Gods and mythical creatures in Slavic mythology. Bestiary. Creatures of Slavic mythology

Map of Slavic lands
Territory of the Slavs

Unlike ancient mythology, well known from fiction and works of art, as well as the mythologies of the countries of the East, the texts of the myths of the Slavs have not reached our time, because at that distant time when the myths were created, they did not yet know writing.

In the 5th – 7th centuries after the Great Migration of Peoples, the Slavs occupied the territories of Central and Eastern Europe from the Elbe (Laba) to the Dnieper and Volga, from the southern shores of the Baltic Sea to the north of the Balkan Peninsula. Centuries passed, and the Slavs became increasingly separated from each other, forming three modern branches of the largest family of related peoples in Europe. Eastern Slavs are Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians; Western - Poles, Slovaks and Czechs (the Baltic Slavs were assimilated by their Germanic neighbors in the 12th century); southern - Bulgarians, Macedonians, Serbs, Slovenes, Croats, Bosnians. Despite the division of the Slavs, their mythologies have retained many common features to this day.

Thus, all Slavs know the myth about the duel between the thunder god and his demonic opponent and the victory of the thunderer; All Slavic traditions are familiar with the ancient custom of burning an effigy at the end of winter - the embodiment of dark evil forces or burying a mythical creature like Maslenitsa and Yarila among the Russians and Belarusians and Herman among the Bulgarians.

Slavic mythology and the religion of the Slavs were composed of the deification of the forces of nature and the cult of ancestors. The only supreme god, the “creator of lightning”, like Indra among the Hindus, Zeus among the Greeks, Jupiter among the Romans, Thor among the Germans, Perkunas among the Lithuanians - among the Slavs Perun. The concept of the thunder god merged among the Slavs with the concept of the sky in general (namely, the moving, cloudy sky), the personification of which some scientists see in Svarog. Other high gods were considered the sons of Svarog - Svarozhichi; such gods were the sun and fire.

The sun was deified under the name Dazhdbog, and Khorsa. Brother of Svarog, the most mysterious god and guardian of herds Veles originally also a solar god. All these names of the highest god are very ancient and were used everyone Slavs. Common Slavic ideas about the highest god received further development among individual Slavic tribes, new, more defined and more bizarre forms.

Thus, among the Western Slavs the highest god was considered Svyatovit, and corresponded to it Triglav- a three-headed idol that was worshiped in Shchetin (Stettin) and Wolin. In the city of Retra, the same highest god, the son of Svarog, was called Radegasta, and in Czech and Polish legends he appears under the name Kroka or Kraka.

Already ancient writers assumed that the name Svyatovit appeared as a result of the confusion of the pagan god with the Christian saint Vitus; the name Radegost was also supposed to be transferred to the god from the name of the city, and the city received this name from one of its princes. Krak, according to the legend of Kozma of Prague, was a wise and fair judge and ruler of the people. Whatever these guesses may be, there is no doubt that all the names listed meant the same high god and that they all appeared later.

The vague evidence that has reached us about the Slavic gods, which is explained in folk tales and songs, boils down to the struggle between the light and dark forces of nature, fertility and infertility, summer and winter, light and darkness, life and death, Belbog and Chernobog. Intertwined with these ideas were views on the afterlife and the cult of ancestors. The souls of the deceased lived in some distant country at the end of the world, where the sun sets; this country was called by the Slavs navyem, vyryem, iriya, paradise, hell. The deceased must be prepared for this country as if on a long journey, which is achieved by proper burial.

Until the funeral rites are performed, the soul wanders on earth; among the southern Slavs the soul in this state is called Vidogonya. The soul is doomed to eternal wandering on earth if the correct ritual has not been performed; Thus, the souls of girls or children who drowned in water become mermaids, waving, with a pitchfork. To make it easier for the deceased to travel to the kingdom of the dead, the Slavs resorted to burning: the fire of a funeral pyre instantly separated the soul from the body and sent it to heavenly dwellings.

Fight of Dobrynya Nikitich
with Zmey Gorynych

In the cult fire of the funeral pyre, P. N. Milyukov sees a connection between two independently emerging systems of religious ideas: the deification of the forces of nature and the cult of ancestors. On the one hand, fire was a manifestation on earth of the heavenly solar god, a messenger of the heavenly gods; on the other hand, he contributed to the purification of the soul of the deceased and thus himself turned into a symbol of the soul of the ancestor, which under the name Rhoda, Chura,brownie became a household deity, guardian of the family and clan. On the hearth, both of these meanings of fire merged into one inseparable whole; it equally honored the elemental heavenly god and the tribal deity of the family community.

This dual meaning of fire finds the most striking confirmation in the belief of the Western Slavs about a domestic creature (its Czech name is Křet, Slovenian Skrat), which, under the guise of a fiery serpent, flies through a pipe and brings the owner all kinds of bread and other fruits of the earth, and sometimes various treasures. In the Tula province there is a belief that from the day of Epiphany (winter solstice) a fiery serpent (sun) appears and visits red maidens (earth). By the time Christianity began to spread among the Slavs, Slavic mythology had not yet created such clear ideas about the gods as, for example, the Greeks had come to: the Slavic gods continued to merge with the elements that they personified and did not yet have clear anthropomorphic features. Likewise, the cult of ancestors among the Slavs had not yet developed into such distinct, complete forms and did not have such strict legal consequences as among the Greeks and Romans.

The religious views of the Slavs come down to those ancient layers of religious beliefs that constitute the common property of the peoples of the Aryan tribe: they formed before the beginning of the history of the Slavs as a separate tribal group and hardly moved further. Accordingly, they did not develop strict forms of cult, and there was no special priestly class. Only among the Baltic Slavs do we find a strong religious organization: idols for whom temples were erected, priests who performed divine services according to a certain order, with known rituals, who had a hierarchical structure and over time acquired the significance of a leading caste. Other Slavic tribes had neither public idols, nor temples, nor priests; Representatives of clan unions made sacrifices to the clan and heavenly gods. It was only under the influence of the Varangians that the Russian Slavs came to the idea of depicting their gods in idols.

The first idols were placed by Vladimir, Prince of Kyiv, on the hill to Perun, Khorsu, Dazhdbog, and in Novgorod, Dobrynya - to Perun over Volkhov. Under Vladimir, for the first time, temples appeared in Rus', probably built by him, in which, according to the saga of Olav Trygveson, he himself made sacrifices. But under the same Vladimir, Christianity was introduced into Russia, which put an end to the development of the Slavic cult, although for a long time it was not yet able to supplant the remnants of pagan beliefs.

