Slavic mythology: basics

In short: Slavic mythology encompasses the pre-Christian belief systems of the Slavic peoples of Eastern and Central Europe. Due to a lack of their own written sources, much of it survives only in fragments.

In more detail: Most information comes from later Christian chronicles, folk customs, and archaeological finds.

In detail

• Perun: The god of thunder and war was considered one of the most important deities, comparable to the Norse Thor.
• Veles: God of the underworld, cattle, and magic, often portrayed as Perun’s adversary.
• Mokosh: A goddess of earth, fertility, and women’s fate.
• Rusalki: Water spirits, often imagined as the souls of young women who died early, inhabiting rivers and lakes.
• Dual faith: After Christianisation, old customs long blended with the new religion.
• Folk customs: Many Slavic spring and harvest festivals have roots in pre-Christian rituals.
• Rediscovery: In the 19th century, Slavic romanticism revived interest in this mythology (nordische-mythologie-grundlagen, roemische-mythologie-grundlagen).