Traditions about the creation of the world are numerous and varied. But the main myth that underlies them belongs to the deepest antiquity. The Slavs imagined the world as being born from water. Such a belief is based on the actual, gradual emergence of land from under the waters that covered it.
According to the pagan traditions of our people, pure and devilry. The first did everything perfectly, and the second spoiled everything. Both deities participate in the creative activity of nature: the dark one, as a representative of the cloudy demons that darken the sky and close the rains, and the light one, as a thunderer of clouds, bringing down rain streams to the earth and enlightening the sun.
At the heart of the myth lies the idea of the spring renewal of nature, of the creation of world life from that deadness and apparent non-existence into which winter plunges it. The same thought lies in the Slavic traditions. At the beginning of spring, the awakened Perun rides on a fiery chariot, in all his formidable grandeur, to the great work of creativity - he smashes crowds of demons with thunderous arrows and, scattering the fruitful seed of rain, sows the earth with various cereals.
At the same time, he brings heavenly bodies out of thick clouds and fogs and, as it were, creates them from those semi-precious stones that until now have been hidden by the demons of winter and darkness at the bottom of the airy, cloudy ocean.
Bringing out the bright, spring sun, he creates white light, i.e., according to the basic meaning of this expression, he gives the world clear days, and according to a broader meaning, he creates the universe.
The sun's rays melt ice and snow, transforming their dead masses into noisy, abundant streams, and only then does the earthly life with all its luxury and variety, when the earth finally emerges from under the waters of the spring flood and is fanned by south winds.
It was from here that the myth arose that the earth is born from water and floats out of its abyss by the power of a divine breath. According to ancient belief, the earth, by the will of God, emerged from the abyss of the sea, in which, before the beginning of the world, it was immersed along with the sun, moon, stars, lightning and winds.
Life itself on earth originated from the moment when a fire flared up inside it, that is, when the rays of the spring sun warmed the frozen earth and awakened the power of fertility in it.
There was a belief that the universe was created by the king-fire and the queen-water, that is, lightning and rain, the heavenly fire of the sun and the living water of spring floods. It is remarkable that the word "create" points to water as an essential element of creativity. A "mortar" is a mixture of water and something dry.
In all mythologies, the deity of spring thunderstorms, as the fertilizer of the earth and the bearer of crops, is endowed with creative power. From his breath came winds, from his words - thunders, from tears - rains, from thick hair - clouds and clouds.
All these legends are rooted in one of ancient myths. Two elemental forces act for the great feat of creating the world: light and dark. Despite the obvious desire of folk fantasy to build an ancient myth to the latest Christian views, the whole setting of the legend indicates that we are talking about the thunder god (Perun) and the demon of gloomy clouds:
“At the beginning of the world, God was pleased to push the earth forward. He called the devil, told him to dive into the abyss of water in order to get a handful of earth from there and bring it to him. “All right, Satan thinks, I will make the same earth myself!” He dived, took out the earth in his hand and stuffed his mouth with it. He brought it to God and gives it back, but he himself does not utter a word ...
Wherever the Lord throws the earth - it suddenly appears so even, even, that you stand at one end - then at the other you can see everything that is happening on the earth. Satan is watching... he wanted to say something and choked. God asked: what does he want? The devil coughed and ran out of fright. Then thunder and lightning struck the fleeing Satan, and wherever he lies down, hillocks and hills will move forward; where he coughs, a mountain will grow; And so, running all over the earth, he dug it up: he made hillocks, hills, mountains and lofty mountains.
The creation of the world in Slavic mythology is also associated with the name of Svarog, the god of heaven and heavenly fire, the spiritual ruler of our universe. He is the husband of Lada, the father of Dazhdbog - the progenitor of the Russians, the ancestor of the majority Slavic gods.
According to some legends, Svarog found the magic stone Alatyr, cast a spell, and the stone became a huge white-combustible stone. God foamed the ocean for them. The thickened moisture became the first land. Mother Earth Cheese appeared. In Slavic mythology, Alatyr-stone is the father of all stones, a sacred rock in the center of the world, in the middle of the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan. And on it stands the world tree - the tree of life, the axis of the world. The lower part of the tree (roots) is connected with the underworld, the middle (trunk) - with the earth, and the upper (branches) - with the heavenly, higher. It serves as the throne of all the supreme gods.
According to other legends, before the birth of light, the world was shrouded in darkness. Only Rod was in the darkness. Rod is the spring of the universe, the father of the gods. Rod gave birth to Love - Mother Lada. Rod suffered for a long time, he pushed for a long time. And he gave birth to the kingdom of heaven, and under it he created the heavenly. He cut the umbilical cord with a rainbow, separated the Ocean - the blue sea from the heavenly waters with a firmament of stone. He erected three vaults in heaven, divided Light and Darkness, Truth from Falsehood. Rod then gave birth to Mother Earth, and the Earth went into the dark abyss, she was buried in the Ocean. The sun then came out of his face - the very Kind of heaven, the progenitor and father of the gods! A bright moon - from his chest; frequent stars - from his eyes; clear dawns - from his eyebrows; dark nights - yes from his thoughts; violent winds from his breath; rain and snow and hail from his tears; his voice became thunder and lightning - the very Kind of heaven, the progenitor and father of the gods!
