our ancestors worshiped. Different branches of the Slavs had the same gods called differently, and had their own "local" deities.

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The Slavic people are considered relatively young in history. Under their own name, they were first mentioned in written sources only from the 6th century. For the first time we meet the name of the Slavs in the form oxhabnvos at Pseudo-Caesarius around 525. At present, the area extending north of the Carpathians is recognized as the homeland of the Slavs. But with a closer definition of its boundaries, scientists differ very significantly among themselves.
The problem of the origin and settlement of the Slavs is still debatable, but numerous studies by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, ethnographers and linguists make it possible to draw up a general picture of the early history of the Eastern Slavic peoples.

In the middle of the 1st millennium AD. on the general territory of Eastern Europe, from Lake Ilmen to the Black Sea steppes and from the Eastern Carpathians to the Volga, East Slavic tribes developed. Historians number about 15 such tribes. Each tribe was a collection of clans and then occupied a relatively small isolated area.

According to The Tale of Bygone Years, a map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs in the 8th-9th centuries. looked like this: the Slovenes (Ilyinsky Slavs) lived on the shores of Lake Ilmenskoye and Volkhva; Krivichi with Polochans - in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Berezina; Vyatichi - on the Oka and the Moscow River; radimichi - on the Sozh and the Desna; northerners - on the Desna, the Seimas, the Sula and the Northern Donets; Drevlyans - in Pripyat and in the Middle Dnieper; clearing - along the middle course of the Dnieper; Buzhans, Volynians, Dulebs - in Volyn, along the Bug; tiverci, streets - in the very south, by the Black Sea and the Danube. The group of Eastern Slavs includes: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

The Slavs bred cattle and pigs, as well as horses, were engaged in hunting and fishing. In everyday life, the Slavs widely used the so-called ritual calendar associated with agricultural magic. It celebrated the days of the spring-summer agricultural season from seed germination to harvest, and highlighted the days of pagan prayers for rain in four different periods. The indicated four periods of rains were considered optimal for the Kiev region in the agronomic manuals of the late 19th century, which indicated that the Slavs had the 4th century. reliable agrotechnical observations.

The pagans looked at the life of a person from a purely material side: under the dominance of physical strength, a weak person was the most unfortunate creature, and again the life of such a person was considered a feat of compassion. The religion of the Eastern Slavs is strikingly similar to the original religion of the Aryan tribes: it consisted in the worship of physical deities, natural phenomena and the souls of the dead, tribal household geniuses. But we do not notice traces of the heroic element, which develops anthropomorphism so strongly, among the Slavs, and this may mean that conquering squads under the command of leaders - heroes did not form between them and that their resettlement was carried out in a tribal, and not in a squad form.

East Slavic paganism on the eve of the creation of Kievan Rus and in its further coexistence with Christianity is reflected in a large number of materials that are sources for its study. First of all, these are authentic and accurately dated archaeological materials that reveal the very essence of the pagan cult: idols of the gods, sanctuaries, cemeteries without external ground signs (“fields of burials”, “fields of burial urns”), as well as with preserved mounds of ancient barrows. In addition, these are diverse products of applied art found in mounds, in treasures and simply in the cultural layers of cities, saturated with archival pagan symbols. Of these, women's adornments are of the greatest value, often being wedding sets in burial complexes and, because of this, are especially rich in magical incantatory plots and amulets - amulets.

A peculiar, but very poorly studied remnant of the pagan side are the numerous names of tracts: “Holy Mountain”, “Bald Mountain” (the location of witches), “Holy Lake”, “Holy Grove”, “Peryn”, “Volosovo”, etc.

Bald mountain:

A very important source is the testimony of contemporaries, recorded in the annals, or in specially recorded teachings against paganism.
For about a century and a half, Kievan Rus was a state with a pagan system, often opposed to the penetration of Christianity. In Kievan Rus IX - X centuries. an influential class of priests (“Magi”) was formed, who led the rites, preserved the ancient mythology and developed thoughtful agrarian spell symbolism.

In the era of Svyatoslav, in connection with the warriors with Byzantium, Christianity became a persecuted religion, and paganism was reformed and opposed to the penetration of Christianity into Russia: the so-called "Vladimir Pantheon" was, on the one hand, a response to Christianity, and on the other hand, the assertion of princely power and domination of the warrior class - the feudal lords.

The performance of tribal ritual actions (“cathedrals”, “events”), the organization of ritual actions, sanctuaries and grandiose princely burial mounds, the observance of the calendar terms of the annual ritual cycle, the storage, execution and creative replenishment of the fund of mythological and ethical tales required a special priestly class (“Magi” , "sorcerer", "cloud-devourers", "sorcerers", "indulgences", etc.).

A century after the baptism of Russia, the Magi could, in some cases, attract an entire city to their side to oppose the prince or bishop (Novgorod). In the 980s, Greek Christianity found in Russia not a simple village quackery, but a significantly developed pagan culture with its mythology, a pantheon of the main deities, priests, in all likelihood, with their own pagan chronicle of 912-980.

The strength of pagan ideas in the Russian feudal cities of the Middle Ages is evident, firstly, from numerous church teachings. Directed against pagan beliefs and pagan rites and festivities held in cities, and secondly, from the pagan symbolism of applied art, which generally desired not only ordinary people in the urban settlement, but also higher, princely circles (treasures of the 1230s). In the second half of the twelfth century, the pagan element was still fully expressed.

In Slavic religious beliefs, there was a hierarchy characteristic of many peoples who worshiped several gods. The ancient Slavs also had a peculiar pantheon of gods.

Pantheon of Slavic gods:

The most ancient supreme male deity among the Slavs was Rod.

Already in Christian teachings against paganism of the XII-XIII centuries. they write about Rod as a god worshiped by all peoples. Rod was the god of the sky, thunderstorms, fertility. They said about him that he rides on a cloud, throws rain on the ground, and from this children are born. He was the ruler of the earth and all living things, he was a pagan creator god. In Slavic languages, the root "genus" means kinship, birth, water (spring), profit (harvest), such concepts as people and homeland, in addition, it means red and lightning, especially ball, called "rhodium". This variety of cognate words undoubtedly proves the greatness of the pagan god.

All Slavic gods that were part of the ancient pagan pantheon were divided into solar gods and functional gods.
There were four solar gods: Khors, Yarilo, Dazhdbog and Svarog.

Dazhdbog

Functional gods: Perun - patron of lightning and warriors; Semargl - the god of death, the image of the sacred heavenly fire; Veles - black god, lord of the dead, wisdom and magic; Stribog is the god of the wind.

Since ancient times, the Slavs have celebrated the change of seasons and the change in the phases of the sun. And therefore, for each season (spring, summer, autumn and winter), a god was responsible (Khors, Yarilo, Dazhdbog and Svarog), especially revered throughout the season.
God Khors was worshiped between the winter and spring solstices (from December 22 to March 21); Yarile - between the spring and summer solstices (from March 21 to June 22); Dazhdbogu - between the summer and autumn solstices (from June 22 to September 23); to the god Svarog - between the autumn and winter solstices (from September 23 to December 22).
To denote a share, good luck, happiness, the Slavs used the word “god” common to all Slavs. Take, for example, "rich" (having a god, a share) and "wretched" (the opposite meaning). The word "God" was included in the names of various deities - Dazhdbog, Chernobog, etc. Slavic examples and evidence of 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.

All mythological creatures responsible for a particular spectrum of human life can be divided into three main levels: the highest, the middle and the lowest.

So, at the highest level are the gods, whose "functions" are most important for the Slavs and who participated in the most common legends and myths. These include such deities as Svarog (Stribog, Sky), Earth, Svarozhichi (children of Svarog and the Earth - Perun, Dazhdbog and Fire).

At the middle level there were deities associated with economic cycles and seasonal rituals, as well as gods who embodied the integrity of closed small groups, such as Chur among the Eastern Slavs. This level probably included most of the female deities, somewhat less human-like than the gods of the highest level.

