The topic of Russian paganism has been incredibly popular in recent years. The ranks of "Rodnovers", "Slavic-Aryans", "relatives" and other non-ossic currents are expanding. Meanwhile, even before the middle of the last century, the dispute about Russian paganism was conducted only in scientific circles.
What is paganism
The word "paganism" comes from the Slavic word "yazytsy", that is, "peoples" who did not accept Christianity. Also, in the historical annals it means "worshiping many gods (idols)", "idolater".
The word “paganism” itself is a tracing of the Greek “ethnikos” (“pagan”), from “ethnos” (“people”).
From the same Greek root, the people are called "ethnos", and the name of the science "ethnography" is formed "studying the material and spiritual culture of peoples."
When translating the Bible, the translators translated the Hebrew terms “goy” (gentile) and the like with the word “pagan”. Then the word "pagan" was used by the first Christians to denote representatives of all non-Abramistic religions.
The fact that these religions were, as a rule, polytheistic, influenced the fact that “paganism” in a broad sense began to be called “polytheism” as such.
Promotional video:
Gods
Russian paganism was a polytheistic religion. This has been proven. The supreme god was Perun, which immediately puts the paganism of the Slavs in a number of religions with the god of thunder at the head of the pantheon (remember Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Hinduism).
The idea of the main pagan gods is given to us by the so-called "Vladimir Pantheon", compiled in 980.
In the "Laurentian Chronicle" we read: "And the beginning of the princess Volodya Mer in Kiev is one • and put your idols on a hill • outside the courtyard of Tsremnago. Perun is drevyana • and his head is silver • and otss zlat • and Khrsa Dazhba • and Striba • and Simargla • and Mokosh [and] have a fierce blessing … and madden the zhryah "….
There is a direct listing of the gods: Perun, Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosh.
Horse
Khors and Dazhdbog were considered the gods of the sun. If Dazhdbog was recognized as the Slavic god of the sun, then Khors was considered the sun god of the southern tribes, in particular the Torks, where in the 10th century there was a strong Scythian-Alan influence.
The name of Khors is derived from the Persian language, where korsh (korshid) means "sun".
However, Khors' impersonation with the sun has been challenged by some scholars. So, Evgeny Anichkov wrote that Khors is not the god of the sun, but the god of the month, the moon.
He drew this conclusion on the basis of the text "The Lay of Igor's Campaign", which mentions the majestic pagan deity, whom Vseslav the Polotsk path crossed: "Vseslav the Prince ruled the people of the court, the princes of the city rowed, and at night he prowled like a wolf: from Kiev he was looking for Tmutarakan's cocks, to the great Horse like a wolf he sprinkled the way."
It is clear that Vseslav crossed the path of Khors at night. Great Horse, according to Anichkov, was not the sun, but the month, which was also worshiped by the Eastern Slavs.
Dazhdbog
There are no disputes regarding the solar nature of Dazhdbog. His name comes from "dazhd" - to give, that is, let God give God, literally: giving life.
According to ancient Russian monuments, the sun and Dazhdbog are synonyms. The Ipatiev Chronicle calls Dazhdbog the Sun in 1114: "The sun is king, the son of Svarog, he is Dazhdbog." In the already mentioned "Lay of Igor's Regiment" the Russian people are called Dazhdbozh's grandchildren.
Stribog
Another god from the Vladimir pantheon is Stribog. He is usually considered the god of the winds, but in the "Lay of Igor's regiment" we read: "Here are the winds, Stribozh's grandchildren, blowing arrows from the sea to Igor's brave regiments."
This allows us to speak of Stribog as a god of war. The first part of the name of this deity "stri" comes from the ancient "stri" - to destroy. Hence Stribog is the destroyer of good, the god of destruction, or the god of war. Thus, Stribog is a destructive beginning as opposed to the good Dazhdbog. Another name for Stribog among the Slavs is Pozvizd.
Simargl
Among the gods listed in the chronicle, whose idols stood on Starokievskaya mountain, the essence of Simargl is not entirely clear.
Some researchers compare Simargla with the Iranian deity Simurg (Senmurv), the sacred winged dog, the guardian of plants. According to the assumption of Boris Rybakov, Simargl in Russia in the XII-XIII centuries was replaced by the god Pereplut, who had the same meaning as Simargl. Obviously, Simargl was a deity of some tribe, subject to the great Kiev prince Vladimir.
Mokosh
The only woman in the Vladimir pantheon is Mokosh. According to various sources, she was revered as the goddess of water (the name "Mokosh" is associated with the common Slavic word "wet"), as the goddess of fertility and fertility.
In a more everyday sense, Mokosh was also the goddess of sheep breeding, weaving and female farming.
Mokosh was revered for a long time after 988. This is indicated by at least one of the 16th century questionnaires; a churchman in confession was obliged to ask a woman: "Didn't you go to Mokosha?" Sheaves of flax and embroidered towels were sacrificed to the goddess Mokosha (later Paraskeva Pyatnitsa).
Veles
In the book of Ivanov and Toporov, the relationship between Perun and Veles goes back to the ancient Indo-European myth about the duel between the God of the Thunder and the Serpent; in the East Slavic implementation of this myth, "the duel between God the Thunderer and his adversary is due to the possession of a lamb."
Volos, or Veles, appears in Russian annals usually as a "cattle god", as a god of wealth and trade. "Cattle" - money, submit; "Cowgirl" - treasury, "cattleman" - tribute collector.
In Ancient Russia, especially in the North, the cult of Volos was very significant. In Novgorod, the memory of pagan Volos has been preserved in the permanent name of Volosovaya Street.
The Volos cult was also in Vladimir on the Klyazma. The suburban Nikolsky - Volosov monastery is known here, built according to legend on the site of the temple of Volos. There was also a temple of Volos in Kiev, at the bottom of the Podil y trade piers of Pochayna.
Scientists Anichkov and Lavrov believed that the Volos temple in Kiev was located where the boats of the Novgorodians and Krivichi stayed. Therefore, Veles can be considered either the god of "a wider part of the population", or "the god of Novgorod Slovenes."