10.10.2015 16.09.2018 - admin
7 mythological concepts of the creation of the world
Most mythologies have general stories about the origin of all things: the separation of elements of order from the primordial chaos, the separation of maternal and paternal gods, the emergence of land from the ocean, endless and timeless. Here are the most interesting myths and legends about the creation of the world.
Slavic
The ancient Slavs had many legends about where the world and everyone inhabiting it came from.
The creation of the world began with filling it with Love.
The Carpathian Slavs have a legend according to which the world was created by two pigeons who sat on an oak tree in the middle of the sea and thought “how to found the world.” They decided to go down to the bottom of the sea, take some fine sand, sow it, and from it would come “black earth, cold water, green grass.” And from a golden stone, which was also mined at the bottom of the sea, “blue sky, bright sun, clear month and all the stars” would come from it.
According to one myth, the world was initially shrouded in darkness. There was only the progenitor of all things - Rod. He was imprisoned in an egg, but managed to give birth to Lada (Love), and by her force he destroyed the shell. The creation of the world began with filling it with Love. The family created the kingdom of heaven, and under it - the heavenly kingdom, and separated the Ocean from the waters of heaven by the firmament. Then Rod separated Light and Darkness and gave birth to the Earth, which plunged into the dark abyss of the Ocean. The Sun came out of Rod’s face, the Moon came out of his chest, and the stars came out of his eyes. From Rod's breath came winds, from tears - rain, snow and hail. His voice became thunder and lightning. Then Rod gave birth to Svarog and breathed into him a powerful spirit. It was Svarog who arranged the change of day and night, and also created the earth - he crushed a handful of earth in his hands, which then fell into the sea. The sun heated the Earth, and a crust was baked on it, and the Moon cooled the surface.
According to another legend, the world appeared as a result of the hero’s battle with the serpent who was guarding the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg, and from it emerged three kingdoms: heavenly, earthly and underground.
There is also a legend: in the beginning there was nothing but a boundless sea. A duck, flying over the surface of the sea, dropped an egg into the abyss of the water, it split, and from the lower part of it came “mother earth,” and from the upper part, “a high vault of heaven rose.”
Egyptian
Atum, who arose from Nun - the primary ocean, was considered the creator and primordial being. In the beginning there was no sky, no earth, no soil. Atum grew like a hill in the middle of the world's oceans. There is an assumption that the shape of the pyramid is also associated with the idea of a primary hill.
Atum absorbed his own seed and then vomited two children into the world.
Afterwards, Atum broke away from the water with great effort, soared over the abyss and cast a spell, as a result of which a second hill grew among the water surface - Ben-Ben. Atum sat down on a hill and began to think about what he should use to create the world. Since he was alone, he absorbed his own seed, and then vomited out the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut. And the first people appeared from the tears of Atum, who briefly lost his children - Shu and Tefnut, and then found them again and burst into tears of joy.
From this couple, born of Atum, came the gods Geb and Nut, and they, in turn, gave birth to the twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris became the first god to be killed and resurrected to an eternal afterlife.
Greek
In the Greek concept, there was originally Chaos, from which the land of Gaia emerged, and in its depths lay the deep abyss of Tartarus. Chaos gave birth to Nyukta (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), as well as moira - goddesses of fate. From Night came the goddess of rivalry and discord, Eris, who gave birth to Hunger, Sorrow, Murder, Lies, Exhaustive Labor, Battles and other troubles. From the connection of Night with Erebus, Ether and the shining day were born.
Gaia gave birth to Uranus (Sky), then Mountains rose from its depths, and Pontus (Sea) spilled across the plains.
Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the Titans: Oceanus, Tethys, Iapetus, Hyperion, Theia, Criya, Kay, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemosyne, Kronos and Rhea.
Kronos, with the help of his mother, overthrew his father, seizing power and marrying his sister Rhea. It was they who created a new tribe - the gods. But Kronos was afraid of his children, because he himself had once overthrown his own parent. That's why he swallowed them immediately after birth. Rhea hid one child in a cave in Crete. This rescued baby was Zeus. God was fed by goats, and his crying was drowned out by the blows of copper shields.
Having matured, Zeus overcame his father Cronus and forced him to vomit his brothers and sisters from his womb: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Thus came the end of the era of the Titans - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Scandinavian
The Scandinavians believe that before the creation of the world there was a void called Ginungagap. To the north of it lay the frozen world of darkness Niflheim, and to the south lay the fiery country of Muspellheim. Gradually, the world emptiness of Ginungagap was filled with poisonous frost, which turned into the giant Ymir. He was the ancestor of all frost giants. When Ymir fell asleep, sweat began to drip from his armpits, and these drops turned into a man and a woman. From this water also the cow Audumla was formed, whose milk Imir drank, as well as the second man born from sweat - Buri.
The son of Buri Bore Bor married the giantess Bestla, and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. For some reason, the sons of the Storm hated the giant Ymir and killed him. Then they took his body to the center of Ginungagapa and created the world: from flesh - the earth, from blood - the ocean, from the skull - the sky. Ymir's brain was scattered across the sky, creating clouds. With the eyelashes of Ymir they fenced off the best part of the world and settled people there.
Drops of sweat from the armpits of the Scandinavian giant Ymir turned into a man and a woman.
The gods created the people themselves from two tree branches. From the first man and woman all other people descended. The gods built the Asgard fortress for themselves, where they settled.
Chinese
Zoroastrian
The Zoroastrians created an interesting concept of the universe. According to this concept, the world has existed for 12 thousand years. Its entire history is conventionally divided into four periods, each lasting 3 thousand years.
The first period is the pre-existence of things and ideas. At this stage of heavenly creation there already existed the prototypes of everything that was later created on Earth. This state of the world is called Menok ("invisible" or "spiritual").
The second period is considered to be the creation of the created world, that is, the real, visible, inhabited by “creatures.” Ahura Mazda creates the sky, the stars, the Sun, the first man and the first bull. Beyond the sphere of the Sun is the abode of Ahura Mazda himself. However, Ahriman begins to act at the same time. It invades the firmament, creates planets and comets that do not obey the uniform movement of the celestial spheres.
Ahriman pollutes the water and sends death to the first man Gayomart and the primeval bull. But from the first man are born man and woman, from whom the human race descends, and from the first bull come all animals. From the collision of two opposing principles, the whole world begins to move: waters become fluid, mountains arise, celestial bodies move. To neutralize the actions of “harmful” planets, Ahura Mazda assigns her spirits to each planet.
The third period of the existence of the universe covers the time before the appearance of the prophet Zoroaster.
During this period, the mythological heroes of the Avesta act: the king of the golden age - Yima the Shining, in whose kingdom there is no heat, no cold, no old age, no envy - the creation of the devas. This king saves people and livestock from the Flood by building a special shelter for them.
Among the righteous of this time, the ruler of a certain region, Vishtaspa, the patron of Zoroaster, is also mentioned. During the last, fourth period (after Zoroaster) in each millennium, three Saviors should appear to people, appearing as the sons of Zoroaster. The last of them, Savior Saoshyant, will decide the fate of the world and humanity. He will resurrect the dead, destroy evil and defeat Ahriman, after which the world will be cleansed with a “flow of molten metal”, and everything that remains after this will gain eternal life.
Sumerian-Akkadian
The mythology of Mesopotamia is the most ancient of all known in the world. It arose in the 4th millennium BC. e. in a state that at that time was called Akkad, and later developed in Assyria, Babylonia, Sumeria and Elam.
