A message on the topic of Egyptian gods. Slavic gods

IN Ancient Egypt there were a very large number of gods. Each city had its own pantheon or Ennead– 9 main deities that people worshiped. However, for the first time such an ennead appeared in the city of Heliopolis (Heliopolis). It has been known since the times of the Early Kingdom, that is, from the origins of Egyptian civilization.

The priests who lived in this city were considered the most influential and powerful. It was they who named the very first nine deities. Therefore, it is believed that the main gods of Ancient Egypt originated in Heliopolis, and the pantheon itself began to be called Heliopolis or great ennead. Below is a list of the supreme deities and a brief description of them.

God Ra

This is the supreme ancient Egyptian deity. It personified the sun. After the creation of the world, Ra began to reign over it, and this was the most fertile time for people. The power of God lay in his mysterious name. Other celestials wanted to know this name in order to gain the same power, but the sun god did not tell it to anyone.

A lot of time passed, and Ra grew old. He lost his vigilance and told his mysterious name to his great-granddaughter Isis. After this, a period of chaos ensued, and people stopped obeying the supreme deity. Then the sun god decided to leave the earth and go to heaven.

But he did not forget people and continued to take care of them. Every morning he boarded a boat called Atet, and the sun's disk shone above his head. In this boat, Ra sailed across the sky and illuminated the earth from dawn to noon. Then, between noon and twilight, he transferred to another boat called Sektet and went in it to the underworld to illuminate the ordeals of the afterlife.

In this mournful place, the sun god met every night with the huge serpent Apep, who personified evil and darkness. A battle began between Ra and the serpent, and the sun god was always the winner. But by the next night evil and darkness were reborn again, and the battle was repeated again.

The ancient Egyptians depicted the god Ra with the body of a man and the head of a falcon, which was crowned with a solar disk. On it lay the goddess Wajit in the form of a cobra. She was considered the patroness of Lower Egypt and its pharaohs. This god had other names in some religious centers. In Thebes he was called Amon-Ra, in Elephantine Khnum-Ra. But that didn't change the main point solar deity who had the status of the main god of Ancient Egypt.

God Shu

This deity personified the air space illuminated by the sun. Shu was the son of Ra, and when he ascended to heaven, he began to reign in his place. He ruled the sky, the earth, the mountains, the winds, the seas. After thousands of years, Shu also ascended to heaven. In terms of status he was considered second after Ra.

In some images he was shown as a man with the head of a lion. He sat on a throne carried by lions. But there are many more images of the god of air in the form of an ordinary person with a feather in his head. It symbolized the goddess of truth Maat.

Goddess Tefnut

This deity also belonged to the main gods of Ancient Egypt. Tefnut is the goddess of heat and moisture. She was the daughter of the god Ra and was the wife of Shu’s brother. The husband and wife were twins. But even before marriage, the god Ra sent his daughter to Nubia, having quarreled with her, and a drought occurred in Egypt. Then the sun god returned his daughter, and she married Shu.

The return of Tefnut and her marriage became a symbol of the blossoming of nature. Most often, the goddess was depicted as a man with the head of a lioness and a fiery disk above her head. The disk indicated her connection with her father Ra, since the daughter was considered his fiery eye. When the sun god appeared early in the morning on the horizon, a fiery eye shone in his forehead and burned all enemies and ill-wishers.

God Geb

Geb is the god of the earth, the son of Shu and Tefnut. He married his sister Nut - the goddess of the sky - and this couple had children: Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys. It is noteworthy that Geb constantly quarreled with Nut, who ate her children before dawn - celestial bodies, but gave birth to them again on the eve of twilight.

These quarrels tired Shu's father, and he separated the spouses. He raised the chickpeas high into the sky, and left Hebe on the ground. He reigned after his father, and then transferred his power to his son Osiris. He was most often depicted as a man green sitting on a throne with a royal crown on his head.

Goddess Nut

Nut - goddess of the sky, daughter of Shu and Tefnut, sister and wife Hebe. She was the mother of Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys. In the morning, the goddess of the sky swallowed the stars, and in the late evening she gave birth to them, thereby symbolizing the change of day and night. Had unbreakable connection with the world of the dead.

She raised the dead into the sky and guarded the tombs of the dead. She was depicted as a woman with a curved body. It stretched across the horizon and touched the ground with the tips of his fingers and toes. Often, under the curved body of Nut, Geb was depicted lying on the ground.

It must be said that the main gods of Ancient Egypt would have lost a lot without Osiris. He was the great-great-grandson of the god Ra and ruled the earth after his father Geb. During his reign he taught people many useful things. He married his own sister Isis, and Seth and Nephthys were his brother and sister. But Seth, who lived in the desert in the south of Egypt, began to envy his successful brother, killed him and usurped royal power for himself.

Set not only killed, but dismembered the body of Osiris into 14 pieces and scattered them throughout the lands of Egypt. But the faithful wife Isis found all the pieces, put them together and called a guide to the underground kingdom of Anubis. He made a mummy from the body of Osiris, which became the first in Egypt. After this, Isis turned into a female kite, spread herself over the body of her husband and brother and became pregnant by him. Thus was born Horus, who became the last of the gods to rule the earth. After him, power passed to the pharaohs.

Horus defeated Set, sent him back south to the desert, and revived his father with the help of his left eye. After this, he remained to rule on earth, and Osiris began to reign in the afterlife. The god was depicted as a man in white robes and with a green face. In his hands he held a flail and a scepter, and his head was crowned.

Isis (Isis) was extremely popular in Ancient Egypt, considered the goddess of fertility, symbolizing motherhood and femininity. She was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. The Egyptians believed that the Nile flooded when Isis cried, mourning Osiris, who left her and went to rule the kingdom of the dead.

The importance of this goddess increased significantly during the Middle Kingdom, when funerary texts began to be used not only by the pharaohs and members of their families, but also by all other inhabitants of Egypt. Isis was depicted as a man with a throne on his head, who personified the power of the pharaohs.

