A Primer on Russian Mythology for Mahwah High School's English Department

2. The Egg
 Symbol of life
 Female cell in which embryo is
formed
 Colorful eggs are the symbol for
Easter
 This custom especially popular in
Russia
 Many egg references in Russian
mythology
 The universe was formed from an
egg
 Egg rolled into water and broke in
half
 Lower half – Earth
 Upper half – Sky

3. Major Gods/People
 Perun
 Koshchei the Deathless
 Eastre
 Zaria
 Veles
 Morana

4. Perun
 Thunder god
 Overseer of right and
order
 Actions are perceived by
the senses
 Sight – thunder bolt
 Sound – rattle of stones
 Touch – ax blade

5. Koshchei the Deathless
 Strangest and most
unpleasant person in all
Russian folk tales
 Believes he cannot die
because his “death” or
“soul” is not in his body
 His death is in an
egg, which is inside a
duck, which is inside a
hare (hence “deathless”)

6. Eastre
 Saxon goddess
 Name means “Radiant
Dawn”
 Lady of Spring
 Her name is where we got
the name for the Easter
holiday
 Her sacred animal is the
rabbit

7. Zaria
 Goddess of beauty
 Associated with the
morning
 Water priestess that
protected warriors
 Known to her
worshippers as “the
heavenly bride”

8. Veles/Volos
 God of earth, water,
and the underworld
 Opponent of Perun
 Their battle
constitutes a major
story of Russian
mythology
 The dead watch over
his cattle

9. Morana
 Goddess of
harvest, witchcraft, winter, a
nd death
 Arrival expected with
fear, departure celebrated
 Associated with Mora, a
female demon that caused
nightmares
 Entered homes at night and
tormented people, especially
children

10. Modern Events: New
Mythology Art
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLnOEYXpf-c

11. Modern Events: Modern
Slavic Pagan Feast
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oimyM8XVmmo

12. Modern Events: Legends
of Kiev
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSrl6SiJE-I

13. Characters of Russian
Folklore
 http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=A35EjOy
OjP8

14. Slavic Gods: Slavic Union
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2OEsbwya6o

15. Russian Artwork
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKyZMibNSk

16. Sources
 Koshchei the deathless. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.edline.net/files/_kXAjY_/9a6b9da56c026
d453745a49013852ec4/koshchei_deathless.pdf
 Morana. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://epika.org/house-of-mythology/13-morena
 North-europe realms. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://inanna.virtualave.net/slavic.html
 Perun . (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453296
/Perun

17. Sources
 Slavic mythology (google ebook). eM Publications.
Retrieved from
http://books.google.com/books?id=i7TqYiG9PIgC&dq
=zaria slavic goddess of
beauty&source=gbs_navlinks_s
 Slavic mythology [Web]. (2008). Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKyZMibNSk
 "Veles (god) - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veles_(god)