Perun

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Perun
God of the sky, lightning, thunder, war, justice and physical realm
Perkwunos
Finnic equivalentUkko or Uku
Baltic equivalentPerkūnas

In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees.[2] His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmament (in Indo-European languages, this was joined with the notion of the sky of stone[3]), horses and carts, and weapons (hammer, axe (Axe of Perun), and arrow). The supreme god in the Kievan Rus' during the 9th-10th centuries,[4] Perun was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal.[5][6]

Sources

Of all historic records describing Slavic gods, those mentioning Perun are the most numerous. As early as the 6th century, he was mentioned in

De Bello Gothico, a historical source written by the Eastern Roman historian Procopius. A short note describing beliefs of a certain South Slavic tribe states they acknowledge that one god, creator of lightning, is the only lord of all: to him do they sacrifice an ox and all sacrificial animals. While the name of the god is not mentioned here explicitly, 20th century research has established beyond doubt that the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology is Perun.[7]
To this day the word perun in a number of Slavic languages means "thunder," or "lightning bolt".

Figurine of Perun from Veliky Novgorod, 12-century.

The

Kievan Rus, this place became a monastery
, which, quite remarkably, continued to bear the name of Perun.

Perun is not mentioned directly in any of the records of Western Slavic traditional religion, but a reference to him is perhaps made in a short note in Helmold's Chronica Slavorum, written in the latter half of the 12th century, which states (quite similarly to Procopius some six centuries earlier) that Slavic tribes, even though they worship many various gods, all agree there is a supreme god in heaven which rules over all other on earth. This could be a reference to Perun, but since he is not named, nor any of his chief attributes (thunder or lightning) mentioned, we cannot be certain.

Slavic traditions preserved very ancient elements and intermingled with those of neighbouring European peoples. An exemplary case are the South Slavic still-living rain rituals

Arumanians, corresponding to the Germanic FjörgynnFjörgyn, the Lithuanian Perkūnas/DundulisPerkūna, and finding similarities in the Vedic hymns to Parjanya.[8]

Etymology

Perun is strongly correlated with the near-identical

Proto-Slavic
this evolved into *per- meaning "to strike, to slay".

The Lithuanian word "Perkūnas" has two meanings: "thunder" and the name of the god of thunder and lightning. From this root comes the name of the Finnish deity

Artifacts, traditions and toponyms show the presence of the cult of Perun among all Slavic, Baltic and Finnic peoples. Perun was also related to an archaic form of astronomy – the Pole star was called Perun's eye and countless Polish and Hungarian astronomers continued this tradition – most known ones are Nicolaus Copernicus, and Franz Xaver von Zach.[citation needed]

Weapons

Drawings of Slavic axe amulets based on archaeological findings dating between the 11th and 12th century

In the

magic, disease
, and – naturally enough – lightning itself.

Perun also had another type of weapon in his arsenal, as destructive as his firestone arrows, but even more unusual: mythical golden apples. While this may not seem to be much of a weapon, in many[citation needed] Slavic folk accounts, the golden apple appears as a talisman of ultimate destruction. An example from a folk song from Montenegro with strong mythical elements relates:

...Те извади три јабуке златне
И баци их небу у висине...
...Три муње од неба пукоше
Једна гађа два дјевера млада,
Друга гађа пашу на дорину,
Трећа гађа свата шест стотина,
Не утече ока за свједока,
Ни да каже, како погибоше.

"…He grabbed three golden apples
And threw them high into the sky...
…Three lightning bolts burst from the sky,
The first struck at two young grooms,
The second struck pasha on brown horse,
The third struck six hundred wedding guests,
Not an eyewitness left
Not even to say how they died."