Seth (Seth) is the youngest son of Geb and Nut, brother of Osiris, Isis and Nephthys. He married the latter. He was born on the third New Year's day, jumping out of his mother's side. The ancient Egyptians considered this day unlucky, therefore, until the day ended, they did not do anything. Set was considered the god of war, chaos and sandstorms. He personified evil, which made him similar to Satan. Having killed Osiris, he reigned on earth for a short time until he was overthrown by Horus. After that, he ended up in the desert in southern Egypt, from where he sent sandstorms to fertile lands.

Seth was depicted as a man with the head of an aardvark or a donkey. He had long ears and in many depictions a red mane. Sometimes this god had red eyes. This color symbolized desert sand and death. The pig was considered the sacred animal of the god of sandstorms. Therefore, pigs were classified as unclean animals.

The youngest of the children of Geb and Nut, named Nephthys, also belonged to the main gods of Ancient Egypt. She was born on the last day of the year. The ancient Egyptians viewed this goddess as a complement to Isis. She was considered the goddess of creation, which permeates the entire world. Nephthys ruled over everything ephemeral that could not be seen, touched or smelled. She had a connection with the world of the dead, and at night she accompanied Ra on his voyage through the underworld.

She was considered the wife of Seth, but did not have pronounced negative traits characteristic of her husband. They depicted this goddess in human female image. Her head was crowned with a hieroglyph indicating the name of the goddess. On sarcophagi she was depicted as a woman with wings, symbolizing the protector of the dead.

Ancient Egyptian religion is a system of beliefs and rituals that were an integral part of the life of the ancient Egyptians. Their beliefs and rituals were based on the worship of gods and goddesses who represented natural phenomena and strength. The Egyptians made offerings to their deities because they believed that this helped maintain the divine order: truth, justice, harmony, morality. The pharaoh was considered the representative of the gods. He was empowered to oversee the maintenance of divine order.

Characteristic Egyptian gods expressed in myths and art. The gods had their own hierarchy and different relationships with each other. The supreme deity, according to the Egyptians, was the creator of the world. It was believed that gods were present in all spheres of people's lives and were able to influence the course and order of things in human life. The relationship of people with their gods was a fundamental part of Egyptian society. They prayed, appealed to their action, asked for advice, performed rituals and offerings. According to Egyptologists (scientists who study ancient Egyptian history), there were about 1,500 deities.

Main gods

Amon was represented in human form, sometimes with the head of a ram. His name meant "hidden". He was the supreme deity, the sun god, and patron of the city of Thebes.

Apis was considered the god of fertility, depicted as a bull with a sun disk, the patron saint of Memphis. Of all the animal deities, the bull was the most respected.

Astarte, the goddess of fertility and love, symbolized feminine qualities.

Aten is a god who personified the solar disk. During the time of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, he was recognized as a single deity throughout Egypt. Also at this time it was forbidden to worship other gods.

Anubis - god human body and the head of a jackal. It was believed that Anubis escorted the dead to another world.

Geb is the son of the god of air, the god of earth. It was believed that water comes from this deity and all the plants that people need grow on it. He also protected people from snakes.

Horus is a god with a human body and a falcon's head, the patron of the sky and the sun.

Isis is the goddess of motherhood, one of the main goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon of gods. She was the patroness of slaves and the oppressed.

Osiris was a judge in the afterlife. He was a god natural forces and the world of the dead. It was believed that it was Osiris who taught man the arts, agriculture and sciences.

Option 2

The ancient Egyptians worshiped a huge number ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. Some of them looked very human; however, others were composed of human and animal parts. Therefore, some Egyptian gods looked like crocodiles, jackals, cats, rams and even falcons.

The bodies of these ancient gods were always human, but their heads could be parts of birds and animals.

Although most religions now worship only one god, the ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods. This phenomenon is called polytheism.

The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians were based on an extraordinary number of ancient Egyptian gods and Egyptian goddesses. The characteristics and appearance of some ancient deities closely resembled humans. However, some of the deities were perceived as “human hybrids”, taking on the form and characteristics of animals such as the crocodile, jackal, and falcon. The bodies of these ancient deities were human, but their heads looked like those of birds or animals.

Basic ancientsegyptian gods

Ra was the sun god and head of the ancient Egyptian divine pantheon. Ra was depicted as a man with the head of a hawk and a headdress in the form of a solar disk. At some point, Ra was combined with another god, Amun, to create the even more powerful god Amon-Ra. This was one of the first religious reforms in the history of human civilization, when Pharaoh Amenhotep decided to abolish the entire pantheon of ancient Egyptian gods and worship only the god Amun-Ra. Ra was believed to have created all life forms and was the supreme ruler of the gods.

Osiris was also one of the main ancient deities, whose role was in the leadership of the underworld. He was the judge of the dead.

Set was the personification of Egyptian evil and darkness. This god was the most terrible among the ancient Egyptian gods, since he killed his brother Osiris.

Ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, the mother goddess, was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus, who assisted in the resurrection of Osiris.

One of the most famous deities, the patron of the animal kingdom, was a half-ibis god That. He also patronized scribes, writers and scientists and inventors of hieroglyphs.

Anubis, the jackal god may have been one of the most famous ancient deities, as he was god of the dead, was in charge of tombs and embalming.

Another of the famous half-animal gods was the god of strength and power Sobek, half crocodile.

Magic surrounded the Egyptian gods, and Hake and was the god of magic and medicine. Heka was the son Khnuma, god of fertility.

The scarab was a significant symbol in ancient Egypt, and one of the deities Khepri, was depicted with the head of a scarab.

Many pharaohs built large temples in honor of the gods whom they considered their patrons. These temples had large statues of deities and the pharaoh, gardens, altars and places of worship. Each city had temples to the patron gods of that particular city.

Some famous temples include the Temple of Luxor, the Temple of Isis at Philae, the Temple of Horus and Edfu, the Temples of Ramsay and Nefertiti at Abu Simbel, and the Temple of Amun at Karnak.

The ancient Egyptians considered the pharaoh their main intermediary between them and the gods. The pharaoh was considered more important than the priests in the temples. At the same time, people believed that the pharaoh was so closely connected with the god Horus that he could sometimes take his form. Later, the pharaohs established among the people the belief that they were the children of the gods.

