SLAVIC GODS - TESTIMONIES OF SCHOLARS
SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY
- V.V. IVANOV, V.N. TOPOROV
Slavic mythology, the set of mythological beliefs of ancient Slavs (Proto-Slavs) during their unity (up to the end of the 1st millennium AD). As the Slavs spread from the Proto-Slavic territory (between the Vistula and the Dnieper, primarily from the Carpathian region) across Central and Eastern Europe from the Elbe (Lab) to the Dnieper and from the southern shores of the Baltic Sea to the north of the Balkan Peninsula, the differentiation of Slavic mythology and the delineation of its local variants took place, preserving the basic characteristics of the common Slavic mythology for a long time. Such are the mythologies of the Baltic Slavs (western Slavic tribes of the northern part of the Elbe and Oder interfluve) and the mythologies of the eastern Slavs (tribal centers - Kiev and Novgorod). It can be assumed that there were other variants (in particular, the South Slavic on the Balkans and the West Slavic in the Polish-Czech-Moravian region), but information about them is scarce.
Authentic Slavic mythological texts have not been preserved: the religious-mythological integrity of paganism was destroyed during the Christianization of the Slavs. Reconstruction of the basic elements of Slavic mythology is possible based on secondary written sources, folklore, and material sources. The main source of information on early Slavic mythology is medieval chronicles, annals written by external observers in German or Latin (Baltic Slavic mythology) and by Slavic authors (mythology of Polish and Czech tribes), anti-pagan literature ("Words"), and chronicles (mythology of eastern Slavs). Valuable information is found in the works of Byzantine writers (starting from Procopius in the 6th century) and in geographical descriptions by medieval Arab and European authors. Extensive material on Slavic mythology is provided by later folklore and ethnographic collections, as well as linguistic data (individual motifs, mythological characters, and objects). Most of this data pertains to the epochs that followed the Proto-Slavic period and contain only fragments of the common Slavic mythology. Chronologically coinciding with the Proto-Slavic period are archaeological data on rituals, sanctuaries (temples of Baltic Slavs in Arkona, Perun near Novgorod, and others), individual representations (the Zbruch idol, etc.).
A unique source for reconstructing Slavic mythology is the comparative-historical comparison with other Indo-European mythological systems, primarily with the mythology of Baltic tribes, which stand out for their particular archaism ("Baltic mythology"). This comparison allows the identification of Indo-European roots of Slavic mythology and a number of its characters with their names and attributes, including the main myth of the thunder god's duel with his demonic opponent ("Perun, Indo-European mythology"). Indo-European parallels help distinguish archaic elements from later innovations, influences of Iranian, Germanic, and other Eurasian mythologies, and later - Christianity, which notably transformed Slavic mythology.
Based on the functions of mythological characters, the nature of their connections with the collective, the degree of individualized embodiment, the characteristics of their temporal features, and the degree of relevance to individuals within Slavic mythology, several levels can be distinguished.
The highest level is characterized by the most generalized type of functions of gods (ritual-judicial, military, economic-natural), their connection to official cults (up to early state pantheons). Two Proto-Slavic deities, whose names are reliably reconstructed as Perunъ (Perun) and Velesъ (Veles), were considered part of the highest level of Slavic mythology, along with a female character associated with them, whose Proto-Slavic name remains unclear. These deities embody military and economic-natural functions and are connected through participation in the storm myth: the thunder god Perun, residing in heaven atop a mountain, pursues his serpent-like enemy living below on earth, Veles. The cause of their quarrel is Veles's abduction of livestock, humans, and in some variants, the wife of the thunderer. Pursued by Perun, Veles hides successively under a tree, a rock, transforms into a human, a horse, a cow. During the duel with Veles, Perun cleaves a tree, splits a rock, and hurls arrows. Victory culminates in rain that brings fertility. It is not excluded that some of these motifs are repeated in connection with other deities appearing in different, later pantheons under different names (for example, Svetovid). Knowledge of the complete composition of Proto-Slavic gods of the highest level is very limited, although there are grounds to believe that they already formed a pantheon. Besides the named gods, this pantheon may have included those deities whose names are known in at least two different Slavic traditions. Examples include the ancient Russian Svarog (related to fire - Svarogich, i.e., the son of Svarog), Zuarasiz among the Baltic Slavs (comparable to Czech and Slovak raroz, "dry wood", and Romanian sfarog, "dried", allowing for a South Slavic form of this name to be presumed). Another example is the ancient Russian Dazhdbog and the South Slavic Dabog (in Serbian folklore). Names like the ancient Russian Yarilo and Yarovit (Latin Gerovitus) among the Baltic Slavs are more complex, as these names are based on old epithets of the respective deities. Such epithet-like names were apparently also related to the gods of the Proto-Slavic pantheon (e.g., Mother Earth and other female deities).
Lower-level deities may have been associated with economic cycles and seasonal rituals, as well as gods embodying the integrity of closed small collectives: Rod, Chur among the eastern Slavs, and so forth. It is possible that most female deities, which manifest close connections with the collective (Mokosh and others), sometimes less anthropomorphic than the gods of the higher level, were also associated with this level.
Elements of the next level are characterized by the greatest abstraction in functions, sometimes allowing them to be seen as personification of basic oppositions; for example - Fate, Misfortune, Truth, Falsehood, Death, or specialized functions, such as Judgment. The concept of fate, luck, happiness, was probably connected to a common Slavic god (similar to "rich" (possessing fate, god) - "poor" (with no fate, god), Ukrainian "neboh", "neboga" - unhappy, poor). The word "god" was part of the names of various deities - Dazhdbog, Chernobog, and others. Slavic data and evidence from other most archaic Indo-European mythologies allow us to see in these names a reflection of the ancient layer of mythological beliefs of the Proto-Slavs. Many of these characters appear in fairy tales in accordance with the time of the tale and even specific life situations (e.g., Sorrow-Misfortune).
The mythologized historical tradition is associated with the heroes of mythological epics. They are known only from individual Slavic traditions: such as the genealogical heroes Kiy, Shchek, Khoriv among the eastern Slavs, Czech, Lyakh, Krak among the western Slavs, and others. Nevertheless, the reconstruction of the level of genealogical heroes is plausible even for Proto-Slavic mythology. Ancient roots can be glimpsed in characters who act as adversaries to these heroes, such as monsters of serpent-like nature, later versions of which include Solovei-Razboynik and Rarog-Rarashek. A Proto-Slavic mythical motif about a prince-werewolf born with a sign of magical power is possible (seen in the Serbian epic of Vuk the Fiery Serpent and the Eastern Slavic epic of Vseslav).
Fairy-tale characters, apparently, participate in rituals in their mythologized form and lead those classes of beings that belong to the lower level: such as Baba Yaga, Koschei, Miraculous, Forest King, Water King, Sea King. Various classes of non-individualized (often non-anthropomorphic) unclean spirits, spirits, animals associated with the entire mythological realm from homes to forests, swamps, etc., belong to the lower mythology: household spirits, forest spirits, water spirits, mermaids, vila, fever spirits, mares, kikimora, judges among the western Slavs; animals like the bear and wolf.
The mythologized human form correlates with all the previous levels of Slavic mythology, especially in rituals; for example, the Polemarch. The Proto-Slavic concept of the soul (spirit) distinguishes humans from other beings (especially animals) and has deep Indo-European roots.
