There seems to be very little information about Slavic mythology online; I have recently gotten a job as a writer, for a video game (but that is less relevant), and everything needs to be related to the ancient Slavic culture (especially the gods/religion) and, ofcourse, I want to inform myself before delving in too deep, but history isn't exactly my forte; so I come to you s/his/tas, seeking guidance and help.
>ancient slavic culture
man dig hole, man live in hole.
But shitposting aside, if you want to know about Slavic mythology look into the primary chronicles, it's more of a historical document but it has some mythology and old traditions in it.
>>935704
For two major reasons we have next to nothing on celtic and slavic mythologies. (The reasons being a lack of literacy and overzealous christians doing their best to fuck shit up)
Thankfully slavic mythology and religion are tied into the older indo european religion and share many common traits, so the best way to try and find an appropriate reconstruction is to go have a look at norse, greek and baltic myths (all of which survived in a better state than the slavic and celtic mythologies) and find some similar themes that you like the look of.
General features of the mythos tend to involve the head of the pantheon getting into a fight and slaying some monstrous creature, a sun god that rides in a chariot, a flood myth, and a pair of brothers sacrificing something (generally a cow) to create the world.
Lifestyle wise, have a look at the Tengri religion, which is believed to be related to the original indo-european religion but wasnt killed off. In particular there is a complex and varied notion of superstition surrounding various numbers along with acts such as knocking on wood.
Overall, ancient Slavic religion seems to be fairly local and cultic in nature, with gods and beliefs varying from tribe to tribe. Historic sources show that each Slavic tribe worshipped its own gods, possibly even had its own pantheon. Some scholars believed that Slavs' religion actually was focused on daemons and spirits, with the organised pantheon appearing only under foreign pressure. Others have claimed that while there was a single general pantheon, various regions held different gods in high regard. However, through cultural comparisons, linguistic research, and critical analysis of the written sources, it is generally assumed that there was a single Proto-Slavic pantheon from which pantheons of various Slavic tribes originated.
The Slavic religion had semi-nomadic steppe origins, where each geographical direction had a color of its own. Thus, Belarus actually means "the Western Rus", because the West was linked to the color white. (Compare to Byelobog, "the white god", and Belgrade, "the white city".) It appears that it was built upon the dualism personified by two gods, Perun and Veles. Perun was a "dry" sky god, commandeering fire, wind, and lightning (his name means simply "lightning" in Slavic languages). Veles was a serpentine, cthonic, "wet" ruler of earth, water, and magic. To whom the rain belonged was pretty much the "whose is the apple tree on the fence" problem. In some stories, Perun creates the world and Veles accidentally helps him by trying to interfere. Whatever the reason, they constantly fight each other, lightning strikes marking Perun's attempts to kill his foe from the sky. However, despite the easy analogies, Veles was not really a bad guy, as he was also a patron of cattle. (It should also be noted that Veles had a nasty habit of stealing Perun's possessions — up to and including his wife and children — so Perun's rage is perfectly understandable.)
Op here
>>936053
I too have checked Wikipedia, but thanks for the effort.
>>935763
>>935907
Thanks a lot; this is very helpful, My major problem right now is that some of the gods will be important plot characters, and yet one can find very little info about some lesser gods like Zorya or Dražbog; however if they indeed are that similar I guess I can take the liberty of mixing and matching some of the other mythological traits of said gods, there is no one following these beliefs today so there is no one to offend.
Is anyone here knowledgeable about the Pyramids in Bosnia? If that isn't complete BS I could have some fun with the concept
>>935704
Do you speak any language other than English? Obviously much of literature is only in slavic languages.
Basically, our image of slavic mythology is pretty vague. Everything we know comes from few sources, and even then it's pretty clear that those sources only apply to the exact time and place that they describe. We know for sure that different tribes and towns worshipped different deities, or at the very least, had different names for them. We know that the Polabian Slavs reformed their religion when they interacted with German Christians, and so started building temples, having priests, etc.
Other than that it's pure comparative reconstruction, based on general PIE knowledge, and similarities with eg. Baltic pantheon.
So while there certainly isn't a definitive pantheon and mythology like with Hesiod or the Eddas, it's even more vague and unsure than generally.
So with those things in mind, I can only suggest that you read the primary sources like Helmold, Saxo Gramaticus, the Primary Chronicle, etc.
>>938480
Obviously the sources will be much more readily available in English too.
Also, what I'd like to point out and what is usually not very well described in popular sources, is the fact that Slavic religion was massively influenced by Iranic religion, via Scythians and Sarmatians. The very words in proto-Slavic (and many modern Slavic languages as well) for stuff like "god", "heaven", "demon", "paradise", etc have Iranic roots. The deities Chors and Simargl are Iranic mythological creatures transplanted 1:1, while deities like Svarog also have Iranic roots.
>>938480
I do know some Russian and some Serbian, and can read cyrilics not all that well tho, but it does make this kind of research a little bit easier.
I will look into the sources you've mentioned, thanks for those.
>>938514
Iranic culture already seems to have a lot more data available, Its strange how an ethnic group, as large as the slavs has managed to "forget" its ancient history. I feel like we know a lot more about some smaller cultures, that were also extinct and predating the written history, than we do about a culture whose descendants are still alive today, and in great numbers.
>>938900
Dude, i'm russian. I can help you with it.
My telegram: starnekit
And my mail: [email protected]