The ancient Egyptians believed that there was an afterlife after death. They thought that people have two important components of soul and body: "ka" or life force, which personified the body, and “ba,” which was more reminiscent of the soul. If “ka” and “ba” were able to be united in the afterlife, then a person will exist in afterlife. A key component of this was preserving the body for the afterlife. This is why the Egyptians used embalming or mummification to preserve the dead. But this was not a cheap pleasure and only wealthy people could afford it. To preserve their embalmed bodies, the pharaohs built huge pyramid tombs. The pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops is the only one preserved in modern world wonder of the world.

Scientists estimate that there were more than five thousand gods in ancient Egypt. Large quantity deities is explained by the fact that in each city of this country they worshiped “their” gods. Different gods from neighboring cities could duplicate functions. In addition to gods, there were monsters, spirits, and magical creatures. It should be noted that many gods of Ancient Egypt have not been fully studied to this day.

Let's talk about the “main”, most famous gods that were worshiped by the inhabitants of this country.

Ra. Sun God. Supreme God, as, indeed, in other pagan cults, where the deity personifying the sun is the main one. He was depicted as a man with the head of a falcon, on which was mounted a solar disk. Son of the primeval chaos Nuna. Ra was the ruler of the whole world, and the pharaohs were his earthly embodiment. During the day, Sun-Ra rode across the sky on the barge Mandzhet, illuminating the earth, and at night, boarding the barge Mesektet, he illuminated the underground kingdom of the dead. In Thebes he was compared with Amun (Amon-Ra), in Elephantine - with Khnum (Khnuma-Ra). The most common comparison was with Horus - Ra-Gorakhti.

King of the dead and judge of souls. Son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. Being the ruler of Egypt, he taught people agriculture, gardening and winemaking. He was killed by his envious brother Seth, who was flattered by his wife Queen Isis (also their sister) and the royal throne. According to mythology, he became the first mummy. The most beloved god among the common people of Ancient Egypt. He was depicted in the form of a swaddle with free hands, in which he holds symbols of royal power: heket and nehekha (scepter and flail).

God of the sky and sun. Son and Isis. He was miraculously, with the help of magic, conceived by Isis from the already dead Osiris. The winner of his father's killer and also his own uncle, Seth. After a long struggle with the hated Seth, he inherited the earthly kingdom from his father, who began to rule the kingdom of the dead. Patron of the pharaohs. All of Egypt worshiped Horus - his cult was very popular among all levels of society. Moreover, each region had its “own” Horus - the names and holidays attributed to it differed significantly. He was depicted as a man with the head of a falcon.

The wife of Osiris and at the same time his sister. Mother Horus. It was she who found, after a long search, the body of Osiris, killed by Set. Having put together the body dismembered by the villain, Isis made the first mummy and even, with the help of spells, managed to get pregnant from her. She patronized children, the oppressed, sinners, artisans and the dead. The cult of Isis was very popular throughout Ancient Egypt. She was depicted with a headdress in the form of a royal throne.

Initially, he was the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, but with the strengthening of the cult of Osiris (father of Anubis), he transferred this position to him, becoming a guide in the kingdom of the dead. In addition, he was a judge in the kingdom of the dead, weighing the heart of the deceased on the Scales of Truth, on the second bowl of which he placed the feather of the goddess Maat, symbolizing truth. It is he who is credited with inventing the custom of embalming the dead - he took part in the creation of the first Egypt - the mummy of his father Osiris. He patronized cemeteries and necropolises. Depicted with the head of a jackal. He was also depicted as a jackal, or wild dog Sab.

Goddess of justice, truth, fairness and harmony. Being the daughter of the creator of the world, god Ra, when creating the world, she created harmony out of chaos. She controlled the stars, sunsets and sunrises, and the seasons. Symbolized law and divine order. She was one of the judges of the afterlife. She was depicted with an ostrich feather on her head. This is not an ordinary feather - it is the feather of truth. During the trial in the afterlife, the feather of Maat was placed on one scale, and the heart of the deceased (the only internal organ that was left in the mummy) on the other. If the heart outweighed, then the deceased led a sinful life, and he was devoured by the monster of the afterlife, Amat.

God of war, death, rage and chaos. The brother of Osiris, who killed him, coveting the throne and wife of the pharaoh. Initially, he was a very positive and popular god and even defended and helped the god Ra, but closer to the 7th century BC. (during the XXVI Dynasty) turned into the embodiment of universal evil, close in his habits to the devil. He began to embody savagery, anger, ferocity, and envy. Most often he was depicted with the head of a donkey, although there are images of him with the head of a crocodile and other animals. Associated with male sexual power.

God of wisdom and knowledge and, accordingly, the patron of scientists, libraries and all sciences, including magic. In addition, he patronized officials, being the guarantor of state order. One of the earliest gods of Ancient Egypt. Thoth is credited with the invention of writing, the invention of a year consisting of 365 days, and the division of time into months and years ("Lord of Time" is one of Thoth's many titles). He was depicted with the head of an ibis, holding a staff and an ankh (Coptic cross).

Goddess of the sky, who controlled the cycle of day and night. Granddaughter of the god Ra. Mother of Osiris, Isis and Set. Patroness of the dead. She was mainly depicted as an elongated woman, curved in the shape of the sky, resting her hands and feet on the ground. At the same time, her body is decorated with either stars (representing the night) or suns (representing the day). There are images of Nut in the form of a woman with a jug on her head or a Heavenly Cow.

Goddess of war and the scorching sun. Daughter of the god Ra. Performed the function of the formidable eye of Ra on earth. She could both inflict illnesses and heal any of them. Being a healer, she patronized doctors. She had a very stern and hot-tempered character. Guarded the pharaohs. Depicted with the head of a lioness.

2017-02-25

The religion of the ancient Egyptians is a unique direction in world history. Its originality lay in the presence of various deities that the people revered. Moreover, in each region of the country the deities could be different, but there are also those whose worship went beyond the boundaries of the locality. They are the ones that are currently best studied.

The sources of information are the Pyramid Texts and the Books of the Dead. Very often, pharaohs were exalted to a divine pedestal. In this article we will talk about one of the most known to God Ancient Egypt - Ra.

1. Egyptian sun god Ra

Ra is the sun god in ancient Egyptian mythology. It was represented differently in different localities. Information has reached our times that he was most often depicted in the form of a falcon, a man with a falcon’s head, or a huge cat. Ra was revered as the king of the gods. Very often he was depicted in the guise of a pharaoh.

