Perun - god of thunder and lightning (Slavic myths). Perun - god of thunder and lightning God of lightning among the ancient Slavs
In 988. However, this process was long and painful, since all the Magi and those who did not want to renounce the faith of their fathers and grandfathers were executed. With fire and sword, as the chronicler said, the state was implanted new religion, the old one fell into oblivion. The fierce god of thunder and lightning, the main character in the pagan pantheon of the Slavs, could not do anything...
Religion of the Slavs before the baptism of Rus'
As you know, the religion of the Slavic tribes before the baptism of Rus' in 988 was complex. The main gods were present in the pantheon natural phenomena and forces, as well as many gods and spirits. They not only ensured the existence of the world, but also decided its fate, decided the destiny of all people. Therefore, they tried to appease them by making sacrifices, and the Slavs protected themselves from evil spirits with the help of various rituals, signs, and talismans. The main thing in the pantheon was initially Rod - the deity who created everything, his children helped him rule. It should be noted that each tribe had its own gods, which they revered more than others. Gradually, Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, became the main one.
Essence of God
The god of thunder and lightning among the Slavs, as well as among the Hellenes, was considered the main one. When spring came, Perun, according to legend, sparkling with lightning, fertilized the earth with generous rains. And after that he brought out the gentle sun from behind the black clouds. Awakening nature after winter sleep, God seemed to once again create the world, so he was often called the creator.
The god of thunder and lightning aroused fear and awe because he was a punishing force. He punished mortals with a fiery arrow that caused fires, and also sent downpours, storms and hail, hunger, disease, and crop failure. But he also had thunder arrows in his arsenal, which fell from the clouds and went deep into the ground. After a certain time (three to seven years), they returned to the earth’s surface again in the form of oblong stones of a dark gray or black color. These are belemnites - icicles that form in the sand from a lightning strike. People wore them as a talisman that could protect them from fire and thunderstorms.
Appearance and attributes
Perun - Slavic god thunder and lightning. The Romans called him Jupiter, the ancient Greeks called him Zeus. They are similar in appearance and perform almost the same functions. But among our ancestors it was still closer to people than in the Mediterranean.
The god of thunder and lightning among the Slavs looked like a stately and mature man of tall stature. He had a long golden beard and black straight hair. He sat on a fiery chariot drawn by winged stallions, the roar of which the Aryans considered thunder, or on horseback. He always had a bow and a quiver filled with arrows. He could also have a large club, stones, and an axe. Perun's sacred animals were the horse, the tour (the god often took his form when traveling on earth), the crow and the magpie.
The chronicler Nestor claimed that the idol of the god Perun, which Vladimir erected in Kyiv during his first religious reform, was made of wood. But his head is cast from silver and decorated with a golden mustache.
God patronized warriors and rulers, but he was also represented as a plowman and blacksmith. Perun's attributes were a ploughshare and a stone, his symbol was red-hot iron and boiling water. The tree of the main god was considered to be oak, from which living fire could be obtained, and the flower was blue iris. They swore an oath in the name of the Thunderer, and it was impossible to break this solemn oath, because this could entail the wrath of God. To appease Perun, sacrifices were made to him - poultry (rooster), cattle, and in earlier times, people - prisoners or children.
Holy places of god
The god of thunder and lightning was the main one for all Slavs, so temples were often erected for him. His name can be translated as “striking” or “one who hits harder.” Shrines to Perun were built in the open air; they were shaped like a flower. Earlier temples consisted of six “petals”, and then two more were added. These were pits of a certain shape in which the sacred fire was constantly burning. An idol was placed in the center, and an altar surrounded by a stone ring was built in front of it. Usually offerings were placed here and the blood of a sacrificial animal was shed.
There is reliable information that there were sanctuaries of Perun in Kyiv and Novgorod. By the way, its remains were found in the latter. After the Christianization of Rus', temples and monasteries were built on the sites of many temples, since these places still remained holy for pilgrims.
Summarize
The fact that the Eastern Slavs had one god of thunder and lightning can be proven by toponymy. Names going back to the name of Perun are often found in the territory of modern Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia and other countries. So, for example, on the Balkan Peninsula there is a perunika plant, in Poland belemnite is called perun stone, in Novgorod there is a Perin hill. And the Baltic Slavs living along the Laba River ( ancient name Elbe), called Thursday Perun's day and had a thunder god named Perkons or Perkunas.