After the adoption of Christianity, the popular consciousness of the Slavs mixed the new faith with the old, partly merged their gods with Christian saints, partly relegated them to the position of “demons”, and partly remained faithful to their ancestral gods. Kozma of Prague († 1125) says: “and hitherto among many of the villagers, just like among pagans, some honor springs or fires, others adores forests or trees, or stones, others make sacrifices to mountains or hills, others bow to idols, deaf and dumb. which he made for himself, praying that they would rule his house and himself." By these idols Kozma obviously means the household gods, which the Czechs called with skrits And with grilles, among Russians - brownies, etc.; The Czech brownie Křet was depicted by the Czechs in the form of small bronze figurines, the size of a finger, which is why he was called Paleček (boy the size of a finger).

The most interesting reflection of Slavic mythology is the association of pagan beliefs with Christian holidays. Like other Aryan peoples, the Slavs imagined the entire cycle of the seasons in the form of a continuous struggle and alternate victory of the light and dark forces of nature. The starting point of this cycle was the onset of a new year - the birth of a new sun. The Slavs incorporated the pagan content of this holiday into the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, and the celebration of Christmastide itself received the Greco-Roman name. carols.

The rituals with which the pagan Slavs celebrated the onset of spring and the summer solstice were also, to a greater or lesser extent, timed to coincide with Christian holidays: such as Rusalia, Semik, Kupalo. Given the pagan nature of the holidays, the name of the holiday turned into the name of the deity in whose honor it was once celebrated. Thus, other Slavic gods appeared like Yarila, Kostroma, etc., the number of which probably increased thanks to the narrow-minded accusatory zeal of Christian missionaries, who did not think about the general religious thought of the Slavs and saw a special god in every name.

The originality of Slavic mythology, which, like any other, reflected the worldview of its creators, lies in the fact that their life was directly connected with the world of lower spirits that live everywhere. Some of them were credited with intelligence, strength, and benevolence, while others were credited with cunning, malice, and deceit. The ancients believed that all these creatures - beregins, pitchforks, watermen, field workers, etc., constantly interfere in their lives and accompany a person from the day of birth until death.

The Slavs believed that good and evil spirits were near them, that they helped to harvest a bountiful harvest and brought illnesses, promised a happy family life, order in the house and punished for unseemly deeds. The Slavs feared and revered the gods, of whom there were relatively few and who controlled natural phenomena and elements - thunderstorms, fire, rains, trying to appease them with prayers and sacrifices. Since the actual Slavic texts and images of gods and spirits have not been preserved due to the fact that Christianization interrupted the pagan tradition, the main source of information is medieval chronicles, teachings against paganism, chronicles, archaeological excavations, folklore and ethnographic collections. Information about the gods of the Western Slavs is very scarce, for example, “The History of Poland” by Jan Dlugosz (1415 - 1480), which gives a list of deities and their correspondence from Roman mythology: Nyya - Pluto, Devana - Venus, Marzana - Ceres.

Czech and Slovak data on the gods, as many scientists believe, need a critical attitude. Little is known about the mythology of the southern Slavs. Having early fallen into the sphere of influence of Byzantium and other powerful civilizations of the Mediterranean, having adopted Christianity before other Slavs, they largely lost information about the former composition of their pantheon. The mythology of the Eastern Slavs has been most fully preserved. We find early information about it in the “Tale of Bygone Years” (XII century), which reports that Prince Vladimir the Holy (? – 1015) sought to create a nationwide pagan pantheon. However, his adoption of Christianity in 988 entailed the destruction of the idols of the so-called Vladimirov pantheon (they were solemnly thrown into the Dnieper), as well as the ban on paganism and its rituals. The old gods began to be identified with Christian saints: the thunderer Perun turned into Saint Elijah, the god of wisdom Veles into Saint Blaise, the sun god Yarilo into Saint George. However, the mythological ideas of our ancestors continue to live in folk traditions, holidays, beliefs and rituals, as well as in songs, fairy tales, conspiracies and signs. Ancient mythological characters such as goblin, mermaids, merman, brownies and devils are vividly imprinted in speech, proverbs and sayings.

Developing, Slavic mythology went through three stages - spirits, nature deities and idol gods (idols). The Slavs revered the gods of life and death (Zhiva and Moran), fertility and the plant kingdom, heavenly bodies and fire, sky and war; not only the sun or water were personified, but also numerous house and forest spirits; worship and admiration were expressed in the offering of blood and bloodless sacrifices to them.
In the 19th century, Russian scientists began to explore Russian myths, tales and legends, understanding their scientific value and the importance of preserving them for subsequent generations. The works of F.I. were key to the new understanding of Slavic mythology. Buslaeva, A.A. Potebnya, I.P. Sakharov, such specific works as the three-volume study by A.N. Afanasyev “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature”, “Myths of Slavic paganism” and “A brief sketch of Russian mythology” D.O. Sheppinga, “Deities of the Ancient Slavs” by A.S. Famintsina.

The first to emerge was the mythological school, which is based on the comparative historical method of study, the establishment of an organic connection between language, folk poetry and folk mythology, and the principle of the collective nature of creativity. Fyodor Ivanovich Buslaev (1818-1897) is rightfully considered the creator of this school. “In the most ancient period of language,” says Buslaev, “the word as an expression of legends and rituals, events and objects was understood in the closest connection with what it expresses: “the name imprinted a belief or event, and from the name a legend or myth arose again.” "Epic ritual" in the repetition of ordinary expressions led to the fact that what was once said about any subject seemed so successful that it no longer needed further modification. Language thus became a "faithful instrument of tradition." A method originally associated with comparison languages, establishing common forms of words and raising them to the language of the Indo-European peoples, for the first time in Russian science was transferred by Buslaev to folklore and applied to the study of the mythological legends of the Slavs.

Poetic inspiration belonged to one and all, like a proverb, like a legal maxim. There was a whole people who were poets. Some individuals were not poets, but singers or storytellers; they only knew how to tell or sing more accurately and skillfully what was known to everyone. The power of tradition reigned supreme over the epic singer, not allowing him to stand out from the group. Not knowing the laws of nature, neither physical nor moral, epic poetry represented both in an inseparable totality, expressed in numerous similes and metaphors. The heroic epic is only a further development of the mythological legend. The theogonic epic gives way to the heroic at that stage of the development of epic poetry when legends about the affairs of people began to join pure myth. At this time, an epic epic grew out of the myth, from which the fairy tale subsequently emerged. The people preserve their epic legends not only in epics and fairy tales, but also in individual sayings, short spells, proverbs, sayings, oaths, riddles, signs and superstitions.