At the beginning of time there were only two gods, who personified fresh water (the god Apsu) and salt water (the goddess Tiamat). The waters existed independently of each other and never crossed. But one day the salt and fresh waters mixed - and the elder gods were born - the children of Apsu and Tiamat. Following the elder gods, many younger gods appeared. But the world still consisted of nothing but chaos; the gods felt cramped and uncomfortable in it, about which they often complained to the Supreme Apsu. The cruel Apsu was tired of all this, and he decided to destroy all his children and grandchildren, but in the battle he could not defeat his son Enki, by whom he was defeated and cut into four parts, which turned into land, seas, rivers and fire. Tiamat wanted to take revenge for the murder of her husband, but she was also defeated by the younger god Marduk, who created wind and storms for the duel. After the victory, Marduk received a certain artifact “Me”, which determines the movement and fate of the entire world.
IN At the beginning of time the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, which contained the Rod - the Parent of all things.
The clan gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its prison, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.
So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that comes with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The genus separated the visible, revealed world, that is, Reality, from the invisible, spiritual world - from Novi. Rod separated Truth from Falsehood.
In the chariot of fire, Rod affirmed thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the person of the Family, was established in a golden boat, and the Month - in a silver one. Rod released from his lips the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Sva. By the Spirit of God, the Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished making peace. He became the master of the earthly World, the ruler of the Kingdom of God. Svarog established twelve pillars supporting the firmament.
From the Word of the Most High, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recite the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa.
The clan became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the Ocean waters the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - Yasuns and Dasun demons. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, and their milk became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. From the butter obtained after churning, Mother Earth of Cheese was created.
Alatyr
B The flammable stone Alatyr was revealed at the beginning of time. He was raised from the bottom of the Milk Ocean by the World Duck. Alatyr was very small, so the Duck wanted to hide it in her beak.
But Svarog uttered the magic Word, and the stone began to grow. The duck couldn't hold it and dropped it. Where the white, flammable stone Alatyr fell, the Alatyr Mountain rose.
The white-flammable stone Alatyr is a sacred stone, the focus of the Knowledge of the Vedas, a mediator between man and God. He is both “small and very cold” and “great like a mountain.” Both light and heavy. He is unknowable: “and no one could know that stone, and no one could lift it from the ground.”
When Svarog hit Alatyr with his magic hammer, gods were born from the sparks. The temple of the Most High was built on Alatyr by the half-horse Kitovras. Therefore, Alatyr is also an altar, an altar stone to the Almighty. On it, the Almighty Himself sacrifices Himself and turns into Alatyr stone.
According to ancient legends, Alatyr fell from the sky and the Laws of Svarog were carved on it. So Alatyr connected the worlds - the above, heavenly, and the manifest, below. The mediator between the worlds was also the book of the Vedas, which fell from the sky, and the magical bird Gamayun. Both the Book and the Bird are also Alatyr.
In the earthly world, Alatyr is revealed as Mount Elbrus. This mountain was also called Bel-Alabyr, White Mountain, Belitsa. The White River flows from Elbrus-Alatyr. In ancient times, near Elbrus there was a White City, where the Slavic tribe Belogors lived. Alatyr is connected with the heavenly world, Iriy, Belovodye - that is, with paradise through which rivers of milk flow. Alatyr is a White stone.
The Baksan River flows from Elbrus. Until the 4th century AD it was called the Altud River, or Alatyrka. These names contain the root “alt”, which means “gold” (hence “altyn”). Therefore, Alatyr is also a magic stone, the touch of which turns everything into gold. This is the Golden Mountain, Mount Zlato-gorki and Svyatogor. This means that Alatyr is the Holy Mountain.
There is also the Alatyr stone in the Urals on the Irian Mountains, where the sacred Ra River originates. And at its mouth on the island of Buyan there is also the Alatyr stone, which cures diseases and gives immortality. The Altai Mountains were also called Alatyr-mountains; the Golden Island of the Sun in the Northern Ocean was also called Alatyr-island.
Svarog and Semargl
IN at the beginning of time, when Svarog hit the white-flammable stone Alatyr with a hammer, from a spark carved from the stone, the Fire God Semargl was born, as well as all the heavenly Ratichi - Svarog’s warriors.
The luminous Fire God Semargl appeared in a fiery whirlwind, cleansing from all filth. He, like the Sun, illuminated the entire Universe. Near Semargl there was a golden-maned horse with silver wool. Smoke became His banner, and fire became His horse. Where He rode on His horse, a black scorched mark remained.
Then God's wind arose from the great fire of Svarog - thus the god of the winds Stribog was born. He began to fan the great flame of Svarog and Svarozhich-Semargl.
The Great Black Snake, born of the World Duck, decided to imitate Svarog. He crawled up to Alatyr and hit him with a hammer. From this blow, black sparks scattered throughout the world - this is how all the dark forces, the Dasuni demons, were born.
And then Semargl entered into a fight with the Great Black Snake and his army. But Svarozhich lacked strength, and the Red Sun dimmed. The Black Snake flooded the entire Earth with darkness. And Svarozhich went up to the heavenly forge to his father Svarog.
The Black Snake also flew to Svarga. He licked the three vaults of heaven with his tongue and climbed into the heavenly forge. And then Svarog and Semargl grabbed the tongue of the Black Snake with red-hot pincers, tamed it and harnessed it to the plow. Then the gods divided the Earth with this plow into the kingdom of Rev and the kingdom of Navi. Svarog and Semargl began to rule in Yavi, and the Black Snake began to rule in Navi.
Svarog and Svarozhich are Father and Son. The Most High Himself also appeared as the son of Svarog. Svarozhichi were Perun and Semargl.
The Book of Veles calls Svarog Tvastyr, that is, the Creator. He is also Tvashtar of Ved India. You should also know that the image of Tvastyr Svarog in India merged with the images of the Vedic Tvashtar, as well as Isvar (Lord Shiva), Indra (the owner of Svarga) and Brahma. The Shaivites identified the creative power of Svarog with the Creator Shiva, and those who worshiped Indra did the same. Brahmanists identified the creative Word of Svarog with Brahma, consisting of the Vedas. Therefore, the Slavic iconography of Svarog is similar to the Hindu iconography of Brahma.
The myth was restored mainly according to folk legends about the battle with the Serpent of Kuzma-Demyan, the attack of Boris-Gleb, Nikita Kozhemyaka (who ousted Svarot and Svarozhich) and other related legends. See, for example: E.R. Romanov, “Belarusian collection” (Vyl. 4. Kyiv, 1885. P. 17). In these legends, magical blacksmiths (even Kozhemyaka and he is a blacksmith in the legend) forge in a fabulous forge, spread over 12 miles, it has 12 doors (according to the number of zodiac signs, like Vedic temples). 12 assistant hammermen are also mentioned. They forge a sword, a plow, a bowl (as in the Scythian legends about the Heavenly Blacksmith, set forth by Herodotus). It is also said that they “forged the first plow for people,” which, when compared with the news of the Ipatiev Chronicle for 1114 about Svarok, the first Heavenly blacksmith, allows us to identify Kuzma-Demyan (Boris-Gleb) and other later deputies with Svarog and Svarozhich Semargl.
“Kuzma-Demyan, people of old say, the first wine was the first man of God, as the retinue will be honored by Tsei Kuzma-Demyan was the first forge and the first crusher of the plow at the saint... (Kuzma-Demyan fought with the Snake.). This snake mercilessly devoured people, leaving no one behind: neither old nor small. Where it yawned, people perished, like grass eating the horns of cattle, and like millet on the sun... "
Semargla calls Fire God the “Book of Veles” (“smaga” in Old Russian - flame). The plot of the initial battle between the Creator of the World, the god of Fire and the Serpent is known to the Vedas and Avesta, but the song itself was preserved only in the Slavic tradition.