But the cult of Perun was not lost or forgotten, it was transformed and closely intertwined with Christianity. The prophet Elijah, who was the master of the elements, is identified with the thunder god. The church celebrates the saint's feast day on August 2.
Rolling thunder, heavy rain, lightning all over the sky... Even to modern man these inspire some fear. Imagine what it was like for people who lived ten to fifteen centuries earlier!
At that time, man had just begun to master the secrets of nature; much was incomprehensible to him. And everything that could not be explained from the point of view of logic or science, he explained by the existence of supernatural forces and thunder and lightning was in those days the most important among other deities. It was he who was worshiped most of all, feared and revered.
Perun is the god of thunder, lightning and war among the Slavic peoples. It was believed that he struck those who were guilty or somehow angered him. In order to appease Perun, animals were sacrificed to him, and a symbol was carved on every house. His name is found in many historical sources. For example, in The Tale of Bygone Years, written by Nestor, Neptune is mentioned more than ten times. The god of thunder and lightning caused awe and fear among the Slavs; they even said: “Perun will grab you!”, which meant wishing for troubles and misfortunes.
People believed that Perun punished for non-compliance with special laws (which were something like the Bible for Christians). It was believed that Perun would send down stones, axes, arrows and, of course, thunder and lightning on those who did not please him. If a family or even an entire village was plagued by crop failures and, as a consequence, hunger and disease, this meant the intervention of Perun and served as a “reminder” that people lead a riotous lifestyle and do not work enough.
The god of thunder and lightning was one of the first explanations of unknown natural phenomena. The cult of Perun originated more than three thousand years ago. However, they were not only afraid of him, but also asked for his well-being. People believed that in the case of regular sacrifices and unconditional worship, Perun would grant them prosperity, relieve them of diseases, and ensure that the harvests were rich.
Perun was considered the progenitor of all Slavs. In addition to idols carved from wood, people also had images of God: he was a powerful warrior with blue-black hair with gray hair and a long fiery beard.
In Kievan Rus, the god of thunder and lightning became an object of worship back in the 6th century. Later, as it turned out from numerous studies of paganism, the development of this cult was facilitated by Prince Vladimir himself. Even after, on his orders, Christianity was adopted in Rus', the wooden idol symbolizing Perun was not burned, like many other figures of gods, but was floated along the Dnieper. Vladimir could not do this, since the remnants of the former faith in pagan deities were still firmly seated in the heads of people. He was afraid to completely destroy the symbol of a prosperous life and successful conduct of military affairs.
The god of thunder and lightning was not only among the Slavic peoples. The ancient Greeks considered Zeus to be their main god. In India, the deity capable of sending down punishment in the form of destructive lightning is Thor, and in India - Indra.
The times when people massively believed in pagan gods are gone. However, even now there are those called Old Believers: they, continuing the traditions of their ancestors, worship among whom, of course, there is Perun.
Before the lesson, each child received an individual assignment as part of one of 6 groups: historians, poets, ethnographers, storytellers, linguists, artists. Artists painted the table and the Zbruch idol, linguists looked for interpretations of words, poets and storytellers memorized texts, ethnographers and historians prepared messages. On their own initiative, the students introduced costume elements into the lesson.
1) Work on the table “Pagan gods of the Slavs”.
We continue our journey into the world of Slavic myths. Before us is a stone Zbruch idol, created in the 10th century. How many parts is it divided into? Suggest what such a division might mean. Three parts represent the structure of the world: the upper one is the sky, the middle one is the earth, the lower one is the underground. Consequently, being pagans and worshiping the cult of nature, our distant ancestors divided the gods into
Pagan gods and spirits of the Slavs 1
lofty earthly and watery hells
Svarog (god of the sky) Makosh (goddess of the clan) Niy (Viy)
Svarozhichi (sons: Veles (god of cattle) Chernobog
Dazhdbog, etc.) Miracle of the sea Baba Yaga
Lada (goddess of marriage) Kikimora
Perun (god of thunder) Leshy
What words surprised you?
