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57-547: The name Prenj is derived from Perun , supreme deity of Slavic mythology. Geologically, the Prenj range is part of the Dinaric Alps and formed largely of secondary and tertiary sedimentary rock, mostly limestone and dolomite with notable characteristics of a karst landform. Due to subterranean drainage, Prenj is relatively dry with few water sources, just a few tiny lakes and some smaller streams that source from these mountains:

114-562: A devil-like entity and enemy of the Baltic thunder-god Perkūnas (cf. Slavic Perun ). Scholar Marija Gimbutas cited "related" etymons: Lithuanian veles 'shades of the dead' and Latvian Vels 'god of the underworld', which seem to indicate Veles's connection to the underworld. An ancient Russian word, Vlasezhelische , probably refers to the place where Veles dwells, "the underground kingdom or an entrance to it". The Russian philologists Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov reconstructed

171-468: A historical record of the early Kievan Rus , is the earliest and most important record, mentioning a god named Volos several times. Here, Volos is mentioned as god of cattle and peasants, who will punish oath-breakers with diseases, the opposite of Perun who is described as a ruling god of war who punishes by death in battle. In the later half of the 10th century, Veles or Volos was one of seven gods whose statues Vladimir I of Kiev had erected in his city. It

228-580: A negative role as bringer of chaos, Veles was not seen as an evil god by ancient Slavs. In fact, in many of the Russian folk tales, Veles, appearing under the Christian guise of St. Nicholas , saves the poor farmer and his cattle from the furious and destructive St. Elias the Thunderer, who represents Perun. The duality and conflict of Perun and Veles does not represent the dualistic clash of good and evil; rather, it

285-719: 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 . The Montenegrin surname Peruničić and the Macedonian Перуновски (Perunovski) are derived from Perun. Veles (god) Veles , also known as Volos ,

342-417: A protector of cattle, he became associated with Saint Blaise , popularly known among various Slavic nations as St. Vlaho, St. Blaz, or St. Vlasiy (Armenian: Սուրբ Վլասի; germ: Blasius; fr: Blaise; sp: San Blas; port: São Brás; it: San Biagio; Croat: sv. Blaž; eng: Blase; Greek: Άγιος Βλάσιος). In Yaroslavl , for example, the first church built on the site of Veles's pagan shrine was dedicated to St Blaise, for

399-685: 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

456-426: Is Nicolaus Copernicus . In the classification scheme of Georges Dumézil , Perun was the god of the second function (physical and military power), a god of war , and as such, he was armed with several fantastic weapons. Perun's lightning bolts were believed to be stones and stone arrows . According to folk beliefs, fulgurites , belemnites , and sometimes even the remains of prehistoric stone tools found in

513-517: Is a chimeric being resembling a cross between a bear and a snake that devours livestock. His tree is the willow, while that of Perun is the oak. No direct accounts survive, but reconstructionists speculate that he may directly continue aspects of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon with the original deity Welnos . Veles is one of few Slavic gods for which evidence of offerings can be found in all Slavic nations . The Primary Chronicle ,

570-461: Is a major god of earth, waters, livestock, and the underworld in Slavic paganism . His mythology and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of (among other deities) Odin , Loki and Hermes . According to reconstruction by some researchers, he is the opponent of the supreme thunder god Perun . As such he probably has been imagined as a dragon , which in the belief of the pagan Slavs

627-408: Is hairy in his beastly form (bear, wolf). However, since the early 20th century, since the advent of Proto-Indo-European laryngeal theory, the 'wool' word has been reconstructed as *h 2 wĺ̥h 1 neh 2 . The Proto-Indo-European root *welg- also means 'humid, wet'. Nothing is more connected with Veles than humidity and wetness. His domain is down, 'у воду пот корч пот колоду' ("in the water, below

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684-453: Is not possible to conclusively determine a definite etymology for the name of the god Veles, though there are several Proto-Indo-European roots that are all closely related to the nature of Veles and his domains. Further complicating matters is the presence of Lithuanian vėlės , which Fraenkel claims is unrelated to the Slavic term. Moreover, it remains to be determined what the original shape of

741-407: 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. To this day, the word perun in a number of Slavic languages means "thunder," or "lightning bolt". The Primary Chronicle relates that in

798-441: Is the opposition of the natural principles of earth and water (Veles) against heaven/sky and fire (Perun). The Ivanov/Toporov conception of "the key myth" of Slavic mythology has been criticized by several authors, including Leo Klejn and Igor M. Diakonoff . Many, including Klejn, pointed out that Ivanov and Toporov often tended toward unjustified generalizations and considered many of their arguments "far-fetched". Supporters of

855-403: Is very interesting that Veles' statue apparently did not stand next to others, on the hill where the prince's castle was, but lower in the city, in the marketplace. Not only does this indicate that Veles was connected with commerce, but it also shows that worship of Perun and Veles had to be kept separate: while it was proper for Perun's shrines to be built high, on the top of the hill, Veles' place

912-687: The Vala etymology; he is also similar to the Etruscan underworld monster Vetha and to the dragon Illuyankas , enemy of the storm god of Hittite mythology. The reason for the enmity between the two gods is Veles's theft of Perun's son, wife, or, usually, cattle. It is also an act of challenge: Veles, in the form of a huge serpent, slithers from the caves of the underworld and coils up the Slavic world tree towards Perun's heavenly domain. Perun retaliates and attacks Veles with his lightning bolts. Veles flees, hiding or transforming himself into trees, animals or people. In