The lower level housed beings that were less human-like than the gods of the higher and middle levels. These included brownies, goblin, mermaids, ghouls, banniks (baenniks), etc.

kikimora

baennik

When worshiping, the Slavs tried to observe certain rituals, which, as they thought, made it possible not only to receive what they asked for, but also not to offend the spirits they turned to, and even protect themselves from them, if necessary.
One of the first to whom the Slavs initially began to make sacrifices were ghouls and beregini. Somewhat later, they "began to put a meal" to the Family and the Women in Childbirth - Lada and Lele. Subsequently, the Slavs prayed mainly to Perun, however, retaining faith in other gods.

Cult of the Family and Women in Childbirth
Lada

Lelya, Lada's daughter

The beliefs themselves had a system determined by the conditions of life in which this or that Slavic tribe found itself.

Until the end of the tenth century, the ancestors of the Slavs were pagans: they did not know the Christian faith and worshiped the deified forces of nature and the souls of the dead.
The temple is a place of worship for the gods of the ancient Slavs. Temple - an ancient Slavic word that denotes the space of a pagan temple, located behind the altar, and intended for the installation of caps (statues depicting gods) or other sacred objects.

temple

Ghouls are vampires, fantastic creatures, werewolves who personified evil. Beregini, associated with the word protect, protect, are kind spirits that help a person. The spiritualization of all nature, its division into good and evil beginnings are very ancient ideas that arose even among the hunters of the Stone Age. Various conspiracies were used against ghouls, amulets were worn - amulets in folk art, many ancient symbols of goodness and fertility were preserved, depicting which on clothes, utensils, and dwellings, the ancient man, as it were, drove away the spirits of evil. These symbols include images of the sun, fire, water, plants, flowers.

The cult of Rod and Rozhanits, fertility deities, is associated with agriculture and reflects a later stage in the development of the Slavic tribes. In addition, these deities were associated with the concepts of marriage, love and childbearing. Rod was considered one of the most important deities who took part in the creation of the Universe: after all, according to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, it is he who sends souls to born children from heaven to Earth.
There were two women in labor: Mother and Daughter. The mother was associated by the Slavs with periods of summer fertility, when the harvest ripens and becomes heavier. Her name was Lada. Many words and concepts are associated with it in the Russian language, and all of them are related to the establishment of order: get along, adjust, adjust, okay; Ladushka, Lada - an affectionate appeal to a spouse. Previously, the wedding conspiracy was called "Ladin". Lada was also considered the mother of the twelve months into which the year is divided.
Lelya is the daughter of Lada, the youngest woman in labor. Lelya is the goddess of quivering spring sprouts, first flowers, young femininity, tenderness. Hence, caring for someone is conveyed by the word "cherish". The Slavs believed that it was Lelya who took care of the spring shoots - the future harvest.
Later, after the baptism of Russia, Rozhanits was equated with the Christian Mother of God.

The cult of Perun, the god of thunder, war and weapons, arose relatively late in connection with the development of the retinue, military element of society. Perun, or as he was also called Perun-Svarozhich, appeared to the Slavs as an armed warrior, racing on a golden chariot drawn by winged stallions, white and black. The ax - the weapon of Perun - has been attributed miraculous power since ancient times. So, an ax with a symbolic image of the Sun and Thunder, planted in a door frame, was an insurmountable obstacle for evil spirits seeking to penetrate into a human dwelling. Another symbol of Perun is a "thunder sign", similar to a six-spoked wheel. His image was often reproduced on the shields of the Slavic warriors. An animal was dedicated to Perun - a wild tour, a huge forest bull.
After baptism, the Slavs “transferred” many of the properties of Perun to Ilya the Prophet, one of the most revered Christian saints.

Dazhdbog was among the pagan Slavs the god of the Sun. His name is not from the word "rain", as is sometimes mistakenly thought, it means - "giving God", "giver of all blessings." The Slavs believed that Dazhdbog travels across the sky in a wonderful chariot harnessed by four white fire-maned horses with golden wings. And the sunlight comes from the fire shield that Dazhdbog carries with him. Twice a day - in the morning and in the evening - he crosses the Ocean-Sea on a boat pulled by geese, ducks and swans. Therefore, the Slavs attributed special power to amulets-talismans in the form of a duck with a horse's head.
Morning and Evening dawns were considered sister and brother, and Morning Dawn was the wife of the Sun. Every year, during the great feast of the summer solstice of Ivan Kupala (Orthodox Ivanov's Day), their marriage was solemnly celebrated.
The Slavs considered the sun to be an all-seeing eye, which strictly watches over the morality of people, over the observance of laws. And the sacred sign of the Sun from time immemorial was ... the cross! Squint your eyes at the Sun and you will see it. That is why the Christian cross, so similar to the ancient pagan symbol, took root so quickly in Russia.
Svarog was among the Slavs the god of Heaven, the father of all things. The legend says that Svarog gave people the very first plow and blacksmith tongs, taught them how to smelt copper and iron. In addition, Svarog established the very first laws for the human community.
Makosh - Earth - personifies the feminine principle of nature and is the wife of Svarog. The expression Mother - Earth, a modern version of the name of the ancient Slavic goddess, is still pronounced with respect and love by a Russian person.
Fire - Svarozhich, was the son of Svarog and Makoshi. In ancient times, fire was truly the center of that world in which all human life passed. The impure force did not dare to approach the Fire, but the Fire was able to purify anything defiled.
The fire was a witness to oaths, and this is where the Russian custom of jumping in pairs over the fire came from: it was believed that if a guy and a girl could fly over the flame without unhooking their hands, then their love was destined for a long life. By the way. the true name of the God-Fire was so sacred that it was not spoken out loud, replacing it with allegories. Apparently, therefore, it never reached us, in any case, scientists do not have a unanimous opinion on this matter.
The name was forgotten, but signs associated with Fire were not forgotten. The Russian matchmaker, who came to woo the bride, at any time of the year stretched out her hands to the stove: thereby calling Fire into allies. The newlywed young husband solemnly circled around the hearth three times, asking God-Fire for a happy life and many healthy children.
Yarila was among the ancient Slavs the god of fertility, reproduction and physical love. It is this side of love, which poets call "ebullient passion", that was "under the control" of the Slavic god Yarila. He was imagined as a young, handsome man, an ardent lover in love.
The serpent - Volos (Veles) in Slavic pagan mythology is the divine opponent of Perun. It embodied the forces of primordial Chaos, violent, disordered, uninhabited nature, often hostile to ancient man, but in essence not at all malicious. And with them are the animal instincts of the person himself, that part of our personality that does not know the word “necessary”, only “I want”. But there is nothing wrong in this, you just need to keep your passions in subjection.
According to legend, the Serpent God combines hairiness and scales in his appearance, flies with the help of membranous wings, knows how to exhale fire, although he is very afraid of fire itself (especially lightning). Serpent - Veles is a big lover of milk, hence his middle name is Tsmog (Smog), which in Old Slavonic means Susun.
The pagan Slavs worshiped both divine opponents - both Perun and the Serpent. Only the sanctuaries of Perun were in high places, and the sanctuaries of Veles were in the lowlands. Some legends allow us to think that the tamed, driven into the dungeon Serpent - Volos became responsible for earthly fertility and wealth.

"Minor" deities were those who lived side by side with a person, helped him, and sometimes interfered, in various household affairs and everyday concerns. Unlike the main deities, which no one has ever seen, these were quite often shown to a person in front of their eyes. About these cases, the Slavs have a huge number of legends, legends, fairy tales and even eyewitness accounts, from ancient times to our times.

Here are some of these deities: Brownie, Ovinnik, Bannik, Dvorovy, Polevik and Poluditsa, Vodyanoy, Goblin.