Universally, synthesizing all the relationships described above, the world tree is a central image in Slavic (and many other peoples') folklore. In Slavic folk texts, Vyr, the heavenly tree, birch, maple, oak, pine, rowan, apple tree usually fulfill this function. Different animals correspond to the three main parts of the world tree: birds (falcon, nightingale, mythological birds, Div, etc.) to the branches and top, as well as the sun and moon; bees to the trunk; chthonic animals (snakes, beavers, etc.) to the roots. The entire tree can be compared to a human, especially a woman: compare the depiction of a tree or a woman between two horsemen, birds, and other compositions in the embroidery of Northern Russia. The world tree models a triple vertical structure of the world - three realms: heaven, earth, and the underworld, a fourfold horizontal structure (north, west, south, east, corresponding to the four winds), life and death (green, flowering tree and dry tree, tree in calendar rituals), etc.
The world was described by a system of basic content binary oppositions, defining spatial, temporal, social, and other characteristics. The dualistic principle of opposition between the favorable and unfavorable for the collective was sometimes realized in mythological characters endowed with positive or negative functions, or in personified members of the oppositions. Examples include: happiness (fortune) - unhappiness (misfortune). The Proto-Slavic term for the positive member of this opposition meant "good fortune (luck)". The ritual of divination - choosing between fortune and misfortune among the Baltic Slavs is associated with the opposition of White God and Black God - similar to personifications of good fortune and bad fortune, evil, sorrow, misfortune, meeting and non-meeting in Slavic folklore.
Life - death. In Slavic mythology, deities give life, fertility, longevity - such as the goddess Zhiva among Baltic Slavs and Rod among Eastern Slavs. However, a deity can also bring death: motifs of murder are linked in Slavic mythology to Chernobog and Perun (curses like "may Chernobog (or Perun) kill you"), perhaps with Triglav (possibly the lord of the underworld), with Perun, defeating a demonic enemy. Embodiments of illness and death include Nav', Marena (Morana), Death as a folkloric character, and a class of lower mythical beings: mares, zmare, kikimora, and others. Symbols of life and death in Slavic mythology - living water and dead water, tree of life and the egg hidden beside it with death, the sea or swamp where death and illness are banished.
Even - odd - the most abstract and formalized expression of the entire series of oppositions, an element of metadescription of all Slavic mythology. It involves the distinction of favorable even and unfavorable odd numbers, for example, days of the week: Thursday is linked to Perun, Friday to Mokosh, Tuesday to Prav \ Prove (compare personifications like Holy Monday, Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday). Integral numerical structures in Slavic mythology - triadic (three levels of the world tree, god Triglav, also the role of the number three in folklore), quaternary (four-headed Zbruch idol, possible fusion of four characters of Baltic Slavic mythology - Yarovit, Ruevit, Porevit, Porenut, etc.), heptametric (seven gods in the ancient Russian pantheon, possibly ancient Russian Semargl), nonmetric and dodecametric (twelve as the completion of the series 3-4-7). Unlucky odd numbers, half, characterizing negativity and characters, for example, the number thirteen, the one-eyed evil.
The opposition of right-left is at the core of ancient mythologized law (righteousness, truth, justice, correctness, etc.), divination, rituals, omens, and is reflected in personified images of Justice in the heavens and Injustice on Earth.
The opposition of male-female is related to the right-left opposition in wedding and funeral rituals (where women are traditionally positioned to the left of men). There is a significant difference between male and female mythological characters in terms of functions, significance, and quantity: the scarcity of female characters in the pantheon, relationships like Div - divas, Rod - births, Sud - judges. The role of the feminine principle in magic and witchcraft is particularly significant.
The opposition of top-bottom on a cosmic level is interpreted as the juxtaposition of heaven and earth, the tops and roots of the world tree, different realms embodied by Triglav, and in a ritual sense is manifested in the placement of Perun's sanctuary on a hill and Veles in a valley.
The opposition of sky-earth (underworld) is embodied in the association of deities with the sky and humans with the earth. Beliefs about the "unlocking" of the sky and earth by sacred figures like Saint George, the Virgin Mary, the lark, or other characters creating a favorable connection between heaven and earth are linked with the beginning of spring among the Slavs. Mother Earth is a constant epithet for the highest female deity. In the underworld reside creatures associated with death (such as rusalkas) and the deceased themselves.
The opposition of south-north, east-west on a cosmic level describes the spatial structure in relation to the sun, in a ritual sense - the structure of sanctuaries oriented towards the cardinal directions, and rules of behavior in rituals; also compare the four mythologized winds (sometimes personified - Wind, Whirlwind, etc.), related to the cardinal points.
In the opposition of land-sea, special importance is attributed to the sea - the abode of numerous negative, predominantly female characters, associated with death and illness, where they are banished in spells. Embodiments include the sea, ocean, sea king and his twelve daughters, twelve fevers, etc. The positive aspect is embodied in motifs of the arrival of spring and sun from across the sea.
This opposition is overlaid with another: dry-wet (compare later - Dry and Wet Ilya, Dry and Wet Nicholas, the combination of these attributes in Perun, the god of lightning - fire and rain).
The opposition of fire-water is embodied in motifs of the struggle between these elements and in characters like the Fire Serpent (in Russian epics about Volkh Vseslavovich, in tales and spells, in the Serbian epic about the Fire Snake Wolf), Firebird (the mythical firebird, Slovak "fire-bird", Fear Bird - Pax in Russian spells with its desiccating whirlwinds, etc.), Fire Maria, who is connected with Thunderous Ilya in Serbian and Bulgarian songs, opposed to Maria Makrine (from "wet"), etc. A special role is played by the "living fire" in numerous rituals, burning ceremonies, bonfires, rain calling rituals (peperuda, dodala among the southern Slavs), well cults, and more. Fire and water are united in the figures of Perun, Kupala, the fiery river, and others.
Mythological embodiments of the opposition of day-night are the night, midnight, and noon fairies, as well as the morning, noon, evening, and midnight Zoryas. The horse of Svetovid is white during the day and mud-splattered at night.
In the opposition of spring-winter, Spring holds special importance, associated with mythological characters embodying fertility - Yarilo, Kostrama, Morena, and others, as well as with rituals for burying winter and welcoming spring, with plant and zoomorphic symbols.
The opposition of sun-moon is embodied in the mythological motif of the marriage relationship of the Sun and Moon. Solar deities include Svarog, Dazhbog, Khors, and others. One of the most ancient common Slavic symbols is the image of the sun-wheel; also comparable are the image of the sun at the top of the world tree and the sun-shaped bread loaf.
The opposition of white-black is known in other variations as well: light-dark, red-black. Its embodiment in the pantheon is Belobog and Chernobog; in divination, rituals, omens, the color white is associated with positive qualities, while black is linked to negative ones (as seen in the folk distinction between white and black magic).
The opposition of near-far in Slavic mythology points to the structure of space (horizontally) and time: comparable to "one's home" - the "land of the three times" in Russian fairy tales, images of paths, roads, bridges, distances, ancient and new times. The house-forest is a specific example of the near-far opposition and the realization of the kindred-stranger opposition; embodied in figures of human and beast (e.g., bears), house spirits, and other entities associated with different parts of the home and yard, the forest spirit, and more.