The description of Fire God is in the conspiracies: “Father, you are the King of Fire, you are the king of all kings, you are the fire of all fires. How you burn and scorch grass-ants, thickets and slums in a field, underground roots of a damp oak tree, seventy-seven roots, seventy-seven branches... so they slept from the servant of God's sorrow..."
In the “Book of Veles” (Kryn 3:1) there is glorification of Semargl as the god of Fire and Moonlight
“We praise the Fire God Semargl, who gnaws the tree. Glory to him, the Fire-haired One, with a face that turns pink morning, noon and evening! And we give to him because he creates food and drink. And we keep him alone in the ashes. And it rises and burns over our land, from the time the Sun goes down, and until the Sun is born again, until it is led to and through the meadows of Khors.”
The glorification of the god of Fire-Sun is in the songs of the Bulgarians:
Svarga
P After the battle of the gods with the Black Snake, Svarog and Svarozhichi descended to Earth. And they saw that the whole Earth was mixed with blood. And then they cut Mother Earth, and she absorbed the blood.
Svarog and Svarozhichi began to arrange the world. Where the Serpent, harnessed to a plow, laid furrows, the Don, Danube and Dnieper rivers flowed there.
The Riphean Mountains appeared at the site of the battle with the Serpent. In the Riphean Mountains above the White Alatyr Mountain, from which the White River flows, Svarog established Svarga - the heavenly kingdom of the gods. On this mountain a sprout rose, which grew into the sacred Elm, connecting the world. The World Elm extended its branches to the sky itself.
On the eastern branches of the tree Alkonost made a nest, and on the western branches - the bird Sirin, in the roots - the Serpent moves. The heavenly king - Svarog himself - walks near the trunk, and with him - Mother Lada.
“The Book of Kolyada”, 1st century
In the Riphean Mountains near the Alatyr Mountain, other magical trees began to grow. A cypress rose on Mount Hwangure - the tree of death. On Mount Berezan there is a birch tree, the tree of poetry, dedicated to the god Karma. And on Mount Alatyr, Svarog planted the Irian Garden. Here a cherry tree rose, dedicated to Vyshny, where Gamayun flies. Nearby a sunny oak appeared - up with roots, down with branches: its roots are from the Sun, and its twelve branches are the essence of the twelve Vedas.
An apple tree with golden apples also rose on Alatyr Mountain. Whoever tries these golden apples will receive eternal youth and power over the Universe.
All approaches to the garden are guarded by griffins, basilisks, snakes and mountain giants. And the apple tree itself with golden apples is guarded by the dragon Ladon. There is no passage here for either foot or horse.
There are descriptions of Iria in many songs. For example, P.V. Kireevsky. “Collection of folk songs” (Tula, 1986. P. 215). There is this description in the legend about Father Agapia, “Monuments of Ancient Rus' of the 12th century.” (M., 1980): “(On the paradise island where Agapius arrived) ... various trees and different flowers blooming, and various fruits that no one has ever seen. Birds in various plumages sat in the trees. Some had feathers like gold, others were crimson, others were red, others were blue and green, and all of them were decorated with various beauties and variegations. And there were also birds as white as snow. And all the birds have different voices, and they chirped while sitting in front of each other, wove different songs, some in a loud voice, others in a quiet voice, and others in a thin voice, others in a gentle one, for each bird sang in harmony; their songs and all their splendor are such that no one has heard in this world.”
You can compare this 12th century text with the caption to a popular print about a journey to paradise of a certain monk who lived for three hours in paradise for 300 earthly years (see Rovinsky D.A. “Russian folk pictures”, vol. 3, SP6., 1881) :
“Some perfect in virtues a monk, sitting in his cell, flew in some small and beautifully crafted birds, and they were so beautiful that the human mind could not understand... Be it a field of beautiful flowers and a wonderful tree, and birds flying into a tree, you began to sing a wonderful and sweet song, as if you had come into oblivion The monk knows how much he stands, rejoicing and having fun at the bird and its beauty and sweet singing and the young flower-like field.”
These texts go back to the ancient Vedic legends about paradise.
Compare with the description of Iriy in Trigl. 20:
"... Flows Ra-river there that separates the heavenly Svarga and Reality (...) You reached our Iria, here you saw wonderful flowers, and trees, as well as meadows (...) And here (here) Mother Swa beats her wings on her sides on both sides as if on fire, all shining with light. And all her feathers are beautiful, blue, light blue, yellow and silver, gold and white. And just as she shines like the King Sun, she flies to Yasuni (Irin).”
Other Vedic traditions give the same description of heaven.
Compare with Indian legends:
“There is an incomparable Mount Meru, sparkling, rich in brilliance... Terrible animals roam on it, wonderful herbs bloom on it... It is covered with rivers and trees and resounds with flocks of various birds that delight the heart...”
(Mahobharata. Adiparva, book 1, The Tale of Astika. Ch. 15-16).
Chinese also speaks about heavenly foods "Book of Mountains and Seas":
“Birds live on Mount Dan-xue (Kun-Lun ridge)... In appearance they resemble roosters, multi-colored with patterns. They are called huang-feng (phoenixes). These birds eat and drink when they want, and sing and dance when they want. Their appearance heralds peace and tranquility in the Celestial Empire.”
The magical birds Gamayun, Finist-Phoenix, Alkonost and Sirin are the most beloved characters of ancient Russian art. “Kozmography” of 1670 tells about Gamayun and Phoenix (Phoenix) arriving on the Makari (“macro” translated from Greek “blessed”) island:
“The island of Makaria under the very east of the sun is near paradise. The birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly to this island, the fragrance is wonderful, there is no winter there.”
The source of the images of Alkonost, Sirin, etc. is usually seen in Greece (the myth of Alcyone, who became a kingfisher; the sirens from the Odyssey, etc.). However, Russian images are much more archaic; one should only talk about the common Vedic source of these images for Rus' and Greece. see Old Russian Azbukovnik (GPB, O. XVI 1).
“Alkonost, there is a bird named Alkonost, which has a nest on a sandbank at the edge of the sea and lays its eggs there; there is a time when she is born as a child in the winter year, but when she senses the departure of her child, she takes her child in her eggs and carries it into the middle of the sea and releases it into the depths, then the sea with many storms rushes to the shore, but when Alkonost lays her eggs in one place and he sits on them at the top of the sea and with her egg, in the depths, existing, and the sea is not shaken, in seven days, until Alkonostov’s eggs hatch into the waters, in the depths, but when they come out, they do not know their parents, this seven-day shipwreck they call it Alkonostsky (...). Sirin, there is a bird from head to waist, the composition and image of a man, and from the waist there is a bird; The people are talking about this, saying very well about the depths of her existence, as if anyone who listens to her voice should forget her whole life and go into the desert along it in the mountains to die astray (...).”
There are images of the trees of paradise in the “Dove Book”; they are common to all Vedic descriptions of paradise, including the biblical one. The image of an inverted tree of paradise, as Vedic Knowledge descending from heaven, is found in Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian conspiracies. See, for example: A.A. Potebnya. “Explanation of Little Russian and related folk songs” (II. Warsaw, 1887. P. 225):
“On the sea, on the okiyan, on an island, on a mound, there is a white birch tree with its branches down and its roots up. Mother on that birch tree Holy Mother of God..." The same image is in the Bhagavad-Gita, ch. 15. “There is an immortal banyan tree, whose roots grow upward and its branches grow downward, and its leaves are Vedic hymns. He who knows this tree knows the Vedas.
IN In the Upanishads to the Bhagavad Gita, this tree is called the “eternal fig tree.”