According to mythology, Ra was the father of Wajit, a resourceful cobra that protected the pharaoh from strong scorching rays. It is believed that the god Ra sails along the celestial Nile during the day in the barque Mandzhet and illuminates the earth. And in the evening he transfers to the barge Mesektet and travels along the underground Nile. Here he daily defeats the mighty serpent Apep and returns to heaven at dawn. Let us dwell on this myth in more detail, according to the legends. At exactly midnight, the battle between the god Ra and the serpent takes place, the length of which is measured at 450 cubits. To prevent the further movement of Ra, Apep absorbs all the water of the underground Nile. However, the god pierces him with spears and swords and he has to return all the water back.

The ancient Egyptians believed that every deity should have own house. The city of Heliopolis became the home of the sun god. The Jews called this area Beth Shemesh. It was built there big temple god Ra and the house of Atum. For a long period, these places were attractive to pilgrims and travelers.

1.1. Eyes of God Ra

Particular mystical significance was attached to the eyes of God. Their image could be seen everywhere: on ships, tombs, amulets, boats, clothes. At first glance, it seems that his eyes lead a life separate from the body.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the right eye of the god Ra, which was most often depicted as the Uraeus serpent, could defeat any enemy army. The left eye was credited with miraculous properties in the treatment of serious ailments. This can be judged from the texts and myths that have survived to our times. Very often, the eyes of Ra were presented as an object - a talisman or a heroic warrior performing feats.

Many myths in Egypt were associated with these images. According to one legend, the god Ra created a universe that was significantly different from the current one. He populated it with created people and gods. However, it was not eternal, like the life of the gods. Over time, old age came to Ra. Having learned about this, people began to plot against God. Angry Ra decided to take cruel revenge on them. He threw his eye in the form of his daughter to the goddess Sekhmet, who carried out a brutal reprisal against the rebels.

According to other sources, the god Ra gave his right eye to the goddess of fun Basti. It was she who had to protect him from the powerful serpent Apep. There is also a legend according to which the divine eye in the image of the unsurpassed goddess Tefnut was offended by Ra. It went into the desert, where it wandered through the dunes for a long time. Ra took this separation very hard.

1.2. Where does the name Ra come from?

The name of the Egyptian god was considered mysterious and had enormous magical potential, thanks to which the entire universe could be controlled. The translation of Ra was interpreted as "sun". Egyptian pharaohs were revered as sons of the god Ra. Therefore, the particle Ra was very often used in their names.

One is associated with the name Ra interesting legend. The goddess Isis decided to find out his secret name in order to use it in her spells. To do this, she created a snake, which bit Ra upon leaving his palace. The sun god felt a burning pain that did not go away. Gathering a council of the gods, Ra asked Isis for help in getting rid of pain. However, her spells only work with secret name. Therefore, Ra had to name him. The effect of the snake's venom was neutralized. Isis promised to keep it secret and divulge it to other gods.

1.3. History of the cult

The cult of the god Ra began to take shape during the unification of the Egyptian state. He quickly supplanted the archaic cult of Atum. During the reign of the pharaohs of the 4th dynasty, the worship of Ra was proclaimed as state religion. Some representatives of this clan bore names with the word “Ra”: Djedefra, Menkaure, Khafre. During the reign of the 5th dynasty of pharaohs, the cult of Ra only became exalted. The pharaohs of this dynasty were believed to be the sons of the god Ra.

1.4. How did Ra create the world?

In the beginning there was only an endless ocean. It was the home of the god Nun, who created the sun god. God Ra called himself: “Khepri in the morning, Ra in the afternoon and Atum at sunset.” Thus, a solar triad is formed. According to legend, Ra became the father of the gods and their king. It was he who created the wind god Shu and his wife Tefnut, the lion-headed goddess. This couple shone in the sky in the constellation Gemini. Then he created the god of the earth - Geb and the heavenly goddess Nut. According to mythology, they were the parents of the god Osiris and the goddess Isis.

The sun god read the prayers of creation and commanded the wind Shu to raise the heavens and earth. Thus, the firmament was formed, on which stars appeared. Ra spoke aloud words from which living beings arose on earth and on water. Then from his eye humanity was born. Initially, Ra took on human form and began to live on earth. Later he completely moved to heaven.

1.5. Symbols of the Egyptian god Ra

The sun god has a lot of symbols. The main one is the pyramid. Moreover, it can be of different sizes: from very small, worn as an amulet, to large. A common symbol is an obelisk with a pyramidal top with a solar disk. It should be noted that there are quite a lot of such obelisks in Egypt. In some areas divine sign were crypts made of mud brick. At first glance, they looked like truncated pyramids. Inside the temples dedicated to the theme of Ra, the obelisk ben-ben was kept. A little later, the ancient Egyptians began to worship the solar disk.

In addition to inanimate symbols, there were also animate ones. Very often Ra was animated with the phoenix bird. According to legend, every day he burned himself in the evening, and in the morning he was reborn from the ashes. This bird had a special place among the Egyptians. They specially raised them in sacred groves, and after death they were embalmed.

2. Amon - the second sun god

The Great Ra was not the only solar god in Ancient Egypt. Amon replaced him. His sacred animals symbolized wisdom. These included a ram and a goose. Very often he was depicted as a man with the head of a ram holding turpentine in his hand. The Egyptian god Amun was initially revered only in the areas of the city of Thebes. With his rise above other cities in Egypt, the god's influence spread to other territories.

In the 16th -14th centuries BC he merged with the god Ra. During this period there appears new god- Amon Ra. The first mention of it was recorded in the book of pyramids. This god becomes the head of the entire pantheon. He is worshiped and revered as a deity who brings victories. The Egyptians believed that it was he who helped Pharaoh Ahmose 1 expel the Hyksos from the country.

The ancient Slavic pantheon is very complex in its structure and numerous in composition. Most gods were identified with various forces of nature, although there were exceptions, the most striking example of which is Rod, the creator god. Due to the similarity of functions and properties of some gods, it is difficult to determine for sure which names are just variations of the names of the same god, and which belong to different gods.