These are the main provisions of Buslaev’s mythological theory, which in the 60-70s of the 19th century gradually developed into a school of comparative mythology and the theory of borrowing. The theory of comparative mythology was developed by Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev (1826-1871), Orest Fedorovich Miller (1833-1889) and Alexander Alexandrovich Kotlyarevsky (1837-1881). Their focus was on the problem of the origin of myth in the very process of its creation. Most of the myths, according to this theory, go back to the ancient Aryan tribe. Standing out from this common ancestral tribe, the peoples spread its legends throughout the world, therefore the legends of the “Dove Book” almost completely coincide with the songs of the Old Scandinavian “Elder Edda” and the most ancient myths of the Hindus. The comparative method, according to Afanasyev, “provides a means of restoring the original form of legends.” Epic songs are of particular importance for understanding Slavic mythology (this term was introduced into use by I.P. Sakharov; before that, epic songs were called antiquities).

Russian heroic epics can be ranked alongside heroic myths in other mythological systems with the difference that the epics are largely historical, telling about the events of the 11th-16th centuries. The heroes of the epics - Ilya Muromets, Volga, Mikula Selyaninovich, Vasily Buslaev and others are perceived not only as individuals related to a certain historical era, but above all - as defenders, ancestors, namely epic heroes. Hence their unity with nature and magical power, their invincibility (there are practically no epics about the death of heroes or about the battles they fought). Initially existing in an oral version, as the work of singer-storytellers, epics, of course, have undergone considerable changes. There is reason to believe that they once existed in a more mythologized form.
Slavic mythology is characterized by the fact that it is comprehensive and does not represent a separate area of the people's idea of the world and the universe (like fantasy or religion), but is embodied even in everyday life - be it rites, rituals, cults or the agricultural calendar, preserved demonology (from brownies, witches and goblin to banniks and mermaids) or a forgotten identification (for example, pagan Perun with the Christian Saint Elijah). Therefore, practically destroyed at the level of texts until the 11th century, it continues to live in images, symbolism, rituals and in the language itself.

If you think that in Slavic mythology the most terrible ones were Baba Yaga and the Serpent Gorynych, who constantly appear in fairy tales, then you are clearly not very familiar with ancient Russian folklore. In the mythology of our ancestors there were truly terrible and evil creatures that you would hardly want to meet. Here are 10 of the most creepy and interesting monsters of Slavic mythology.

1. Asp.

A winged snake with two trunks and a bird's beak. Lives high in the mountains and periodically makes devastating raids on villages. He gravitates towards rocks so much that he cannot even sit on damp ground - only on a stone. The asp is invulnerable to conventional weapons; it cannot be killed with a sword or arrow, but can only be burned. However, the snake will never fly up to the fire, and it does not land on the ground. Only the sound of a trumpet can enrage an asp, in this state he rushes at everything that makes this sound, therefore the Asp can only be defeated by luring him into a fiery trap with the help of pipes.

2. Volot.

Volots are a small race of mighty giants that inhabited the territory of ancient Rus'. The Volots were once one of the most widespread races, but by the beginning of the historical era they had practically died out, forced out by people. Giants are considered the ancestors of the Slavs, which is confirmed by the appearance of heroes in the human race. Volots try not to contact or interfere with people, settling in hard-to-reach places, preferring to choose high mountain areas or hard-to-reach forest thickets for housing; they settle much less often in steppe areas.

3. Sinister.

Sinister is an evil spirit that brings poverty to the house in which it has settled. These spirits are subordinate to Navya. Sinister is invisible, but he can be heard, sometimes he even talks to the people in whose house he has settled. It is difficult for an evil spirit to get into the house, since the brownie does not let him in, but if he has managed to slip into the home, it is very difficult to get rid of him. If an evil spirit has made its way into a house, then it shows great activity; in addition to talking, the spirit can climb onto the inhabitants of the house and ride them. Often evil spirits live in groups, so that in one house there can be up to 12 creatures. Sinister creatures prefer to settle in human houses behind the stove, in chests or closets. Sometimes, if they cannot find a suitable home for themselves, they settle in the forest near a pond, where they wait for a suitable person to pass by in order to tag along and get to the traveler’s home.

4. Ghoul.

A ghoul is a living dead who has risen from the grave. Outwardly, ghouls are practically no different from humans, their only difference is their sharp teeth, so all the teeth of a ghoul are pointed and more reminiscent of a shark’s mouth than a human’s. Usually sorcerers and werewolves turn into ghouls after death, but a living person who has become a victim of a curse can also become a living dead. Usually the living dead settle in cemeteries and do not stray far from their graves, but sometimes, in search of food or to escape from pursuers, ghouls can settle in the forest or even in villages, where they choose dark places for living where sunlight does not penetrate.

5. Werewolf.

A werewolf is a person who can transform into a wolf (bear). You can become a werewolf voluntarily or against your will. Sorcerers often transform themselves into werewolves to gain the power of the beast. They are able to transform into a wolf and back into a human at will. To do this, the sorcerer just needs to somersault over a stump, or 12 knives stuck into the ground with the tip, and if during the time the magician was in the guise of a beast, someone takes out at least one knife from the ground, then the sorcerer will no longer be able to return back to human form. A person can turn into a werewolf even after being cursed, then the cursed person is not able to regain his human appearance. However, he can be helped: in order to remove the curse from a person, he must be fed with consecrated food and put on a robe woven from nettles, while the werewolf will resist this ritual in every possible way.

6. Anchutka.

Anchutka is a little evil spirit. The height of the anchutki is only a few centimeters, their bodies are covered with hair and are black in color, and the heads of these evil spirits are bald. A characteristic feature of the anchutka is the absence of heels. It is believed that one should not say the name of this evil spirit out loud, since the anchutka will immediately respond to it and end up right in front of the one who said it. Anchutka can live almost anywhere: most often the spirit can be found in a field, in a bathhouse or on a pond; it also prefers to settle closer to people, but avoids meeting with stronger creatures. However, different habitats impose characteristics on the appearance and behavior of evil spirits, so three main subspecies of anchutki can be distinguished: bathhouse, field, water or swamp. Field anchutki are the most peaceful, they do not appear to people unless they themselves call them. Bath and swamp anchutkas love to play pranks, but their jokes are evil and dangerous, often leading to the death of a person, for example, a swamp anchutka can grab a swimmer by the leg and drag him to the bottom. Bath anchoots often scare people with their moans, appear to them in various forms, and can simply make a person fall asleep or lose consciousness.

7. Dashing.

Dashing is an evil humanoid creature, there are both male and female individuals. He is distinguished by his dashingly tall stature and lean physique; he has only one eye, so he sees in a narrow range. It feeds voraciously on the flesh and suffering of people and animals; it usually tries not to appear in large settlements, but spends most of its life in the forest, feeding on local animals and birds, which often angers the devil. But if a lone person or a small group of people comes across, then it will not miss its chance. When it comes to one person, it plunges him into despondency and feeds on negative emotions. Such a diet makes the creature even stronger, and the more negative emotions the “carrier” experiences, the stronger the fever. If he fails to cope with the will of a person, then the creature will prefer to eat the victim rather than let him go. When a group of people comes across, he famously chooses one for himself, and kills the rest right in front of his eyes, again to break the will of the person. Once it has taken hold of a person, it is almost impossible to get rid of it. It will follow the victim everywhere, simultaneously attacking those who are close to the “carrier” and so on until the unfortunate person dies, which in principle happens quite soon, after which it will dashingly begin to look for a new victim.