Brownie is the soul of the house, the patron of the building and the people living in it. The construction of a house was filled with the deepest meaning for the ancient Slavs, because at the same time a person was likened to the Gods who created the Universe. Great importance was attached to the choice of the time of commencement of work, the choice of location and building materials. Here is how, for example, the trees were selected. The creaky ones were not suitable, because the soul of a tortured person was crying in them, those dried in the vine were not suitable - they have no vitality, which means people in the house will get sick.
Cutting down trees, the pagan Slav blamed the tree souls driven out of the trunks, while he himself fasted for a long time and performed cleansing rites. But the ancient Slav was still not completely sure that the cut down trees would not begin to take revenge on him, and in order to protect himself, he made the so-called "construction sacrifices". The skull of a horse or a bull was buried under the red (eastern) corner of the house, in which carved statues of the gods were placed, and later icons. And from the soul of the slain animal, the Brownie actually arose.
The brownie settled down to live underground, under the stove. He was presented as a little old man, similar in face to the head of the family. By his liking, he is an eternal troublemaker, grouchy, but caring and kind. People tried to maintain good relations with Domovoi, take care of him as an honored guest, and then he helped keep the house in order and warned of impending misfortune. Moving from house to house, Domovoy was always invited to move with his family with the help of a conspiracy.
The Brownie living next to a person is the kindest of the "small" deities. And already immediately beyond the threshold of the hut "one's own" world becomes more and more alien and hostile.

Brownie

The courtyard - the owner of the yard - was already considered a little less benevolent than the Brownie. The ovinnik - the owner of the barn - is even less so, and Bannik, the spirit of the bathhouse, standing completely on the outskirts, on the edge of the yard, or even beyond it, is simply dangerous. For this reason, believers consider the bath - a symbol of purity, it would seem - "unclean". In ancient times, the word "unclean" meant not at all something sinful, evil, but simply less sacred, more accessible to the action of evil forces.

Many horror stories are told about Bannik to this day. He appears as a tiny but very strong old man, naked, with a long, moldy beard. His evil will is attributed to fainting and accidents, sometimes occurring in the bath. Bannik's favorite entertainment is to scald those who wash themselves with boiling water, split stones in the stove and “shoot” them at people. Maybe he can drag him into a hot stove and tear off a piece of skin from a living one. However, you can get along with him. Knowledgeable people always leave Bannik good steam, a fresh whisk and a tub of clean water. And they never push each other - Bannik can't stand it, get angry. And if you fell under the arm of Bannik, you need to run out of the bathhouse and call Ovinnik or Domovoy for help: “Father, help me out! ..”

When they began to clear forests and plow land for fields and pastures, new lands, of course, immediately acquired their own "small" deities - Field Workers. In general, many beliefs and signs are associated with the grain field. So, until the last century, the division of agricultural crops into "male" and "female" survived. For example, only men sowed corn, stripped almost naked and carrying seed grain in special sacks cut from old trousers. Thus, they, as it were, entered into a “sacred marriage” with a plowed field, and not a single woman dared to be present at the same time. But the turnip was considered a "feminine" culture. And the women sowed it, too, almost naked, trying to transfer part of their childbearing power to the Earth.
Sometimes people met an old man in the field, unprepossessing in appearance and utterly snotty. The old man asked a passerby to wipe his nose. And if a man did not disdain, he suddenly had a purse of silver in his hand, and the old Polevik disappeared. Thus, our ancestors expressed the simple idea that the Earth generously endows only those who are not afraid to get their hands dirty.

The working day in the villages began early, but it was better to wait out the midday heat. The ancient Slavs had a special mythical creature that strictly looked after that no one worked at noon. This is the Half. She was imagined as a girl in a long white shirt, or vice versa - a shaggy, terrible old woman. The half-widows were afraid: for non-compliance with the custom, she could punish, and severely - now we call it a sunstroke.

Behind the fence of the dwelling of an ancient Slav, a forest began. This forest determined the whole way of life. In pagan times, literally everything was made of wood in a Slavic house, from the dwelling itself to spoons and buttons. And besides, the forest gave a huge variety of game, berries and mushrooms. But in addition to the benefits bestowed on man, the wild forest has always harbored many mysteries and mortal dangers. Going into the forest, every time you had to be ready to meet with its owner - Leshy. "Leshy" in Old Slavonic means "forest spirit".

Leshy's appearance is changeable. He may appear as a giant, taller than the tallest trees, or he may hide behind a small bush. The goblin looks like a man, only his clothes are wrapped up the other way around, on the right side. Leshy's hair is long gray-green, his face has neither eyelashes nor eyebrows, and his eyes are like two emeralds - they burn with green fire.
The goblin can go around a careless person, and he will rush about inside the magic circle for a long time, unable to cross the closed line. But Goblin, like all living things, nature knows how to repay good for good. And he needs only one thing: that a person, entering the forest, respects the forest laws, and does not harm the forest. And Goblin will be very happy if you leave him delicacies somewhere on a stump that do not grow in the forest, a pie, a gingerbread, and say thank you aloud for the mushrooms and berries.
There is such an expression in Russian "to get married near a willow bush." It means civil, i.e. an unofficial marriage between a man and a woman. So the Russian language has preserved the memory of the most ancient pagan marriages, which took place near the water, near the sacred trees - rakit. Water, as one of the sacred elements, was considered a witness to an unbreakable oath.

The water deity was Vodyanoy - a mythical inhabitant of rivers, lakes and streams. The merman was represented as a naked, flabby old man, bug-eyed, with a fish tail. The water springs were endowed with special power, because the springs, according to legend, arose from the lightning strike of Perun, the most powerful deity. Such keys were called "rattling" and this is preserved in the name of many sources.

So, water - like other natural essences - was a primordially kind, friendly element for the Slavic pagans. But, like all elements, it demanded that it be treated as “you”. After all, she could drown, destroy for nothing. Could require sacrifice. Could wash away the village, set "without asking" from Vodyanoy - we would say now, without knowledge of local hydrology. That is why the Waterman often appears in legends as a creature hostile to man. Apparently the Slavs, as experienced inhabitants of the forest, were still less afraid of getting lost than drowning, which is why the Waterman in the legends looks more dangerous than Leshy.

And the ancient Slavs sincerely believed in all this.

sacred trees
Sacred trees and sacred groves, "trees" and "groves" according to the terminology of medieval scribes, which were not sufficiently mentioned in historical sources, were a kind of category of places of worship.

One of the revered trees was the birch, which is associated with a number of spring rituals and round dance songs. It is possible that the birch was dedicated to coastlines, the spirits of goodness and fertility. Ethnographers have collected a lot of information about the "curling" of young birches, about spring ritual processions under the bound branches of birches. A felled birch tree in Semik (ancient date - June 4) served as the personification of some female deity and was the center of all Semitsky rituals. The trees involved in the pagan ritual were lavishly decorated with ribbons and embroidered towels.

The embroidery on the ribs contained the image of those goddesses who prayed and sacrificed during these periods: the figures of Mokosh and two women in labor (mother and daughter) Lada and Lelya, prayers in “groves”, in “trees” can be functionally likened to a later church deity, where the temple corresponded to a grove or clearing in the forest, fresco images of deities - individual readable trees (or idol trees), and icons - images of Mokosh and Lada on the timbers.

Trees located near springs, springs, springs, enjoyed special reverence, since here it was possible to simultaneously turn to the vegetative power of "growing" and to the living water of a spring spouting from the earth.

From the cult of birch and trees growing among students, the cult of oak differs significantly. Oak - the tree of Zeus and Perun, the strongest and most durable tree - has firmly entered the system of Slavic pagan rituals. The Slavic ancestral home was located in the zone of oak growth, and the beliefs associated with it must go back to ancient times.

Until the XVII - XIX centuries. oak and oak forests retained their leading place in rituals.

Animal deities
In a distant era, when the main occupation of the Slavs was hunting, and not agriculture, they believed that wild animals were their ancestors. The Slavs considered them powerful deities to be worshipped. Each tribe had its own totem, i.e. a sacred animal worshiped by the tribe. Several tribes considered the Wolf as their ancestor and revered him as a deity. The name of this beast was sacred, it was forbidden to pronounce it out loud, so instead of “wolf” they said fierce, and they called themselves “lutichi”.

During the winter solstice, the men of these tribes put on wolf skins, which symbolized the transformation into wolves. So they communicated with animal ancestors, from whom they asked for strength and wisdom. The wolf was considered a powerful protector of the tribe, the devourer of evil spirits. The pagan priest who performed protective rites also dressed in an animal skin. With the adoption of Christianity, the attitude towards pagan priests changed, and therefore the word “wolf-dlak” (that is, dressed in a dlaka - wolf skin) began to be called an evil werewolf, later “wolf-dlak” turned into a “ghoul”.