The entire pantheon can be divided into two large circles: the elder gods who ruled all three worlds in the primordial stage, and the second circle - the young gods who took the reins of power in the new stage. At the same time, some elder gods are present in the new stage, while others disappear (more precisely, there are no descriptions of their activities or interference in anything, but the memory that they existed remains).

In the Slavic pantheon there was no clear hierarchy of power, which was replaced by a clan hierarchy, where sons were subordinate to their father, but brothers were equal to each other. The Slavs did not have pronounced evil gods and good gods. Some deities gave life, others took it, but all were revered equally, since the Slavs believed that the existence of one without the other was impossible. At the same time, gods who were good in their functions could punish and cause harm, while evil ones, on the contrary, could help and save people. Thus, the gods of the ancient Slavs were very similar to people not only in appearance, but also in character, since they simultaneously carried within themselves both good and evil.

Outwardly, the gods looked like people, and most of them could turn into animals, in the form of which they usually appeared to people. The gods were distinguished from ordinary beings by their superpowers, which allowed the deities to change the world around us. Each of the gods had power over one of the parts of this world. The effects on other parts not subject to the deities were limited and temporary.

The most ancient supreme male deity among the Slavs was Rod. Already in Christian teachings against paganism in the 12th-13th centuries. they write about Rod as a god who was worshiped by all peoples.
Rod was the god of the sky, thunderstorms, and fertility. They said about him that he rides on a cloud, throws rain on the ground, and from this children are born. He was the ruler of the earth and all living things, and was a pagan creator god.
IN Slavic languages The root "genus" means kinship, birth, water (spring), profit (harvest), concepts such as people and homeland, in addition, it means the color red and lightning, especially ball lightning, called "rhodia". This variety of cognate words undoubtedly proves the greatness of the pagan god.
Rod is a creator god, together with his sons Belbog and Chernobog he created this world. Alone, Rod created Prav, Yav and Nav in the sea of ​​chaos, and together with his sons he created the earth.

The sun then came out from His face. The bright moon is from His chest. The frequent stars are from His eyes. The clear dawns are from His eyebrows. Dark nights - yes from His thoughts. Violent winds - from the breath...

"The Book of Kolyada"

The Slavs had no idea about Rod’s appearance, since he never appeared directly in front of people.

Temples in honor of the deity were built on hills or simply large open areas of land. His idol was phallic in shape or simply shaped like a pillar painted red. Sometimes the role of an idol was played by an ordinary tree growing on a hill, especially if it was quite ancient. In general, the Slavs believed that Rod is in everything and therefore can be worshiped anywhere. There were no sacrifices in honor of Rod. Instead, holidays and feasts are organized, which are held directly near the idol.

Rod's companions were Rozhanitsy - female deities of fertility in Slavic mythology, patroness of the clan, family, home.

Son of Rod, god of light, goodness and justice. In Slavic mythology, he is the creator of the world along with Rod and Chernobog. Outwardly, Belbog appeared as a gray-haired old man dressed like a sorcerer.
Belobog in the mythology of our ancestors never acted as an independent individual character. Just as any object in the world of reality has a shadow, so Belobog has its integral antipode - Chernobog. A similar analogy can be found in ancient Chinese philosophy (yin and yang), in the Ynglism of the Icelanders (Yuj rune) and in many other cultural and religious systems. Belobog, thus, becomes the embodiment of bright human ideals: goodness, honor and justice.

A sanctuary in honor of Belbog was built on the hills, with the idol facing east, towards the sunrise. However, Belbog was revered not only in the sanctuary of the deity, but also at feasts, always making a toast in his honor.

One of the greatest gods ancient world, son of Rod, brother of Svarog. His main act was that Veles set the world created by Rod and Svarog into motion. Veles – “cattle god” – master wildlife, master of Navi, powerful wizard and werewolf, interpreter of laws, teacher of the arts, patron of travelers and merchants, god of luck. True, some sources point to him as the god of death...

IN present moment Among various pagan and Rodnoverie movements, a fairly popular text is Veles’s book, which became known to the general public in the 1950s of the last century thanks to the researcher and writer Yuri Mirolyubov. The Veles book is actually 35 birch tablets, dotted with symbols, which linguists (in particular, A. Kur and S. Lesnoy) call Slavic pre-Cyrillic writing. It is curious that the original text really does not resemble either the Cyrillic or Glagolitic alphabet, but the features of the Slavic runitsa are presented in it indirectly.

Despite the wide spread and mass veneration of this god, Veles was always separated from the other gods; his idols were never placed in common temples ( sacred places, in which images of the main gods of this territory were installed).

Two animals are associated with the image of Veles: a bull and a bear; in the temples dedicated to the deity, the wise men often kept a bear, which played a key role in the rituals.

Dazhdbog

God of the Sun, giver of heat and light, god of fertility and life-giving force. The symbol of Dazhdbog was originally considered to be the solar disk. Its color is gold, speaking of the nobility of this god and his unshakable strength. In general, our ancestors had three main solar deities - Khors, Yarila and Dazhdbog. But Khors was the winter sun, Yarilo was the spring sun, and Dazhdbog was the summer sun. Of course, Dazhdbog deserved special respect, since the summer position of the sun on firmament For the ancient Slavs, a people of farmers, a lot depended. At the same time, Dazhdbog was never distinguished by a tough disposition, and if a drought suddenly attacked, then our ancestors never blamed this god.

The temples of Dazhdbog were located on the hills. The idol was made of wood and placed facing east or southeast. Feathers from ducks, swans and geese, as well as honey, nuts and apples were brought as gifts to the deity.

Devana is the goddess of hunting, wife of the forest god Svyatobor and daughter of Perun. The Slavs represented the goddess in the form of a beautiful girl dressed in an elegant marten fur coat trimmed with squirrel. The beauty wore a bear skin over her fur coat, and the head of the animal served as her hat. Perun's daughter carried with her an excellent bow and arrows, a sharp knife and a spear, the kind used to kill a bear.

The beautiful goddess not only hunted forest animals: she herself taught them how to avoid dangers and endure harsh winters.

Dewana was first of all revered by hunters and trappers; they prayed to the goddess to grant good luck in the hunt, and in gratitude they brought part of their prey to her sanctuary. It was believed that it was she who helped to find the secret paths of animals in the dense forest, to avoid clashes with wolves and bears, and, if the meeting did take place, to help the person emerge victorious.