The opposition of old-young emphasizes the difference between maturity, peak productive forces, and decrepitude - with mythological pairs like the youth and the old man with a bald head in spring and autumn rituals, Badnyak and Bozhich. Significant roles in Slavic mythology are played by the images of the old witchlike Baba Yaga and the balding old man, grandfather, and others. The opposition of old-young is linked to the ancestral-offspring opposition and rituals for commemorating ancestors, "grandfathers," as well as the elder-younger, main-secondary opposition (comparable to the role of the younger brother in Slavic folklore and so on).
The opposition of sacred-worldly distinguishes the sphere of the sacred, endowed with special power (seen in the root "svyat-," particularly in mythological names like Svetovid, Svyatogor), from the mundane profane sphere lacking this power.
The described set of elements in Slavic mythology (main oppositions and mythological characters) can be realized in various texts - epics, fairy tales, spells, individual sentences related to omens, curses, and more. Rituals like walking with a goat, chasing serpents, sacrificing the Ilyinsky bull, cattle death, cattle burning, beard curling (for Veles, Nicholas, or Ilya), rain calling, star calling, St. George's and Kupala festivals, allow for the restoration of many mythological motifs and establish a connection between myths and rituals where these motifs are also realized.
For the pre-Slavic period, numerous festivities, especially of a carnival type, associated with specific seasons and commemorating the dead are reconstructed. The coincidence of several characteristic details (involvement of masqueraders, farcical funerals) alongside typological explanations makes it possible (according to V. Pizan's hypothesis) to relate these Slavic festivities to calendar rituals of masquerading, as reconstructed for the common Indo-European period by G. Dumézil. Early Latin sources already describe farcical rituals (including memorial ones) among the Western Slavs (such as Kozma of Prague and others) and the Southern Slavs (in the 13th century, Dimitrii of Bulgaria describes rusalki and the theatrical acts and dances performed on their occasion, deemed inappropriate). In unofficial folk culture, these rituals persisted until the 19th-20th centuries in all Slavic traditions: comparable to the mock funerals of mythological beings like Kostrama, Maslenitsa, Yarila, Marzanna, and others among the Eastern Slavs (where seasonal rites involve zoomorphic symbols like the "cattle death"), among the Czechs (the umrlec ritual, Moravian spring rites during Smrtna nedela when a dummy was paraded with songs literally identical to those of the Eastern Slavs), among the Bulgarians (rusalki, German and others).
The Late Proto-Slavic mythological system of early state formations is most fully represented in Eastern Slavic mythology and the mythology of the Baltic Slavs. Early information about Eastern Slavic mythology dates back to chronicle sources. According to "The Tale of Past Years," in 980, Prince Vladimir Sviatoslavich attempted to create a pantheon of pagan gods. In Kiev, on a hill outside the princely residence, idols of the gods Perun, Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Semargl, and Mokosh were erected. The main deities of the pantheon were the thunderer Perun and the "cattle god" Veles (Volos), juxtaposed topographically (Perun's idol on the hill, Veles' idol below, possibly in Kiev's Podil district), likely by social function (Perun - the god of the princely retinue, Veles - of the rest of Rus). The only female character in the Kiev pantheon, Mokosh, is associated with typical female activities (especially spinning). Other gods of this pantheon are less known but all relate to common natural functions: Stribog, presumably linked to the winds, Dazhbog and Khors with the sun, and Svarog with fire. The role of the last god in the pantheon, Semargl, is less clear: some researchers consider this character borrowed from Iranian mythology (parallels with Simurgh), while others interpret him as a character uniting all seven gods. Connections among the gods within the pantheon and their hierarchy are revealed in the patterns of listing gods in chronicle lists: the link between Perun and Veles, Stribog with Dazhbog and Svarog, the peripheral position of Semargl or Mokosh, etc. Vladimir's adoption of Christianity in 988 led to the destruction of idols and a ban on pagan religion and its rituals. Nonetheless, pagan remnants persisted. Apart from the gods in the pantheon, other mythological characters are known, usually reported by later sources. Some are closely tied to family-clan cults (Rod) or seasonal rites (Yarila, Kupala, Kostrama), while others are known from less reliable sources (Trojan, Pereplut), with some being creations of the so-called "closet mythology."
West Slavic mythology is known through several local variants, related to the Baltic Slavs, Czech tribes, and Polish tribes. The most detailed information about the gods of the Baltic Slavs is available, but it is also fragmented, focusing on individual deities usually associated with local cults. It is possible that the entire array of high-level mythological characters among the Baltic Slavs was not unified in a pantheon (unlike the Eastern Slavs). However, there is relatively rich information in Western European chronicles about the cult of gods, with clear spatial delineations (descriptions of cult centers, temples, idols, priests, sacrifices, divinations, etc.). The pagan tradition among the Baltic Slavs was interrupted by violent Christianization, resulting in the loss of sources reflecting the continuation of old beliefs. Among the gods of the Baltic Slavs, the most well-known are: Svetovit, characterized as the "first or highest of gods," the "god of gods"; associated with war, victories, and divinations; Triglav, once referred to as the "supreme god," with a horse as his attribute, participating in divinations like Svetovit; the idol of Triglav had three heads or was placed on the main of three hills, as in Szczecin. Svarozic-Radgost was venerated as the main god in his cult centers, particularly in Rethra, apparently associated with military functions and divination. Yarovit was identified with Mars and also revered as a god of fertility. Ruyevit was also connected with war (especially revered in Korenica). Porevit was depicted without weapons and had a five-headed idol; the idol of Porenut had four faces and a fifth on its chest. Chernobog was characterized as a god bringing misfortune (the presence of this name and toponyms like Black God and White God among the Lusatian Serbs suggest that a White God may have once existed); Prove - a god associated with sacred oak trees, oak groves, and forests; Prilegalla - a deity of an Aphrodisiac type associated with orgies; Podaga - a deity with a temple and idol in Plune; Zhyva - a female deity linked to life forces. As seen from the list, some gods with similar functions and descriptions but different names might be interpreted as local variants of the same ancient Slavic deity. There are grounds to assume that Svetovit, Triglav, and possibly Radgost can be traced back to the image of Perun. Additionally, considering the distinct multi-headed nature of gods among the Baltic Slavs, it is possible that some deities are grouped into a single deity, with various manifestations reflecting different degrees of productive power (e.g., Yarovit, Ruyevit, Porevit, Porenut). Lastly, cases of sharply contrasting oppositions are also probable: Belobog - Chernobog.
The only source of information about Polish gods is the "History of Poland" by J. Dlugosz (late 15th century), which lists several theophoric names accompanied by correspondences from Roman mythology: Yesza - Jupiter, Lyada - Mars, Dzydzilelya - Venus, Nya - Pluto, Dzewana - Diana, Marzyana - Ceres, Pogoda - proportion, especially temporal (Temperies), Zywye - Life (Vita). A. Bruckner, who analyzed these Polish names, pointed out that much in Dlugosz's list is the creation of the chronicler and does not have roots in ancient Slavic mythology. This includes Lyada and Dzydzilelya, whose names stem from song refrains, and so on; other names belong to characters of lower mythological levels; and some were created to find correspondence with Roman deities. However, there are reasons to believe that, despite many inaccuracies and fabrications, Dlugosz's list reflects mythological reality. This is especially true for Nya (a name apparently related to the Russian "nav'", meaning "death"), Dzewana (similar to the Polish "dziewa", "maiden"), and particularly Marzyana, mythological characters involved in seasonal rituals. Pogoda and Zywye also deserve attention, especially considering that their Roman mythological counterparts are not provided. Some of these characters have reliable counterparts outside the Polish mythological tradition. Subsequent authors following Dlugosz repeated his list and sometimes added new deities, whose names, however, are not highly reliable (e.g., Lel, Polel, and Pozvizd in Mahovski, Pokhvist in Kromer).