Pavel Bryullov. Landscape with a river
Rod gave birth to Svarog heavenly. Svarog began to pave the way for the Sun across the firmament, so that the horse-days raced across the sky, after the morning, so that the day would begin, and the night would come to replace the day. Svarog began to look around his possessions. He sees - the Sun rolls across the sky, the bright moon sees the stars, and under it the Ocean spreads and worries, foams with foam. He looked around his possessions, did not notice only Mother Earth.
Where is Mother Earth? he was sad. Then I noticed: something in the Ocean-Sea is turning black. This is a gray duck swimming, generated by sulfur foam.
Do you know where the Earth lies? - Svarog asked the gray duck.
“Under the water, the Earth,” the duck answered, “is buried deep in the Ocean ...
The duck said nothing, dived into the Ocean-Sea, hid in the abyss for a whole year. As the year ended, it rose from the bottom.
- I didn’t have enough spirit a little bit, I didn’t swim to the Earth a bit. I didn’t swim all the hair ...
Help us, Rod! - Svarog called here. Then violent winds rose, the blue sea roared ... Rod blew strength into the duck with the wind. And Svarog said to the gray duck:
- At the behest of the Heavenly Family, at the desire-desire of the welder, you get the Earth from the depths of the sea!
The duck said nothing, dived into the Ocean-Sea and hid in the abyss for two years. As the term was over, it rose from the bottom.
- I didn’t have enough spirit a little bit, I didn’t swim to the Earth a bit. I did not swim half a hair ...
Help, father! Svarog screamed here. Then violent winds rose, and menacing clouds went across the sky, a great storm broke out, Rod's voice - thunder - shook the heavens, and lightning struck the duck. Rod breathed that great strength into a formidable storm into the gray duck. And again Svarog cursed the gray duck:
- At the behest of the Heavenly Family, at the desire-desire of the welder, you get the Earth from the depths of the sea!
The duck said nothing, dived into the Ocean-Sea and hid in the abyss for three years. As the term was over, it rose from the bottom. She brought a handful of earth in her beak.
Svarog took a handful of earth, began to crush in his palms.
- Warm up, Red Sun, light up, Bright moon, help, violent winds! We will sculpt from the damp earth the Earth-mother mother-nurse. Help us, Rod! Lada, help!
Svarog crushes the earth - the Sun warms, the Moon shines and the winds blow. The winds blew the earth from the palm, and it fell into the blue sea. The Red Sun warmed her - the Cheese-Earth baked on top with a crust, then cooled her Light Moon. So Svarog created Mother Earth Three underground vaults he established in it - three underground, infernal kingdoms. And so that the Earth would not go into the sea again, Rod gave birth to powerful Yusha under it - a wondrous, powerful snake. It is hard for him to keep Mother Earth for many thousands of years. Thus, Mother Earth Cheese was born. So on the Serpent she rested. If Yusha-Snake moves, Mother Earth-Cheese will turn.
But the legend recorded in Northern Rus' already in christian times: “Two goldeneyes floated across the ocean-sea: the first was a white goldeneye, and the other was a choren goldeneye. And those two gogols swam the Lord Almighty himself and Satan. By God's command, by the blessing of the Mother of God, Satan pulled out a handful of earth from the bottom of the blue sea. From that handful, the Lord created flat places and pathy fields, and Satan made impenetrable abysses, awls (gorges) and high mountains.
And the Lord struck with a hammer and created his army, and went between them Great War. At first, the army of Satan prevailed, but in the end, the power of heaven took over. And Michael the Archangel overthrew the satanic army from heaven, and it fell to the ground in different places, which is why water, goblin and brownies appeared.
A similar tradition is found in the apocryphal literature. “Before the creation of the world, the Lord of hosts sat in three chambers in the air, and the light from his face was seventy-seven times brighter than this light, his garments were whiter than snow, brighter than the sun. There was then no sky, no earth, no sea, no clouds, no stars, no dawn, no days, no nights.
And the Lord said: wake up the crystal sky and wake up the dawn, and clouds, and stars! And he blew the winds from his bowels, and planted paradise in the east, and the Lord himself sat in the east in the beauty of his glory, and the thunder - the voice of the Lord, is confirmed in the chariot of fire, and the lightning - the word of the Lord, comes from the mouth of God.
Then the Lord created the sea of Tiberias, boundless, and down to the sea through the air ... and the sight of a goldeneye floating on the sea, and that is the recommended Satan - entangled in the mud of the sea. And the Lord said to Satanail, as if not knowing him: Who are you for a man? And Satan said to him: I am a god. - And what do you call me? And Satan answered, You are God of God and Lord of the Lord. If Satan had not spoken like this to the Lord, the Lord would have immediately crushed him on the Sea of Tiberias. And the Lord said to Satanail: dive into the sea and bring out sand and stone for me. And the Lord took sand and stone, and scattered (sand) over the sea, and said: wake the earth thick and spacious!