Share and Nedolya

Share is a good goddess, Mokosh’s assistant, weaving a happy destiny.
He appears in the guise of a sweet young man or a red-haired maiden with golden curls and a cheerful smile. He cannot stand still, he walks around the world - there are no barriers: swamp, river, forest, mountains - Fate will instantly overcome.

Doesn't like lazy people, careless people, drunks and all sorts of things bad people. Although at first he makes friends with everyone, then he will figure it out and leave the bad, evil person.

NEDOLYA (Need, Need) - the goddess, Mokosh’s assistant, weaves an unhappy fate.
Dolya and Nedolya are not just personifications of abstract concepts that do not have objective existence, but on the contrary, they are living persons identical to the maidens of fate.
They act according to their own calculations, regardless of the will and intentions of a person: a happy person does not work at all and lives in contentment, because Share works for him. On the contrary, Nedolya’s activities are constantly aimed at harming people. While she is awake, misfortune follows misfortune, and only then does it become easier for the unfortunate man when Nedolya falls asleep: “If Likho is sleeping, don’t wake him.”

Dogoda (Weather) - the god of beautiful weather and a gentle, pleasant breeze. Young, ruddy, fair-haired, wearing a cornflower blue wreath with blue butterfly wings gilded at the edges, in silver-shiny bluish clothes, holding a thorn in his hand and smiling at the flowers.

Kolyada is the baby sun, in Slavic mythology the embodiment of the New Year's cycle, as well as a holiday character similar to Avsen.

“Once upon a time, Kolyada was not perceived as a mummer. Kolyada was a deity, and one of the most influential. They called carols and called. The days before the New Year were dedicated to Kolyada, and games were organized in her honor, which were subsequently held at Christmastide. The last patriarchal ban on the worship of Kolyada was issued on December 24, 1684. It is believed that Kolyada was recognized by the Slavs as the deity of fun, which is why he was called upon and called upon by merry bands of youth during New Year’s festivities” (A. Strizhev. “People's Calendar”).

The son of the Almighty and the goddess Maya, he was the brother of the very first creator of the world, Rod, although he was much younger than him. He returned fire to people, fought on the shores of the Arctic Ocean with Chernobog and defeated him.

Kupala (Kupaila) is the fruitful deity of summer, the summer hypostasis of the Sun god.

“Kupalo, as I remember, was the god of abundance, like the Hellenic Ceres, to whom the madman offered thanks for the abundance to the Shah at that time, when the harvest was about to arrive.”

His holiday is dedicated to the summer solstice, the long day per year. The night before this day was also sacred - the Night before Kupalo. Feasting, merrymaking and mass swimming in ponds continued all that night.

They sacrificed to him before collecting bread, on June 23, St. Agrippina, who was popularly nicknamed the Bathing Suit. Young people decorated themselves with wreaths, lit a fire, danced around it and sang Kupala. The games continued all night. In some places, on June 23, they heated bathhouses, laid grass for a bathhouse (buttercup) in them, and then swam in the river.
On the very Nativity of John the Baptist, weaving wreaths, they hung them on the roofs of houses and on barns to remove evil spirits from the home.

LADA (Freya, Preya, Siv or Zif) - the goddess of youth and spring, beauty and fertility, an all-generous mother, patroness of love and marriages.
In folk songs, “lado” still means a dearly beloved friend, lover, groom, husband.

Freya's outfit shines with the dazzling brilliance of the sun's rays, her beauty is charming, and the drops of morning dew are called her tears; on the other hand, she acts as a warlike heroine, rushing through the heavens in storms and thunderstorms and driving away rain clouds. In addition, she is a goddess, in whose retinue the shadows of the deceased march into the afterlife. The cloud fabric is precisely the veil on which the soul, after the death of a person, ascends to the kingdom of the blessed.

According to popular poems, angels, appearing for a righteous soul, take it on a shroud and carry it to heaven. The cult of Freya-Siwa explains the superstitious respect that Russian commoners have for Friday, as a day dedicated to this goddess. Anyone who starts a business on Friday will, as the proverb goes, back off.
Among the ancient Slavs, the birch tree, which personified the goddess Lada, was considered a sacred tree.

Ice - the Slavs prayed to this deity for success in battles; he was revered as the ruler of military actions and bloodshed. This ferocious deity was depicted as a terrible warrior, armed with Slavic armor, or all-weapon. A sword at the hip, a spear and a shield in the hand.

He had his own temples. When preparing to go on a campaign against enemies, the Slavs prayed to him, asking for help and promising abundant sacrifices if they were successful in military operations.

Lel is the god of love passion in the mythology of the ancient Slavs, the son of the goddess of beauty and love Lada. The word “cherish” still reminds us of Lela, this cheerful, frivolous god of passion, that is, undead, love. He is the son of the goddess of beauty and love Lada, and beauty naturally gives birth to passion. This feeling flared up especially brightly in the spring and on Kupala night.

Lel was depicted as a golden-haired, winged baby, like his mother: after all, love is free and elusive. Lel threw sparks from his hands: after all, passion is fiery, hot love! In Slavic mythology, Lel is the same god as the Greek Eros or Roman Cupid. Only ancient gods strike the hearts of people with arrows, and Lel kindled them with his fierce flame.

The stork (heron) was considered his sacred bird. Another name for this bird in some Slavic languages ​​is leleka. In connection with Lelem, both cranes and larks were revered - symbols of spring.

One of the main goddesses of the Eastern Slavs, the wife of the thunderer Perun.
Her name is made up of two parts: “ma” - mother and “kosh” - purse, basket, shed. Makosh is the mother of filled koshes, the mother of a good harvest.
This is not a goddess of fertility, but a goddess of the results of the economic year, a goddess of the harvest, and a giver of blessings. The harvest is determined by lot, fate, every year, so she was also revered as the goddess of fate. A mandatory attribute when depicting her is a cornucopia.

This goddess connected the abstract concept of fate with the concrete concept of abundance, patronized the household, sheared sheep, spun, and punished the careless. The specific concept of “spinner” was associated with the metaphorical one: “spinning of fate.”

Makosh patronized marriage and family happiness. She presented herself as a woman with a large head and long arms, spinning at night in the hut: superstitions forbid leaving the tow, “otherwise Makosha will spin it.”