Kolo Svarog
WITH Varga is also the Starry Sky, called the Wheel of Svarog. The structure of this Wheel is complex. It is fortified at the Polar Star or Sedava-star, on Stozhar-Stlyazi - the celestial axis.
It revolves around Stozhar in one day and makes a revolution in a year. The slowest rotation, known only to the sages, lasts about 27 thousand years. And this rotation leads to the fact that the zodiacal constellations, visible at the moment of the spring equinox in the North, slowly replace each other. This time is called the Day of Svarog. They are divided into twelve zodiac eras, each of which lasts just over two thousand years.
The sun moves along the solar path belt and passes over one zodiacal era from one zodiac sign to another. Now we live in the fierce era of Pisces, the era of Roof-Aquarius is approaching.
Calculates the duration of eras and the duration of the Days of Svarog, the god of time and astrologers - Chislobog.
The Wheel of Svarga rotates slowly. It is driven by Perun Svarozhich himself. Chislobog tells him the numbers, and people pray to Perun so that he does not stop monitoring the world order, the rotation of the Star Wheels.
The hands of the Cosmic Clock move from one zodiac sign to another. And in a new sign, in a new zodiac era, the forces of the Cosmos manifest themselves in accordance with the Law given in the Vedas.
Makosh
M akosh - great goddess. She possesses the secret of Rule, the secret of Kolo Svarog. Both gods and people obey her commands.
She monitors the observance of customs and rituals. She has mercy and rewards those who firmly stand for ancient customs. High in the heavenly palace she sits with her assistants Dolya and Nedolya, spinning the threads of destinies.
Makosh - Heavenly Mother, Heavenly Law, Rule. The third face of God. The first face is the Father, the second is the Son, the third is the Mother. For the Mother is the Spirit of God who sets the World in motion. It is the Mother who gives life to the Son. And this means - the World changes, after the Father the Son appears, then the Son Himself becomes the Father and again gives birth to the Son.
Makosh knows the secret of destinies, the secret of previous lives and new incarnations. It requires a person to follow a destined path. It also gives freedom of choice between good and evil, where good is following the path of Rule, and evil is deviation from it. Those who go aside, destroy themselves and their souls - Makosh punishes mercilessly. They reincarnate on earth again, but no longer as people.
Makosh is a woman, and therefore changeable - she can bring both joy and sorrow. She has mercy and rewards only those who are strong in spirit and who are fighting for happiness. It provides a way out of the most hopeless situations, if a person does not despair, if he goes with all his strength, if he has not betrayed himself and his dream. And then Makosh sends the goddess of happiness and good luck to the person - Srecha. And then the man opens the door, takes a step and Srecha meets him.
But if a person has given up, lost faith, betrayed his dream, got tired and given up on everything - they say. The curve will take him out, then he will be bitterly disappointed. Makosh will turn away his face. And the outcast will be led through life by monstrous old women - Dashing One-Eyed, Crooked, Not Easy, Week, Nesrecha - to where the snakes lament over the graves of Karn and Jelly.
Goddess Makosh was part of the pre-Christian pantheon of Vladimir. It is mentioned in all teachings against paganism of the 9th-14th centuries. She was often mistaken for the goddess of spinning, since ethnographic records of the 19th century preserved legends about how “Mokusha goes around houses and disturbs spinning women.” In Russian villages, the custom of not leaving the tow after work has been preserved, otherwise “Mokusha will spin.” There was a belief: “If spinners are dozing and their spindle is spinning, then they say that Mokusha spun for them.”
In the “Tale of Idols” there is a record about the goddess Mokosh:
“...the same gods are required to create the Slovenian language: Vilam and Makoshi and Diva, Perun. Khursu...” Here she is compared with Hecate, the Greek goddess of prosperity: “Anoint the goddess Ekatia, create this maiden and honor Makosh...”. Fate depended on Mokosh: what kind of “cat” lot you would get. Her image was supplanted by Paraskeva Friday, Mary the Mother of God.
On the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan, lies the white-flammable stone Alatyr, on that stone there is a room, in that room there is a red maiden, the Mother of God with two sisters, they are spinning and weaving a silk thread.
From Russian conspiracies
Once upon a time there lived a woman... called Happiness and she was created as if she were a living person. Only in two places is there a visible hole: her back did not bend and she had one eye, and even that one sees upward on the crown of her head, but she grabs with her hands in vain. doesn’t know how... will start to rise up to look in the face: is it for real? It will rise above its head, look from the crown of the head with one eye, and throw it from its hands, without regret, straight to the ground: some are exhausted, others are hurt and die. No, not it!
From the parable of an old schismatic man.
Veles and Azovushka
IN In the beginning, Veles was born by the Heavenly Cow Zemun from the god Rod, who flowed from the White Mountain by the Solar Surya, the Ra River.
Veles appeared in the world before the Most High, and appeared as the Descent of the Most High. Vyshen then came to people and incarnated as the Son of Svarog and Mother Sva. Like the Son who created the Father. And Veles appeared as the Descent of the Almighty for the entire living world (for people, magical tribes and animals), and incarnated as the son of the Heavenly Cow and the Family. And therefore Veles came before Vyshny and paved the way for Him, preparing the world and people for the coming of Vyshny.
The born baby Veles was kidnapped by the god Pan, the son of Viy, the king of the underworld. He picked up his cradle and carried it over the ocean. But then Veles began to grow and get heavier. Pan couldn't hold back the baby and dropped it along with the cradle.
Veles in a cradle sailed to the shores of a large island, which in memory of this event was called Taurida (“Tavr” means “bull”, and Veles Bykovich). Here Veles fought with the Kite and saved the Swan Princess, the spirit of the Sea of Azov, who was called Azovushka. Azovushka was the daughter of Svarog and Mother Sva.
Veles and Azovushka fell in love with each other, soon got married and began to live together. Buyan Island on the Azov and Black Seas became their magical abode. On that island there is a palace, in front of the palace there are magical oak and spruce trees.
Veles leaves for Azov - the mountain
TO When Dy imposed too heavy a tribute on the people, they stopped giving him sacrifices. Then Dyy began to punish the apostates, and people turned to Veles for help.
God Veles responded and defeated Dyi, destroying his heavenly palace, made of eagle wings. Veles threw Dyya from the sky into the kingdom of Viy. And the people rejoiced:
But then Dy, with the help of Viy, rose to Earth again and arranged a feast, to which Veles himself was invited, as if for reconciliation. When Veles came to this feast, Dyy offered him a spell with poison. Veles drank it and went himself to the kingdom of Viy, and was imprisoned in the farthest cave.
And then Azovushka came to his aid. She went down to Viy and begged him to let Veles go.
And then Veles and Azovushka walked through the underground halls and palaces to the exit. But at the very exit from the caves, the voice of the Most High was heard, saying that Azovushka could come out here, but Veles, who had lost his previous body, would have to go through another gate, that is, after many generations he would be born again.
But Azovushka did not want to leave Veles. And after Azov Mountain closed, she remained with Veles to wait for other times.
And then Veles died and was born many times, he was Don, the son of Danu, and Ramna, the son of Ra, and Taurus, as well as As and Asila, Aster. His wife Azovushka also had many faces.
Another birth of Veles.
IN Another time, Veles was born to Zemun Korova’s daughter Amelfa along with her sister Altynka. His father was the sun god Surya-Ra himself.
When Veles and Altynka were little, Amelfa let them go to learn to read and write and they read in the Vedas that in ancient times, the Svarozhichi and Dyevichi freed the cloud cows from Viy’s captivity, and then the Svarozhichi took them for themselves. But those cows are the sisters of their mother Amelfa, and therefore Veles and Altynka decided to return them.