Linguist 1: lofty (Staroslav.) – “highest”, heavenly;
underworld (Staroslav.) – underground.
2) Description of Perun.
Look at the image of Perun on the Zbruch Idol 2. Why do we see a horse next to God? Remember Russian folk tales and epics. Who is sitting on a horse in them? This means that Perun was the patron of... (troops, warriors). Imagine that you are warriors and together with the prince came to Perun with gifts. How will you see this god? Compare your idea with the description given in V. Ivanov’s book “Primordial Rus'”.
Historian 1: The god of the squad appeared as a warrior who needed not beauty, but strength. Under the heavy helmet, a narrow forehead frowned; in deep sockets under bulging eyebrows sat red eyes - precious lalas. The mouth was like a wound, the mustache was long and drooping. Powerful muscles stuck out on the arms pressed to the body, the chest was bulging above the sunken belly - a sign of strong courage. God rested on the ground with his long feet. He was naked, but armed - two swords, an axe, and knives. The oak tree was skillfully carved. The fingers of the hands turned into the handles of swords, into the shaft of an ax - the body merged with the weapon. It was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began 3 .
Linguist 2: Lala is an ancient name for a precious red stone
spinels, varieties of yakhont.
What character qualities do you think Perun possessed? (The notebook will be written throughout the lesson: strong, courageous .)
And here is how the temple of Perun is described poet XVIII century G. Kheraskov.
Poet 1: This temple, a terrible temple, above the Borichev current,
It stood built on a high hill;
Smoke rose from the incense before the idol,
Dried blood was visible in front of him.
Poet 2: The proud temple of Perun was built high,
He spread shadows far across the mountains:
An unquenchable flame always burns before him,
At the entrance a cornerstone has been established,
And the people called it the stone of destruction;
He is drenched in black blood everywhere;
On it that unfortunate victim was trembling,
The ferocity of the priests which fueled:
There are deadly weapons hanging there,
The vessels are filled with blood.
Linguist 3: This - this one; current - stream, river; smoking is a substance
producing aromatic smoke when burned; created -
created, built, erected; Foundation stone -
main, main; named - named; trembled -
trembled.
Why is the temple “terrible”? Name the colors you see when standing in front of the temple. Whose gore was in front of the statue of Perun? But this is the poet's opinion.
3) Acquaintance with the “Vlesovaya Book”.
But this is what is told about sacrifice to the main Slavic god in one of the amazing books that was found at the beginning of the twentieth century, although it was written more than a thousand years ago.
Historian 2: During the Civil War, the Russian artist Isenbek found wooden tablets in the library in one of the ruined noble estates, covered with some unknown signs. These tablets were worm-eaten, chipped, worn out, and looked very old. The planks were 38 cm long, 22 cm wide, 6–10 mm thick, and each had two holes drilled for fastening them together with a cord. The boards had straight lines, strictly under which letters were cut and filled with paint. This the oldest book They called it “Vlesova”, since one of the tablets spoke about the god Veles.
Storyteller 1: Hail to Perun - the Fire-haired god!
He sends arrows at his enemies,
He leads the faithful along the path.
He is honor and judgment for soldiers,
He is righteous, golden-hearted, and merciful! 4
Linguist 4: Path - path, road; righteous - fair; Zlatorun –
generous, merciful - kind, merciful.
Continue the characterization of Perun ( fair, generous, merciless, courageous, brave, kind) . For all Was God good? (For brave warriors.)
Storyteller 2: Glory to our gods! We have true faith, which does not require human casualties... we dared to give only field sacrifices, and from our labors millet, milk, fat. And also fortified... with lamb. So anyone who listens to the Greeks will say about us that we are cannibals. But this is false speech, because it is truly not so! We had different customs.
Storyteller 3: And so we governed the clans for a long time, and the elders of every clan went to judge their relatives under the Perunov tree. And we also had games that day in front of the elders: and the youths showed their strength, they ran quickly, sang and danced. On that day, people went fishing and brought game to the elders, who shared it with other people. And the Magi made sacrifices to the gods, praised them and proclaimed their glory.