8. Viy.

Viy is a character from the underworld whose gaze kills. His eyes are usually covered with huge eyelids and eyelashes, which he cannot lift without help. He looks like a scary, ugly old man, very tall and powerfully built. His eyes are very large, they are covered with even larger eyelids with long eyelashes. Viy is all overgrown with tree roots and moss, but the most terrible thing about this creature is considered to be his gaze; if someone helps him open his eyelids, then with his gaze he will be able to kill not only a person, but also burn down entire villages. Viy’s voice is very scary and disgusting, its drawn-out monotonous sound can drive any person crazy.

9. Alkonost.

Alkonost is half-bird, half-man. The alconost has a bird's body, with beautiful iridescent plumage. His head is human, often wearing a crown or wreath, and the alkonost also has human hands. The creature is patronized by the Slavic god Horse. The alkonost spends almost his entire life in Iria, and only the alkonost girls descend to earth once a year to lay eggs, which is why in mythology the alkonost is depicted with a woman’s face. Alkonost lays eggs in the water at the very bottom; most often it chooses the seashore, but large rivers are also suitable. The eggs remain at the bottom for 7 days, after which they float to the surface and the chicks hatch. All this time, the weather around the nesting site is clear, windless, and the mother alkonost sings her wonderful songs, being nearby, hiding in the thicket of the forest. When the chicks hatch, the alkonost takes them and remains with the offspring on the ground for another 7 days until the young gain enough strength to fly to Iriy. There is no clear indication at what time of year the Alkonosts leave Iriy and descend to earth: some sources indicate the period of the winter solstice, others indicate the autumn months.

By its nature, the alkonost is not aggressive and does not pose a direct danger to humans, but, nevertheless, it can accidentally harm him if he comes too close to the nesting site, or is nearby when the bird sings its song. Protecting herself or her chicks, the half-bird, half-human is capable of plunging everyone around her into unconsciousness.

10. Kikimora.

Kikimora is an evil spirit that sends nightmares to people. In appearance, the kikimora is very thin and small: her head is the size of a thimble, and her body is thin as a reed; she wears neither shoes nor clothes and remains invisible most of the time. During the day, kikimoras are inactive, but at night they begin to play pranks. For the most part, they do not cause serious harm to humans, mostly they just play small pranks: they sometimes knock on something at night, or they begin to creak. But if the kikimora dislikes one of the family members, then the pranks will become much more serious: the spirit will begin to break furniture, break dishes, and harass livestock. The kikimora's favorite pastime is spinning yarn: sometimes he sits in the corner at night and starts working, and so on until the morning, but this work is of no use, it only tangles the threads and breaks the yarn.

Kikimoras prefer human houses as a habitat, choosing secluded places to live: behind the stove, under the threshold, in the attic, behind a chest, in the corner. Often kikimors are taken as wives by brownies. Sometimes kikimoras appear before people's eyes, foreshadowing imminent misfortunes: if she cries, then trouble will soon happen, and if she spins, it means that soon one of the inhabitants of the house will die. The prediction can be clarified by asking the kikimora, then she will definitely answer, but only by knocking.

An important part of Slavic culture are myths and legends passed down from generation to generation. They store ideas about the world, history and the wisdom of the people. The gods and creatures of Slavic mythology are the personification of knowledge about the world of our ancestors.

Slavic gods and deities

Like many ancient peoples, the Slavs endowed natural phenomena with divine guises, trying to explain what they did not understand. Gods in ancient Slavic myths and legends are the embodiments of various spheres of human life, phenomena associated with the forces of nature, fears and desires, ideas about the universe.

Belbog

In the beliefs of the Slavs it appears as a personification:

Sveta;
virtues;
happiness;
positive human feelings;
wealth;
fertility.

Belbog is considered one of the most influential and powerful gods in ancient Slavic mythology. He is often contrasted with Chernobog - the gloomy and gloomy embodiment of darkness.

I usually depict Belun as a good-natured old man with a long snow-white beard, wearing simple peasant clothes. In this guise, he appears to people, helps them harvest crops, and find the way home for travelers lost in the forest. The abode of the god of light is located on the top of a sacred mountain, eternally sanctified by the warm rays of the Sun.

Stable expressions associated with the name of this god appeared among the people.

When a person felt a surge of energy and was in a good mood, he said: “It was as if he had become friends with Belbog himself.”

In Rus', Veles has always been considered one of the most significant and respected gods. He took part in the creation of the world - he gave the world movement. Veles made it so that day began to give way to night, he created time itself, the change of seasons. Thanks to him, there is a balance between good and bad. He also has the following responsibilities:

wildlife conservationist;
giver of good luck;
patron of wanderers, traders, scientists and creators;
the master of the afterlife, Nav, the judge of the souls of dead people.

Veles is able to take on the guise of wild animals and appear to people in this form. Popular Slavic talismans - and

The first son of the supreme creator god Svarog is Dazhdbog. It is responsible for sunlight and warmth. Dazhdbog has many other names. Among them:

Radegast;
Dab;
Svarozhich;
Radigosh.

It is believed that the lion is a sacred animal of the Sun God, so on the frescoes he is depicted as a beautiful young man riding in a chariot drawn by huge lions.

According to legends, the solar god protects those who are getting married. He accompanies the wedding procession of the newlyweds and gives them joy. Newlyweds were given among the Slayan runes

Clear weather and a calm, pleasant wind are reflected in the image of the ancient Slavic god Dogod. He is a tall and slender young man with long curly light brown hair and bright blue eyes. The god is dressed in simple robes of silver and blue colors, which the Slavs associated with a quiet wind and tranquility. On his head you can see a wreath of cornflowers.

Some people claimed that Dogoda has colorful wings on his back. He flies above the human world among the clouds and gives him his warm smile.

The Slavs loved and honored this god and dedicated songs and dances to him.

Kolyada

A wise and powerful god named Kolyada gladly shared sacred knowledge with people. He taught them the divine laws of life, told them about the structure of the world, and created the first calendar.

Kolyada is also the god of feasts and leisure. In his honor, people from ancient times go to visit each other on Christmas night and tell carols - ritual poems and songs,

One of the greatest gods of the Slavic pantheon is the little-known younger brother of the god Rod, the patron of universal wisdom Kryshen. His birth had a special purpose - the god Kryshen was destined to save humanity and return fire to them by fighting the powerful Chernobog. Brother Rod entered into a fight to the death with the god of darkness off the coast of the Arctic Ocean and won.

