History of Russia Lesson 2 SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY ( Gods and creatures)

History of Russia series continues with Slavic mythology and Slavic mythological creatures. Slavic folklore is a controversial area of studies because very few historical sources are left. Slavic paganismorSlavic religiondefine thereligiousbeliefs andritualpractices of theSlavsbefore the formal Christianisation in 988. There were dozens of deities, lets mention some of the most important ones. The supreme god was called Rod. This was the god of the universe and of all other gods, the creator of all things in the world and the ruler of all other deities. Another important god was Svarog. The nameliterally means Heaven. He was associated with military, smithery, and sometimes with fire (Ognebog), literally god of fire. One of the most wellknown Slavic gods was Perun. Perunmeans Thunder, and he was the son of Svarog, worshipped as the god of war. He is related toThorand other IndoEuropean thunder gods. Perun was first associated with weapons mad