Historian 3: The continuous, unquenchable fire of the flaming oak burned in front of Perun, and death was the punishment of that priest, through whose carelessness the sacred fire was extinguished.
Oak is a sacred tree, a heavenly gate through which a deity could appear before people, the dwelling of a god.
It’s good in the forest or in a clearing, when friends are having fun and competing nearby. But what would you experience in the same forest, in the steppe, in the mountains, finding yourself alone during a strong thunderstorm, when thunder roars and lightning flashes? Do you want protection? This is how the ancient people prayed for the protection and patronage of Perun: after all, rain, lightning and all other air phenomena were subject to him. It was especially believed that he commanded thunder, which is why he got his name, because Perun in all Slavic dialects means “thunder”.
But he became the most revered god of the Slavs for another reason: at that time, the Russian lands were attacked by the Greeks, and being warriors was considered the main and honorable duty.
Storyteller 4: When our ancestors created Surozh, the Greeks began to come as guests to our markets. And suddenly we saw their warriors with swords and armor, and soon they took our land into their hands, and another game began. And so our land, which we had for four centuries, became Greek. And we ourselves turned out to be like dogs, and they kicked us out of there with stones. And Perunitsa flew in the sky and carried the horn of glory, and we drank it to the dregs. And we had 10 times more knights than our enemies. And that Perunitsa said: “How did you, Russians, sleep through your arable land? From this day forward, you must fight for her!”
Storyteller 5: And when we came to our land, we hit the city wall, and made a hole in it for ourselves and for our people, and then we found ourselves on our own. And they decided: “Whoever Perun awarded will go to heaven. Perhaps we will perish today, but we have no other gateway to life. And it’s better to be dead than to be alive and slave to strangers.”
Storyteller 6: Do this, for we will have many thunderstorms and thundering thunder. And so we will win completely, establish ourselves forever. The gods will give us much, and nothing will humiliate us. Stand up like lions - one for one! And hold on to your prince. And Perun will be with you and give you victory. Glory to our gods until the end of time!
Storyteller 7: And so the Russians took out their swords, and attacked the Greeks, and drove them away from their sea shores. And there was a great slaughter, and the crows crowed there at the sight of human flesh scattered across the field. And they ate the remains of the Greeks, without touching the Russians. There they had protection, since the gods did not want the Russians to die. And there the Sun and the Moon fought for that land. And the sky fought on the battlefield...
4) Expressive reading of a poemS. Gorodetsky "Perun".
Poet 3: Two enemies - the Moon and the Sun.
The battlefield is the blue vault.
The sun lingers behind the mountain.
Lunar thief The sun is waiting.
The spruce forest is enchanted
Lunar power, witchcraft.
The mighty world is walled up
With the magic of a witch...
Suddenly behind the forest in the east
The end of the spear glittered,
The steep-sided one got red
Perunov's shield cast.
Poet 4: Poured, forged with ebb,
The shield is brightly gilded.
In silent waiting
God Perun is behind him.
And the Moon, Perun - god
Seeing behind the mountain,
She screamed: “Stribog’s whirlwind!”
A hole in the clouds for the sun!
And on the battlefield
She goes pale.
The flame glows brightly,
Forges sharp arrows...
Poet 5:...Sun, Sun, victorious face
Higher, higher into the blue vault!
Moon thief, pale ghost,
It will fall behind the fogs.
Lunar enemy defeated
Barely glows below.
God Perun is confused about the world
A light thunderstorm is sweeping...
And, intoxicated by the victorious feast,
Throwing a ray after the ray,
God Perun owns the world,
Clear, formidable and powerful.
How does the poet imagine Perun? Does this match your vision? Add epithets ( clear, formidable, powerful ). What means clear?
5) The image of Perun in ancient Russian literature.
Perun had a huge retinue of relatives and assistants: Thunder, Lightning, Hail, Rain, mermaids and watermen, winds, of which there are four, like the four cardinal directions. Hence Perun's day is Thursday.
Linguist 5: We still use phraseological units associated with the image of the Slavic god, for example: after the rain on Thursday - no one knows when, never; expression of disbelief.
For the first time the name of Perun appears in Russian literature in chronicles.