The son of the beautiful goddess Lada has many names:

Lubitsch;

Lel is the embodiment of burning passion and is distinguished by her good-natured but frivolous character. He takes the form of a handsome young man with blond curls who can shoot sparks from his hands. This god is able to ignite the flame of passion in the hearts of lovers and take the form of the sacred bird stork. The most famous amulet is the Lada amulet.

Autumn

After the god Kolyada passed on his sacred knowledge to people, his younger brother Ovsen took responsibility for the embodiment of this wisdom. He is also considered the personification of human faith in a bright future. They believe that Ovsen is the one who boldly steps into the unknown and leads people.

Ozem

According to legends, the god Ozem lives in the underworld with his pale-faced beauty Sumerla. They are the owners of all underground treasures, metals and precious stones, which they carefully protect from greedy people. Contrary to their own expectations, possessing treasures does not bring happiness to Ozem and Sumerla, but only anxiety and fear of losing them. The only time when they can feel calm and sleep without fear is winter, when snow protects their untold wealth.

The underground lords have their own servants and scouts: snakes, moles, rats and mice.

The most famous and powerful son of Svarog is Perun - the god of thunder and lightning. Perun has a hot-tempered and unbalanced character. When he gets angry, he rains lightning from the sky.

For his strength and courage, Perun is considered the patron saint of warriors and everyone whose work is related to weapons. He protects true warriors, helps them win and save their lives. This is a just god who can punish anyone who breaks the law.

According to one legend, Perun gave his sacred shield to people to protect them from Chernobog. He protects the inhabitants of the human world of Reveal.

Since ancient times, the Slavs worshiped the god of thunder and lightning, prayed to him asking for protection, strength and support,

The god Rod is considered the progenitor of all gods and the creator of the human world. He created the Earth and everything on it. He is also the father of Svarog - the supreme god who completed the creation of the Rod.

Semargl

When Svarog struck sparks from the sacred stone of Alatyr with a hammer, the god of fire Semargl was born from this flame. He protects family hearths and monitors the harvest. Semargl can take the form of a sacred winged dog.

The god of fire stands guard all year round, holding a sword in his hands that burns with a bright flame. He protects the world of people from evil, but on the day of the autumn equinox he leaves his post and follows his beloved Bathing Suit. It is believed that at this time all evil spirits come out.

The embodiment of the wind is Stribog, born from the breath of the creator Rod. Stribog is usually depicted as a good-natured old man with thick gray hair who lives somewhere on the edge of the forest. He is able to control the winds, create storms, and turn into a bird. Sailors and farmers turned to the help of the wind god.

Stribog has many sons, who are the embodiments of different winds:

Whistling is a violent and strong wind;
Podaga is a hot and dry wind that lives in desert areas;
Dogoda is a light summer breeze that plays with hair;
Siverko is a cold and harsh north wind.

In addition to the main wind gods, there are known references in legends to the gods of the western, eastern, southern, day, and night winds.

Horse

One of the sons of the creator Rod is Khors. He protects the heavenly body and is responsible for sunlight. Khorsa is considered a kind, hardworking and cheerful god. He is always next to his brother Dazhdbog.

In ancient Slavic mythology, Chernobog is the embodiment of everything negative:

cold;
death;
disease;
dark;
destruction;
madness.

He is depicted with long black hair, black eyes, and black clothes. Chernoboga is the only one to whom blood sacrifices are made. People are afraid of his wrath and ask for mercy.

Yarilo

God Yarilo in ancient Slavic legends is depicted as a man with thick red hair. He is dressed all in white and rides on a snow-white horse with a golden mane. His head is often decorated with a wreath of the first spring flowers. Yarilo is of great importance for Slavic culture:

the herald of the beginning of spring;
the personification of spring warmth and light;
the embodiment of fertility and love.

Mythical creatures in Slavic legends

The ancient Slavic bestiary is rich in images of mythical creatures. In old legends you can often find references to extraordinary creatures, the images of which are based on the images of animals, birds, and people.

One of the most striking and widespread mythical images in Slavic culture. Alkonost is depicted as a huge bird with the head of a beautiful girl. According to legends, these miracle birds have an unusually beautiful voice. When Alkonost sings, people's hearts skip a beat with delight. The mythical bird lives in heaven - in the paradise of Iriy.

Russian people have always honored and respected mothers for their dedication, care and sincere love. The power of motherhood became the basis for the mythical image of Arys-field.

According to legend, a widower married a witch who hated his own daughter. The man married the girl to a kind young man, and over time they had a son. This did not calm the evil and envious witch. She converted her stepdaughter in Arys-Pole, drove her out into the forest and, with the help of witchcraft, replaced her with her own daughter. Only she did not want to look after the child and feed him.

Then the young man’s mother noticed that something was wrong, took the child and called Arys-Pole. The mother came running from the forest, took off the lynx skin and fed the baby. Her husband saw this, stole the skin and burned it, thanks to which the girl returned to her original appearance. When everyone found out the truth about what happened, the witch was burned at the stake as punishment.

Vodyanoy, an evil mythical creature, lives in rivers and lakes. The merman is often depicted as a disgusting old man. Sometimes his image is supplemented with elements of the external appearance of an animal or fish.

The Vodyanoy lives in his underwater palace made of shells and stones. He is surrounded by fish and mermaids - the souls of drowned women. It is believed that in his kingdom live cattle that come out of the water at night and graze in the forest.

The image of a person capable of turning into a wolf has existed for many centuries in the myths and legends of different peoples and cultures. In Slavic mythology, such a creature has many names:

werewolf;
wolfhound;
ghoul;
Vovkulak.

To take on the image of a beast, the wolfdog must perform a somersault over an old stump or aspen stake driven into the ground. According to ancient legends, eclipses occur when a werewolf eats the Moon or the Sun.

Gamayun

Another image of a divine bird with the head of a beauty is Gamayun - a messenger between the worlds of gods and people. If a person saw a sacred bird and heard its cry, then soon he will find his happiness.

In Slavic legends he appears as a positive but mischievous character. Features of this mythical creature:

The brownie likes the house to be clean. He gladly helps hardworking owners, cleans, corrects their small mistakes, and helps maintain order.
He is particularly thrifty and does not like waste.
The home spirit treats the livestock with special love and attention, takes care of them and makes sure that the animals do not get sick.

Despite the fact that brownies are good-natured, they can mock owners they don’t like, and then...

Spirits especially do not like lazy, dissolute and alcoholics. They can tickle them in their sleep, throw them off the bed or even strangle them, throw things around, make noise and break dishes.