Czech (and even more so Slovak) data on the names of gods are equally fragmented and require critical examination. There are grounds to believe that this tradition once included mythological characters continuing the images of Perun and Veles: for example, the Czech Perun and the Slovak Parom (particularly in curses, where other traditions mention the name of Perun), as well as the mention of the demon Veles by the 15th-century writer Tkadlec in the triad "Devil - Veles - serpent" or the expression "beyond the sea, to Veles" in the translation of Jesus Sirach (1561) and others. Some of the mythological names found in glosses to the Old Czech monument "Mater verborum" coincide with the names from Dlugosz's list: Devana (Latin Diana), Mogapa (Hecate), Lada (Venus), and Zizlila in one of the later sources (similar to Dzydzilelya in Dlugosz). The names Prowe, Porevit among the Baltic Slavs are likely related to the mythological character Porvata, identified with Proserpina. Nepach from Opatovice (16th century) mentions the idol Zelu (comparable to Zelon in later sources), whose name may be linked to vegetation, vegetation cult (similar to the Old Czech zele, "grass"); also comparable is the deity Jesen (Czech jesen, "autumn"), identified with Isis. Gaek from Libochan (16th century) reports a number of other mythological names (Klimba, Krosina, Krasatina, and others; comparable to Krasopani - Old Czech name of a mythological creature, possibly an epithet of a goddess - "Beautiful Lady", matching the name of a sea princess and mother of the sun in Slovak tales), which are considered unreliable or fictional. Nevertheless, even these minor remnants provide indirect insights into some aspects of West Slavic mythology. The destruction of the old mythological system took several directions: one of them was the transition of mythological characters from higher levels to lower ones, from the circle of positive characters to the circle of negative ones, which apparently occurred with a mythological being known from Czech and Slovak folklore as Rarog, Rarah, Rarashak.
The information about South Slavic mythology is quite scarce. Being influenced early on by ancient Mediterranean civilizations and having embraced Christianity earlier than other Slavic groups, the South Slavs lost nearly all knowledge of the composition of their former pantheon. The idea of a single god emerged fairly early; in any case, Procopius of Caesarea, mentioning that the Slavs worshipped "all sorts of other deities", made sacrifices and used them for divination, also reported their reverence for a single god ("The Wars with the Goths" III 14). Since the same source provides information about the worship of a thunder god, and in the toponymy of Slavic lands south of the Danube, there are quite a few traces of the names Perun and Veles, one can confidently speak of the cult of these gods and traces of the myth about the battle between the thunderer and a demonic adversary among the South Slavs. In the Slavic translation of the chronicle of John Malalas, the name of Zeus is replaced by the name of Perun ("The Son of God Porouna is great..."); furthermore, this name is reflected in the names of participants in the raincalling ritual in the Balkans - Bulgarian "peperuna, paparuna, peperuda," and so on; Serbo-Croatian "prporusha, preperusha," and others of the same type; these names spread to Romanians, Albanians, and Greeks. Another similar naming type, dodola, dudola, dudulitsa, duduleyka, and so on, is perhaps linked to the archaic epithet of Perun. Indirectly, one can judge the image of Veles from the descriptions of the protector and defender of cattle among the Serbs - Saint Sava, who seems to have absorbed some traits of the "cattle god". The mention of the witch Mokosh in a Slovenian tale indicates that Mokosh was once known to the South Slavs. The same can be said for King Dabog from a Serbian tale in connection with the East Slavic Dazhbog. It is not excluded that insights into South Slavic mythology can be expanded by examining data from lower levels of the mythological system and especially the ritual sphere.
The introduction of Christianity into Slavic lands from the 9th century put an end to the official existence of Slavic mythology, greatly dismantling its higher levels, whose characters came to be regarded as negative, unless they were identified with Christian saints, such as Perun - with Saint Elijah, Veles - with Saint Blaise, Yarila - with Saint George, and so on. The lower levels of Slavic mythology, like the system of common oppositions, turned out to be much more stable and created complex combinations with the dominant Christian religion (the so-called "dual faith").
Demonology was chiefly preserved: belief in the forest spirit (Belarusian leshyuk, puschivyk; Polish duch lesny, borowy; Ukrainian lisovik, Czech lesnoj pan, and others), the water sprite (Polish topielec, wodnik, Czech vodnik). Among the South Slavs, there was a complex mythological image of vila (Serbian), Bulgarian samovila, samodiva - mountain, water, and air spirits. The common Slavic field spirit - poludnitsa, among the East Slavs - polevik and others. Numerous mythological entities were linked (particularly among the East Slavs) to domestic affairs: the Russian domovoy (with euphemistic substitutes for this name: dedko, dedushko, dobrokhot, dobrizhil, susedko, khoziain, on, sam, and others), Ukrainian khatniy dyko, Belarusian khatnik, hospodar, Polish skrzat, Czech skritek, skrat; also spirits of separate household structures - bannik, ovinik, and others. There was ambivalence in beliefs about the spirits of the deceased: on the one hand, family protectors - ancestors, parents who died a natural death were revered, on the other hand, dangerous dead (vengeful), those who died untimely or violent deaths, suicides, drowning victims, and so on. Among the ancestors-protectors was Chur, among the hostile dead were vampires, mavkas. Belief in numerous evil spirits persisted - zlydneys, mara, kikimora, anchutka, nychistyks among Belarusians (seshki, tsmoki, and others). Diseases were personified with emphasis on individual symptoms: Trasyey, Ogney, Ladey, Khripusha, and others (typical beliefs about twelve fevers in Russian spells, with parallels in other Indo-European traditions).
At the same time, ancient traditions were reflected in a series of monuments in which, through the use of certain terms and key concepts of Christian mythology, a complex of basic categories of Slavic mythology is presented. One of the most characteristic genres among the Eastern Slavs is spiritual verses, which in form and musical performance continue the common Slavic tradition of singing epic songs and stories of Slavic mythology. For example, in the Old Russian "Dove Book", there are representations of the relationship between humans and the universe, micro- and macrocosm, corresponding to the Vedic hymn about Purusha and ascending to the common Indo-European myth of the creation of the world from the human body. The plot of the dispute between Truth and Falsehood also dates back to Indo-European origins. Among the Western Slavs, the texts continuing archaic carnival traditions included mystery farces with mythological characters like the Eastern Slavic Yarila. The old Czech mystery "Unguentarius" (13th century) with its sexual motives in playing with the idea of death and laughter at death can be compared to these.
Christianity among the Slavs largely absorbed the old mythological vocabulary and ritual formulas that trace back to Indo-European sources: such designations as "god", "savior", "holy", "prophet", "prayer", "sacrifice", "cross", "(re)surrection", "ritual", "miracle", and so on can be compared.