The owner of the pagan forest was a bear - the most powerful beast. He was considered the protector from all evil and the patron of fertility - it was with the spring awakening of the bear that the ancient Slavs associated the onset of spring. Up to the twentieth century. many peasants kept a bear's paw in their homes as a talisman-amulet, which should protect its owner from diseases, witchcraft and all kinds of troubles. The Slavs believed that the bear was endowed with great wisdom, almost omniscience: they swore by the name of the beast, and the hunter who broke the oath was doomed to death in the forest.

The myth about the Bear - the owner of the forest and a powerful deity - has been preserved in fairy tales. The true name of this beast-deity was so sacred that it was not spoken aloud and therefore did not reach us. The bear is the nickname of the beast, meaning "malnourished", in the word "lair" the more ancient root - "er" has also been preserved, i.e. "brown" (lair - ber's lair). For a long time, the bear was revered as a sacred animal, and even much later hunters still hesitated to pronounce the word "bear".

Of the herbivores in the hunting era, the Olenikha (Moose Elk) was the most revered - the most ancient Slavic goddess of fertility, sky and sunlight. In contrast to real deer, the goddess was thought to be horned, her horns were a symbol of the sun's rays. Therefore, deer antlers were considered a powerful amulet against all evil spirits at night and were attached either above the entrance to the hut or inside the dwelling. By the name of the horns - "plow" - deer and elk were often called moose. The echo of the myths about the celestial Elks are the folk names of the constellations - Ursa Major and Ursa Minor - Elk and Elk.

Heavenly goddesses - Deer - sent newborn deer to the earth, pouring like rain from the clouds.

Among domestic animals, the Slavs revered the horse most of all, because once the ancestors of most peoples of Eurasia led a nomadic lifestyle, and in the guise of a golden horse running across the sky, they imagined the sun. Later, a myth arose about the sun god riding a chariot across the sky. The image of the Sun-horse was preserved in the decoration of the hut, crowned with a ridge, an image of one or two horse heads. An amulet with the image of a horse's head or just a horseshoe, like other solar symbols, was considered a powerful amulet.

Humanoid deities
With the passage of time, man was increasingly freed from fear of the animal world, and animal features in the images of deities gradually began to give way to human ones. The owner of the forest turned from a bear into a shaggy goblin with horns and paws, but still resembling a man. Leshy, the patron saint of hunting, was left on the stump of the first game caught. It was believed that he could lead a lost traveler out of the forest, but if he was annoyed, he could, on the contrary, lead a person into a thicket and destroy him.

With the adoption of Christianity, goblin, like other spirits of nature, began to be perceived as hostile.

The deities of moisture and fertility among the Slavs were mermaids and pitchforks, pouring dew from magic horns onto the fields. They were talked about, then, as about swan girls flying from heaven, then, as about the mistresses of wells and streams, then, as about drowned mavkas, then, as about midday women, running through the grain fields at noon and giving strength to the ear.

According to popular beliefs, on short summer nights, mermaids come out of their underwater shelters, swing on the branches, and if they meet a man, they can tickle to death or drag them to the bottom of the lake.

Deities are monsters
The most formidable was considered the lord of the underworld and underwater world - the Serpent. The serpent - a powerful and hostile monster - is found in the mythology of almost any nation. The ancient ideas of the Slavs about the Serpent have been preserved in fairy tales.
Northern Slavs worshiped the Serpent - the lord of underground waters - and called him the Lizard. The sanctuary of the Lizard was located on the swamps, the banks of lakes and rivers. The coastal shrines of the Lizard had a perfectly round shape - as a symbol of perfection, order, it was opposed to the destructive power of this god. As victims, the Lizard was thrown into the swamp of black chickens, as well as young girls, which was reflected in many beliefs.

All Slavic tribes who worshiped the Lizard considered him to be the absorber of the sun, every day the evening luminary descends beyond the limits of the world and floats to the east like an underground river. This river flows inside the two-headed Lizard, swallowing the sun with its western mouth and belching from the eastern one. The antiquity of the myth is evidenced by the fact that the Lizard is not hostile to the sun: he returns the luminary voluntarily.

Serpent

The custom of sacrificing a person to the underwater god existed for a very long time in the north in a transformed form: for example, on Onega at the beginning of the 20th century. the old people made a scarecrow and sent it to the lake in a leaky boat, where it sank. Another sacrifice brought to the Lizard was a horse, which was first fed by the whole village, and then drowned.

With the transition to agriculture, many myths and religious ideas of the hunting era were modified or forgotten, the rigidity of ancient rites softened: the sacrifice of a person was replaced by the sacrifice of a horse, and later a stuffed animal. The Slavic gods of the agricultural era are brighter and kinder to man.

Calendar holidays and rituals
The calendar holidays and rituals of the Slavs were closely connected with the economic (and therefore vital) interests of the peasant, so their dates are largely determined by the agricultural seasons. In addition, the annual holiday cycle could not but be determined by the most important astronomical dates, usually associated with the movement of the sun.
A significant part of the common Slavic holidays was associated with the cult of ancestors. From ancient times to the present day (in particular, among the East Slavic peoples), the custom has been preserved to visit cemeteries and graves of parents on Radonitsa, Semik (before Trinity) and Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday. Just as ancient are the customs of eating at the grave, commemorating with alcohol and leaving food for the deceased on the grave. Until recently, remnants of pagan funeral customs were also preserved on other Christian holidays, such as Christmas time, Maslenitsa and Maundy Thursday. In Svyatki, due to winter time, they did not visit the cemetery, but commemorated their ancestors at home. On Maundy Thursday, bathhouses were heated for the ancestors (so that they could wash themselves) and bonfires were lit at the gates (so that they would warm themselves). As a rule, funeral feasts were timed to coincide with the milestone periods of the year - the solstices and equinoxes. Apparently, at this borderline time, the gates between the world of the living and the world of the dead opened, through which the souls of the dead came into the world. They visited their descendants, and they had to properly meet them - warm, wash, drink and feed. The souls of the ancestors could bless, or they could send misfortunes - it all depended on how they were met, that's why it was so important to honor the ancestors.
The deceased ancestors, as those resting in the earth, in the afterlife, were connected in the human mind with the earth, therefore, the future harvest largely depended on the blessing of the ancestors. For example, Maslenitsa is associated with both the idea of ​​fertility and the cult of ancestors - it was to them that competitions were dedicated (races, fistfights, the capture of a snowy town) and the main meal at Maslenitsa, while pancakes were a memorial meal. The fertility of the land and the fertility of livestock, as the main economic interests of the peasant, were given special attention in his holidays and rituals. On Vasily's evening (New Year's Eve), ritual food was prepared - a piglet or sheep's legs, cookies were baked in the form of cattle ("goats") - the purpose of all this was to attract fertility and well-being for livestock. The same purpose, as well as ensuring the safety of cattle, was served by numerous rituals of St. George's Day in spring, when the first pasture of cattle was performed.

Scarecrow of Maslenitsa
Numerous rituals with stuffed animals depicting various ritual characters contributed to the fertility of the earth - these are Shrovetide, Yarila, Kostroma, Kostrubonko. The ritual included, as a rule, honoring and honoring the effigy, walking with him through the streets, accompanied by fun, and then seeing off - funeral, burning or tearing to pieces. Apparently, the scarecrow was the center of fertility and fertility, and the rituals of seeing him off were supposed to communicate this fertility to the earth - especially since such rituals were almost always held in spring or early summer.
In Semik and Trinity week, the role of a scarecrow was performed by the Trinity (Semitskaya) birch, with which they performed almost the same ceremonies - they decorated it, worshiped and honored it, ate ritual food under the birch, sang songs and danced round dances, curled its branches, performed the rite of "cumenia" , carried around the village and, finally, broke and scattered branches across the field - the purpose of all these rituals was to attract fertility and a good harvest, as well as fertility and successful motherhood, as is the case with cumulation. In all the Semitsky rituals held with a birch, only girls and women participated.
In addition, fertility and harvest rituals were supposed to be promoted by rain-causing rituals (in case of drought; in the case of prolonged rains, the ritual was aimed at achieving good weather). The ritual involved a girl, usually an orphan, who was called Dodola or Peperuda. According to scientists, her name and the image itself, apparently, is associated with the Thunderer-Perun (possibly, Dodola represented the wife of the Thunderer). She was taken around the village, decorated with flowers and watered with water, while songs were sung with requests for rain.