Then the Lord took a stone, broke it in two, and pure spirits flew out of one half from the blows of the rod of God, while from the other half Satan filled the countless power of demons. But Michael the Archangel cast him down with all the demons from high heaven.
The earth created by God was established on thirty-three whales.
Here is another version of an ancient legend: “There was neither sky nor earth, but only darkness and water mixed with earth like batter. God and Satan walked on the water for a long time, finally got tired and decided to rest. And there is nowhere to rest. Then God ordered Satan:
- Dive to the bottom of the sea and pull out a few grains of earth with the words: "In the name of the Lord, follow me, earth," and carry me upstairs.
Satan dived to the bottom of the sea, grabbed a handful of earth and thought to himself: “Why should I say:“ In the name of the Lord, ”how am I worse than God?” He clamped the earth in his fist and said:
In my name, earth, follow me.
But when he surfaced, it turned out that he did not have a grain of sand in his hands. Satan again dived to the bottom, picked up a handful of earth and again said:
- In my name, go, earth, follow me.
And again, nothing came out. God told him:
- You again did not listen to me and wanted to do it your own way. However, your idea is in vain, nothing will come of you. Dive in and tell me how I taught you.
Satan dived a third time, scooped up earth, and when he mentioned the name of God, he managed to pull up a handful of earth.
God took this land, sprinkled it over the water, and a small hillock with grass and trees formed on it. God, tired of work, lay down and fell asleep, and Satan was annoyed that he was not so omnipotent, so he decided to drown God. Satan took God in his arms to throw into the water, and sees that the earth in front of him has grown ten steps. He ran to the water to drown God, but as he ran, the earth grew and grew, and Satan could not reach the water. Satan put God on the ground and thinks: “The earth is as thin as a shell. I will dig a hole down to the water and throw God into it.” But no matter how much he dug, he could not get to the water.
That is why there is so much earth in the world - Satan "ran" it when he wanted to destroy God.
Meanwhile, God woke up and said:
- Now you understand that you are powerless compared to me - the earth and water obey me, not you. And the hole that you dug will be needed by you yourself - under the heat.
As you can see, the legend about the joint creation of the world by God and his companion, who gradually becomes the enemy of the Lord, has become most widespread. This comrade-enemy in different versions of the legend can be called Satan, the Idol, the Evil One, the fallen angel, etc.
Having created the earth, God strengthened it on the fish that swim in the sea. Every seven years, the fish rises and falls, resulting in some years being rainy and others being dry. When the fish moves, turning over on the other side, earthquakes happen.
In some areas, it is believed that the fish, holding the earth, lies curled up in a ring and squeezes its tail with its teeth, and earthquakes occur when it releases the tail from its mouth.
It is sometimes believed that two fish, a male and a female, alternately hold the earth: when the male holds it, the earth rises higher above the surface of the sea and the year is dry. When the female holds the land, the land is closer to the water, as a result, the rivers and seas overflow their banks and the summer is wet.
And they also say that the earth rests on “high water”, water on stone, stone on four golden whales swimming in a fiery river. And everything together rests on the iron oak, which stands on the power of God.
Rivers, lakes and springs were dug up by birds. At the command of God, they all gathered together and first dug riverbeds and beds for reservoirs, and then brought water into them. According to other beliefs, the whole earth in the middle is cut with veins, through which water comes to the surface. And they also say that in the middle of the earth there is its “navel” - a hole from which water flows, then spreading along rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.
The people believed that mountains, gorges, swamps, bogs and other barren and inconvenient parts of the earth for human habitation were the work of Satan. When Satan, at the command of God, took out the earth from the bottom of the sea, he did not give it all to God, he hid a little behind his cheek. When God commanded the earth, thrown by him on the surface of the sea, to grow, the earth began to grow behind the cheek of Satan. He began to spit it out, and from the spitting of Satan turned out mountains, swamps and other barren places.
According to other legends, God, when creating the earth, boiled it, and the bubbles that formed while the earth was boiling, cooled down, turned into mountains. And they also say that at the beginning of the world the earth was liquid, God and Satan squeezed it from both sides in order to squeeze out excess moisture, mountains came out of the soil that came out from strong compression.
Ivan Bilibin. Illustration for the fairy tale "White Duck"
However, there are many different legends about the origin of mountains and stones. Most often it is believed that stones used to be living beings - they felt, multiplied, grew like grass, and were soft. Especially large blocks of stone, boulders and rocks are often considered to be petrified people, animals or fabulous giants, punished in this way for working on a holiday, fornication, insolence, murder, laziness or some other sin. In the villages near Tula, they said that a group of stones located around is a petrified round dance of girls punished for dancing on Trinity.
In some later legends about the origin of stones, the influence of biblical story about God's struggle with fallen angels:
“At the beginning of time, the earth was level and gave birth to bread ten times more than now, because there was not a single stone. But the devils rebelled against God and wanted to be just like him. Then God threw them from heaven to earth, turned them into stones and cursed them so that they would not grow again. And that's where the big stone is now - that means there was a great devil, and where there is a small stone, there was a little devil. And if God had not cursed them and they would have grown, then it would be impossible for a person not only to plow and sow rye, but also to walk on the ground.