Linguist 6: The chronicle is “summer”, that is, “year”; Old Russian genre
literature: year after year the monks wrote down historical
events dating back to biblical times; up toXVIIcentury
Chronicle writing flourished.
Historian 4: After Prince Igor’s victory over the Greeks, in an agreement with them, he indicates: “And if they are unbaptized, there will be no help for them either from God or from Perun.” Next we meet the name of Perun in the agreement between Svyatoslav and the Greeks: “Yes, we have an oath from God, we believe in him, in Perun and Volos” 5.
Historian 5: In the Tale of Bygone Years, the chronicler Nestor writes that in 980, Grand Duke Vladimir I ordered the construction of an idol of Perun in Kyiv in the middle of his courtyard on the river bank. Perun was made of wood, his head was made of silver, and his beard was made of gold. A continuous fire burned in front of him...
Historian 6: But in 988, when Vladimir accepted the Christian faith, he ordered the extermination of the former idols: “... chop some up and burn others.” The only one that the prince did not destroy was the idol of Perun: “Perun ordered a horse to be tied to the tail and dragged from the mountain... and he ordered 12 men to beat him with rods... When they dragged Perun to the Dnieper, people mourned him” 6 . Then they threw it into the river.
6) National holidays.
“But it was impossible to destroy the memory of the beloved god by destroying his idols. The symbol of Perun was depicted in the form of a wheel with six spokes. It was carved on huts to protect them from lightning. After the baptism of Rus', the image of the Slavic pagan god associated with the epic Ilya of Muromets, as well as with Ilya the prophet.
Due to the antiquity of years, it is difficult to indicate exactly when the day of Perun was celebrated (some indicate July 20, others - August 2), but most historians believe that this is the holiday of Ivan Kupala: on the night of June 24, during the summer solstice, the sun makes its first turn to winter.
Ethnographer 1: The sun (Perun) goes astray, and the clear-eyed maiden Zarya (Bather) comes to the aid of the bright god. She not only leads God, but every morning she washes him with dew from the meadows.
That night, the bravest (they were considered criminals by the church) went into the forest to collect magical herbs, among which the gap is grass, not a single castle could survive its power.
Ethnographer 2: And near the rivers people burned bonfires, boys and girls jumped over them, danced and sang. It was believed that if the couple’s hands did not move apart during the jump, the boy and girl would get married. The bonfires lit in honor of Perun personified the triumph of the sun, and the water represented the rain. A white rooster was sacrificed to Kupala. Signs have also been preserved in people’s memories: “Heavy dew on Ivan Kupala means a harvest of cucumbers, or on Midsummer night there are stars and there are a lot of mushrooms.” 7
7) Homework.
In the story “The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” N.V. Gogol tells scary story about how on Kupala night a young man was looking for a fern in the forest. And why and what happened, you will find out by reading this work.
8) The image of Perun in the poetry of the Silver Age.
So, thanks to chronicles, historical books, poems, and the works of ethnographers, you learned about what the Slavic god of thunder and lightning was like. And although a millennium separates us from the era of paganism, the image of Perun still lives in the memory and culture of our people. Moreover, it is rethought and over time endowed with new qualities. For example, in the poem K. Balmont “To Perun” (1906). After listening to the poem, you must answer the questions: 1) why poet turns to Perun; 2) how God is depicted; 3) what were the poet’s poems like?
Poet 6: God of winds and stormy thunderstorms, Poet 7: You poured lightning into my verse
God of the Slavs, Perun, And said to me: “Burn.”
You gave me a wave of hair, God of thunderstorm fires,
Golden strings. There are enemies in front of me.
Curly strings, not straight, God of the rainmakers,
Light curls, moisture and fire,
Golden gave me a verse, In the bright flame of passions
He gave a lot of poems. Don't leave me.
God of fires between the clouds, Give me, give me evil explosions
Dreams of fire, For the murmuring of strings,
You told me: “Be melodious, make my verse a vengeance.”
Be alive in life." For mine, Perun!
After an expressive reading of the poem, children come to the conclusion that if in myths Perun commanded nature, then the poets of the twentieth century endowed him with the ability to change the power of the Word and influence the human soul.
