Slavic Mythology

For decades, Greek and Roman myths have reigned over the realm of popular mythology. The time has come to rediscover what was left behind and to awaken the forgotten world of early Slavs.

People

Slavic people nowadays populate a larger part of today's Europe. They span across 13 countries, all sharing the same cultural tradition - Slavic mythology.
The omnipresent connection between early Slavs and the natural forces was the baseline of their belief system.
Evolving over more than 3000 years ago, Slavic mythology is described by the natural dualism of darkness and light, female and male, summer and winter.
Instead of temples, early Slavs attended oak trees. They believed oak trees are dwelling places for souls and often danced around them during festivals and celebrations.
At the same time, oak tree symbolized the division of the Slavic world. The roots symbolized the underworld, the trunk was the realm inhabited by man and the crown was the Slavic Olympus.

Gods

The mightiest inhabitant of the Slavic pantheon is the god Perun, creator of thunder and lightning. He is a double deity - depicted as both good and bad on multiple occasions.
The dualistic characterization extends to most Slavic deities. For example; the god Veles can be seen either as the god of death or the god of cattle wealth and the god Svarog can be the sky god as well as the giver of fire.
One of the only exceptions is Mata Syra Zjemlja (Mother Earth) who was always depicted as good.

Mother Earth had an immense influence on the lives of early Slavs - disputes were settled by calling her as a witness and marriages were confirmed by swallowing a clump of earth or holding it on the head.

Kresnik

Another widely present deity in the lives of early Slavs was Kresnik - a god associated with the summer solstice, the most important Slavic celebration.
On the summer solstice (the bonfire night) large bonfires were lit and youngsters were coupling and dancing in circles or jumped across fire.

More

There is much more to discover about magical world of slavic mythology. Click below for encyclopeida of slavic gods, demons and creatures.

Reborn

The constant connection with nature and its duality greatly characterized both Slavic religion and mythology.

Now, with the collective tradition of Slavs spanning all across Europe, their beliefs are coming back to life - Slavic mythology is being born again.
This page is for educational purposes only. It includes images and photos from talented people mentioned below. Some of the authors could not be found. If some of the images is yours, and you think you should be mentioned or if you want us to take images down, please contact us on info@haritude.com. Enjoy ;) Authors: "Swiatowit3011" by not specified - http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~koby/political/poland.html from the "Political History of Poland" written by E.H. Lewinski-Corwin and published in New York in 1917. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedijina Zbirka - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swiatowit3011.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Swiatowit3011.jpg "Krunisanje cara Dušana" від Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) - from the Cycle, “The Slavonic Epic”, no 6. 1926. Ліцензоване під Public domain через Вікісховище - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krunisanje_cara_Du%C5%A1ana.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Krunisanje_cara_Du%C5%A1ana.jpg "Slavs serving their Gods" by Unknown - Woodcut from Serbian newspaper. Taken from staresrpskeslike.com. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slavs_serving_their_Gods.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Slavs_serving_their_Gods.jpg "WalRhad" by Original uploader was JEW at de.wikipedia(Original text : spezifischer Zeichner :) - Originally from de.wikipedia; description page is/was here.(Original text : spezifische Quelle : J. E. Walkowitz). Licenced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WalRhad.jpg#mediaviewer/File:WalRhad.jpg Žemyna by Aurelijus Valeiša at http://www.flickr.com/photos/95124659@N00/4590264670, used under CC / Desaturated from original "Donetsk step 04 kudlaenko". 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