Brownies live behind the stove. If the owner of the house decides to make peace with the little spirit, all that is needed is tobacco, bread, beautiful fabric, etc.

If the brownie likes the mistress of the house, then he tries in every possible way to make her work easier. At night, he braids the girl’s little braids and amuses himself that he was able to decorate his favorite.

Sinister

Sinister is an evil spirit that brings problems and troubles to people. There are several options for depicting evil spirits in legends. Some believe that evil spirits are the spirits of poor old people who settle in human houses and doom their inhabitants to eternal poverty. They are sometimes described as evil brownies - little spirits who live behind the stove and bring misfortune to the inhabitants of their home.

One of the most famous and widespread creatures in folk tales is considered to be the Leshiy - the spirit of the forests. This is an ambiguous and multifaceted image; you can find a large number of descriptions of Leshy’s appearance and behavior. Often the forest spirit is described as an old man with long, green hair, dull eyes and sharp nails. He can be of the human race, or he can become either a giant or a dwarf. Leshy wears the simplest peasant clothes, and sometimes goes barefoot.

The main occupation is to protect the forest from any harm and confuse travelers. He can take on the forms of animals and birds, scare a person lost in the forest with sounds, screams, rustling, hit him with tree branches, etc. Some legends say that forest spirits can tickle him to death.

Sometimes Leshy kidnap human girls and marry them. Children are born to them, and they remain forever living in the forest. It is dangerous to walk along the paths in the forest at night, as you may stumble upon a wedding procession of spirits.

The spirits that live in the forest are on hostile terms with the merman and brownies.

Mavki

In ancient Rus' they believed that stillborn children and dead infants became Mavkas. The image of the forest spirit Mavka has much in common with the mermaid. Usually Mavka is depicted as a beautiful girl in a white shirt or a small child. These spirits live in the forest. They lure people into the thicket, lead them astray, mock and sometimes kill.

Conclusion

Old Russian myths and legends are replete with a large number of different deities and evil spirits, which are usually the embodiment of one or another natural force, sphere of people’s lives. Gods can be friendly or hostile towards people. Russian mythological creatures are distinguished by their unusual appearance, reminiscent of animals and people at the same time. Mostly, they are the personification of human fears.

"Slavic Monsters"- Agree, it sounds wild. , goblin, water - all of them are familiar to us from childhood and make us remember fairy tales. That is why the fauna of “Slavic fantasy” is still undeservedly considered something naive, frivolous and even slightly stupid. Now, when it comes to , we more often remember zombies or dragons, although in our mythology there are such ancient creatures, in comparison with which Lovecraft’s monsters may seem like petty dirty tricks.

The inhabitants of Slavic pagan legends are not the joyful brownie Kuzya or the sentimental monster with a scarlet flower. Our ancestors seriously believed in those evil spirits that we now consider worthy only of children's horror stories.

Almost no original source describing fictional creatures from Slavic mythology has survived to our time. Something was covered in the darkness of history, something was destroyed during the baptism of Rus'. What do we have except vague, contradictory and often dissimilar legends of different Slavic peoples? A few mentions in the works of the Danish historian Saxo Grammarian (1150-1220) - times. “Chronica Slavorum” by the German historian Helmold (1125-1177) - two. And finally, we should recall the collection “Veda Slovena” - a compilation of ancient Bulgarian ritual songs, from which one can also draw conclusions about the pagan beliefs of the ancient Slavs. The objectivity of church sources and chronicles, for obvious reasons, is in great doubt.

The “Book of Veles” (“Veles Book”, Isenbek tablets) has long been passed off as a unique monument of ancient Slavic mythology and history, dating from the 7th century BC - 9th century AD.

Its text was allegedly carved (or burned) onto small wooden strips, some of the “pages” were partially rotten. According to legend, the “Book of Veles” was discovered in 1919 near Kharkov by white colonel Fyodor Isenbek, who took it to Brussels and handed it over to the Slavist Mirolyubov for study. He made several copies, and in August 1941, during the German offensive, the tablets were lost. Versions have been put forward that they were hidden by the Nazis in the “archive of the Aryan past” under Annenerbe, or taken after the war to the USA).

Alas, the authenticity of the book initially raised great doubts, and recently it was finally proven that the entire text of the book was a falsification, carried out in the mid-20th century. The language of this fake is a mixture of different Slavic dialects. Despite the exposure, some writers still use the “Book of Veles” as a source of knowledge.

The only available image of one of the boards of the “Book of Veles”, beginning with the words “We dedicate this book to Veles.”

The history of Slavic fairy-tale creatures may be the envy of other European monsters. The age of pagan legends is impressive: according to some estimates, it reaches 3000 years, and its roots go back to the Neolithic or even Mesolithic - that is, about 9000 BC.

The common Slavic fairy-tale “menagerie” was absent - in different areas they spoke of completely different creatures. The Slavs did not have sea or mountain monsters, but forest and river evil spirits were abundant. There was no gigantomania either: our ancestors very rarely thought about evil giants like the Greek Cyclops or the Scandinavian Jotuns. Some wonderful creatures appeared among the Slavs relatively late, during the period of their Christianization - most often they were borrowed from Greek legends and introduced into national mythology, thus creating a bizarre mixture of beliefs.

Alkonost

According to ancient Greek myth, Alkyone, the wife of the Thessalian king Keik, upon learning of the death of her husband, threw herself into the sea and was turned into a bird, named after her, alkyon (kingfisher). The word “Alkonost” entered the Russian language as a result of a distortion of the ancient saying “alkion is a bird.” Slavic Alkonost is a bird of paradise with a surprisingly sweet, euphonious voice. She lays her eggs on the seashore, then plunges them into the sea - and the waves calm down for a week. When the eggs hatch, a storm begins. In the Orthodox tradition, Alkonost is considered a divine messenger - she lives in heaven and comes down to convey the highest will to people.

Aspid

Auca

A type of mischievous forest spirit, small, pot-bellied, with round cheeks. Doesn't sleep in winter or summer. He likes to fool people in the forest, responding to their cry of “Aw!” from all sides. Leads travelers into a remote thicket and abandons them there.

Slavic witch, popular folklore character. Usually depicted as a nasty old woman with disheveled hair, a hooked nose, a "bone leg", long claws and several teeth in her mouth. Baba Yaga is an ambiguous character. Most often, she acts as a pest, with pronounced tendencies towards cannibalism, but on occasion, this witch can voluntarily help a brave hero by questioning him, steaming him in a bathhouse and giving him magical gifts (or providing valuable information).