Notes
1 The classification is based on the research of G. Glinka “ Ancient religion Slavs." – Myths of the ancient Slavs. Saratov, 1993.
2 Right there. P. 55 or Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia. M., 1992.T. 2. P. 451.
3 Ivanov V. Primordial Rus'. Kharkov, 1991. S. 53 – 54.
4 Vlesova Book. – Myths of the ancient Slavs. Saratov, 1993. P. 254, 283 – 284, 280 – 281, 285.
5 Shepping D.O. Myths of Slavic paganism. M., 1997. P. 72.
6 Izbornik. Tales of Ancient Rus'. M., 1987. S. 42 – 43.
7 More detailed information can be taken from the books of Korinfsky A.A. “People's Rus'”. Smolensk, 1995. P. 285 – 291; Zabylina M. “Russian people: their customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry.” M., 1992. S. 67 – 79; Sheppinga D.O. "Myths of Slavic paganism." pp. 85 – 89, 116 – 119.
Religion of the ancient Slavs. Perun - the god of thunder and lightning Perun is the Slavic god of thunder, the god of thunder and lightning. Perun was considered the patron saint of warriors. And Perun’s main feat was that he returned fertility to the Earth, returned the Sun and rain. Perun had his own oak tree and his favorite flower, the iris, which blooms when the first thunderstorms thunder.
Dazhdbog - the god of the Sun The ancient Slavs considered Dazhdbog the god of the Sun. Dazhdbog means “giver of all blessings.” Dazhdbog rides across the sky in a beautiful chariot drawn by four white, golden-maned horses with golden wings. And the sunlight comes from the fiery shield. At night he crosses the Ocean on a boat drawn by swans. The Slavs believed that the Sun God would help them.
Yarilo Yarilo is the god of reviving nature. This Slavic mythological character is associated with the idea of fertility and spring power. Sometimes Yarila appeared before people in the spring as a boy on a young stallion, in the summer as an adult man on a strong horse, and in the fall as an old man on an old horse. People knew: winter would pass, and Yarila would return.
Lada - goddess of love Lada is the goddess of love, beauty and charm. Lel was the eldest son of Lada, the second son was Polelya, the god of marriage. He blessed people for everyday life, a family path full of thorns. Third son of Lada Did, god of marriage. Like his brother Polelya, Did is always young. Goddess Didilia is the guardian of the clan and children, also from the Lada family.
Perun - god of thunder and lightning, son. He occupied a leading position in the Slavic pantheon of the second circle. Over time, Perun became the patron of the prince and his squad. Outwardly, Perun looks like an elderly man of strong build with gray hair and a dark golden mustache and beard. Perun is dressed in golden-colored armor, and he is armed with a club and an axe, but the deity prefers to attack enemies not in close combat, but by shooting at them with his lightning. Perun was often represented riding a fiery horse or in a chariot also drawn by fiery horses.
Temple of Perun |
Temples in honor of Perun were always built on hills, and the highest place in the area was chosen. Idols were made mainly of oak - this mighty tree was a symbol of Perun. Sometimes there were places of worship of Perun, arranged around an oak tree growing on a hill; it was believed that this is how Perun himself means best place. In such places no additional idols were placed, and the oak tree, located on a hill, was revered as an idol. Bulls were sacrificed to the god of thunder, and they were killed directly at the temple, cutting the throat, and when the blood stopped flowing, the carcass was buried immediately in the ground.
Capabilities
Perun is the thunder god, he is capable of causing severe thunderstorms and throwing lightning. Perun also has enormous physical strength, which makes him stand out not only among people, but also among other gods. Like his brothers, Perun is an excellent magician: he is able to change his appearance according to at will, can fly and create ghostly ones that disappear when the magic stops working.
Sphere of influence
First of all, Perun is the patron of warriors; he was revered after great victories, and also asked for help before major battles. But the deity’s sphere of influence was not limited to military affairs: Perun protected Reality from Navi, expelling them with lightning and fire back to another world.
Enemies
He was always openly opposed to Perun, and history has preserved many myths and legends about their mutual hostility. However, this cannot be called enmity in the literal sense of the word; they are more like two brothers who inflict petty mischief on each other in order to attract attention to themselves.