Slavic mythology

Slavic mythology, unlike Greek, which was already an object of literature from the 7th century BC, remained undescribed. Like other Indo-European peoples, the Slavs rose from the lower stage of development to a higher religion. But very little is known about how this happened. What historians know now is the rich world of magic and various spirits that surrounded the Slav. This world was the basis of the outlook of the Slavic people from antiquity to the end of paganism.

Medieval Russian writers preferred to follow the traditions of the fathers of the ancient church, which ridiculed paganism of ancient times. But they did not describe it as it was. They addressed the listeners who performed pagan actions, were full of appropriate thoughts and sorcerous incantations, who willingly participated in pagan games and avoided service in the church. For this reason, medieval writers basically blamed the Slavs. However, in the 15th and 17th centuries, historians had already ceased to treat with disdain for the myths of their ancestors and began to collect ethnographic and written data on the gods and cult of the Slavs.

Unfortunately, in these works Slavic mythology was compared and compared with the Greco-Roman mythology. Therefore, these sources reliably speak only of the names of Slavic goddesses and gods. Chronicles tell of such gods as Stribog, Perun, Khors, Dazhdbog, Semargl, Makosh, Svarog, Velez, Rod and rozhanitsy. Later, Lelia and Lada appeared. There were few records, especially about the mythology of the Western Slavs.

Developing, the culture of the Eastern Slavs and the West went through several stages. They believed in the gods of heavenly bodies, death and life (Maron and Zhiva), war and sky, vegetable kingdom and fertility. Not only the water and the sun were deified, but also numerous spirits. In ancient times, the word as an expression of rituals and traditions was understood in close connection with what it expressed. An event or belief was imprinted with a name. So Slavic mythology was born, and language became an indispensable tool of tradition.

The method, which was originally associated with the comparison of languages, in Russian science was first transferred to folklore by Buslaev, who applied it to study the mythological traditions of the Slavic people. He said: "The people were formerly a poet, and individuals were considered narrators or singers." Rituals of the ancient Slavs, traditions completely dominated the narrator, not allowing him to stand out. "It was at this time that the epic epic was developing. Their traditions not only in fairy tales and bylinas, but also in sayings, proverbs, riddles, sayings, short conspiracies, omens, vows and superstitions. " Gradually, Buslaev's mythological theory grows into a school of borrowing theory and comparative mythology. At the center of her attention was the problem of creating a myth. According to theory, Slavic mythology was created by arias.

There is also a comparative method for Afanasyev. He believed that the fairy tales and bylinas are of particular importance for a correct understanding of Slavic mythology (the term "epics" was introduced by Sakharov, before that all epic songs were called antiquities). Bogatyrskie epics of Rus can be put on a par with heroic myths in some other systems of mythology. The difference is that the epics are more historical, as they tell about different events that occurred in the 11-16 centuries. The most famous of their heroes are Mikula Selyaninovich, Ilya Muromets, Vasily Buslaev, Volga. At the same time they are perceived not only as individuals who are relevant to a certain era in history, but also as ancestors and defenders, epic heroes. It is from here - their unity with nature, invincibility and magical power.