russian mythology
DESCRIPTION
A Primer on Russian Mythology for Mahwah High School's English DepartmentTRANSCRIPT
Russian MythologyBy Amy Naslonski and Neil Patel
The Egg Symbol of life
Female cell in which embryo is formed
Colorful eggs are the symbol for Easter This custom especially popular in
Russia Many egg references in Russian
mythology
The universe was formed from an egg Egg rolled into water and broke in
half Lower half – Earth Upper half – Sky
Major Gods/People
Perun
Koshchei the Deathless
Eastre
Zaria
Veles
Morana
Perun
Thunder god Overseer of right
and order
Actions are perceived by the senses Sight – thunder bolt Sound – rattle of
stones Touch – ax blade
Koshchei the Deathless
Strangest and most unpleasant person in all Russian folk tales
Believes he cannot die because his “death” or “soul” is not in his body
His death is in an egg, which is inside a duck, which is inside a hare (hence “deathless”)
Eastre
Saxon goddess
Name means “Radiant Dawn”
Lady of Spring
Her name is where we got the name for the Easter holiday
Her sacred animal is the rabbit
Zaria
Goddess of beauty
Associated with the morning
Water priestess that protected warriors
Known to her worshippers as “the heavenly bride”
Veles/Volos
God of earth, water, and the underworld
Opponent of Perun Their battle
constitutes a major story of Russian mythology
The dead watch over his cattle
Morana
Goddess of harvest, witchcraft, winter, and death
Arrival expected with fear, departure celebrated
Associated with Mora, a female demon that caused nightmares
Entered homes at night and tormented people, especially children
Modern Events: New Mythology Art
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLnOEYXpf-c
Modern Events: Modern Slavic Pagan Feast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oimyM8XVmmo
Modern Events: Legends of Kiev
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSrl6SiJE-I
Characters of Russian Folklore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A35EjOyOjP8
Slavic Gods: Slavic Union
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2OEsbwya6o
Russian Artwork
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKyZMibNSk
Sources Koshchei the deathless. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.edline.net/files/_kXAjY_/9a6b9da56c026d453745a49013852ec4/koshchei_deathless.pdf
Morana. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://epika.org/house-of-mythology/13-morena
North-europe realms. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://inanna.virtualave.net/slavic.html
Perun . (2013). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453296/Perun
Sources
Slavic mythology (google ebook). eM Publications. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=i7TqYiG9PIgC&dq=zaria slavic goddess of beauty&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Slavic mythology [Web]. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKyZMibNSk
"Veles (god) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veles_(god)