Slavic mythology, the set of mythological beliefs of ancient Slavs (Proto-Slavs) during their unity (up to the end of the 1st millennium AD). As the Slavs spread from the Proto-Slavic territory (between the Vistula and the Dnieper, primarily from the Carpathian region) across Central and Eastern Europe from the Elbe (Lab) to the Dnieper and from the southern shores of the Baltic Sea to the north of the Balkan Peninsula, the differentiation of Slavic mythology and the delineation of its local variants took place, preserving the basic characteristics of the common Slavic mythology for a long time. Such are the mythologies of the Baltic Slavs (western Slavic tribes of the northern part of the Elbe and Oder interfluve) and the mythologies of the eastern Slavs (tribal centers - Kiev and Novgorod). It can be assumed that there were other variants (in particular, the South Slavic on the Balkans and the West Slavic in the Polish-Czech-Moravian region), but information about them is scarce.
Authentic Slavic mythological texts have not been preserved: the religious-mythological integrity of paganism was destroyed during the Christianization of the Slavs. Reconstruction of the basic elements of Slavic mythology is possible based on secondary written sources, folklore, and material sources. The main source of information on early Slavic mythology is medieval chronicles, annals written by external observers in German or Latin (Baltic Slavic mythology) and by Slavic authors (mythology of Polish and Czech tribes), anti-pagan literature ("Words"), and chronicles (mythology of eastern Slavs). Valuable information is found in the works of Byzantine writers (starting from Procopius in the 6th century) and in geographical descriptions by medieval Arab and European authors. Extensive material on Slavic mythology is provided by later folklore and ethnographic collections, as well as linguistic data (individual motifs, mythological characters, and objects). Most of this data pertains to the epochs that followed the Proto-Slavic period and contain only fragments of the common Slavic mythology. Chronologically coinciding with the Proto-Slavic period are archaeological data on rituals, sanctuaries (temples of Baltic Slavs in Arkona, Perun near Novgorod, and others), individual representations (the Zbruch idol, etc.).
A unique source for reconstructing Slavic mythology is the comparative-historical comparison with other Indo-European mythological systems, primarily with the mythology of Baltic tribes, which stand out for their particular archaism ("Baltic mythology"). This comparison allows the identification of Indo-European roots of Slavic mythology and a number of its characters with their names and attributes, including the main myth of the thunder god's duel with his demonic opponent ("Perun, Indo-European mythology"). Indo-European parallels help distinguish archaic elements from later innovations, influences of Iranian, Germanic, and other Eurasian mythologies, and later - Christianity, which notably transformed Slavic mythology.
Based on the functions of mythological characters, the nature of their connections with the collective, the degree of individualized embodiment, the characteristics of their temporal features, and the degree of relevance to individuals within Slavic mythology, several levels can be distinguished.
The highest level is characterized by the most generalized type of functions of gods (ritual-judicial, military, economic-natural), their connection to official cults (up to early state pantheons). Two Proto-Slavic deities, whose names are reliably reconstructed as Perunъ (Perun) and Velesъ (Veles), were considered part of the highest level of Slavic mythology, along with a female character associated with them, whose Proto-Slavic name remains unclear. These deities embody military and economic-natural functions and are connected through participation in the storm myth: the thunder god Perun, residing in heaven atop a mountain, pursues his serpent-like enemy living below on earth, Veles. The cause of their quarrel is Veles's abduction of livestock, humans, and in some variants, the wife of the thunderer. Pursued by Perun, Veles hides successively under a tree, a rock, transforms into a human, a horse, a cow. During the duel with Veles, Perun cleaves a tree, splits a rock, and hurls arrows. Victory culminates in rain that brings fertility. It is not excluded that some of these motifs are repeated in connection with other deities appearing in different, later pantheons under different names (for example, Svetovid). Knowledge of the complete composition of Proto-Slavic gods of the highest level is very limited, although there are grounds to believe that they already formed a pantheon. Besides the named gods, this pantheon may have included those deities whose names are known in at least two different Slavic traditions. Examples include the ancient Russian Svarog (related to fire - Svarogich, i.e., the son of Svarog), Zuarasiz among the Baltic Slavs (comparable to Czech and Slovak raroz, "dry wood", and Romanian sfarog, "dried", allowing for a South Slavic form of this name to be presumed). Another example is the ancient Russian Dazhdbog and the South Slavic Dabog (in Serbian folklore). Names like the ancient Russian Yarilo and Yarovit (Latin Gerovitus) among the Baltic Slavs are more complex, as these names are based on old epithets of the respective deities. Such epithet-like names were apparently also related to the gods of the Proto-Slavic pantheon (e.g., Mother Earth and other female deities).
Lower-level deities may have been associated with economic cycles and seasonal rituals, as well as gods embodying the integrity of closed small collectives: Rod, Chur among the eastern Slavs, and so forth. It is possible that most female deities, which manifest close connections with the collective (Mokosh and others), sometimes less anthropomorphic than the gods of the higher level, were also associated with this level.
Elements of the next level are characterized by the greatest abstraction in functions, sometimes allowing them to be seen as personification of basic oppositions; for example - Fate, Misfortune, Truth, Falsehood, Death, or specialized functions, such as Judgment. The concept of fate, luck, happiness, was probably connected to a common Slavic god (similar to "rich" (possessing fate, god) - "poor" (with no fate, god), Ukrainian "neboh", "neboga" - unhappy, poor). The word "god" was part of the names of various deities - Dazhdbog, Chernobog, and others. Slavic data and evidence from other most archaic Indo-European mythologies allow us to see in these names a reflection of the ancient layer of mythological beliefs of the Proto-Slavs. Many of these characters appear in fairy tales in accordance with the time of the tale and even specific life situations (e.g., Sorrow-Misfortune).
The mythologized historical tradition is associated with the heroes of mythological epics. They are known only from individual Slavic traditions: such as the genealogical heroes Kiy, Shchek, Khoriv among the eastern Slavs, Czech, Lyakh, Krak among the western Slavs, and others. Nevertheless, the reconstruction of the level of genealogical heroes is plausible even for Proto-Slavic mythology. Ancient roots can be glimpsed in characters who act as adversaries to these heroes, such as monsters of serpent-like nature, later versions of which include Solovei-Razboynik and Rarog-Rarashek. A Proto-Slavic mythical motif about a prince-werewolf born with a sign of magical power is possible (seen in the Serbian epic of Vuk the Fiery Serpent and the Eastern Slavic epic of Vseslav).
Fairy-tale characters, apparently, participate in rituals in their mythologized form and lead those classes of beings that belong to the lower level: such as Baba Yaga, Koschei, Miraculous, Forest King, Water King, Sea King. Various classes of non-individualized (often non-anthropomorphic) unclean spirits, spirits, animals associated with the entire mythological realm from homes to forests, swamps, etc., belong to the lower mythology: household spirits, forest spirits, water spirits, mermaids, vila, fever spirits, mares, kikimora, judges among the western Slavs; animals like the bear and wolf.
The mythologized human form correlates with all the previous levels of Slavic mythology, especially in rituals; for example, the Polemarch. The Proto-Slavic concept of the soul (spirit) distinguishes humans from other beings (especially animals) and has deep Indo-European roots.