It is known that Baba Yaga lives in a deep forest. There stands her hut on chicken legs, surrounded by a palisade of human bones and skulls. Sometimes it was said that on the gate to Yaga’s house there are hands instead of locks, and the keyhole is a small toothy mouth. Baba Yaga's house is enchanted - you can enter it only by saying: “Hut, hut, turn your front to me, and your back to the forest.”
Like Western European witches, Baba Yaga can fly. To do this, she needs a large wooden mortar and a magic broom. With Baba Yaga you can often meet animals (familiars): a black cat or a crow, helping her in her witchcraft. The origin of the Baba Yaga estate is unclear. Perhaps it came from Turkic languages, or perhaps derived from the Old Serbian “ega” - disease.

Hut on kurnogi

A forest hut on chicken legs, where there are no windows or doors, is not fiction. This is exactly how hunters from the Urals, Siberia and Finno-Ugric tribes built temporary dwellings. Houses with blank walls and an entrance through a hatch in the floor, raised 2-3 meters above the ground, protected both from rodents hungry for supplies and from large predators. Siberian pagans kept stone idols in similar structures. It can be assumed that a figurine of some female deity, placed in a small house “on chicken legs,” gave rise to the myth of Baba Yaga, who can hardly fit in her house: her legs are in one corner, her head is in the other, and her nose rests into the ceiling.

Bannik

The spirit living in the baths was usually represented as a small old man with a long beard. Like all Slavic spirits, he is mischievous. If people in the bathhouse slip, get burned, faint from the heat, get scalded by boiling water, hear the cracking of stones in the stove or knocking on the wall - all these are the tricks of the bathhouse. The bannik rarely causes any serious harm, only when people behave incorrectly (wash on holidays or late at night). Much more often he helps them. The Slavs associated the bathhouse with mystical, life-giving powers - they often gave birth here or told fortunes (it was believed that the bannik could predict the future).

Like other spirits, they fed the bannik - they left him black bread with salt or buried a strangled black chicken under the threshold of the bathhouse. There was also a female version of the bannik - bannitsa, or obderiha. A shishiga also lived in the baths - an evil spirit that appears only to those who go to the baths without praying. Shishiga takes the form of a friend or relative, invites a person to steam with her and can steam to death.

Bas Celik (Man of Steel)

A popular character in Serbian folklore, a demon or evil sorcerer. According to legend, the king bequeathed to his three sons to marry their sisters to the first one to ask for their hand in marriage. One night, someone with a thunderous voice came to the palace and demanded the youngest princess as his wife. The sons fulfilled the will of their father, and soon lost their middle and older sister in a similar way.

Soon the brothers came to their senses and went in search of them. The younger brother met a beautiful princess and took her as his wife. Looking out of curiosity into the forbidden room, the prince saw a man chained. He introduced himself as Bash Celik and asked for three glasses of water. The naive young man gave the stranger a drink, he regained his strength, broke the chains, released his wings, grabbed the princess and flew away. Saddened, the prince went in search. He found out that the thunderous voices that demanded his sisters as wives belonged to the lords of dragons, falcons and eagles. They agreed to help him, and together they defeated the evil Bash Celik.

Ghouls

The living dead rising from their graves. Like any other vampires, ghouls drink blood and can devastate entire villages. First of all, they kill relatives and friends.

Gamayun

Like Alkonost, a divine female bird whose main function is to carry out predictions. The saying “Gamayun is a prophetic bird” is well known. She also knew how to control the weather. It was believed that when Gamayun flies from the direction of sunrise, a storm comes after her.

Divya people

Demi-humans with one eye, one leg and one arm. To move, they had to fold in half. They live somewhere on the edge of the world, reproduce artificially, forging their own kind from iron. The smoke of their forges brings with it pestilence, smallpox and fevers.

Brownie

In the most generalized representation - a house spirit, the patron of the hearth, a little old man with a beard (or completely covered with hair). It was believed that every house had its own brownie. In their homes they were rarely called “brownies,” preferring the affectionate “grandfather.” If people established normal relations with him, fed him (they left a saucer of milk, bread and salt on the floor) and considered him a member of their family, then the brownie helped them do minor housework, looked after the livestock, guarded the household, and warned them of danger.

On the other hand, an angry brownie could be very dangerous - at night he pinched people until they were bruised, strangled them, killed horses and cows, made noise, broke dishes and even set fire to a house. It was believed that the brownie lived behind the stove or in the stable.

Drekavac (drekavac)

A half-forgotten creature from the folklore of the southern Slavs. There is no exact description of it - some consider it an animal, others a bird, and in central Serbia there is a belief that drekavak is the soul of a dead, unbaptized baby. They agree on only one thing - the drekavak can scream terribly.

Usually the drekavak is the hero of children's horror stories, but in remote areas (for example, the mountainous Zlatibor in Serbia) even adults believe in this creature. Residents of the village of Tometino Polie from time to time report strange attacks on their livestock - it is difficult to determine from the nature of the wounds what kind of predator it was. The peasants claim to have heard eerie screams, so a Drekavak is probably involved.

Firebird

An image familiar to us from childhood, a beautiful bird with bright, dazzling fiery feathers (“they burn like heat”). A traditional test for fairy-tale heroes is to get a feather from the tail of this bird. For the Slavs, the firebird was more of a metaphor than a real creature. She personified fire, light, sun, and possibly knowledge. Its closest relative is the medieval bird Phoenix, known both in the West and in Rus'.

One cannot help but recall such an inhabitant of Slavic mythology as the bird Rarog (probably distorted from Svarog - the blacksmith god). A fiery falcon that can also look like a whirlwind of flame, Rarog is depicted on the coat of arms of the Rurikovichs ("Rarogs" in German) - the first dynasty of Russian rulers.

Kikimora (shishimora, mara)

An evil spirit (sometimes the brownie's wife), appearing in the form of a small, ugly old woman. If a kikimora lives in a house behind the stove or in the attic, then it constantly harms people: it makes noise, knocks on walls, interferes with sleep, tears yarn, breaks dishes, poisons livestock. Sometimes it was believed that babies who died without baptism became kikimoras, or kikimoras could be unleashed on a house under construction by evil carpenters or stove makers. A kikimora that lives in a swamp or forest does much less harm - it mainly just scares lost travelers.

Koschey the Immortal (Kashchei)

One of the well-known Old Slavonic negative characters, usually represented as a thin, skeletal old man with a repulsive appearance. Aggressive, vengeful, greedy and stingy. It is difficult to say whether he was a personification of the external enemies of the Slavs, an evil spirit, a powerful wizard, or a unique variety of undead.

It is indisputable that Koschey possessed very strong magic, avoided people and often engaged in the favorite activity of all villains in the world - kidnapping girls. In Russian science fiction, the image of Koshchei is quite popular, and he is presented in different ways: in a comic light (“Island of Rus'” by Lukyanenko and Burkin), or, for example, as a cyborg (“The Fate of Koshchei in the Cyberozoic Era” by Alexander Tyurin).