Heinrich Semiradsky. Night on Ivan Kupala
One of the most important Slavic holidays was the night of Ivan Kupala. On this night, nationwide festivities were organized - songs and dances. Of the Kupala rites, kindling and jumping over bonfires, swimming and riding from the slopes of burning wheels should be noted. Often the holiday took on a wild character. In addition, medicinal and magical plants were collected that night.
According to reconstructions, the Slavs had holidays dedicated to deities as such. In particular, there could be Perunov's day and the day dedicated to Veles, which were subsequently replaced by Ilya's day and the day of memory of St. Blaise of Sebastia or Nikolay's day. However, we do not have direct data on these holidays, so their dates and content remain only reconstructions.

Wedding customs and ceremonies
Wedding customs varied among different tribes depending on the type of marriage. Slavic pagan marriage was polygamous: in some cases, a man could have several wives and concubines, in another, women's marriage partners could change. The Tale of Bygone Years distinguishes two types of marriage and wedding ceremonies among the Slavic tribes, which can be conditionally called patriarchal and matriarchal.

Patriarchal marriage:
Glades have the custom of their fathers meek and quiet, bashful in front of their daughters-in-law and sisters, mothers and parents; before mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law they have great modesty; they also have a marriage custom: the son-in-law does not go for the bride, but brings her the day before, and the next day they bring for her - what they give. Similar customs are described as far back as the 6th century by the Byzantine author Mauritius:

The modesty of their women exceeds all human nature, so that most of them consider the death of their husband their death and voluntarily strangle themselves, not counting being a widow for life.

Patriarchal marriage and polygamy are characteristic of the ancient Slavs. For example, the payment for the bride was called “veno” in Ancient Russia, and the wedding ceremony was called “taking off the shoes” of the groom. The ancient “unshoeing” is recorded by the late rites of removing the shoes from the groom and the saying “Wash your feet and drink water.” The bride in the cases mentioned in the annals was always "brought".

matriarchal marriage:
... And they didn’t have marriages, but they kidnapped girls by the water ... And they shamed them under their fathers and daughters-in-law, and they didn’t have marriages, but games were arranged between villages, and they converged on these games, on dances and on all kinds of demonic songs, and here they abducted their wives in agreement with them: they had two and three wives.
Some information about pre-Christian wedding rites and customs can be gleaned from church teachings against paganism:

And this is what the pagans do: they lead the bride to the water when they marry, they drink a cup in honor of demons, they throw rings and belts into the water.

The tradition of marriage by the water (lake, well) is confirmed by later ethnographic data - folk signs and a similar rite, which was revived by some Old Believers after Nikon's reforms. On the other hand, one of the final rites of the wedding can be reflected here - the test of the bride, walking with her on the water to the river or lake. And when someone has a wedding, they celebrate it with tambourines, with pipes, and with other demonic miracles.
And it happens even worse: they make a male penis, put it in buckets and bowls and drink from them, and take it out, lick it and kiss it.

There is no doubt that in ancient Russia there was a kind of phallic wedding ritual. Obviously, the phallus was used as a magical symbol: it was supposed to give the newlyweds fertility, and the earth fertility. Archeology also confirms the data of this teaching - there are repeated finds of phalluses carved from wood, found in ancient Russian settlements.

Funeral rites and ancestor worship
The cult of dead ancestors was extremely widespread among the Slavs from ancient times until recently. In this regard, the Slavic funeral rite is of interest. The Tale of Bygone Years describes this rite among the Vyatichi:

And if someone dies, they perform a feast on him. After it, they build a large fire, put a dead man on it and burn it. After that, having collected the bones, they put them in a small vessel and put them on a pole by the road. This is what the Vyatichi do today. The same custom is followed by the Krivichi and other pagans.

By feast here, apparently, we mean competitions in memory of the deceased and, in general, commemorative events. The custom of leaving a vessel with the bones of the deceased on pillars near the roads is clarified by later ethnographic records: pillars in cemeteries were considered a kind of border between the living and the dead. Dishes used at funerals were thrown at these posts. The columns themselves were often made with a semblance of a roof and notches - for the convenience of the souls of the dead who lived near them. Later, the cemetery columns were replaced by Orthodox crosses.

Data on the funeral rite can also be gleaned from the chronicle story about how Olga buried her husband, Prince Igor, who was killed by the Drevlyans:

Olga sent a message to the Drevlyans: “Here, I’m already coming to you. Boil a lot of honey near the city where you killed my husband, so that I can cry over his grave and perform a feast for my husband. When they heard this, they brought a lot of honey and boiled it. Olga, with a small retinue and light, came to Igor's grave and wept for her husband. Then she ordered the people to pour a large barrow, and when they poured it, she ordered to perform a feast. Then the Drevlyans sat down to drink, and Olga ordered her youths to serve them.

It follows from this passage that feast included the drinking of mead, that mounds were built over the graves (apparently, their size depended on the status of the buried), and that there was a custom to cry over the grave of the deceased. All this information is confirmed by ethnographic records and (about mounds) archeological data. In addition to these customs, the Prologue mentions such an element of funeral rites as “bydyn”, that is, vigil, wakefulness next to the deceased during the night, which, apparently, was performed by a significant number of people with lamentations, songs and games.

Interesting information about the funeral rite is given by the chronicle story about the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavich:

At night, they dismantled the platform between two cages, wrapped him (Vladimir) in a carpet and lowered him with ropes to the ground; then, having laid him on a sleigh, they took him away and placed him in the church of the Holy Mother of God, which he himself once built. Upon learning of this, people without number came together and wept for him...

In this case, one can observe the most ancient rite - in order to carry out the deceased, they dismantle the wall. This is done with the aim that the deceased, taken out in an unusual way, could not return and did not disturb the living. Another ancient rite described in this passage is the use of a sleigh to transport the deceased, even despite the summer time. Sleighs were used in funerals as the most honorable, calm and respectable form of transport.

There is also a common ritual food for all Eastern Slavs at the commemoration - these are kutya, pancakes and jelly. Almost all East Slavic holidays are associated with the cult of dead ancestors, who were remembered at the milestone moments of the year - at Christmas time, on Maundy Thursday and Radonitsa, on Semik and before Dmitriev's Day. On the days of commemoration of the dead, a bathhouse was heated for them, fires were burned (so that they would warm themselves), and food was left for them on the festive table. Christmas mummers represented the ancestors who came from the other world and collected gifts. The purpose of all these actions was to appease the dead ancestors, who could bless the family, or could cause harm - to frighten, appear in a dream, torture and even kill those who did not satisfy their needs.
Very common among the Slavs was the belief in the so-called "mortgaged dead". It was believed that people who did not die by their own death did not calm down after death and were capable of harming the living, so they were superstitiously feared and revered during a common commemoration.

Slavic calendar

The graphic scheme presented here clearly shows how the pantheon of Slavic gods listed in the Veles Book easily fits into the seasonal calendar, reflecting the main activities of the ancestors of the Slavs: farming, hunting, fishing, beekeeping, as well as the main festivities that began and ended each cycle.

In ancient times, the Slavs divided the year into three main seasons: the period of agricultural work (spring), the time of ripening and harvesting (covered summer and autumn) and winter. These three seasons are shown in the diagram in green, yellow and blue, which allows you to immediately determine which gods patronized a particular season and when their days were celebrated. The presence of such an archaic three-season cycle in the Book of Veles testifies to its authenticity. Although, as we will see later, there are already tendencies towards a quaternary division (four months in each season and four weeks in each month).

The specified tripartiteness of the calendar testifies to its deepest roots, dating back to the time of the Indo-Aryan community of cultures. The three-season nature of the year was then determined by the idea of ​​​​the ancient Indo-Aryans about the trinity of the world (Svarog-Perun-Sventovid and Yav-Prav-Nav among the Slavic-Aryans and Vishnu, who created the Universe through THREE STEPS, among the Hindus).
As scientists - astroarchaeologists testify, by 2300 BC. the lunar landmarks of the ancient sanctuaries-observatories were replaced by solar ones, and the calendar-astral tandem of Svarog and Dazhdbog (a solar sign with Taurus at the head) arose. Taurus is the embodiment of Dazhdbog. Since Taurus led the Solar Zodiac between 4400-1700 BC. BC, then 2300-1700. BC. - this is the time when the Slavs began to honor the interconnected Svarog-Dazhdbog. At the same time, probably, the Slavic-Aryan three-part calendar began to take shape.