Universally, synthesizing all the relationships described above, the world tree is a central image in Slavic (and many other peoples') folklore. In Slavic folk texts, Vyr, the heavenly tree, birch, maple, oak, pine, rowan, apple tree usually fulfill this function. Different animals correspond to the three main parts of the world tree: birds (falcon, nightingale, mythological birds, Div, etc.) to the branches and top, as well as the sun and moon; bees to the trunk; chthonic animals (snakes, beavers, etc.) to the roots. The entire tree can be compared to a human, especially a woman: compare the depiction of a tree or a woman between two horsemen, birds, and other compositions in the embroidery of Northern Russia. The world tree models a triple vertical structure of the world - three realms: heaven, earth, and the underworld, a fourfold horizontal structure (north, west, south, east, corresponding to the four winds), life and death (green, flowering tree and dry tree, tree in calendar rituals), etc.
The world was described by a system of basic content binary oppositions, defining spatial, temporal, social, and other characteristics. The dualistic principle of opposition between the favorable and unfavorable for the collective was sometimes realized in mythological characters endowed with positive or negative functions, or in personified members of the oppositions. Examples include: happiness (fortune) - unhappiness (misfortune). The Proto-Slavic term for the positive member of this opposition meant "good fortune (luck)". The ritual of divination - choosing between fortune and misfortune among the Baltic Slavs is associated with the opposition of White God and Black God - similar to personifications of good fortune and bad fortune, evil, sorrow, misfortune, meeting and non-meeting in Slavic folklore.
Life - death. In Slavic mythology, deities give life, fertility, longevity - such as the goddess Zhiva among Baltic Slavs and Rod among Eastern Slavs. However, a deity can also bring death: motifs of murder are linked in Slavic mythology to Chernobog and Perun (curses like "may Chernobog (or Perun) kill you"), perhaps with Triglav (possibly the lord of the underworld), with Perun, defeating a demonic enemy. Embodiments of illness and death include Nav', Marena (Morana), Death as a folkloric character, and a class of lower mythical beings: mares, zmare, kikimora, and others. Symbols of life and death in Slavic mythology - living water and dead water, tree of life and the egg hidden beside it with death, the sea or swamp where death and illness are banished.
Even - odd - the most abstract and formalized expression of the entire series of oppositions, an element of metadescription of all Slavic mythology. It involves the distinction of favorable even and unfavorable odd numbers, for example, days of the week: Thursday is linked to Perun, Friday to Mokosh, Tuesday to Prav \ Prove (compare personifications like Holy Monday, Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday). Integral numerical structures in Slavic mythology - triadic (three levels of the world tree, god Triglav, also the role of the number three in folklore), quaternary (four-headed Zbruch idol, possible fusion of four characters of Baltic Slavic mythology - Yarovit, Ruevit, Porevit, Porenut, etc.), heptametric (seven gods in the ancient Russian pantheon, possibly ancient Russian Semargl), nonmetric and dodecametric (twelve as the completion of the series 3-4-7). Unlucky odd numbers, half, characterizing negativity and characters, for example, the number thirteen, the one-eyed evil.
The opposition of right-left is at the core of ancient mythologized law (righteousness, truth, justice, correctness, etc.), divination, rituals, omens, and is reflected in personified images of Justice in the heavens and Injustice on Earth.
The opposition of male-female is related to the right-left opposition in wedding and funeral rituals (where women are traditionally positioned to the left of men). There is a significant difference between male and female mythological characters in terms of functions, significance, and quantity: the scarcity of female characters in the pantheon, relationships like Div - divas, Rod - births, Sud - judges. The role of the feminine principle in magic and witchcraft is particularly significant.
The opposition of top-bottom on a cosmic level is interpreted as the juxtaposition of heaven and earth, the tops and roots of the world tree, different realms embodied by Triglav, and in a ritual sense is manifested in the placement of Perun's sanctuary on a hill and Veles in a valley.
The opposition of sky-earth (underworld) is embodied in the association of deities with the sky and humans with the earth. Beliefs about the "unlocking" of the sky and earth by sacred figures like Saint George, the Virgin Mary, the lark, or other characters creating a favorable connection between heaven and earth are linked with the beginning of spring among the Slavs. Mother Earth is a constant epithet for the highest female deity. In the underworld reside creatures associated with death (such as rusalkas) and the deceased themselves.
The opposition of south-north, east-west on a cosmic level describes the spatial structure in relation to the sun, in a ritual sense - the structure of sanctuaries oriented towards the cardinal directions, and rules of behavior in rituals; also compare the four mythologized winds (sometimes personified - Wind, Whirlwind, etc.), related to the cardinal points.
In the opposition of land-sea, special importance is attributed to the sea - the abode of numerous negative, predominantly female characters, associated with death and illness, where they are banished in spells. Embodiments include the sea, ocean, sea king and his twelve daughters, twelve fevers, etc. The positive aspect is embodied in motifs of the arrival of spring and sun from across the sea.
This opposition is overlaid with another: dry-wet (compare later - Dry and Wet Ilya, Dry and Wet Nicholas, the combination of these attributes in Perun, the god of lightning - fire and rain).
The opposition of fire-water is embodied in motifs of the struggle between these elements and in characters like the Fire Serpent (in Russian epics about Volkh Vseslavovich, in tales and spells, in the Serbian epic about the Fire Snake Wolf), Firebird (the mythical firebird, Slovak "fire-bird", Fear Bird - Pax in Russian spells with its desiccating whirlwinds, etc.), Fire Maria, who is connected with Thunderous Ilya in Serbian and Bulgarian songs, opposed to Maria Makrine (from "wet"), etc. A special role is played by the "living fire" in numerous rituals, burning ceremonies, bonfires, rain calling rituals (peperuda, dodala among the southern Slavs), well cults, and more. Fire and water are united in the figures of Perun, Kupala, the fiery river, and others.
Mythological embodiments of the opposition of day-night are the night, midnight, and noon fairies, as well as the morning, noon, evening, and midnight Zoryas. The horse of Svetovid is white during the day and mud-splattered at night.
In the opposition of spring-winter, Spring holds special importance, associated with mythological characters embodying fertility - Yarilo, Kostrama, Morena, and others, as well as with rituals for burying winter and welcoming spring, with plant and zoomorphic symbols.
The opposition of sun-moon is embodied in the mythological motif of the marriage relationship of the Sun and Moon. Solar deities include Svarog, Dazhbog, Khors, and others. One of the most ancient common Slavic symbols is the image of the sun-wheel; also comparable are the image of the sun at the top of the world tree and the sun-shaped bread loaf.
The opposition of white-black is known in other variations as well: light-dark, red-black. Its embodiment in the pantheon is Belobog and Chernobog; in divination, rituals, omens, the color white is associated with positive qualities, while black is linked to negative ones (as seen in the folk distinction between white and black magic).
The opposition of near-far in Slavic mythology points to the structure of space (horizontally) and time: comparable to "one's home" - the "land of the three times" in Russian fairy tales, images of paths, roads, bridges, distances, ancient and new times. The house-forest is a specific example of the near-far opposition and the realization of the kindred-stranger opposition; embodied in figures of human and beast (e.g., bears), house spirits, and other entities associated with different parts of the home and yard, the forest spirit, and more.