They drove the cloud-cows from Iriy to Mount Azov. Svarog and Svarozhichi did not tolerate such self-will. Dazhbog gave chase and wanted to take the cows from Veles. But when he heard his song and playing the magic harp, he forgot about everything in the world and exchanged those cows for the harp of the god Veles.
Veles learned to play the harp and sing from Vyshny and Zhiva. And people marveled at his art and said:
Veles teaches people.
P Therefore, Veles asked Svarog to forge him a plow, as well as an iron horse to match him. Svarog fulfilled his request. And Veles began to teach people arable farming, how to sow and reap, how to brew wheat beer.
Then Veles taught people faith and wisdom (knowledge). He taught how to make sacrifices correctly, taught stellar wisdom, literacy, and gave the first calendar. He divided people into classes and gave the first laws.
And those who did not listen to him, did not want to study and work, Veles punished them: he would meet a lazy person, grab him by the arm or leg - and it would be good if he only threw him away, otherwise he could punish him even worse.
People began to complain to Amelfa. And Amelfa began to scold him. Veles didn’t like that zhurba. He gathered the soldiers and came to the brotherhood feast in the nearest village. The squad started drinking and going for walks. And then, as at a funeral feast, they began to compete in strength. At first it was a joke, but when they separated, they started a real massacre.
Veles wanted to break up the fight, but then some guy walked in from his toes and hit Veles on the ear.
Oh, and Veles got angry! He called his squad together - mules, wolfhounds and other forest dwellers - and went to beat everyone who came to hand.
The men again ran to Amelfa to ask for protection, and she sent her youngest daughter, Altynka, to calm Veles. Altynushka ran to Veles and dragged him to his dear mother for trial, and she locked her son in the cellar.
And his squad was left without a leader. And the people pushed back the forest people and began to beat them. And Altynka saw it when she was walking on the water, and decided to release Veles. She ran and opened the cellar.
Veles jumped out into the wide yard, uprooted a hundred-year-old elm and ran to help the squad. He began to wave his elm tree, and the people obeyed him. They brought gold and silver to Veles.
Veles's repentance.
N Veles did not sit at home, he wandered around the world with his comrades, sailed across the blue seas. Where he traded, and where he fought.
He has been through a lot. He defeated Dyi and the Dyevichs when they kidnapped his sister and mother. He turned the Black Diyevy Mountains into the White-Golden Altai Mountains. He helped the god Perun free himself from captivity and defeat the Skipper-beast.
Veles was busy with earthly affairs, was at enmity with the family of Dyya and Viy, and in those battles he also destroyed the people who worshiped these gods. That struggle was endless, and its meaning was not in victory, but in the struggle itself. And therefore the time has come for him to cleanse himself and repent before the Almighty.
Once Veles was sailing across the Black Sea. And he said to his Ushkuin friends:
- Oh, that one, shipbuilders! We have destroyed many human souls, now it is time for us to save our souls. We need to go to Alatyr in the heavenly Irian garden!
How to get to Alatyr? The straight road doesn't take long to sail. To reach the mouth of the Ra River and Smorodinka with a fair wind, then past Buyan Island, along the Smorodinka River - it will take only seven weeks.
But that path is guarded by mountain giants, they throw stones from the mountains and sink ships. And if you take a roundabout path, you will need to get there through the seas of the Firmament - the earthly, Atlantean, White, and then go down the rivers - you won’t get there in two hundred years!
And they went along the straight path. We swam to the mouth of the Ra River, to Mount Sarachinskaya. They abandoned the gangplank.
And Veles and his squad climbed to the top of the Sarachin Mountain. When Veles got to the middle of the mountain, he saw a huge skull lying. Veles kicked him and continued walking. And he heard a prophetic voice:
- Goy, you. Veles son Surevich! Where the brave head lies, was Valu, defeated by Indra! That fellow was no weaker than you!
Veles climbed to the very top. He sees the Black Stone lying there. And on that stone there is an inscription:
Veles looked at the pebble and wanted to amuse himself, but he thought and thought and didn’t.
They came to Veles Goryn and asked:
where Veles is heading.
Veles replied that he was going to Alatyr Mountain in order to pray in the temple of the Most High and cleanse himself in the milk river.
- Pray for us too, violent Veles! - the Goryns asked him.
And Veles swam, first along the Ra River, then along the Smorodinka River. And I got to Svarga.
And he prayed in the temple of the Most High, and asked God for forgiveness for his great sins, asking both for his squad and for Goryn. And then I swam in the milk river. His whole squad also swam in the river.
And on the way back Veles again landed at Sarachinskaya Mountain. He went up to the Black Stone and began to amuse himself, have fun, and began to jump over it. And then the ancient prediction came true, and Veles became the Guardian of the Currant River, the Ra River and the Black Stone.
Veles and Yasunya.
IN Yeles and Perun were inseparable friends. Perun honored the god Veles, for thanks to Veles he gained freedom, was revived and was able to defeat the fierce enemy of his Skipper-beast.
But, as often happens, a woman destroyed a man’s friendship. And all because both Perun and Veles fell in love with the beautiful Diva Dodola. But Diva preferred Perun and rejected Veles.
However, then Veles still managed to seduce Diva and she gave birth to Yarila from him. But then he went, outcast, wherever he looked, and came to the Smorodina River. Here he met giants - Dubynya, Gorynya and Usynya. Dubynya pulled out oak trees, Gorynya moved mountains, and Usynya caught sturgeons in Smorodino with his mustache. Veles fraternized with the giants, and they rode together. They wanted to cross the Smorodina River. But how to do this? Usynya helped out his friends. He spread his mustache across the river, and then along his mustache, like on a bridge, everyone crossed to the other side. And they saw a hut on chicken legs by the river.
And Veles said that this is the house of Buri Yaga, who previously in another life (when he was the god Don) was his wife Yasunya Svyatogorovna. But then he died and out of grief she turned into Storm Yaga.
The gods entered the house and stayed overnight. The next morning they went into the forest to hunt, and only Gorynya remained in the house. Then the blue sky darkened, dust whirlwinds swirled, the oak forests bowed - and in a fiery mortar, Storm Yaga the Golden Leg flew in, covering her trail behind her. She beat Gorynya and ate the whole lunch.
The next day they left Dubynya in charge of the house, and on the third - Usynya. The same story happened to them. Finally, Veles remained in the house.
Yaga arrived and began to fight with Veles. But then they made peace, recognizing each other, and became husband and wife. However, Amelfa, Veles’ mother, did not like this very much. “How did you, Veles, marry a witch with green skin?” - she was surprised.
And she decided to kill Yaga. She locked Veles's wife in a bathhouse, which she then heated so hot that she killed her. And then she imprisoned Yaga’s body in a coffin-block and let the coffin float on the Khvalynsk Sea.
Veles, with the help of the heavenly gods, freed and revived Yaga. But at the behest of his mother and the law of Vyshny, which prohibits marrying without parental blessing, he was forced to leave her and was very sad that his parents did not recognize Yasunya Svyatorovna in Yaga. And Yaga-Yasunya returned to her hut near the Smorodina River. But then she came to Veles again and showed other faces.
Taken from http://druidgor.narod.ru/
Every nation has its own mythology concerning the origin of all things. It should be noted that different mythologies have much in common. IN ancient times people assumed that the land arose from the endless and timeless ocean, from chaos, from the conflict between the paternal and maternal gods. Below are the most interesting myths about the creation of the world. different nations.
Among the Sumerians
In Mesopotamia 4 thousand years BC. e. one of the most ancient human civilizations arose. This was the state of Akkad, which later gave rise to such powers as Assyria and Babylon. Akkad was inhabited by the Sumerians, an ancient highly developed people. These people believed that originally there was a god and goddess - Alsou (god of fresh water) and Tiamat (goddess of salt water).