The cult of Perun among neighboring tribes

The Ukko axe is a pre-Christian amulet that represents the Finnic deity

The

Baltic tribes had a widespread cult of the thunderer Perkunas, one of the main deities of the Baltic pantheon. With Perun, this deity also shares common attributes (amulets in the form of an axe, a fiery four-pointed symbol, oak as the main tree[5]) and the origin of the name (from the PIE root *perk). In the modern Baltic languages, related words associated with the deity Perkunas have been preserved: Lithuanian perkūnas ('thunder') and perkūnija ('lightning'); Latvian
pērkons ('thunder').

Perun was worshipped by the Varangian (Scandinavian) warriors hired by Oleg and Igor during the campaigns against Byzantium (In the treaty of 971, the Varangians reinforce their oath not only with Perun, but also with the Slavic deity Veles); this shows that the cult of Perun was also widespread in Scandinavia. It is likely that the purely Slavic god Perun replaced for them the Scandinavian Thor, also the thunderer.[11]

The Finnic peoples had a deity Ukko, which had similar functions and attributes with the Slavic and Baltic deities.

Characteristics

Gromoviti znaci or thunder marks are considered by some scholars as "ancient symbols of Perun", which are often engraved upon roof beams or over entries of village houses, to protect them from lightning bolts. Their circular shape symbolises ball lightning. Identical symbols were discovered on Slavic pottery of 4th century Chernyakhov culture.[12]

Remains of an ancient shrine to Perun discovered in Peryn consisted of a wide circular platform centred around a statue, encircled by a trench with eight apses, which contained sacrificial altars and possibly additional statues. The overall plan of the shrine shows clear symbolism of the number nine. This is sometimes interpreted that Perun, in fact, had nine sons (or eight sons, with himself, the father, being the ninth Perun). In some Slavic folk songs, nine unnamed brothers are mentioned.

Similarly to Perkūnas of Baltic mythology, Perun was considered to have multiple aspects. In one Lithuanian song, it is said there are in fact nine versions of Perkūnas. From comparison to the Baltic mythology, and also from additional sources in Slavic folklore, it can also be shown that Perun was married to the Sun. He, however, shared his wife with his enemy Veles, as each night the Sun was thought of as diving behind the horizon and into the underworld, the realm of the dead over which Veles ruled.

Like many other Indo-European thunder gods, Perun's vegetative

eggs
).

In addition to the tree association, Perun had a day association (Thursday) as well as the material association (tin).[13]

Post-Christian Perun

With the arrival of Christianity, the old gods fared poorly amongst the Slavs. Grand prince Vladimir the Great, who had once been a very vocal and lavish patron of Perun, converted to Christianity. In 988 he, his family and the people of the Kievan Rus' were collectively baptized. He ordered that the statues of Perun which he himself had erected formerly, be dethroned, torn down with great dishonor and dragged through the streets as they were beaten with sticks. The idols were then cast into rivers and not permitted to land on the shore.[14] Three of Vladimir's sons are also recognized as saints.

In neopaganism

Bitsa Park
, Moscow

Perun is one of the most revered gods in Slavic neopaganism (rodnovery). He is considered a thunderer, the god of warriors, and a rival of Veles,[15][16] also embodying spring thunderstorms that fertilize the earth.[17] Slavic neopaganism has two directions: the militant worshipers of Perun and the "nature-like" worshipers of Veles.[16] In the neopagan interpretation, the struggle of St. George with the serpent is understood as the struggle of Perun with Veles, who stole cows from him. In the Book of Veles (recognized by scientists as a 20th-century fake), Svarog, Perun, and Svyatovit appear in the glorification of the Great Triglav.[16]

According to the book Dezionization by Valery Yemelyanov, one of the founders of Russian neopaganism, in the ideas of the "Veneti" ("Aryans"), there was a "trinity of three triune trinities": Prav-Yav-Nav, Svarog-Perun-Svetovid, Soul-Flesh-Power.