The opposition of old-young emphasizes the difference between maturity, peak productive forces, and decrepitude - with mythological pairs like the youth and the old man with a bald head in spring and autumn rituals, Badnyak and Bozhich. Significant roles in Slavic mythology are played by the images of the old witchlike Baba Yaga and the balding old man, grandfather, and others. The opposition of old-young is linked to the ancestral-offspring opposition and rituals for commemorating ancestors, "grandfathers," as well as the elder-younger, main-secondary opposition (comparable to the role of the younger brother in Slavic folklore and so on).
The opposition of sacred-worldly distinguishes the sphere of the sacred, endowed with special power (seen in the root "svyat-," particularly in mythological names like Svetovid, Svyatogor), from the mundane profane sphere lacking this power.
The described set of elements in Slavic mythology (main oppositions and mythological characters) can be realized in various texts - epics, fairy tales, spells, individual sentences related to omens, curses, and more. Rituals like walking with a goat, chasing serpents, sacrificing the Ilyinsky bull, cattle death, cattle burning, beard curling (for Veles, Nicholas, or Ilya), rain calling, star calling, St. George's and Kupala festivals, allow for the restoration of many mythological motifs and establish a connection between myths and rituals where these motifs are also realized.
For the pre-Slavic period, numerous festivities, especially of a carnival type, associated with specific seasons and commemorating the dead are reconstructed. The coincidence of several characteristic details (involvement of masqueraders, farcical funerals) alongside typological explanations makes it possible (according to V. Pizan's hypothesis) to relate these Slavic festivities to calendar rituals of masquerading, as reconstructed for the common Indo-European period by G. Dumézil. Early Latin sources already describe farcical rituals (including memorial ones) among the Western Slavs (such as Kozma of Prague and others) and the Southern Slavs (in the 13th century, Dimitrii of Bulgaria describes rusalki and the theatrical acts and dances performed on their occasion, deemed inappropriate). In unofficial folk culture, these rituals persisted until the 19th-20th centuries in all Slavic traditions: comparable to the mock funerals of mythological beings like Kostrama, Maslenitsa, Yarila, Marzanna, and others among the Eastern Slavs (where seasonal rites involve zoomorphic symbols like the "cattle death"), among the Czechs (the umrlec ritual, Moravian spring rites during Smrtna nedela when a dummy was paraded with songs literally identical to those of the Eastern Slavs), among the Bulgarians (rusalki, German and others).
The Late Proto-Slavic mythological system of early state formations is most fully represented in Eastern Slavic mythology and the mythology of the Baltic Slavs. Early information about Eastern Slavic mythology dates back to chronicle sources. According to "The Tale of Past Years," in 980, Prince Vladimir Sviatoslavich attempted to create a pantheon of pagan gods. In Kiev, on a hill outside the princely residence, idols of the gods Perun, Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Semargl, and Mokosh were erected. The main deities of the pantheon were the thunderer Perun and the "cattle god" Veles (Volos), juxtaposed topographically (Perun's idol on the hill, Veles' idol below, possibly in Kiev's Podil district), likely by social function (Perun - the god of the princely retinue, Veles - of the rest of Rus). The only female character in the Kiev pantheon, Mokosh, is associated with typical female activities (especially spinning). Other gods of this pantheon are less known but all relate to common natural functions: Stribog, presumably linked to the winds, Dazhbog and Khors with the sun, and Svarog with fire. The role of the last god in the pantheon, Semargl, is less clear: some researchers consider this character borrowed from Iranian mythology (parallels with Simurgh), while others interpret him as a character uniting all seven gods. Connections among the gods within the pantheon and their hierarchy are revealed in the patterns of listing gods in chronicle lists: the link between Perun and Veles, Stribog with Dazhbog and Svarog, the peripheral position of Semargl or Mokosh, etc. Vladimir's adoption of Christianity in 988 led to the destruction of idols and a ban on pagan religion and its rituals. Nonetheless, pagan remnants persisted. Apart from the gods in the pantheon, other mythological characters are known, usually reported by later sources. Some are closely tied to family-clan cults (Rod) or seasonal rites (Yarila, Kupala, Kostrama), while others are known from less reliable sources (Trojan, Pereplut), with some being creations of the so-called "closet mythology."
West Slavic mythology is known through several local variants, related to the Baltic Slavs, Czech tribes, and Polish tribes. The most detailed information about the gods of the Baltic Slavs is available, but it is also fragmented, focusing on individual deities usually associated with local cults. It is possible that the entire array of high-level mythological characters among the Baltic Slavs was not unified in a pantheon (unlike the Eastern Slavs). However, there is relatively rich information in Western European chronicles about the cult of gods, with clear spatial delineations (descriptions of cult centers, temples, idols, priests, sacrifices, divinations, etc.). The pagan tradition among the Baltic Slavs was interrupted by violent Christianization, resulting in the loss of sources reflecting the continuation of old beliefs. Among the gods of the Baltic Slavs, the most well-known are: Svetovit, characterized as the "first or highest of gods," the "god of gods"; associated with war, victories, and divinations; Triglav, once referred to as the "supreme god," with a horse as his attribute, participating in divinations like Svetovit; the idol of Triglav had three heads or was placed on the main of three hills, as in Szczecin. Svarozic-Radgost was venerated as the main god in his cult centers, particularly in Rethra, apparently associated with military functions and divination. Yarovit was identified with Mars and also revered as a god of fertility. Ruyevit was also connected with war (especially revered in Korenica). Porevit was depicted without weapons and had a five-headed idol; the idol of Porenut had four faces and a fifth on its chest. Chernobog was characterized as a god bringing misfortune (the presence of this name and toponyms like Black God and White God among the Lusatian Serbs suggest that a White God may have once existed); Prove - a god associated with sacred oak trees, oak groves, and forests; Prilegalla - a deity of an Aphrodisiac type associated with orgies; Podaga - a deity with a temple and idol in Plune; Zhyva - a female deity linked to life forces. As seen from the list, some gods with similar functions and descriptions but different names might be interpreted as local variants of the same ancient Slavic deity. There are grounds to assume that Svetovit, Triglav, and possibly Radgost can be traced back to the image of Perun. Additionally, considering the distinct multi-headed nature of gods among the Baltic Slavs, it is possible that some deities are grouped into a single deity, with various manifestations reflecting different degrees of productive power (e.g., Yarovit, Ruyevit, Porevit, Porenut). Lastly, cases of sharply contrasting oppositions are also probable: Belobog - Chernobog.
The only source of information about Polish gods is the "History of Poland" by J. Dlugosz (late 15th century), which lists several theophoric names accompanied by correspondences from Roman mythology: Yesza - Jupiter, Lyada - Mars, Dzydzilelya - Venus, Nya - Pluto, Dzewana - Diana, Marzyana - Ceres, Pogoda - proportion, especially temporal (Temperies), Zywye - Life (Vita). A. Bruckner, who analyzed these Polish names, pointed out that much in Dlugosz's list is the creation of the chronicler and does not have roots in ancient Slavic mythology. This includes Lyada and Dzydzilelya, whose names stem from song refrains, and so on; other names belong to characters of lower mythological levels; and some were created to find correspondence with Roman deities. However, there are reasons to believe that, despite many inaccuracies and fabrications, Dlugosz's list reflects mythological reality. This is especially true for Nya (a name apparently related to the Russian "nav'", meaning "death"), Dzewana (similar to the Polish "dziewa", "maiden"), and particularly Marzyana, mythological characters involved in seasonal rituals. Pogoda and Zywye also deserve attention, especially considering that their Roman mythological counterparts are not provided. Some of these characters have reliable counterparts outside the Polish mythological tradition. Subsequent authors following Dlugosz repeated his list and sometimes added new deities, whose names, however, are not highly reliable (e.g., Lel, Polel, and Pozvizd in Mahovski, Pokhvist in Kromer).