The fact that this calendar was known until the 9th century. AD (the time of writing the "Veles Book"), indicates both its universality, it can be used even now, and the deepest traditions of the succession of the Slavic priests of the Sun, who in turn relied on the system of sanctuaries-observatories of Ancient Aratta in the Danube-Dnieper region V - IV thousand BC, Trans-Ural Arkaim III millennium BC and Maidans (ancient Indian "aidans").
Such sanctuary-observatories, which stretched along the northern border of the then agriculture, constituted the backbone of the Indo-European culture, from which barrows and ancient sanctuaries diverged north and south. Their priest-servants kept in touch with each other for thousands of years, even in late antique times, surprising the enlightened Greeks and Romans with legends about the distant travels of the Hyperboreans led by Apollo. Finally, this tradition was interrupted with the approval of Christianity and the destruction of the temples, the calendar-observatory functions of which were partially transferred to the church.

So let's take a look at the diagram.

This calendar includes seventy-seven gods located in seven circles-kolas (seven is a sacred number for the Slavs)
In the center - Great Triglav (Svarog-Perun-Sventovid).
Svarog (from Sanskrit svga- "sky") - the Supreme God, the Lord of the Universe, the Creator of the World. He is the beginning and essence of the entire Zodiac. He created Yav from Navi according to the law of Rule, and that's all. what ends in Yavi, again passes into Nav. Nav has a blue color, the color of the sky. Therefore, Svarog in the sign of Triglav, shown in the diagram, is oriented towards the blue segment. And although this is a symbol of Navi, a symbol of Winter, it is during this period that the winter solstice (Kolyada) occurs, when “the sun turns to summer”, and Life (Yav) is born in the depths of Darkness (Navi).
Perun is a sign of Fire, his element is Summer, he is focused on the yellow segment.
Sventovid - the lord of Spring - points to the green segment. The original ancient Slavic sign of the Great Triglav, placed in the center of the scheme, which was able to decipher and execute in color, fully reflects the closest relationship of the substances Navi-Prav-Yavi, Svarog-Perun-Sventovid, Spring-Winter-Summer, Air-Fire-Earth and other "triunities" that made up the multidimensional philosophy of our ancestors.
Since "three", as already mentioned, is a sacred number in Slavic Vedism, then all the deities listed below are divided into Trinities - the Great and Lesser Triglavs.
Only the first kolo is represented by two gods - Belobog and Chernobog, the gods of Light and Darkness, Reveal and Navi. At the same time, the world axis separating them is Svarga, on both sides of which they fight and thus balance the world.

The second colo - Khors, Veles, Stribog - the gods of Summer. Winters, Springs. Veles also acts as the god of the Underworld, the god of the kingdom of Navi, where the souls of the dead go after death.

The third column is corresponding to the previous one, here each segment is divided into two subcycles: Stribog includes Roof and Vyshen. Another option is Kryzhnya - Kryzhen. It's time for Kryzhnya - this is the time of ice drift, the time of melting snow, when drops begin to ring from the icicles hanging from the ROOFS. The roof is the very beginning of spring, while Vyshen (another version of VESHEN) is already completely spring, SPRING time. These two pores are included by Stribog, the lord of spring, just as Hora is subdivided into Lel (the beginning of summer) and Letich (the zenith of summer), and Veles into Radogoshch (the beginning of winter) and Kolendo.

In the fourth column, other hypostases of the gods of the three main seasons are presented, where Yar marks Spring, Dazhd - the god - Summer, and Greyback - Winter.

Fifth kolo - each season is subdivided into four months, where Beloyar is March, the beginning of spring and the Slavic agricultural calendar. Further, clockwise - Lado (April). Kupalo (May - ancient calendars confirm that Kupalo was celebrated in May), Senich (June), Zhitnich (July), Venich (August), Zernich (September), Ovsenich (October), Prosich (November), Studich (December) , Ledich (January), Lyutich (February).

The sixth and seventh stakes seem to represent the names of the four weeks in each month, again according to nature and the main agricultural activities.
So, in Beloyar comes the beautiful (Krasich) Spring-Zhiva (Zhivich), everything wakes up, the first grass appears (Travich). Preparations for agricultural work begin. Magicians open the Vedas (Vedich) to people - will the spring be favorable when sowing yarovitsa and so on. The spring equinox comes, and the holiday of the Great Yar comes, or, in other words, Bogoyarov Day (Great Day).
In the month of Lado, the stems turn green (Steblic), flowers (Tsvetich) and leaves (Listvich) bloom, birds begin to chirp (Ptichich). In these joyful days of spring awakening, the holiday of the Red Mountain is celebrated - a memory of the rich and peaceful life of the Ancestors in the Karpen Mountains. All deceased relatives are commemorated (corresponds to the current Parent's Day).
On Kupalo, animals (Zverich) begin spring games. The sky is clearing up, people are admiring the stars (Zvezdich). Water (Vodich) warms up in rivers and lakes, the swimming season begins. Kupalo is celebrated - the god of Slavic Purity and Health.

Thunderous (Gromich) rains (Dozhdich) fall on Senich, fruits (Plodich) and seeds (Semich) ripen, haymaking is in full swing. The day of the summer solstice is coming - the holiday of the Great Triglav (now the Trinity).
Zhitnich is rich in linden (Lipich) honey, bees swarm (Pchelich), in the rivers - an abundance of fish (Rybich), in the forests - berries (Yagodnich). This month celebrates the Day of Perun, who, acting as the god of Battles and Struggle, is also the patron of the harvest. It is thanks to Perun, acting in the guise of Vergunets-Perunts, pouring fertile rain on the earth, forests and meadows grow luxuriantly, and cereals are poured on the Ognishchansky fields, promising a generous harvest.
Birch (Berezich), maple (Klenich) and Reed (Trostich) are harvested on Venich. The second mowing of green (Zelenich) grasses. The harvest of grain begins, - they reap wheat, rye, they bind it in sheaves ("veno venyat" - from where VENICH comes from). The First Sheaf or Dazhdbozhy Day is celebrated.

Zernich - Strada (Stradich) is over. At currents, grain is threshed, put in bins. The lakes (Ozernich) freeze immovably, the mountains (Gorich) become covered with haze, autumn winds begin to blow (Vetrich). The day of the autumn equinox comes, the Great Ovseni are celebrated.
Ovsenich - even the straw has been removed (Solomich), it is time for leaf fall (Listopadich) and mushroom picking (Gribich). People rejoice that with rich supplies they will be saved (Spasich) in the cold winter. Small Ovseni are celebrated.

Prosich - the first powder. It's time for hunting, as well as autumn trading. Merchants-guests (Gostich) come from all sides, conversations are held (Besedich), hospitable and hospitable Slavs celebrate Radogoshch.
Studich - snow falls (Snezhich), frost binds the earth. It's time to start military (Ratic) training. You can also go on a journey (Wanderer), visit distant countries (Page). The month ends with the celebration of Kolyada - the day of the winter solstice and Christmas time, dedicated to the completion of the annual colo and the birth of a new young Sun (Christmas).

Ledich - the celebration of Veles, the lord of Svarozh Navi, who from now on begins to add light (Svendich) “by a thread” every day. Shchura and Ancestors (Shchurich) who are in the kingdom of Beles are revered. In this month, meetings of Clans, Councils of Elders (Radić) are held, princes and elders-relatives (Radić) are elected, and other “social events” are carried out.

Lutch - although the frosts are still fierce, the sun of the "underworld" is gaining strength and adding light (Svetich). This month, Rod-Rozhanich-Svarog (Kin), the First Ancestor-Progenitor, is revered. Blood relatives (Kravich) get together, discuss all sorts of things, eat pancakes with butter (Maslenich). Maslenitsa and Roof are celebrated - people are seeing off the winter.

