Lizard - god of water from the ancient Slavs

At the time of the baptism of Russia, a host of Slavic pagan gods was led by the Rod - the universal abolition, a single multifaceted god, different from other gods, dominating the mythologies of different peoples. He embodied white and black, fire and water, a feminine and a masculine. At the same time, he could appear as the god of water, and as the god of war.

Slavs - one of the oldest ethnoses, inhabiting the land to this day. And for so long, the goddess Dana, and Vodia, were considered the patrons of the waters.

However, more ancient water deities are known, the cult of which, according to some sources, amounts to a million years.

The lizard is the Slavic god of water. His name, mutating into Yashu, Yashchura, in itself speaks of gray-haired antiquity, being modified into Ancestor. The very God of water, acquiring new features, eventually appeared in the image of a crocodile. Traces of worship to him in large numbers are found throughout the territory of the Slavic tribes. For example, the village of Spas-Krokodilino, which is near Klin, the village of Big and Small Lizards, located in the Leningrad region. Most often mentioned is the name of the Lizard in the names of all kinds of rivers, rivers and lakes (the Lizard River and Lake Yashchino). The temples dedicated to him are most often found in the northern regions, and they are located, as a rule, on the banks of water bodies. One of the found altars is on a small granite island, shaped like a crocodile, the river Ros. The main place of worship of the Sea Dragon is believed to have been located on the shores of Lake Ilmen.

Fishermen and sailors worshiped him earnestly, composed songs ("in fact, in the deep sea he rules, the ancient keeper of the Dragon-Lizard ..."), they sacrificed, because the god of water among the Slavs, along with others, demanded them. For a long time the victim was a girl who, throwing into the water, gave the Lizard to the wife. This custom allowed Academician Rybakov to identify the Slavic water with the Greek Hades, the lord of the underworld. Archeology indicates that the world of the ancient Slavs was divided into 3 parts, one of which was the underwater and underground world. His full owner, responsible for waterways and wealth, was the Foot and mouth disease, and its main function was the nightly absorption of the light, and release it into the sky every morning. To the ancients this spoke of the greatness of the sea monster, the worship of which is reflected in the absolutely round form of the temples, which speaks of the perfection attributed to the Lizard.

However, over time, the offerings also changed, becoming more humane. In the water began to throw dolls, depicting a young girl, somewhere a victim served as nuts poured into the jaws of the idol (according to some data the nut spas is dedicated to this deity), somewhere they sacrificed a horse decorated, smeared and smeared with honey. She was taken to the center of the lake under the chants, and the god of the water, the Lizard, accepted this fragrant gift.

The popularity of this deity is indicated by numerous finds in the form of various metallic cloak fasteners that came from those times (the so-called fibulae), various vessels for drinking and storing water bearing the symbol of the Sea Dragon, which, in turn, served as a guard. Famous gusli Sadko were made in the form of a lizard.

At the same time, the Slavic god of water, along with Kashchei, Korchun and Chernobog, belonged to the pekel deities. That is, to the dark forces, was considered a sea reptile. In short, the god of water, Foot and mouth disease was diverse, like life itself, combining in equal parts of light and darkness.