Czech (and even more so Slovak) data on the names of gods are equally fragmented and require critical examination. There are grounds to believe that this tradition once included mythological characters continuing the images of Perun and Veles: for example, the Czech Perun and the Slovak Parom (particularly in curses, where other traditions mention the name of Perun), as well as the mention of the demon Veles by the 15th-century writer Tkadlec in the triad "Devil - Veles - serpent" or the expression "beyond the sea, to Veles" in the translation of Jesus Sirach (1561) and others. Some of the mythological names found in glosses to the Old Czech monument "Mater verborum" coincide with the names from Dlugosz's list: Devana (Latin Diana), Mogapa (Hecate), Lada (Venus), and Zizlila in one of the later sources (similar to Dzydzilelya in Dlugosz). The names Prowe, Porevit among the Baltic Slavs are likely related to the mythological character Porvata, identified with Proserpina. Nepach from Opatovice (16th century) mentions the idol Zelu (comparable to Zelon in later sources), whose name may be linked to vegetation, vegetation cult (similar to the Old Czech zele, "grass"); also comparable is the deity Jesen (Czech jesen, "autumn"), identified with Isis. Gaek from Libochan (16th century) reports a number of other mythological names (Klimba, Krosina, Krasatina, and others; comparable to Krasopani - Old Czech name of a mythological creature, possibly an epithet of a goddess - "Beautiful Lady", matching the name of a sea princess and mother of the sun in Slovak tales), which are considered unreliable or fictional. Nevertheless, even these minor remnants provide indirect insights into some aspects of West Slavic mythology. The destruction of the old mythological system took several directions: one of them was the transition of mythological characters from higher levels to lower ones, from the circle of positive characters to the circle of negative ones, which apparently occurred with a mythological being known from Czech and Slovak folklore as Rarog, Rarah, Rarashak.
The information about South Slavic mythology is quite scarce. Being influenced early on by ancient Mediterranean civilizations and having embraced Christianity earlier than other Slavic groups, the South Slavs lost nearly all knowledge of the composition of their former pantheon. The idea of a single god emerged fairly early; in any case, Procopius of Caesarea, mentioning that the Slavs worshipped "all sorts of other deities", made sacrifices and used them for divination, also reported their reverence for a single god ("The Wars with the Goths" III 14). Since the same source provides information about the worship of a thunder god, and in the toponymy of Slavic lands south of the Danube, there are quite a few traces of the names Perun and Veles, one can confidently speak of the cult of these gods and traces of the myth about the battle between the thunderer and a demonic adversary among the South Slavs. In the Slavic translation of the chronicle of John Malalas, the name of Zeus is replaced by the name of Perun ("The Son of God Porouna is great..."); furthermore, this name is reflected in the names of participants in the raincalling ritual in the Balkans - Bulgarian "peperuna, paparuna, peperuda," and so on; Serbo-Croatian "prporusha, preperusha," and others of the same type; these names spread to Romanians, Albanians, and Greeks. Another similar naming type, dodola, dudola, dudulitsa, duduleyka, and so on, is perhaps linked to the archaic epithet of Perun. Indirectly, one can judge the image of Veles from the descriptions of the protector and defender of cattle among the Serbs - Saint Sava, who seems to have absorbed some traits of the "cattle god". The mention of the witch Mokosh in a Slovenian tale indicates that Mokosh was once known to the South Slavs. The same can be said for King Dabog from a Serbian tale in connection with the East Slavic Dazhbog. It is not excluded that insights into South Slavic mythology can be expanded by examining data from lower levels of the mythological system and especially the ritual sphere.
The introduction of Christianity into Slavic lands from the 9th century put an end to the official existence of Slavic mythology, greatly dismantling its higher levels, whose characters came to be regarded as negative, unless they were identified with Christian saints, such as Perun - with Saint Elijah, Veles - with Saint Blaise, Yarila - with Saint George, and so on. The lower levels of Slavic mythology, like the system of common oppositions, turned out to be much more stable and created complex combinations with the dominant Christian religion (the so-called "dual faith").
Demonology was chiefly preserved: belief in the forest spirit (Belarusian leshyuk, puschivyk; Polish duch lesny, borowy; Ukrainian lisovik, Czech lesnoj pan, and others), the water sprite (Polish topielec, wodnik, Czech vodnik). Among the South Slavs, there was a complex mythological image of vila (Serbian), Bulgarian samovila, samodiva - mountain, water, and air spirits. The common Slavic field spirit - poludnitsa, among the East Slavs - polevik and others. Numerous mythological entities were linked (particularly among the East Slavs) to domestic affairs: the Russian domovoy (with euphemistic substitutes for this name: dedko, dedushko, dobrokhot, dobrizhil, susedko, khoziain, on, sam, and others), Ukrainian khatniy dyko, Belarusian khatnik, hospodar, Polish skrzat, Czech skritek, skrat; also spirits of separate household structures - bannik, ovinik, and others. There was ambivalence in beliefs about the spirits of the deceased: on the one hand, family protectors - ancestors, parents who died a natural death were revered, on the other hand, dangerous dead (vengeful), those who died untimely or violent deaths, suicides, drowning victims, and so on. Among the ancestors-protectors was Chur, among the hostile dead were vampires, mavkas. Belief in numerous evil spirits persisted - zlydneys, mara, kikimora, anchutka, nychistyks among Belarusians (seshki, tsmoki, and others). Diseases were personified with emphasis on individual symptoms: Trasyey, Ogney, Ladey, Khripusha, and others (typical beliefs about twelve fevers in Russian spells, with parallels in other Indo-European traditions).
At the same time, ancient traditions were reflected in a series of monuments in which, through the use of certain terms and key concepts of Christian mythology, a complex of basic categories of Slavic mythology is presented. One of the most characteristic genres among the Eastern Slavs is spiritual verses, which in form and musical performance continue the common Slavic tradition of singing epic songs and stories of Slavic mythology. For example, in the Old Russian "Dove Book", there are representations of the relationship between humans and the universe, micro- and macrocosm, corresponding to the Vedic hymn about Purusha and ascending to the common Indo-European myth of the creation of the world from the human body. The plot of the dispute between Truth and Falsehood also dates back to Indo-European origins. Among the Western Slavs, the texts continuing archaic carnival traditions included mystery farces with mythological characters like the Eastern Slavic Yarila. The old Czech mystery "Unguentarius" (13th century) with its sexual motives in playing with the idea of death and laughter at death can be compared to these.
Christianity among the Slavs largely absorbed the old mythological vocabulary and ritual formulas that trace back to Indo-European sources: such designations as "god", "savior", "holy", "prophet", "prayer", "sacrifice", "cross", "(re)surrection", "ritual", "miracle", and so on can be compared.
