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    Slavic Deities

    I'm trying to research Slavic deities and their related mythology. Does anyone know of any good sources, be they online or published literature, or have any information to share?

    Thanks,
    Aidan.
    Nu Cead Againn Dul Abhaile.
    "Not even the most battle-hardened warriors would willingly separate a man from his gods."

    #2
    Re: Slavic Deities

    Yay, my favorite subject. Or one of them at least. If you just want the basics, Roman Zaroff presents a pretty good primer to start with.



    For Slavic paganism in general, I would recommend Russian Folk-Belief by Linda Ivanits, "Forests of the Vampire; Slavic myth and mankind", and Bulgarian folk customs by Mercia Mcdermott (sp?). The truth is though, there's not a lot of mythology proper that survives in Eastern Europe. Most of what does survive is folklore, and if you don't like rooting through folklore for little traces of paganism, there's a lot you won't find. If you are interested in folklore, you can't go wrong with the Russian Fairy Tales of Afans'ev. There are also some interesting PDF articles online. Many are published by "studia mythologica slavica". One of my personal favorites by them is an article on Kresnik, a Slovenian folklore character with very obvious pagan roots. If you google "notes on the text" and
    "hutsuls" you'll also find some interesting stuff describing customs among the Hutsuls in the Carpathians.

    Of course, chances are you'll find a lot of that to be pretty dry, so start with the first two books I mentioned, and see if you're still interested
    Last edited by Yazichestvo; 19 Jan 2012, 15:29. Reason: double pasted post
    If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

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      #3
      Re: Slavic Deities

      Thank you so much! I've converted the link you've given me to PDF so I can read it on my Reader. I'm going to go through your suggested books when i have a little money, this is much appreciated. Before your reply I found this on Amazon which I'd ordered, which I hope will be informative. I love folklore and mythology anyway so I dare say I shall enjoy the methods you've suggested.

      Thanks once again for your help.
      Nu Cead Againn Dul Abhaile.
      "Not even the most battle-hardened warriors would willingly separate a man from his gods."

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        #4
        Re: Slavic Deities

        I would like add one thing as warning; researchers of Slavic paganism often disagree with one another over interpretation of the evidence, and some of them make claims that are very speculative. For instance, the deity "Lada" mentioned in the book in your link. Some say Lada is entirely fictional, and that the name is just a nonsense word from folk songs. Just take things with a grain of salt, and don't be surprised if you find two sources that disagree.

        Even with the sources I've listed, I wouldn't say they were all perfect. Still, you could do a LOT worse.

        Also, I found the Kresnik PDF. You can find it by googling "Kresnik: An Attempt at a Mythological Reconstruction". It's a good example of how you can find folklore that's definitely pagan, but it can still be difficult to know exactly how to interpret it.
        If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

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          #5
          Re: Slavic Deities

          To those above me: YAY! Jesteśmy rodzeństwa w wierze!

          After going back through the archives, I have a few sources. Hope they'll at least help a bit...

          Some deities:


          This includes more deities, holidays, and depiction of the afterlife:


          Good pictures:


          Unfortunately, there are many variations in certain myths because:
          1. The mythology is spread over such a wide area. It's a long way from Poland to Bulgaria.
          2. There's no proof that the ancient Slavs had a writing system, so most likely the myths and traditions were passed down orally instead of written down before Christianity became dominant.

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