In most mythologies, there are common plots 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, infinite 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 all its inhabitants 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 doves that sat on an oak tree in the middle of the sea and thought “how to found the light”. They decided to go down to the bottom of the sea, take fine sand, sow it, and from it “black earth, cold water, green grass” would go. And from the golden stone, which was also mined at the bottom of the sea, “the blue sky, the bright sun, the moon and all the stars would go.”
According to one of the myths, initially the world was 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 power destroyed the shell. The creation of the world began with filling it with Love. The clan created the kingdom of heaven, and under it - the heavenly, separated the Ocean from the waters of heaven with a 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 the face of Rod, the Moon came out of the chest, the stars came out of the eyes. Winds appeared from Rod's breath, rain, snow and hail appeared from tears. His voice became thunder and lightning. Then Rod gave birth to Svarog and breathed into him a mighty 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 warmed the Earth, and the 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, which guarded the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg, and three kingdoms came out of it: heavenly, earthly and underground.
There is also such a legend: in the beginning there was nothing but a boundless sea. A duck, flying over the sea surface, dropped an egg into the abyss of water, it cracked, “mother-cheese earth” came out of its lower part, and “a high vault of heaven arose” from the upper part.
Egyptian
Atum, who arose from Nun, the primary ocean, was considered the creator and primary being. In the beginning there was no sky, no earth, no soil. Atum grew like a hill in the middle of the oceans. There is an assumption according to which the shape of the pyramid is also associated with the idea of a primary hill.
Atum swallowed his own seed, and then spewed out two children into the world.
After 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, Ben-Ben, grew among the water surface. Atum sat on a hill and began to think about what he should create the world from. Since he was alone, he swallowed his own seed, and then vomited up 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 regained 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 for an eternal afterlife.
Greek
The Greek concept originally had Chaos, from which the land of Gaia appeared, and in its depths the abyss of Tartarus lay deep. Chaos gave birth to Nyukta (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), and also moira - the goddesses of fate. From the Night came the goddess of rivalry and discord, Eris, who gave birth to Hunger, Sorrow, Murder, Lies, Excessive Labor, Battles and other troubles. From the connection of Night with Erebus, Ether and the shining day were born.
Gaia also gave birth to Uranus (Sky), then the Mountains rose from the depths of her, and Pontus (Sea) spilled over the plains.
Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the Titans: Oceanus, Tethys, Iapetus, Hyperion, Theia, Crius, Kay, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemosyne, Kronos and Rhea.
Kronos, with the help of his mother, overthrew his father, seizing power and taking his sister Rhea as his wife. It was they who created a new tribe - the gods. But Kronos was afraid of his children, because he himself once overthrew his own parent. That's why he swallowed them right after birth. Rhea hid one child in a cave in Crete. This saved baby was Zeus. God was fed by goats, and his cries were drowned out by blows of copper shields.
Growing up, Zeus overcame his father Cronus and forced him to vomit from the womb of his brothers and sisters: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. So the era of the titans came to an end - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Scandinavian
The Scandinavians believe that before the creation of the world there was a void Ginungagap. To the north of it lay the frozen world of darkness, Niflheim, and to the south, the fiery land of Muspellheim. Gradually, the world void Ginungagap was filled with poisonous hoarfrost, 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, the cow Audumla was also formed, whose milk Ymir drank, as well as the second man born from sweat - Buri.
Buri's son 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 the flesh - the earth, from the blood - the ocean, from the skull - the sky. Ymir's brain was scattered across the sky to form 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 themselves created people from two tree knots. From the first man and woman came all other people. For themselves, the gods built the fortress of Asgard, where they settled.
Chinese
In China, it is believed that the universe once had the shape of a huge chicken egg, in which the first ancestor of Pangu was born. He slept in an egg for 18 thousand years, and when he woke up, he began to look for a way to get out. Pangu cut through the shell with an axe.
Two beginnings - light, formed by the spirit of Yang, and dark, formed by the spirit of Yin, became heaven and earth, respectively. Pangu stood on the ground and rested his head on the sky to prevent them from mixing again and turning into chaos. Winds rose from his breaths, thunder rumbled from his exhalations, day came when the giant opened his eyes, and when he closed them, night fell. Pangu grew 3 meters every day, making the sky taller and the earth thicker.
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrians created an interesting concept of the universe. According to this concept, the world has existed for 12 thousand years. Its entire history is conditionally divided into four periods, each of 3 thousand years.
The first period is the preexistence of things and ideas. At this stage of celestial creation, there were already prototypes of everything that was later created on Earth. This state of the world is called Menok ("invisible" or "spiritual").
The second period is 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. At the same time, however, Ahriman begins to act. He invades the sky, creates planets and comets that are not subject to the uniform movement of the celestial spheres.
Ahriman pollutes the water, sends death to the first man Gayomart and the primeval. But from the first man are born a man and a woman, from whom the human race descended, and all animals come from the first ox. From the collision of two opposing principles, the whole world comes into motion: waters become fluid, mountains arise, celestial bodies move. To neutralize the actions of "harmful" planets, Ahura Mazda assigns his 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, the 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 by a “stream of molten metal”, and everything that remains after that will gain eternal life.