So invariably and eternally rotates Svarogye Kolo, measuring the Great and Small numbers of Reveal, which are accounted for by Numbers.
It should be noted that this calendar does not include gods who are not associated with seasonal cycles and are, so to speak, “universal” - these are Chislobog, Mother-Sva-Glory, Makosh, Semargl-Firebog and some others, whose functions were associated with others sides of being.

You can talk about the Slavs for a very long time, but this will already be the history of the Slavs. Finally, we will nevertheless touch on the topic of the origin of the Slavs, and also say a few words about modern Slavs.

Slavs (in ancient times Slovenes) are the largest group of ethnic groups related by language in eastern and southwestern Europe, united by a common origin. Depending on the linguistic and cultural proximity, the Slavs are divided into three large groups: eastern, western and southern.
The total number of Slavic peoples according to 2002 data is over 300 million people, of which: Russians - 145.2 million, Ukrainians - about 50 million, Belarusians - up to 10 million; Poles - about 45 million, Czechs - about 10 million, Slovaks - 5.5 million, Lusatians - 0.1 million; Bulgarians - 9 - 10 million, Serbs - up to 10 million, Croats - 5.5 million, Slovenes - up to 2.5 million, Montenegrins - 0.6 million, Macedonians - 2 million, Muslim (self-name - boshњatsi (Boshnyaks), other names - Bosnians, Bosans, Muslims) - about 2 million people.
In addition to these ethnic groups, there is an ethnic group that is still being formed. These are the so-called Rusyns. By origin, these are Slovaks who moved to the territory of Yugoslavia (since February 2003 - Serbia and Montenegro). This micro-ethnos is very small - about 20 thousand people. Now there is a process of formation of the literary language of Rusyns.
The Slavs occupy the vast territory of Eastern Europe, as well as the northern and central parts of Asia. It immediately catches the eye that the Slavic states are not gathered in one heap, but are scattered, scattered. In the second half of the XIX century. independent Slavic states did not exist. Slavic peoples were part of three empires: Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. The only exceptions were the Montenegrins, who lived in the small independent state of Montenegro, and the Lusatians, who were located on the territory of Germany. By the end of the XX century. All Slavic peoples already had state independence, except for Russians and Lusatians.

Now the largest Slavic state in terms of area is Russia (Moscow). Russia is located in the northeast of Europe, and also occupies the northern and central parts of Asia. In the west, Russia is bordered by the Eastern Slavic states - Ukraine and Belarus. Further north in Eastern Europe are Poland and the Czech Republic. These West Slavic states border on Germany in the west, on part of whose territory (between Berlin and Dresden, along the banks of the Elbe and Spre) Lusatian Serbs (Cottbus, Bautzen) live. Another West Slavic state - Slovakia - is located between Ukraine, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. Southern Slavs partially occupy the Balkan Peninsula and adjacent territories. They do not border on either eastern or western Slavs. South Slavs live in Bulgaria, as well as in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Slavs, Wends - the earliest news about the Slavs under the name of Wends, or Venets, belongs to Roman and Greek writers - Pliny the Elder, Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Ptolemy Claudius. According to these authors, the Wends lived along the Baltic coast between the Stetinsky Gulf, into which the Odra flows, and the Danzing Gulf, into which the Vistula flows; along the Vistula from its headwaters in the Carpathian Mountains to the coast of the Baltic Sea. The name Veneda comes from the Celtic vindos, which means "white". By the middle of the 6th c. Wends were divided into two main groups: Sklavins (Sclaves) and Antes. As for the later self-name "Slavs", its exact meaning is not known. There are suggestions that the term "Slavs" contains an opposition to another ethnic term - the Germans, derived from the word "mute", that is, speaking an incomprehensible language. The Slavs were divided into three groups.
The Eastern Slavs included Polans, Drevlyans, Northerners, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Krivichi, Polochans, Vyatichi, Slovenes, Buzhans, Volynians, Dulebs, Streets, Tivertsy, Croats.
Western Slavs are Pomeranians, Obodrichs, Vagrs, Polabs, Smolins, Glinians, Lyutichs, Velets, Ratari, Drevans, Ruyans, Lusatians, Czechs, Slovaks, Koshubs, Slovenians, Moravans, Poles.
The southern Slavs included Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Zakhlumlians, Bulgarians.

The Slavs are the largest group of peoples in Europe, united by the proximity of languages ​​​​and common origin. The oldest historical information about the Slavs, known as the Wends, dates back to the 1st - 3rd centuries. AD From Ser. 6th century the name "sklavene" is repeatedly found in the texts of Procopius, Jordanes, and others. To the 2nd floor. 7th century include the first mention. about the Slavs in Arabic authors. The data of linguistics connect the ancient Slavs with the region of Central and Eastern Europe - in the territory from the Elbe and Oder in the west, in the Vistula basin, in the Upper Dniester and to the Middle Dnieper in the east. The northern neighbors of the Slavs were the Germans and the Balts, who, together with the Slavs, constituted the northern group of Indo-European tribes. The eastern neighbors of the Slavs were the Western Iranian tribes (Scythians, Sarmatians), the southern Thracians and Illyrians, and the western Celts. The question of the ancestral home of the Slavs remains controversial, but most researchers believe that it is located east of the Vistula.

VENDS, Wends, Venets, the collective name of a group of Western Slavic tribes, once (at least from 631-632) occupied a vast part of the territory of modern. Germany between the Elbe and the Oder. In the 7th century the Wends invaded Thuringia and Bavaria, where they defeated the Franks under the command of Dagobert I. The raids on Germany continued until the beginning of the 10th century, when Emperor Henry I launched an offensive against the Wends, setting out their adoption of Christianity as one of the conditions for concluding peace. The conquered Wends often rebelled, but each time they were defeated, after which an increasing part of their lands passed to the winners. In 1147 the church sanctioned a crusade against the Wends, approved by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The campaign was accompanied by the mass destruction of the Slavic population, and henceforth the Wends did not offer any stubborn resistance to the German conquerors. German settlers came to the once Slavic lands, and the new cities founded began to play an important role in the economic development of northern Germany. From about 1500, the area of ​​distribution of the Slavic language was reduced almost exclusively to the Lusatian margraviates - Upper and Lower, later included, respectively, in Saxony and Prussia, and adjacent territories. Here, in the area of ​​​​the cities of Cottbus and Bautzen, the modern descendants of the Wends live, of which approx. 60,000 (mostly Catholic). In Russian literature, they are usually called Lusatians (the name of one of the tribes that were part of the Wends group) or Lusatian Serbs, although they themselves call themselves Serbja or Serbski Lud, and their modern German name is Sorben (formerly also Wenden). Since 1991, the Foundation for Lusatian Affairs has been in charge of preserving the language and culture of this people in Germany.

The Slavs, according to many researchers, as well as the Germans and the Balts, were descendants of the pastoral and agricultural tribes of the Corded Ware culture, who settled at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. e. from the Northern Black Sea and Carpathian regions through Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. The Slavs are represented by archaeological cultures, among which were of particular importance: Tshinetskaya, common in the third quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. e. between the Vistula and the middle Dnieper; Lusatian (XIII - IV centuries BC) and Pomeranian (VI - II centuries BC) in the territory of modern Poland; in the Dnieper region - the Chernolesskaya culture (VIII - early VI centuries BC) of the neurons or even Scythian plowmen - according to Herodotus. Presumably, the Podgortsevo and Milogradskaya cultures are associated with the Slavs (VII century BC -1 century AD). Existing from the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. on the Pripyat and in the Middle Dnieper, the Zarubinets culture is associated with the ancestors of the Eastern Slavs. It was the culture of the developed Iron Age, its carriers were farmers, cattle breeders and artisans.
In II-IV centuries. n. e, as a result of the movement to the south of the Germanic tribes (Goths, Gepids), the integrity of the territory of the Slavs was violated, after which the Slavs, apparently, were divided into western and eastern. The bulk of the bearers of the Zarubinets culture moved in the first centuries AD. e. to the north and northeast along the Dnieper and Desna. In the III-IV centuries. in the Middle Dnieper region lived the tribes that left the Chernyakhovsk antiquities. Some archaeologists consider them to be Slavs, while the majority consider them to be a multi-ethnic group that included Slavic elements. At the end of the 5th century, after the fall of the power of the Huns, the advance of the Slavs to the south (to the Danube, in the North-Western Black Sea region) and their invasion of the Balkan provinces of Byzantium began. The tribes of the Slavs then divided into two groups: the Antes (who invaded the Balkan Peninsula through the lower reaches of the Danube) and the Slavs (who attacked the Byzantine provinces from the north and northwest). The colonization of the Balkan Peninsula was not the result of resettlement, but the resettlement of the Slavs, who kept all their old lands in Central and Eastern Europe. In the second half of the first millennium, the Slavs occupied the Upper Dnieper and its northern periphery, which previously belonged to the Eastern Balts and Finno-Ugric tribes. Both the Antes and the Sklavins broke up into separate tribal groups already in the 7th century. In addition to the well-known dulebs, there probably already existed other tribal associations of the Slavs listed in the Tale of Bygone Years: the glades, the Drevlyans, the northerners, the Krivichi, the Ulichi, the Tivertsy, the Croats, and others.