They lived independently of each other and never crossed paths. But it so happened that at some point the salt and fresh waters mixed. And then the elder gods appeared - the children of Tiamat and Alsou. A large number of younger gods appeared behind the elders. And they all felt cramped and uncomfortable in the world around them.
To return to the original balance, the god Alsou and the goddess Tiamat decided to destroy their children. A battle began, which ended unsuccessfully for the cruel celestials. The son of Enki defeated Alsou. He killed his father and cut his body into 4 parts. They turned into seas, land, rivers and fire. Tiamat also fell, struck by the younger god Marduk. Her severed body turned into wind and storms. After the destruction of Alsou and Tiamat, Marduk became the main one, taking possession of a certain artifact “Me”. He determined the movement and fate of the entire surrounding world.
Iranians
Myths about the creation of the world among different nations found their continuation among the Iranians. According to their ideas, the history of the world was divided into 4 large periods. During the first period there were prototypes of everything that subsequently appeared on Earth. This is the so-called invisible or spiritual period.
The second period was characterized by the creation of the visible or real world. The main creator Ahura Mazda was engaged in this. The Sun, Moon, stars, sky, the first man and the first bull were created. But Ahriman intervened in the creations of the main creator. He sent death to the first man and the first bull. But by this time a man and a woman had already been born, from whom the human race came, and from the first bull all the animals came.
In the third period, a shining kingdom appears, headed by King Yima. In this kingdom there is no cold, heat, old age, envy, or greed. The noble king saves people and animals from the Great Flood. And in the fourth period, the prophet Zoroaster appears, bringing people goodness and truth about the universe. He said that after him his sons would appear, and the last of them would decide the fate of the world and humanity. He will resurrect the righteous, destroy evil and defeat Ahriman. After this, the world will be cleansed, and what remains will acquire eternal existence.
The Chinese
The ancient Chinese believed that the entire world was once shaped like a huge chicken egg. It was in it that the god Pangu was born. At first he was in a state of sleep for several thousand years, and then he woke up and decided to get out of the egg. To do this, he cut through the shell with an ax, and his two divine principles formed heaven and earth. Pangu stood on the ground and supported the sky with his head. God sighed and the wind rose, exhaled and thunder roared. He opened his eyes and day came, he closed them and night fell on the ground.
According to Greek mythology, Chaos reigned in the world at first. From it the land of Gaia emerged, and in its depths the abyss of Tartarus formed. Nikta - night and Erebus - darkness were also generated. The night, in turn, gave birth to Tanat - death and Gipson - sleep. From her also came Eris, the goddess of rivalry and discord. She created hunger, sorrow, murder, lies, exhausting work. Erebus entered into contact with Nikto, and Aether with a shining day was born. Gaia gave birth to Uranus, that is, the sky, and from its depths mountains rose and the sea overflowed - Pontus.
After this, Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the Titans. These are Oceanus, Tethys, Iapetus, Hyperion, Crius Theia, Kay, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemosa, Kronos, Rhea. Kronos entered into an alliance with Gaia and overthrew Uranus. Having seized power, he married his sister Rhea. From them came a new tribe of gods. But Kronos was afraid that his children would seize power from him, so he swallowed the next child immediately after birth. However, Rhea managed to hide one of the newborns in Crete. It turned out to be Zeus. When he grew up, he defeated Kronos and forced him to vomit up all the children he had eaten. These are Aida, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hestia. Thus ended the era of the Titans, and they were replaced by the gods of Olympus.
Among the ancient Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians considered Atum to be the father of everything, who arose from Nun, the primordial ocean. At that time there was no earth and sky. Atum simply grew into the ocean like a huge hill. He took off from the water, soared above it, cast magic spells and another hill appeared. Atum sat on it and vomited out the god of air Shu and the goddess of water Teftun. Then he began to cry, and people appeared from his tears. From Shu and Teftun appeared Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys. It was Osiris who became the first god to be killed and resurrected for an eternal afterlife.
Among the ancient Slavs
And, of course, when considering the myths about the creation of the world among different peoples, one cannot ignore the ancient Slavs. They believed that in the beginning only Darkness existed. It contained the progenitor Rod, enclosed in an egg. He gave birth to Love, and with its help he destroyed the shell. After this, Love supplanted Darkness, and Rod created two kingdoms - the heavenly and the under-celestial.
In the celestial kingdom, he separated the ocean from the firmament, the Sun came out of his face, and the Moon appeared from his heart. From Rod's breath arose the wind, from his tears rain, hail and snow appeared. The voice became thunder and lightning. After this, Rod reproduced Svarog, and he created the change of day and night. This is how all things were born, giving life to people, animals and fish.
These are the myths about the creation of the world that exist among different peoples. At first glance, these are beautiful fairy tales. But in every fairy tale there is always some truth. And therefore you should not indifferently brush aside mythologies. They need to be studied, compared and tried to comprehend the true meaning of these amazing and beautiful stories..
Unfortunately, Slavic mythology originated in a time when there was no written language and was never written down. But some things can be restored from ancient evidence, oral folk art, rituals and folk beliefs.
The myth of the creation of the world by Rod
At first there was nothing but chaos, everything was one. Then the ancient god Rod descended to earth in a golden egg and got to work. At first he decided to separate light and darkness, and the sun rolled out of the golden egg, illuminating everything around.
Then the moon appeared, taking its place in the night sky.
Afterwards, the progenitor created an immense water world, from which land later rose - vast lands on which tall trees stretched to the sky, various animals ran, and birds sang their wondrous songs. And he created a rainbow to separate land and sea, Truth and Falsehood.
Then Rod rose up on the golden egg and looked around, he liked the fruits of his labor. God exhaled onto the earth - and the wind rustled in the trees, and from his breath the goddess of love Lada was born, who turned into the bird Sva.
Rod divided the world into three kingdoms: heavenly, earthly and underworld. He created the first for the gods, who were supposed to maintain order on earth, the second became the abode of people, and the last - a haven for the dead. And through them grows a gigantic oak tree - the World Tree, which grew from a seed thrown by the creator. Its roots are hidden in the world of the dead, its trunk passes through the earthly kingdom, and its crown supports the sky.
Rod populated the kingdom of heaven with the gods he created. Together with Lada, they created the mighty god Svarog. Having breathed life into him, the creator god gave him four heads, so that he could look to all corners of the world and keep an eye on order.
Svarog became a faithful assistant to the progenitor: he paved the path of the Sun across the firmament and the path of the moon across the night sky. Since then, the sun rises at dawn, and at night the moon floats into the star-lit sky.
How Chernobog wanted to take over the Universe
The evil god Chernobog, the lord of darkness, was born in time immemorial. And Krivda began to plunge his mind into dark thoughts and lead him to evil deeds. He succumbed to temptations and planned to subjugate the whole world to himself, turned into a Black Serpent and crawled out of his lair.
Svarog, who was keeping an eye on the world, sensed something was wrong. He made himself a huge hammer in the forge and swung it down on Alatyr to create helpers for himself. Sparks flew in all directions, from which the gods immediately appeared. The first to be born was the heavenly god Dazhdbog. Then Khors, Simargl and Stribog appeared.
The Serpent crawled to Alatyr and struck silver sparks with its tail on the stone, which turned into earthly and underground evil spirits. Dazhdbog saw this and sent Simargl, a messenger between heaven and earth, to tell Svarog about everything. He flew away to his father and told him that a great battle was coming between evil and good. Svarog listened to his son and began to forge weapons for his army in the heavenly forge.