Sumero-Akkadian
The mythology of Mesopotamia is the most ancient of all known in the world. It originated in the 4th millennium BC. e. in the state, which 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 salty and fresh waters mixed up - and the elder gods were born - the children of Apsu and Tiamat. Following the older gods, many younger gods appeared. But the world still consisted of only chaos, the gods were 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, with whom he was defeated and cut into four parts, which turned into land, seas, rivers and fire. For the murder of her husband, Tiamat wanted to take revenge, but she was also defeated by the younger god Marduk, who created wind and storms for the duel. After the victory, Marduk got a certain artifact "Me", which determines the movement and fate of the whole world.
The myth "The Birth of the World" tells how the earth was born and people settled it. How did the Slavs in ancient times represent the process of the universe, what were the tales about it?
The myth of the universe
The Slavs had several legends about the creation of the world:
- One of them talks about princess, the underworld and three golden eggs. The myth describes the story of how the hero descended into the dark world of the dead, then moved to the silver and gold kingdoms. In the latter, he met a beautiful princess who gave him three eggs, representing the birth of life. Returning to the world of the living, he scattered them to different parts of the world - this is how 3 kingdoms appeared.
- Another Slavic myth about the creation of the world says that at the very beginning there were only boundless ocean, over which a duck flew - it was she who dropped an egg into the water, which, opening up, gave birth to the world. The lower part is the earthly firmament, and its upper part formed the vault of heaven.
- A completely different legend concerns fight hero and snake who fought for the golden egg. When good fellow overcame an evil serpent and broke a golden egg in half - three world-kingdoms arose: earthly and heavenly, as well as the dark of the dead.
The legend of the deity Rod
In another legend, there is a story that at the very beginning there was the god Rod is the progenitor of all living and existing, which was enclosed in an egg and lived in impenetrable darkness. He gave birth to Love - the goddess Lada, and by her power destroyed the bonds of his dungeon. And so the light appeared, the world, which was filled with primordial, pure and bright love.
Having appeared in the world, Rod created the heavens and the heavenly kingdom, then the earthly firmament, separating the waters of the ocean and the sky. After that, he divided Light and Darkness between himself, gave birth to mother earth, plunging her into the dark waters of the Ocean. The face of the deity is the Sun, and the Moon is his chest, the stars are his eyes, and the morning dawn is his eyebrows. The dark night is a reflection of all the thoughts of Rod, and the wind is his violent breathing, snow and rain are a tear that rolled down from his eyes, and lightning is the personification of voice and anger.
Legends about how man appeared
The Slavic myth of the creation of the world also contains a legend about how man appeared on earth. The chronicles and legends of the ancient Magi tell their own version of the creation of the earth and man - it differs from the usual one for many Bible story about how the first man Adam and his wife Eve appeared on earth.
According to the myths of the ancient Slavs, God steamed in a bath, and when he sweated, he wiped himself with a rag, throwing it on the ground. After that, God and Satan argued among themselves about who should create a man out of it. After long disputes, Satan made a body out of it, and already God breathed a soul into this empty vessel - and a man appeared. That is why, after death, the human body goes deep into the earth, and the soul ascends to heaven.
In addition, the myths of the peoples of the world and Slavic myths are also based on the story of the creation of a man and a woman on earth from an egg. God, cutting the eggs in half, threw them on the earth's firmament. It was from them that people came out, men and women - they found their soul mate and got married, formed a single whole, some drowned in the swamp and therefore the spouses, not finding them, lived all their lives alone, without their couple.
Creation of the animal kingdom
According to the myths of our ancestors, both God and the Devil took an active part in the process of creating all living things. This is what the ancient legend says about the appearance of a dog - it was God who created it from the remnant of clay, which went to create the first of people. At the very beginning, the animal was completely naked and had no hair - the watchman of the first of the people created by God, she simply froze and, curled up in a ball, fell asleep.
Quietly sneaking up to the first people, the Devil began to spit on them. God, seeing all this, began to reproach the animal, to which the dog replied that she simply froze and asked for wool to become a reliable watchman. But according to another version, it was the Devil who covered the dog with hair, asking in return for the opportunity to approach the person.
Among ancient people, animals were divided into clean and unclean - the latter included mice and hares, ravens and kites, owls and owls, owls. But pigeons and swallows, nightingales and storks were considered bright, clean and divine. Among the animals that were especially revered by our ancestors, there were bears - they were considered one of the personifications among living beings on earth of the pagan god Veles. The Slavic myth about the birth of the world, man and animals, are beautiful and fascinating tales that came from the depths of centuries, reflecting the identity and culture of the ancient peoples who lived in Rus'.
Lesson 2 Myths and mythology. Slavic myths. The myth of the creation of the earth.
Lesson Objectives- to form a personal attitude of students to the ancient beliefs of the Slavs; Tasks: to introduce the features of Slavic mythology; with objects of worship, phenomena of the immediate environment, types of beliefs; develop logical and creative thinking, learner's coherent speech, attention, skills and abilities to work with a scientific article; cultivate tolerance, respect for the past.