If we move along the East European Plain from north to south, then 15 East Slavic tribes will appear in front of us in succession:

1. Ilmen Slovenes, the center of which was Novgorod the Great, which stood on the banks of the Volkhov River, which flowed from Lake Ilmen and on whose lands there were many other cities, which is why the Scandinavians neighboring them called the possessions of Slovenes "gardarika", that is, "the land of cities."
These were: Ladoga and Beloozero, Staraya Russa and Pskov. The Ilmen Slovenes got their name from the name of Lake Ilmen, which is in their possession and was also called the Slovenian Sea. For residents remote from real seas, the lake, 45 miles long and about 35 wide, seemed huge, and therefore bore its second name - the sea.

2. Krivichi, who lived in the interfluve of the Dnieper, Volga and Western Dvina, around Smolensk and Izborsk, Yaroslavl and Rostov the Great, Suzdal and Murom.
Their name came from the name of the founder of the tribe, Prince Kriv, who apparently received the nickname Krivoy, from a natural deficiency. Subsequently, the people called Krivich a person who is insincere, deceitful, capable of prevaricating, from whom you will not expect the truth, but you will encounter falsehood. (Moscow subsequently arose on the lands of the Krivichi, but you will read about this later.)

3. Polochans settled on the Polot River, at its confluence with the Western Dvina. At the confluence of these two rivers, there was the main city of the tribe - Polotsk, or Polotsk, the name of which is also produced by the hydronym: "the river along the border with the Latvian tribes" - lats, years.
Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi and northerners lived to the south and southeast of the Polochans.

4. Dregovichi lived on the banks of the river Accept, getting their name from the words "dregva" and "dryagovina", meaning "swamp". Here were the cities of Turov and Pinsk.

5. Radimichi, who lived in the interfluve of the Dnieper and Sozha, were called by the name of their first prince Radim, or Radimir.

6. The Vyatichi were the easternmost ancient Russian tribe, having received their name, like the Radimichi, on behalf of their progenitor, Prince Vyatko, which was an abbreviated name Vyacheslav. Old Ryazan was located in the land of the Vyatichi.

7. The northerners occupied the rivers of the Desna, the Seimas and the Courts and in ancient times were the northernmost East Slavic tribe. When the Slavs settled as far as Novgorod the Great and Beloozero, they retained their former name, although its original meaning was lost. In their lands there were cities: Novgorod Seversky, Listven and Chernigov.

8. The meadows that inhabited the lands around Kyiv, Vyshgorod, Rodnya, Pereyaslavl were called so from the word "field". The cultivation of the fields became their main occupation, which led to the development of agriculture, cattle breeding and animal husbandry. The glades went down in history as a tribe, to a greater extent than others, contributing to the development of ancient Russian statehood.
The neighbors of the glades in the south were Rus, Tivertsy and Ulichi, in the north - the Drevlyans and in the west - the Croats, Volynians and Buzhans.

9. Russia is the name of one, far from the largest East Slavic tribe, which, because of its name, became the most famous both in the history of mankind and in historical science, because in disputes over its origin, scientists and publicists broke many copies and spilled rivers of ink . Many prominent scholars - lexicographers, etymologists and historians - derive this name from the name of the Normans, almost universally accepted in the 9th-10th centuries, - the Rus. The Normans, known to the Eastern Slavs as the Varangians, conquered Kyiv and the surrounding lands around 882. During their conquests, which took place for 300 years - from the 8th to the 11th century - and covered all of Europe - from England to Sicily and from Lisbon to Kyiv - they sometimes left their name behind the conquered lands. For example, the territory conquered by the Normans in the north of the Frankish kingdom was called Normandy.
Opponents of this point of view believe that the name of the tribe comes from the hydronym - the river Ros, from which later the whole country began to be called Russia. And in the XI-XII centuries, Rus began to be called the lands of Rus, glades, northerners and Radimichi, some territories inhabited by streets and Vyatichi. Supporters of this point of view consider Russia no longer as a tribal or ethnic union, but as a political state formation.

10. Tivertsy occupied spaces along the banks of the Dniester, from its middle course to the mouth of the Danube and the shores of the Black Sea. The most probable seems to be their origin, their names from the river Tivr, as the ancient Greeks called the Dniester. Their center was the city of Cherven on the western bank of the Dniester. The Tivertsy bordered on the nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs and Polovtsians and, under their blows, retreated to the north, mixing with the Croats and Volynians.

11. The streets were the southern neighbors of the Tivertsy, occupying lands in the Lower Dnieper, on the banks of the Bug and the Black Sea coast. Their main city was Peresechen. Together with the Tivertsy, they retreated to the north, where they mixed with the Croats and Volynians.

12. The Drevlyans lived along the Teterev, Uzh, Uborot and Sviga rivers, in Polissya and on the right bank of the Dnieper. Their main city was Iskorosten on the Uzh River, and besides, there were other cities - Ovruch, Gorodsk, several others, whose names we do not know, but their traces remained in the form of settlements. The Drevlyans were the most hostile East Slavic tribe in relation to the Polans and their allies, who formed the Old Russian state with its center in Kyiv. They were decisive enemies of the first Kyiv princes, even killed one of them - Igor Svyatoslavovich, for which the prince of the Drevlyans Mal, in turn, was killed by Igor's widow, Princess Olga.
The Drevlyans lived in dense forests, getting their name from the word "tree" - a tree.

13. Croats who lived around the city of Przemysl on the river. San, called themselves white Croats, in contrast to the tribe of the same name with them, who lived in the Balkans. The name of the tribe is derived from the ancient Iranian word "shepherd, guardian of cattle", which may indicate its main occupation - cattle breeding.

14. The Volynians were a tribal association formed on the territory where the Duleb tribe had previously lived. Volynians settled on both banks of the Western Bug and in the upper reaches of the Pripyat. Their main city was Cherven, and after Volyn was conquered by the Kievan princes, a new city, Vladimir-Volynsky, was established on the Luga River in 988, which gave its name to the Vladimir-Volyn principality that formed around it.

15. In addition to the Volhynians, the Buzhans, located on the banks of the Southern Bug, entered the tribal association that arose in the habitat of the Dulebs. There is an opinion that the Volhynians and Buzhans were one tribe, and their independent names came about only due to different habitats. According to written foreign sources, the Buzhans occupied 230 "cities" - most likely, they were fortified settlements, and the Volynians - 70. Be that as it may, these figures indicate that Volyn and the Bug region were rather densely populated.

As for the lands and peoples bordering on the Eastern Slavs, this picture looked like this: Finno-Ugric tribes lived in the north: Cheremis, Chud Zavolochskaya, all, Korela, Chud; in the northwest lived the Balto-Slavic tribes: Kors, Zemigola, Zhmud, Yatvingians and Prussians; in the west - Poles and Hungarians; in the southwest - Volohi (ancestors of the Romanians and Moldovans); in the east - the Burtases, the related Mordovians and the Volga-Kama Bulgarians. Outside these lands lay "terra incognita" - an unknown land, which the Eastern Slavs learned about only after their knowledge of the world greatly expanded with the advent of a new religion in Russia - Christianity, and at the same time writing, which was the third sign of civilization .