And the time for battle came - the forces of light met the forces of evil. That battle lasted for a long time and was not easy. Dark forces made their way into the heavenly palace and almost penetrated Svarog’s forge. Then Svarog forged a plow and launched it at Chernobog as soon as he appeared at the door. He called the children to help, and together they harnessed the Snake to the plow and captured all the evil spirits.
Then the dark god prayed and asked to spare his offspring. Svarog was fair and compassionate, he promised to spare the Navi people only if none of the gods of the entire Universe ruled. And he ordered to dig the great boundary between the two worlds. And that boundary will pass through the entire world of people, on one side there will be the kingdom of Svarog, on the other there will be dark lands. Chernobog agreed, because there was no choice anyway - so the gods came to an agreement.
The gods began to divide their kingdoms with a plow; the world of the light gods became on the right, and Navi on the left. That furrow went through the middle of the human world, which is why good and bad are alike on earth. The World Tree united three worlds. On the right, in its branches sits Alkonost, the bird of paradise. On the left is the dark bird Sirin.
Svarog and the fertility goddess Lada began to populate the world with animals and birds. They planted trees and flowers.
And after all the work, they began to play in the forest clearing. They started throwing stones over their shoulders. The Mother of Cheese, the Earth, moistened them with dew, which is why they turned into people. Those who fell from Lada became maidens, and the Svarogs became fine fellows. Then Lada didn’t have enough of that, she began to rub the branches one against the other. Divine sparks appeared, from which beautiful maidens and lads appeared. Rod was pleased because the world that he had once created was flourishing again. The gods ordered people to live according to the covenants carved on the Alatyr stone. And Mokosh began to spin the threads of fate, assigning a deadline to everyone.
The myth of the magic lily of the valley
Perun decided to take the rain goddess Dodola as his wife. Many gods were invited to the wedding, and Veles was not forgotten. The Thunderer hoped to reconcile with his old enemy. The wedding took place in the heavenly kingdom, and a feast began in the Garden of Eden.
The gods rejoiced at the holiday and drank hops for health. Only Veles sat gloomier than a cloud - he liked the bride, and did not take his eyes off her throughout the feast. His heart was corroded by envy of Perun for taking such a beauty as his wife.
Veles then descended to earth from Iriy and wandered for a long time through the dense forests. One day Dodola went for a walk on earth through the forests and meadows. Veles noticed her, and feelings flared up, and he almost lost his mind from them. He turned into a lily of the valley at her very feet. Dodola picked a flower and smelled it. And then she gave birth to a son, Yarila.
Her husband found out about this and immediately separated with righteous anger. He wanted to destroy the vile Veles, who was so grateful for his kindness. And then those two gods came together in battle. That battle lasted three days and three nights, until the Thunderer defeated Veles with difficulty. Perun brought him to Alatyr-stone so that the gods would judge him. And the gods then banished Veles from Iriy to the underworld forever.
How Veles stole the heavenly cows
This happened when Veles was already living in the underworld. Yaga persuaded him to steal the heavenly cows from the gods. God resisted for a long time, but then he remembered that when he lived in Iria, he took better care of the cows than anyone else. And now no one will look after them better than him. Then Yaga raised a whirlwind from the earth to the very sky, which carried all the cows into the underworld. There Veles hid them in a large cave and began to look after them.
When the forest animals found out about this, they decided that now they could do anything. The wolves dispersed the most - they lost all fear and began to drive away the livestock. And people began to steal each other's animals. But this is not all the troubles that have begun on earth. All the pastures and all the crops dried up, all because the clouds disappeared along with the cows of heaven.
The people of the gods began to pray that Veles would return the cows, so that the drought would end, and everything would be as before. Perun and Dazhbog heard the prayers and decided to help. They descended to earth, to the gates of the underworld. And there the army of Veles is already waiting for them. And he himself hid in the roots of the World Tree in order to quietly attack the gods.
But Perun was the first to notice him and threw his lightning at the root. Lightning struck the Tree strongly, it staggered, and the earth trembled. Dazhbog stopped the thunderer, fearing that the Tree would fall, and with it the whole world.
Perun challenged Veles to a fair fight, and God could not refuse because of pride. He turned into a fire-breathing Serpent, and they fought in battle. And all its inhabitants came out from the underworld to watch that battle, opening the stone doors.
Dazhbog slipped into the underground kingdom and began to look for the heavenly herd. The two gods fought for a long time, and with difficulty Perun defeated the Snake. He then took on his true form and started to run. The Thunderer pursued Veles and shot lightning arrows after him. And Perun heard the voice of Dazhbog asking him to throw lightning at the mountain to rescue the heavenly flock. Perun split the mountain with a shot, and the cows of heaven returned to Iriy.
How Veles locked underground waters
For many years, people revered various gods with prayers and sacrifices, but they forgot about Veles, the ruler of the underworld. His idol fell into disrepair, and the sacred fire, where gifts were once brought, almost went out.
Veles was then offended that people forgot about him, and he closed all the water sources with locks. Then a drought began on the earth, the livestock began to get sick because all the pastures dried up. And people began to pray to the gods for help. One family even left their relatives at home and went into the forest to Perun’s idol to ask the rain to moisten the dry soil.
The raven heard people's prayers and soared up into Iriy itself, the abode of the heavenly gods. He found Perun and told about the misfortune that had happened to people. God listened to the raven and became angry with Veles. And he decided to teach him a lesson because he had locked the underground waters with strong locks. He took his bow and lightning arrows, saddled a snow-white horse and went to look for the Serpent.
Veles then inspected the land to which he had sent a drought, and was pleased that he had punished the people. But he saw Perun flying in the sky, got scared and wanted to hide underground. But the Thunderer prevented him by shooting lightning from his bow. Then the Snake decided to crawl into the hollow of the old oak tree. But the good god managed to set the tree on fire, shooting his arrow from the high sky. Veles then decided to hide under the boulder, but it shattered into small pebbles when Perun hit him with a bow.
The Serpent realized that he could not hide from Perunov’s anger, and then began to beg for mercy. He promised to show all the locks to which he had locked the underground springs. Then the Thunderer had mercy and agreed. The Lord of the Underworld pointed out all the secluded places in which he had locked up the water. But I lost my keys while I was hiding from Perunov’s lightning. Perun smashed all the castles with his club, and water returned to the springs and rivers, and the wells and lakes were filled again.
And so the drought ended, and the pastures sprouted with green grass. And people no longer forgot to honor Veles along with other gods.
Myths that explain the origin of the earth and tell about the original existence of the earth, nature and man are called cosmogonic (this word is derived from two Greek words with the meanings “cosmos” and “to give birth”). One of the most ancient cosmogonic myths is the myth of the creation of the world from a wonderful golden egg. The image of the world egg from which the cosmos emerged was known to many peoples: the ancient Greeks, Indians, Iranians, and Chinese. Their myths say that in the beginning there was neither earth nor sky, the world was folded into a chicken (or duck) egg. In Finnish mythology, this egg is laid by a duck on a single hill overlooking the ocean. Then the egg falls, breaks, and the earth is formed from the lower half, and the sky from the upper part. In the mythology of the Eastern Slavs, scientists restore this plot on the basis of fairy tales, in which only its echoes can be seen.
In Russian fairy tales there is also an image of an egg dropped by a duck into the water. For example, the tale of the three kingdoms tells about the origin of the world. The hero goes to the underworld in search of three princesses and ends up first in the copper, then in the silver, and then in the golden kingdom, where he finds the princesses. Each princess gives the hero an egg, into which he turns all three kingdoms in turn. When the hero returns home, he throws the eggs on the ground and unfolds all three kingdoms. In addition, everyone knows the tale of the Ryaba Hen, which contains a very ancient motif of a breaking golden egg.