Morena (Marana, Morana, Mara, Maruha, Marmara) - the goddess of death, winter and night.

Mara is the goddess of death, daughter of Lada. Outwardly, Mara looks tall beautiful girl with black hair in red clothes. Mara cannot be called either an evil or a good goddess. On the one hand, it gives death, but at the same time it also gives life.

One of Mara’s favorite pastimes is needlework: she loves to spin and weave. At the same time, like the Greek Moiras, he uses the threads of the fate of living beings for needlework, leading them to turning points in life, and ultimately cutting the thread of existence.

Mara sends her messengers all over the world, who appear to people in the guise of a woman with long black hair or in the guise of doubles of people who are destined for warning, and foretell imminent death.

No permanent places of worship were erected in the part of Mara; honors could be paid to her anywhere. To do this, an image of the goddess, carved from wood or made from straw, was installed on the ground, and the area was surrounded by stones. Directly in front of the idol, a larger stone or wooden plank was installed, which served as an altar. After the ceremony, all this was dismantled, and the image of Mary was burned or thrown into the river.

Mara was revered on February 15, and flowers, straw and various fruits were brought as gifts to the goddess of death. Sometimes, during years of severe epidemics, animals were sacrificed, bleeding them directly at the altar.

Welcoming spring solemn holiday, the Slavs performed a ritual of expelling Death or Winter and threw an effigy of Morana into the water. As a representative of winter, Morana is defeated by the spring Perun, who strikes her with his blacksmith's hammer and casts her into an underground dungeon for the entire summer.

According to the identification of Death with thunder spirits, ancient belief forced these latter to fulfill her sad duty. But since the thunderer and his companions were also the organizers heavenly kingdom, then the concept of Death split into two, and fantasy portrayed it either as an evil creature, dragging souls into the underworld, or as a messenger of the supreme deity, accompanying the souls of deceased heroes to his heavenly palace.
Diseases were considered by our ancestors as companions and assistants of Death.

The Thunder God, a victorious, punishing deity, whose appearance excites fear and awe. Perun, in Slavic mythology, the most famous of the Svarozhich brothers. He's a god storm clouds, thunder and lightning.

He is presented as stately tall, with black hair and a long golden beard. Seated on a flaming chariot, he rides across the sky, armed with a bow and arrow, and slays the wicked.

According to Nestor, the wooden idol of Perun, placed in Kyiv, had a golden mustache on its silver head. Over time, Perun became the patron of the prince and his squad.

Temples in honor of Perun were always built on hills, and the most high place in the area. 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 was how Perun himself designated the best place. In such places no additional idols were placed, and the oak tree, located on a hill, was revered as an idol.

Radegast

Radegast (Redigost, Radigast) is a lightning god, a killer and eater of clouds, and at the same time a luminous guest who appears with the return of spring. Earthly fire was recognized as the son of Heaven, brought down as a gift to mortals, by fast-flying lightning, and therefore the idea of ​​an honored divine guest, a stranger from heaven to earth, was also connected with it.

Russian villagers honored him with the guest's name. At the same time, he received the character of a guardian god for every foreigner (guest) who came to someone else’s house and surrendered under the protection of local penates (i.e., hearth), the patron god of merchants who came from distant countries and trade in general.
The Slavic Radigost was depicted with the head of a buffalo on his chest.

Svarog is the creator god of earth and heaven. Svarog is the source of fire and its ruler. He creates not with words, not with magic, unlike Veles, but with his hands, he creates the material world. He gave people the Sun-Ra and fire. Svarog threw a plow and a yoke from the sky to the ground in order to cultivate the land; a battle ax to protect this land from enemies, and a bowl for preparing a sacred drink in it.

Like Rod, Svarog is a creator god, he continued the formation of this world, changing its original state, improving and expanding. However, Svarog’s favorite pastime is blacksmithing.

Temples in honor of Svarog were built on hills overgrown with trees or shrubs. The center of the hill was cleared to the ground and a fire was lit in this place; no additional idols were installed in the temple.

Svyatobor

Svyatobor is the god of the forest. Outwardly, he looks like an aged hero, representing an old man of strong build, with a thick beard and dressed in animal skins.

Svyatobor fiercely guards forests and mercilessly punishes those who harm them; in some cases, the punishment can even be death or eternal imprisonment in the forest in the guise of an animal or tree.

Svyatobor is married to the goddess of hunting Devan.

Temples were not built in honor of Svyatobor; their role was played by groves, forests and forests, which were recognized as sacred and in which neither deforestation nor hunting was carried out.

One of the Svarozhichs was the god of fire - Semargl, who is sometimes mistakenly considered only heavenly dog, guardian of seeds for sowing. This (storing seeds) was constantly carried out by a much smaller deity - Pereplut.

The ancient books of the Slavs tell how Semargl was born. Svarog hit the Alatyr stone with a magic hammer, struck divine sparks from it, which flared up, and the fiery god Semargl became visible in their flames. He sat on a golden-maned horse of silver color. Thick smoke became his banner. Where Semargl passed, a scorched trail remained. Such was his strength, but more often than not he looked quiet and peaceful.

Semargl, God of fire and the Moon, fire sacrifices, home and hearth, stores seeds and crops. Can turn into a sacred winged dog.
The name of the God of Fire is not known for certain; most likely, his name is so sacred. Of course, this God does not live somewhere in seventh heaven, but directly among people! They try to pronounce his name out loud less often, replacing it with allegories. The Slavs associate the emergence of people with Fire. According to some legends, the Gods created a Man and a Woman from two sticks, between which a Fire flared up - the very first flame of love. Semargl does not allow evil into the world. At night he stands guard with a fiery sword and only one day a year does Semargl leave his post, responding to the call of the Bathing Lady, who calls him to love games on the day of the Autumn Equinox. And per day Summer Solstice, after 9 months, Semargl and Kupalnitsa give birth to children - Kostroma and Kupalo.

