Veles and perun: the legendary fight of two slavic gods
Veles (spelt also as Volos) was initially a forest god who made an appearance solely like a bear, although he’s regarded as able to shape shifting into other kinds of creatures too. One possible reason behind the representation of Veles like a bear is this fact animal was considered because the king from the creatures. However, Within the belief system from the southern Slavs Veles was considered because the ‘Lord of Wolfs’, and it was seen as an wolf god.
Veles, ‘Lord of Wolfs.’ ( Russian Culture )
Aside from wild creatures, Veles can also be considered like a protector of domesticated creatures, and it is particularly connected with cattle. Veles was later portrayed like a bull, most likely because of the influence of Christianity. Once the new religion really caught on, Veles went through another ‘metamorphosis’, this time around right into a saint named Vlasiy (Blaise), and portrayed being an old shepherd guiding his sheep.
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A contemporary statue of Veles on Velíz Mountain, Czech Republic. (CC BY-SA 3. )
Veles & Perun
Veles can also be connected using the Underworld, and, sooner or later of your time, was connected with Zaltys, an excellent serpent curled at the bottom of the planet tree. It’s within this role that Veles makes connection with Perun. Based on one myth, Veles steals Perun’s cattle, wife, or children. This caused the enraged Perun to chase the serpent round the earth. Perun would make an effort to strike Veles in the sky together with his lightning bolts, although Veles would hide under or behind something. It had been thought that when lightning struck a specific place, it had been because Veles have been hiding there.
Wooden statue of Perun in Kiev, Ukraine, erected in ’09, destroyed this year by unknowns. ( Public Domain )
Within the finish, Perun would either flourish in killing Veles (who’d later return to existence) or have the ability to chase him to the bottom of the planet tree. One interpretation of the story is this fact is really a representation from the struggle between order (Perun) and chaos (Veles). Order eventually prevails, though chaos will constantly rise to challenge it. With the appearance of Christianity, the figures of the cosmic fight were substituted with the god of Christianity and also the Demon.
Presumably here Veles is defeated by Perun. (CC BY-SA 3. )
Perun
In the story from the struggle between Veles and Perun, the second deity may certainly be a god of storms, thunder and lightning, like the Greek deity Zeus or even the Norse god Thor. Between Zeus and Thor, Perun is much more such as the latter, meaning he seemed to be, in most cases, the mind from the Slavic pantheon. Nevertheless, not every one of the Slavs considered Perun because the leader from the gods. For example, the final god from the Serbs was Dabog, instead of Perun.
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When it comes to appearance, Perun is generally portrayed like a tall and muscular man having a lengthy beard. Also, he rides a chariot pulled with a bull or perhaps a he-goat. Like a warrior god, Perun is frequently portrayed with weapons, whether bow that he fires his lightning bolts, a sizable axe, or perhaps a hammer.
Sketches of Slavic axe amulets according to archaeological findings dating between your eleventh and twelfth century. ( Public Domain )
Aside from his battles with Veles, there are a variety of other tales connected with Perun. Generally these tales talk about some good challenge faced by Perun, and exactly how he transformed it. For instance, in one of these simple tales, Perun have been come to the Underworld like a baby. Although his family looked for him, Perun continued to be asleep, and increased right into a man throughout his slumber. As he finally automobile up, Perun needed to fight the creatures from the Underworld, and overcome numerous challenges before he could go back to his heavenly home.
