Ancient Slavic Mythology ✪ Pagan Art and Symbols ✪ Epic Metal Music

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Uploaded by on Mar 28, 2011

Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.

The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion.

Unlike Greek or Egyptian mythology, there are no first-hand records for the study of Slavic mythology. Despite some arguable theories (for instance, the Book of Veles), it cannot be proven that the Slavs had any sort of writing system before Christianisation; therefore, all their original religious beliefs and traditions were likely passed down orally over the generations, and basically forgotten over the centuries following the arrival of Christianity. Before that, sparse records of Slavic religion were mostly written by non-Slavic Christian missionaries who were uninterested in accurately portraying pagan beliefs. Archaeological remains of old Slavic Cult images and shrines have been found, though little can be yielded from them without legitimate knowledge of their contexts, other than confirming existing historical records. Fragments of old mythological beliefs and pagan festivals survive up to this day in folk customs, songs, and stories of all the Slavic nations.

Folk celebrations of various Christian festivals and popular beliefs in various saints. It is, for instance, quite clear that a popular saint in many Slavic countries, St Elijah the Thunderer, is a replacement of old thunder-god Perun. Likewise, traces of ancient deities can also be found in cults of many other saints, such as St Mary, St Vitus, St George, St Blaise and St Nicholas, and it is also obvious that various folk celebrations, such as the spring feast of Jare or Jurjevo and the summer feast of Ivanje or Ivan Kupala, both very loosely associated with Christian holidays, are abundant with pre-Christian elements. These beliefs have considerable religious and sacral significance to the people still performing them. The problem is, of course, that the elements of pre-Christian religion are hopelessly mixed into popular Christianity.

There was a large spring festival dedicated to Jarilo, god of vegetation and fertility. Processions of young men or girls used to go round villages on this day, carrying green branches or flowers as symbols of new life. They would travel from home to home, reciting certain songs and bless each household with traditional fertility rites. The leader of the procession, usually riding on a horse, would be identified with Jarilo. The custom of creating pisanki or decorated eggs, also symbols of new life, was another tradition associated with this feast, which was later passed on to Christian Easter.

For the last few decades, Slavic paganism has gained limited popularity among the Russian public, with many web sites and organizations dedicated to the study of Slavic mythology[1][2] and some who openly call for "returning to the roots."[3]

Some musicians are also influenced by paganism, such as pagan metal band Arkona.

Most of the neopagan movements take place in Russia and Belarus, but they also take place in other Slavic countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia and Ukraine.

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  • @coolnameize The women look over 18, and the man in the middle looks around 40, consider that average life expectancy 3000 years ago were around 30 years, so people aged faster.

  • Slava from Bosnia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Ani wielobóstwo ani monoteizm ale rodoteizm. Jeden bóg ale różne postacie.

    Pierwsze pismo na świecie jest pochodzenia Słowiańskiego Rune!

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