In East Slavic mythology, the god of the wind. He can summon and tame a storm and can turn into his assistant, the mythical bird Stratim. In general, the wind was usually represented in the form of a gray-haired old man living at the edge of the world, in a dense forest or on an island in the middle of the ocean.
Stribog's temples were built on the banks of rivers or seas; they are especially often found at river mouths. The temples in his honor were not fenced off from the surrounding area in any way and were designated only by an idol made of wood, which was installed facing north. He also placed himself in front of the idol big stone, which served as an altar.

In ancient Slavic mythology, this is the unity of the three main essences-hypostases of the gods: Svarog (creation), Perun (law of Rule) and Svyatovit (light).

According to various mythological traditions, Triglav included different gods. In Novgorod of the 9th century, the Great Triglav consisted of Svarog, Perun and Sventovit, and earlier (before the Western Slavs moved to the Novgorod lands) - of Svarog, Perun and Veles. In Kyiv, apparently, from Perun, Dazhbog and Stribog.

The Lesser Triglavs were composed of gods lower on the hierarchical ladder.

Horse (Korsha, Kore, Korsh) is the ancient Russian deity of the sun and solar disk. It is best known among the southeastern Slavs, where the sun simply reigns over the rest of the world. Horse, in Slavic mythology, the god of the Sun, guardian of the luminary, son of Rod, brother of Veles. Not all gods were common among the Slavs and Rus. For example, before the Russians came to the banks of the Dnieper, Horses were not known here. Only Prince Vladimir installed his image next to Perun. But it was known among other Aryan peoples: among the Iranians, Persians, Zoroastrians, where they worshiped the god of the rising sun - Khorset. This word also had a broader meaning - “radiance”, “brilliance”, as well as “glory”, “greatness”, sometimes “royal dignity” and even “khvarna” - special marking by the gods, chosenness.

Temples in honor of Khors were built on small hills in the middle of meadows or small groves. The idol was made of wood and installed on the eastern slope of the hill. And as an offering, a special pie “horoshul” or “kurnik” was used, which crumbled around the idol. But in to a greater extent Dances (round dances) and songs were used to honor Horse.

Chernobog

God of cold, destruction, death, evil; the god of madness and the embodiment of everything bad and black. It is believed that Chernobog is the prototype of the immortal Kashchei from fairy tales. Kashchei is a cult character in Slavic mythology, whose folklore image is extremely far from the original one. Kashchei Chernobogvich was the youngest son of Chernobog, the great Serpent of Darkness. His older brothers - Goryn and Viy - feared and respected Kashchei for his great wisdom and equally great hatred of his father's enemies - the Irian gods. Kashchei owned the deepest and darkest kingdom of Navi - the Koshcheev kingdom.

Chernobog is the ruler of Navi, the god of time, the son of Rod. In Slavic mythology, he is the creator of the world along with Rod and Belbog. Outwardly, he appeared in two forms: in the first, he looked like a hunched, thin old man with a long beard, a silver mustache and a crooked stick in his hands; in the second he was depicted as a middle-aged man of thin build, dressed in black clothes, but, again, with a silver mustache.

Chernobog is armed with a sword, which he wields masterfully. Although he is able to instantly appear at any point in Navi, he prefers to move astride a fiery stallion.

After the creation of the world, Chernobog received Nav - world of the dead, in which he is at the same time a ruler and a prisoner, since, despite all his strength, he is not able to leave its boundaries. The deity does not release from Navi the souls of people who ended up there for their sins, but the sphere of its influence is not limited to Navi alone. Chernobog managed to bypass the restrictions imposed on him and created Koshchei, who is the incarnation of the ruler of Navi in ​​Reality, while the power of God in another world is significantly less than the real one, but still allowed him to spread his influence to Reality, and only in Rule does Chernobog never appear.

Temples in honor of Chernobog were made of dark stones, the wooden idol was completely covered with iron, except for the head, on which only the mustache was trimmed with metal.

Yarilo is the god of spring and sunlight. Outwardly, Yarilo looks like a young man with red hair, dressed in white clothes with a flower wreath on his head. This god moves around the world riding a white horse.

Temples in honor of Yarila were built on the top of hills covered with trees. The tops of the hills were cleared of vegetation and an idol was erected in this place, in front of which a large white stone was placed, which could sometimes be located at the foot of the hill. Unlike most other gods, there were no sacrifices in honor of the god of spring. Usually the deity was worshiped with songs and dances at the temple. At the same time, one of the participants in the action was certainly dressed up as Yarila, after which he became the center of the entire celebration. Sometimes special figurines in the image of people were made, they were brought to the temple, and then smashed against a white stone installed there; it is believed that this brings the blessing of Yarila, from which the harvest will be larger and sexual energy will be higher.

A little about the world order of the Slavs

The center of the world for the ancient Slavs was the World Tree (World Tree, Tree of the World). It is the central axis of the entire universe, including the Earth, and connects the World of People with the World of the Gods and the Underworld. Accordingly, the crown of the tree reaches the World of the Gods in heaven - Iriy or Svarga, the roots of the tree go underground and connect the World of the Gods and the World of people with the underground World or the world of the Dead, ruled by Chernobog, Madder and other “dark” Gods. Somewhere in the heights, behind the clouds (heavenly abysses; above the seventh heaven), the crown of a spreading tree forms an island, and here is Iriy (Slavic paradise), where not only the Gods and ancestors of people live, but also the ancestors of all birds and animals. Thus, the Tree of the World was fundamental in the worldview of the Slavs, its main component. At the same time, it is also a staircase, a road along which you can get to any of the worlds. In Slavic folklore, the Tree of the World is called differently. It can be oak, sycamore, willow, linden, viburnum, cherry, apple or pine.

In the ideas of the ancient Slavs, the World Tree is located on the Buyan island on the Alatyr-stone, which is also the center of the universe (the center of the Earth). Judging by some legends, light Gods live on its branches, and dark Gods live in its roots. The image of this tree has come down to us, both in the form of various fairy tales, legends, epics, conspiracies, songs, riddles, and in the form of ritual embroidery on clothes, patterns, ceramic decorations, painting of dishes, chests, etc. Here is an example of how the Tree of the World is described in one of the Slavic folk tales, which existed in Rus' and tells about the extraction of a horse by a hero-hero: “... there is a copper pillar, and a horse is tied to it, there are pure stars on the sides, the moon is shining on the tail, the red sun is in the forehead...”. This horse is a mythological symbol of the entire universe.