The Eastern Slavs have almost no cosmogonic myths of their own. Most of the stories and legends about the origin of the world arose quite late, after the adoption of Christianity. At this time, along with the Christian tradition, many books came to Rus' containing not canonical dogma, but various theories and ideas rejected by Christianity. Such teachings are called heretical, and books are called renounced or apocryphal. Apocrypha translated from Greek means “secret, hidden.” What was secret about those legends about the creation of the world that penetrated into the East Slavic tradition along with Christianity?
Christian doctrine asserts that only God is the one and undivided creator of the Universe, only He has a creative principle capable of creating the world, plants, humans, and animals. But in the first centuries of Christianity, a religious idea was widespread that recognized the existence of two equal divine principles - God and Satan, who together created the Universe. Initially, this idea spread to Bulgaria and was called Bogomilism. Then it came to Ancient Rus' and had a great influence on the popular understanding of the origin of the world. This theory sharply contradicted the Christian worldview, which asserted that Satan does not carry Divine power within himself, that he is only an angel who has fallen away from God and does not have his own creative principle. Therefore, the theory about the creation of the world by two creators at once - God and His opponent Satan - was not accepted by the church. Legends about this fell into the oral folk tradition from books rejected by the church. Among them, the most widespread among the people were the “Conversations of the Three Hierarchs”, as well as the “Scroll of Divine Books”.
Drawing from a popular print (early 19th century)
Borrowed religious ideas were mixed among the people with pre-Christian ideas and with canonical Christian doctrine. Therefore, the legends about the creation of the world known to the Eastern Slavs represent a complex combination of different cultural traditions. They are known only from later folklore records.
Under the influence of the ideas of Bogomilism, which came to Rus' from Bulgaria, in Ancient Rus' Myths and legends began to spread about the joint creation of the Earth by God and His adversary, who in different stories could be called Satan, the Evil One, the Idol, or a fallen angel.
According to one legend, at first there was only primitive chaos in the world. The sky was not yet separated from the Earth, and the light was not separated from the darkness. There was only one World Ocean. The creation of the Universe began with the fact that God, with the help of his opponent, separated Heaven from Earth and created firmament. This is how the legend tells it.
There was no sky or earth, only darkness and water mixed with the earth like batter. God and Satan walked on water for a long time, finally got tired and decided to rest. But there was nowhere to rest. Then God said: “Dive to the bottom of the sea and pull up some earth with the words: “In the name of the Lord, follow me, O earth.”
Satan dived to the bottom of the sea, grabbed a handful of earth and thought: “Why am I worse than God? Why should I offer earth ‘in the name of the Lord?’” So he said, “In my name, O earth, follow me.”
But when he emerged, there was nothing in his hand, not even a piece of earth left. Then he dived to the bottom again, again picked up a handful of earth and said: “In my name, follow me, O earth.” And again I didn’t pull anything out.
Then God said to him: “You disobeyed me again. But you won’t succeed if you don’t say it like I taught you.” Then Satan dived a third time, picked up some earth, and this time said, “In the name of the Lord, earth, follow me.” And then he managed to bring up a handful of earth, from which God created the firmament of the earth, separating it from the water.
The most amazing thing about the legend is that along with the creation of the world, evil spirits immediately appeared. Sometimes it was even believed that the main opponent of God, Satan (in legends he is also called Satanail or simply an idol) existed in the primitive world on a par with God and at first was even his comrade-in-arms. Even before the creation of the world, God, flying over the primordial ocean, met Satan, floating on the water, and took him as his comrade. In other legends about the creation of the world, Satan is born before the eyes of God or even with more or less of His participation. This is how the Belarusian legend tells about it.
Once upon a time, God walked on air. He sees a bubble hanging, and something is squeaking in the bubble. The Lord asks: “Who is that squeaking in the bubble?” And he answers: “I am God!” “Who am I?” - asks the Lord. “You are God above the gods.” Then the Lord burst the bubble, and Satan came out of it.
In some legends, Satan, as a full partner of God, has equal creative capabilities with Him: he independently creates the earth and all White light, and God only indicates and advises him what exactly needs to be done. Only when Satan wanted to create another world - for himself personally, God forbade him to do this, although the possibility of Satan himself creating the world in the legend is not in doubt. Other legends emphasize that the true power of creation lies in the hands of God, and Satan is able either to do only “technical”, “rough” work, or to create something inferior, harmful, crooked and ugly, since his creative abilities are defective.
When God left, Satan dipped his finger in a pot of water, dropped it on the ground, and from the drop a little man appeared - just like himself. Satan dipped ten fingers into the water, then again, and from the splashes that he shook off his hand, more and more creatures appeared. Having created several thousand of these little men, Satan thought: “Now I am a king, so a king - I have my own army and my servants. Now I won’t let God into heaven and will rule myself.” By order of Satan, his new servants made him a throne, on which he sat and put on the golden crown given to him by God.
When God returned to Heaven, He saw many little men, each of whom threw a stone, a lump of dirt, or garbage at God. Then God grabbed his staff and pushed Satan and his throne to the ground, followed by his entire army. Then God cursed them all and said: “Amen!” And when He said “Amen,” those servants of Satan who at that moment had not yet reached the ground and were in the air became atmospheric spirits, those who fell into the swamp became swamp spirits; those who fell into bodies of water became mermen; those who fell into people’s houses became brownies. In this form they are doomed to remain until the Last Judgment.
Since evil spirits arose from splashes that fell from the hands of Satan, there is still a ban among people to shake off water from wet hands: devils breed from these splashes. In another legend the origin evil spirits it is explained like this. God decided to create helpers for himself - angels. He took a hammer and began to hit a large stone with it. Sparks rained down and turned into angels. Then, imitating God, Satan grabbed a hammer and also began to hit the stone with it, but his blows turned into devils.
After the Lord created the earth, He strengthened it on two fish that swim in the sea. Sometimes the fish go deeper into the sea - then rainy years come. Sometimes they rise higher - then there is a drought on the earth. When fish move, there are earthquakes on earth.
But in folk stories there is no consensus on what the earth rests on. According to some legends, the earth rests on water, water on stone, stone on four whales swimming in a river of fire. All this rests on an iron oak, which stands on the power of God. In addition to good lands suitable for human life and arable land, there are unsuitable lands: mountains, gorges, ravines, swamps. As the legend goes, they arose due to yet another disobedience of Satan. When Satan collected earth from the bottom of the sea, he did not give all of it to God, but only part of it. He hid the rest behind his cheek. God threw the earth onto the surface of the sea and commanded it to grow. Then the land behind Satan’s cheek began to grow. He started spitting it out. And from these spits mountains, ravines and swamps were formed.
Other legends explain the origin of the mountains differently. At first, the earth was liquid, and God and Satan strongly squeezed the earth from both sides, wanting to squeeze out excess moisture from it. And from the protruding soil mountains emerged.
There is also no single explanation in legends about how stones appeared on earth. Some say that stones used to be living beings, they felt everything, grew like grass, and were soft. The stones stopped growing when God cursed the earth and people for their sins. Other legends tell how the Mother of God walked on the ground, hit a stone with her foot and cursed the stones, saying: “You will not grow any more!” And the stones stopped growing. True, in some areas of Russia and Belarus they believe that stones still grow, but very slowly and only on New Year’s Eve.
Later legends about stones arose under the influence biblical stories about the struggle of God with the rebel angels. Previously, the land was level and produced a lot of grain, because there were no stones in the fields. But some of the angels rebelled against God. And God threw them to the ground, turned them into stones and cursed them so that they would not grow, otherwise it would be impossible to walk on the earth: everything would be filled with stones.