During the classes
1. Org. mom.
2. Announcement of the topic and purpose of the lesson.
3. Conversation on questions. (myth, heroes of ancient myths) slide 2
4. Myths - oral traditions about ancient times - were born in the primitive era, at the dawn of mankind. ancient man lived in constant communion with nature. Danger lay in wait for him from everywhere: in the forest - wild animals, from heaven - lightning, threatening a fire. Prolonged drought or heavy rains destroyed crops, threatening famine... Man tried to tame the elements, and for this it was necessary to explain them. He wanted to know how the earth and everything that inhabits it appeared, why day replaces night, and cold replaces heat, where fire came from and why people are mortal. Explaining the world around him, he relied on his own everyday experience. He believed that nature is a living being, which means that it has a time of youth - spring, maturity - summer, withering - autumn. In winter, nature freezes, dies. The world is dressed in a white shroud. This is how a myth was born. Thus, a myth is an explanation of the picture of the world on the basis of a person's knowledge and experience. The myth usually takes the form of a fantasy story. The scientific value of the myth was lost as a person comprehended and mastered the world, but its poetic side has not lost its charm even today. So, for example, remember the healing properties of “dead” and “living” water? "Dead" - connects the dissected parts of the body, the hero, "live" - returns his life. And at the heart of this fabulous plot is a myth associated with observing the life of nature. The first spring rains wash away the remnants of snow - they connect the dissected body of the earth. The second - irrigate the earth - and life is reborn on it.
5. Slavic version of the Creation of the world
The ancient Slavs had many legends about where the world and all its inhabitants 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 doves that sat on an oak tree in the middle of the sea and thought “how to found the light”. They decided to go down to the bottom of the sea, take fine sand, sow it, and from it “black earth, cold water, green grass” would go. And from the golden stone, which was also mined at the bottom of the sea, “the blue sky, the bright sun, the moon and all the stars would go.”
According to one of the myths, initially the world was 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 power destroyed the shell. The creation of the world began with filling it with Love. The clan created the kingdom of heaven, and under it - the heavenly, separated the Ocean from the waters of heaven with a 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 the face of Rod, the Moon came out of the chest, the stars came out of the eyes. Winds appeared from Rod's breath, rain, snow and hail appeared from tears. His voice became thunder and lightning. Then Rod gave birth to Svarog and breathed into him a mighty 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 warmed the Earth, and the 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, which guarded the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg, and three kingdoms came out of it: heavenly, earthly and underground.
9. Conclusion of the lesson - a conversation on the questions:
10. Homework. Make up your own myth and retell
Peoples about the world, expressed in religious beliefs, rituals and cults. It is closely connected with paganism and cannot be considered separately from it.
Slavic myths ( summary and main characters) are the focus of this article. Consider the time of their occurrence, similarity with ancient legends and tales of other peoples, sources of study and the pantheon of deities.
The formation of Slavic mythology and its connection with the religious beliefs of other peoples
The myths of the peoples of the world (Slavic myths, ancient Greek and ancient Indian) have much in common. This suggests that they have a common beginning. Links their common origin from the Proto-Indo-European religion.
Slavic mythology was formed as a separate layer of the Indo-European religion over a long period - from the 2nd millennium BC. e.
The main features of Slavic paganism, reflected in mythology, are the cult of ancestors, belief in supernatural powers and lower spirits, the spiritualization of nature.
Ancient Slavic myths are strikingly similar to the legends of the Baltic peoples, Indian, Greek and Scandinavian mythology. In all the myths of these ancient tribes, there was a god of thunder: the Slavic Perun, the Hittite Pirva and the Baltic Perkunas.
All these peoples have the main myth - this is the confrontation of the supreme deity with his main opponent, the Serpent. The similarity can also be traced in the belief in the afterlife, which is separated from the world of the living by some kind of barrier: an abyss or a river.
Slavic myths and legends, like the legends of other Indo-European peoples, also tell about heroes fighting a snake.
Sources of information on the legends and myths of the Slavic peoples
Unlike Greek or Scandinavian mythology, the Slavs did not have their own Homer, who would take up the literary processing of ancient legends about the gods. Therefore, now we know very little about the process of formation of the mythology of the Slavic tribes.
The sources of written knowledge are the texts of Byzantine, Arabic and Western European authors of the period of the 6th - 13th centuries, Scandinavian sagas, ancient Russian chronicles, apocrypha, teachings. In a special place is the "Word of Igor's Campaign", which contains a lot of information about Slavic mythology. Unfortunately, all these sources are only a retelling of the authors, and they do not mention the legends in their entirety.
Slavic myths and legends have been preserved in folklore sources: epics, fairy tales, legends, conspiracies, proverbs.
The most reliable sources on the mythology of the ancient Slavs are archaeological finds. These include idols of gods, cult and ritual places, inscriptions, signs and decorations.
Classification of Slavic mythology
Gods should be distinguished:
1) Eastern Slavs.
2) Western Slavic tribes.
There are also common Slavic gods.