In some currents, Perun may be the supreme patron god. Since 1992, the first neopagan Kupchinsky temple of Perun has been operating in St. Petersburg. The name of Perun is common in the names of neopagan associations (Izhevsk Slavic community "Children of Perun", Pyatigorsk Slavic community "Children of Perun", "Perun Community" in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Dnipropetrovsk community Sicheslavsky Natural icon "Perun's Sign" "Slavic Community of the Temple of the Wisdom of Perun" - the latter was part of the Ynglism movement). In Novokuznetsk, a "Slavic community" publishes the magazine Perun. The magazine Wrath of Perun was also published.[18]

As part of the Slavic-Goritsa wrestling of Alexander Belov, the ideology is built on the cult of Perun, military honor, and valor and has many followers in Russia.[15] In the Slavic-Goritsa wrestling, the fourth day of the week is dedicated to Perun.[16] In Belov's calendar (1998), Gromovik (Perun's Day) falls on July 23.[16] In Omsk, followers of Ynglism created an "Old Russian Temple" "Temple of the Veda of Perun", or "Temple of the Wisdom of Perun". V. V. Solokhin (Yarosvet) from the organization "Spiritual-ancestral Power of Rus'" (Astrakhan) held the "position" of "Minister of Perun".[18]

Legacy

Toponyms

Dinarides
.

Moreover, the name of Perun is also commonly found in South Slavic toponymy. The

Bosnia Herzegovina, Vareš), Perunac, Perunovac, Perunika, Perunička Glava, Peruni Vrh, Perunja Ves, Peruna Dubrava, Perunuša, Perušice, Perudina and Perutovac.[19]
The word "Pero" means feather and the names of mountains and cities could refer to poultry. These names today mostly represent mountain tops, but in medieval times, large oaks, sacred groves and even entire villages or citadels were named Perun. Among South Slavs, a mountain plant
Iris germanica is known in folklore as perunika ("Perun's plant") and sometimes also as bogisha ("god's plant"), and was believed to grow from ground that had been struck by lightning.[20]

The Bulgarian people believe that the name of city Pernik is thought to have originated from that of Slavic god Perun with the Slavic placename suffix –nik (or –ik) added, and was first mentioned in the 9th century. The medieval town was a key Bulgarian stronghold during Bulgarian tsar Samuil's wars against the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century, when it was governed by the local noble Krakra of Pernik, withstanding Byzantine sieges a number of times.

Some places in Central Europe possibly named after Perun are the villages of Parndorf (formerly known as Perun) and Pernitz in the Parndorf Plain, Perná in Moravia, Beroun in Bohemia, and Pernek in Slovakia.

Onomastics

The Montenegrin surname Peruničić and the Macedonian Перуновски (Perunovski) are derived from Perun.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Perun: Slavic God of Thunder". Meet the Slavs. 2022.
  2. ^ Українська релігієзнавча енциклопедія. "Перун". ure-online.info.
  3. .
  4. ^ "ПЕРУН". resource.history.org.ua. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  5. ^ .
  6. ^ "Perun". Britannica.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-953-6927-41-8. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2015-10-18.
  8. ^ Jakobson 1985, pp. 21–22.
  9. ^ Siikala, Anna-Leena (2013). Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia. Helsinki: SKS.
  10. ^ Eyden, Phil (20 March 2004). "Myths and Legends". The Octopus News Magazine Online. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  11. ^ See: Meyer E. H. Mythologie der Germanen. — Strassburg, 1903. — S. 290.
  12. ^ Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993)
  13. ^ "Боги славян" (in Russian). Энциклопедия славянской религии. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  14. ^ "Prince Vladimir and baptism of Russians". Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  15. ^ a b Gaidukov 1999.
  16. ^ a b c d e Gaidukov 2000.
  17. ^ Prokofiev, Filatov & Koskello 2006, p. 182.
  18. ^ a b Schnirelmann 2001.
  19. Studia Mythologica Slavica 2 (May). Ljubljana, Slovenija. 1999. p. 57. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v2i0.1844
    .
  20. Studia Mythologica Slavica 16 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, 105-16. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v16i0.1547
    .

Further reading

External links

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