Koshchei’s “signature” feature was immortality, and far from absolute. As we all probably remember, on the magical island of Buyan (capable of suddenly disappearing and appearing before travelers) there is a large old oak tree on which a chest hangs. There is a hare in the chest, in the hare there is a duck, in the duck there is an egg, and in the egg there is a magic needle where Koshchei’s death is hidden. He can be killed by breaking this needle (according to some versions, by breaking an egg on Koshchei’s head).

Goblin

Forest spirit, protector of animals. He looks like a tall man with a long beard and hair all over his body. Essentially not evil - he walks through the forest, protects it from people, occasionally shows himself, for which he can take on any form - a plant, a mushroom (a giant talking fly agaric), an animal or even a person. The goblin can be distinguished from other people by two signs - his eyes glow with magical fire, and his shoes are put on backwards.

Sometimes a meeting with a goblin can end in failure - he will lead a person into the forest and throw him to be devoured by animals. However, those who respect nature can even become friends with this creature and receive help from it.

Dashingly one-eyed

Spirit of evil, failure, symbol of grief. There is no certainty regarding Likh’s appearance - he is either a one-eyed giant or a tall, thin woman with one eye in the middle of his forehead. Dashing is often compared to the Cyclopes, although apart from one eye and tall stature, they have nothing in common. The saying has reached our time: “Don’t wake up Dashing while it’s quiet.” In a literal and allegorical sense, Likho meant trouble - it became attached to a person, sat on his neck (in some legends, the unfortunate person tried to drown Likho by throwing himself into the water, and drowned himself) and prevented him from living.

Likh, however, could be gotten rid of - deceived, driven away by force of will, or, as is occasionally mentioned, given to another person along with some gift. According to very dark superstitions, Likho could come and devour you.

Mermaid

In Slavic mythology, mermaids are a type of mischievous evil spirits. They were drowned women, girls who died near a pond, or people swimming at inopportune times. Mermaids were sometimes identified with “mavkas” - from the Old Slavonic “nav”, dead man) - children who died without baptism or by strangled mothers.

The eyes of such mermaids glow with green fire. By their nature, they are nasty and evil creatures, they grab bathing people by the legs, pull them under the water, or lure them from the shore, wrap their arms around them and drown them. There was a belief that a mermaid's laughter could cause death (this makes them look like Irish banshees). Some beliefs called mermaids the lower spirits of nature (for example, good “beregins”), who have nothing in common with drowned people and willingly save drowning people.

There were also “tree mermaids” living in tree branches. Some researchers classify mermaids as mermaids (in Poland - lakanits) - lower spirits who take the form of girls in transparent white clothes, living in the fields and helping the field. The latter is also a natural spirit - it is believed that he looks like a little old man with a white beard. The field dwells in cultivated fields and usually patronizes peasants - except when they work at noon. For this, he sends midday warriors to the peasants so that they will deprive them of their minds with their magic.

It is also worth mentioning the crowfish - a type of mermaid, a baptized drowned woman, who does not belong to the category of evil spirits, and therefore is relatively kind. Waterworts love deep pools, but most often they settle under mill wheels, ride on them, spoil millstones, muddy the water, wash out holes, and tear nets.

It was believed that waterwomen were the wives of mermen - spirits who appeared in the guise of old men with a long green beard made of algae and (rarely) fish scales instead of skin. Bug-eyed, fat, creepy, the merman lives at great depths in whirlpools, commands mermaids and other underwater inhabitants. It was believed that he rode around his underwater kingdom riding a catfish, for which this fish was sometimes called “devil’s horse” among the people.

The merman is not malicious by nature and even acts as a patron of sailors, fishermen or millers, but from time to time he likes to play pranks, dragging a gaping (or offended) bather under the water. Sometimes the merman was endowed with the ability to shapeshift - transform into fish, animals or even logs.

Over time, the image of the merman as the patron of rivers and lakes changed - he began to be seen as a powerful “sea king” living under water in a luxurious palace. From the spirit of nature, the merman turned into a kind of magical tyrant, with whom the heroes of the folk epic (for example, Sadko) could communicate, enter into agreements and even defeat him with cunning.

Sirin

Another creature with the head of a woman and the body of an owl (owl), with a charming voice. Unlike Alkonost and Gamayun, Sirin is not a messenger from above, but a direct threat to life. It is believed that these birds live in the “Indian lands near paradise”, or on the Euphrates River, and sing such songs for the saints in heaven, upon hearing which people completely lose their memory and will, and their ships are wrecked.

It's not hard to guess that Sirin is a mythological adaptation of the Greek Sirens. However, unlike them, the bird Sirin is not a negative character, but rather a metaphor for the temptation of a person with various kinds of temptations.

Nightingale the Robber (Nightingale Odikhmantievich)

A character in late Slavic legends, a complex image combining the features of a bird, an evil wizard and a hero. The Nightingale the Robber lived in the forests near Chernigov near the Smorodina River and for 30 years guarded the road to Kyiv, not letting anyone through, deafening travelers with a monstrous whistle and roar.

The Robber Nightingale had a nest on seven oak trees, but the legend also says that he had a mansion and three daughters. The epic hero Ilya Muromets was not afraid of the adversary and knocked out his eye with an arrow from a bow, and during their battle, the whistle of the Nightingale the Robber knocked down the entire forest in the area. The hero brought the captive villain to Kyiv, where Prince Vladimir, out of curiosity, asked the Nightingale the Robber to whistle - to check whether the rumor about the super-abilities of this villain was true. The nightingale, of course, whistled so loudly that he almost destroyed half the city. After this, Ilya Muromets took him to the forest and cut off his head so that such an outrage would not happen again (according to another version, Nightingale the Robber later acted as Ilya Muromets’ assistant in battle).

It is very difficult to list all the fabulous creatures of the Slavs: most of them have been studied very poorly and represent local varieties of spirits - forest, water or domestic, and some of them were very similar to each other. In general, the abundance of intangible creatures greatly differs the Slavic bestiary from the more “mundane” collections of monsters from other cultures
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Among the Slavic “monsters” there are very few monsters as such. Our ancestors led a calm, measured life, and therefore the creatures they invented for themselves were associated with the elementary elements, neutral in their essence. If they opposed people, then, for the most part, they were only protecting Mother Nature and ancestral traditions. Stories of Russian folklore teach us to be kinder, more tolerant, to love nature and respect the ancient heritage of our ancestors.

The latter is especially important, because ancient legends are quickly forgotten, and instead of mysterious and mischievous Russian mermaids, Disney fish-maidens with shells on their breasts come to us. Do not be ashamed to study Slavic legends - especially in their original versions, not adapted for children's books. Our bestiary is archaic and in some sense even naive, but we can be proud of it, because it is one of the most ancient in Europe.