The idea of the world and the Universe of the ancient Slavs
Due to the lack of written sources, almost nothing is known about the beliefs and ideas about the world of the Slavic tribes. Fragile information can be gleaned from archaeological sources. The most obvious of them is the Zbruch idol, found in the Ternopil region of Ukraine in the middle of the 19th century. It is a four-sided limestone pillar divided into three tiers. The lower one contains images of the underworld and the deities inhabiting it. The middle one is dedicated to the world of people, and the upper tier depicts the supreme gods.
Information about how the ancient Slavic tribes represented the world around them can be found in ancient Russian literature, in particular, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. Here, in some passages, a connection with the World Tree is clearly traced, myths about which exist among many Indo-European peoples.
On the basis of the listed sources, the following picture is obtained: the ancient Slavs believed that there was an island (possibly Buyan) in the center of the oceans. Here, in the very center of the world, or lies the sacred stone Alatyr, which has healing properties, or the World Tree grows (almost always in myths and legends it is an oak tree). The Gagana bird sits on its branches, and under it is the snake Garafen.
Myths of the peoples of the world: Slavic myths (the creation of the Earth, the appearance of man)
The creation of the world among the ancient Slavs was associated with such a god as Rod. He is the creator of everything in the world. He separated the obvious world in which people live (Yav) from the invisible world (Nav). Rod is considered the supreme deity of the Slavs, the patron of fertility, the creator of life.
Slavic myths (the creation of the Earth and the appearance of man) tell about the creation of all things: the creator god Rod, together with his sons Belbog and Chernobog, decided to create this world. First, Rod from the ocean of chaos created three hypostases of the world: Yav, Nav and Rule. Then the Sun appeared from the face of the supreme deity, the moon appeared from the chest, and the eyes became stars. After the creation of the world, Rod remained in Prav - the dwelling place of the gods, where he leads his children and distributes responsibilities between them.
pantheon of deities
Slavic gods (myths and legends about which have been preserved in very small numbers) are quite extensive. Unfortunately, due to the extremely scarce information, it is difficult to restore the functions of many Slavic deities. The mythology of the ancient Slavs was not known until they reached the borders of the Byzantine Empire. Thanks to the records of the historian Procopius of Caesarea, it was possible to find out some details of the religious beliefs of the Slavic peoples. The Laurentian Chronicle mentions gods from the Vladimir pantheon. Having ascended the throne, Prince Vladimir ordered to place idols of the six most important gods near his residence.
Perun
The god of thunder is considered one of the main deities of the Slavic tribes. He was the patron of the prince and his squad. Among other nations, it is known as Zeus, Thor, Perkunas. First mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. Even then, Perun headed the pantheon of Slavic gods. They sacrificed to him, slaughtering a bull, and oaths and agreements were secured in the name of God.
The god of thunder was associated with heights, so his idols were set on the hills. The sacred tree of Perun was the oak.
After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', some of the functions of Perun passed to Gregory the Victorious and Elijah the Prophet.
solar deities
The god of the sun in Slavic myths was in second place in importance after Perun. Horse, that's what they called him. The etymology of the name is still unclear. According to the most common theory, it comes from the Iranian languages. But this version is very vulnerable, since it is difficult to explain how this word became the name of one of the main Slavic deities. The Tale of Bygone Years mentions Khors as one of the gods of the Vladimir pantheon. There is information about him in other ancient Russian texts.
Khors, the god of the sun in Slavic myths, is often mentioned along with other deities related to the heavenly body. This is Dazhbog - one of the main Slavic gods, the personification of sunlight, and Yarilo.
Dazhbog was also a deity of fertility. The etymology of the name does not cause difficulty - "the god who gives welfare", such is his approximate translation. He played a double function in the mythology of the ancient Slavs. As the personification of sunlight and warmth, he gave fertility to the soil and at the same time was a source of royal power. Dazhbog is considered the son of Svarog, the blacksmith god.
Yarilo - a lot of ambiguities are connected with this character of Slavic mythology. Until now, it has not been precisely established whether it should be considered a deity, or whether it is a personification of one of the holidays of the ancient Slavs. Some researchers consider Yarilo a deity of spring light, warmth and fertility, others - a ritual character. He was represented as a young man on a white horse and in a snow-white robe. On her hair is a wreath of spring flowers. In the hands of the deity of spring light holds ears of cereal. Where he appears, there will certainly be a good harvest. Yarilo also engendered love in the heart of the one he looked at.
Researchers agree on one thing - this character of Slavic mythology cannot be called the god of the sun. Ostrovsky's play "The Snow Maiden" fundamentally misinterprets the image of Yarilo as a solar deity. In this case, Russian classical literature plays the role of harmful propaganda.
Mokosh (Makosh)
There are very few female deities in Slavic mythology. Of the main ones, only such as Mother - Cheese Earth and Mokosh can be named. The latter is mentioned among other idols installed by order of Prince Vladimir in Kyiv, which indicates the importance of this female deity.
Mokosh was the goddess of weaving and spinning. She was also revered as the patroness of crafts. Her name is associated with two words "wet" and "spinning". The day of Mokosh's week was Friday. On this day, it was strictly forbidden to engage in weaving and spinning. As a sacrifice, Mokosh was presented with yarn, throwing it into the well. The goddess was represented as a long-armed woman spinning at night in houses.
Some researchers suggest that Mokosh was the wife of Perun, so she was given an honorable place among the main Slavic gods. The name of this female deity is mentioned in many ancient texts.
After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', part of the features and functions of Mokosh passed to St. Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa.
Stribog
Mentioned in the Vladimir pantheon as one of the main gods, but its function is not entirely clear. Perhaps he was the god of the winds. In ancient texts, his name is often mentioned together with Dazhbog. It is not known whether there were holidays dedicated to Stribog, since there is very little information about this deity.
Volos (Veles)
Researchers tend to believe that these are still two different characters of myths. Volos is the patron saint of domestic animals and the god of prosperity. In addition, he is the god of wisdom, the patron of poets and storytellers. It is not for nothing that Boyan from The Tale of Igor's Campaign is called Veles' grandson in the poem. A few uncompressed stalks of cereals were left on the field as a gift to him. After the adoption of Christianity by the Slavic peoples, the functions of Volos were taken over by two saints: Nicholas the Wonderworker and Blasius.
As for Veles, this is one of the demons, the evil spirit that Perun fought.
Slavic mythical creatures - forest dwellers
Several characters were associated with the forest among the ancient Slavs. The main ones were water and goblin. With the advent of Christianity in Rus', they began to attribute exclusively negative traits, making demonic creatures.
Leshy is the owner of the forest. They also called him a forester and forest spirit. He carefully guards the forest and its inhabitants. WITH a good man the relationship is neutral - the goblin does not touch him, and can even come to the rescue - take him out of the forest if he gets lost. TO bad people attitude is negative. Their forest master punishes: makes them stray and can tickle to death.
Before people, the goblin appears in different guises: human, vegetable, animal. The ancient Slavs had an ambivalent attitude towards him - the goblin was revered and feared at the same time. It was believed that shepherds and hunters needed to make a deal with him, otherwise the goblin could steal cattle or even a person.
Water - a spirit that lives in reservoirs. He was represented as an old man with a fish tail, beard and mustache. It can take the form of a fish, a bird, pretend to be a log or a drowned man. Especially dangerous during big holidays. Vodyanoy likes to settle in whirlpools, under mills and sluices, in polynyas. He has herds of fish. It is hostile to a person, always trying to drag under the water the one who came to swim at an inopportune time (noon, midnight and after sunset). The favorite fish of the merman is catfish, on which he rides like a horse.
There were other, lower beings, such as the forest spirit. In Slavic myths, he was called Auka. He never sleeps. He lives in a hut in the very thicket of the forest, where there is always a supply of melt water. A special expanse for Auka comes in winter, when the wood goblin falls asleep. The forest spirit is hostile to humans - it will try to lead a random traveler into a windbreak or make him circle until he gets tired.
Bereginya - this mythical female character has an unclear function. According to the most common version, this is a forest deity that protects trees and plants. But also the ancient Slavs considered the shores to be mermaids. Their sacred tree- This is a birch, which was very revered by the people.
Borovik is another forest spirit in Slavic mythology. Outwardly, it looks like a huge bear. It can be distinguished from a real animal by the absence of a tail. Under him are boletus mushrooms - the owners of mushrooms, similar to little old men.
Kikimora marsh is another colorful character in Slavic mythology. He does not like people, but he will not touch them as long as the travelers are quiet in the forest. If they are noisy and harm plants or animals, a kikimora can make them stray through the swamp. Very secretive, very rarely seen.
Bolotnik - a mistake would be to confuse it with a water one. The swamp among the ancient Slavs has always been considered a place where evil spirits live. The swamp was represented as a terrible creature. This is either an immobile eyeless fat man, covered with a layer of algae, silt, snails, or A tall man with long arms, overgrown with dirty gray hair. He cannot change his appearance. Represents a great danger to a person or animal caught in a swamp. He grabs the victim, stuck in the quagmire, by the legs and drags him to the bottom. There is only one way to destroy the swamp - by draining its swamp.
Slavic myths for children - briefly about the most interesting
Introduction to samples ancient Russian literature, oral tales and myths is of great importance for the comprehensive development of children. Both adults and the smallest need to know about their past. Slavic myths (grade 5) will introduce schoolchildren to the pantheon of the main gods and the most famous legends. The reading book on literature includes an interesting retelling of A.N. Tolstoy about Kikimor, there is information about the main characters in the mythology of the ancient Slavs, and an idea is given of such a concept as a “temple”.
If desired, parents can introduce the child to the pantheon of Slavic gods and other mythological creatures at an earlier age. It is advisable to choose positive characters, and not tell young children about such frightening creatures as navy, sinister, werewolves.
To get acquainted with the characters of Slavic mythology, you can recommend the book by Alexander Asov "Myths of the Slavs for children and their parents." It will be of interest to both the younger generation and the older. Svetlana Lavrova is another good author who wrote the book Slavic Tales.