969-531: The form of an axe , a fiery four-pointed symbol , oak as the main tree ) 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

1026-478: 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

1083-399: The 12th century Ruthenian epic The Tale of Igor's Campaign , the character of Boyan the wizard is called Veles' grandson. Veles was also believed to be protector of travelling musicians. For instance, in some wedding ceremonies of northern Croatia (which continued up to the 20th century), the music would not start playing unless the bridegroom, when making a toast, spilled some of the wine on

1140-648: The 9th-10th centuries, Perun was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal . 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,

1197-661: The Baščica and the Bijela, tributaries of the Neretva . Notable peaks are Zelena Glava (2115 m), Lupoglav (2102 m), Otiš (2097 m), Herač (2046 m), Osobac (2030 m) and Velika Kapa (2007 m). The Prenj mountains were part of the front line during the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and heavy combat took place in the mountains surrounding the eastern Bijela valley and the slopes above Konjic. Nowadays, Prenj falls almost entirely within

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1254-651: The Danube and Velestovo in Montenegro and also the township of Velestino (Βελεστίνο, today Φέρες), apparently bearing testimony to a Slavic layer in the settlement of Thessaly. Another debatable if not improbable example is the town of Volosko in Croatia , situated on the seashore under the peak of Mount Učka , nicknamed Perun. Among Western Slavs , the name can be principally found in 15th and 16th century Czech records, where it means either dragon or devil . Presumably it

1311-480: The Slavic and Baltic deities. 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,

1368-571: The South Slavic still-living rain rituals Perperuna and Dodola of the couple Perun – Perperuna/Perunika , Lord and Lady Thunder, shared with the neighbouring Albanians , Greeks and Arumanians , corresponding to the Germanic Fjörgynn – Fjörgyn , the Lithuanian Perkūnas /Dundulis – Perkūna , and finding similarities in the Vedic hymns to Parjanya . Perun is strongly correlated with

1425-578: The South Slavs, Russians, and Poles use "вол/vol/wół". Volos can also be a derivation from the same root by Eastern Slavic phonetic laws, now considered the most probable explanation for this phonetic form. Veles is presumed to be or to represent the same figure as Vala , the enemy of the Vedic thunder god Indra . Other scholarship suggests a closer connection to characters of Baltic mythology , such as Velnias , Velns ( Latvian ) or Vėlinas ( Lithuanian ),

1482-658: 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. 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. In the Slavic-Goritsa wrestling,

1539-588: 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. The Finnic peoples had a deity Ukko , which had similar functions and attributes with

1596-452: The end, he is killed by Perun and in this ritual death, whatever Veles stole is released from his battered body in the form of rain falling from the skies. This "storm myth", or "divine battle", as it is generally called by scholars today, explained to ancient Slavs the changing of seasons through the year. The dry periods were interpreted as the chaotic results of Veles' thievery. Storms and lightning were seen as divine battles. The ensuing rain

1653-403: 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

1710-449: The fourth day of the week is dedicated to Perun. In Belov's calendar (1998), Gromovik (Perun's Day) falls on July 23. 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". Moreover,

1767-511: The god of sky , thunder , lightning , storms , rain , law , war , fertility and oak trees. 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 ), horses and carts , and weapons ( hammer , axe ( Axe of Perun ), and arrow ). The supreme god in the Kievan Rus' during

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1824-454: The ground are remains of these weapons. Various Slavic countries also call these deposits "Perun's stones", "thunderbolt stones", "thunderbolt wedges" and "Perun's arrow"; other unrelated names for these include "devil's finger", "God's finger", and "Mother of God finger", and in Lithuania , "Perkun's finger" ( Belemnitida ). These thunderbolt stones were sometimes said to be transferred back to

1881-513: The ground, preferably over the roots of the nearest tree. The symbolism of this is clear, even though forgotten long ago by those still performing it: the musicians will not sing until a toast is made to their patron deity. After the advent of Christianity, Veles was split into several different characters. As a god of the underworld and dragons, he became identified with the Devil . His more benevolent sides were transformed to several Christian saints. As

1938-691: 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

1995-407: The late spring and during the summer. Shrines of Perun were located either on top of mountains or hills, or in sacred groves underneath ancient oaks. These were general places of worship and sacrifices (with a bull , an ox , a ram , and eggs ). In addition to the tree association, Perun had a day association (Thursday) as well as the material association (tin). With the arrival of Christianity,

2052-600: The lemma was in early Slavic, which obfuscates its history and linguistic relationships. One possibility is that the name derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel- , meaning wool. This seems plausible, since in Slavic cosmology Veles in serpentine form is lying in a nest of black wool in the roots of the Tree of the World and Veles is the shepherd of the dead. Volos is also the Russian and Ukrainian word for "hair" and Veles

2109-463: The main peaks have been re-established. One of the peaks of Prenj, Windy Peak, was climbed for the first time in October 2003. It was probably one of Europe's last virgin 2000m peaks. This Herzegovina-Neretva Canton geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Perun In Slavic mythology , Perun ( Cyrillic : Перун) is the highest god of the pantheon and

2166-421: The mythical battle of Perun and Veles through comparative study of various Indo-European mythologies and a large number of Slavic folk stories and songs. A unifying characteristic of all Indo-European mythologies is a story about a battle between a god of thunder and a huge serpent or a dragon . In the Slavic version of the myth, Perun is a god of thunder while Veles acts as a dragon who opposes him, consistent with

2223-844: The name of Perun is also commonly found in South Slavic toponymy. The Bulgarian and Macedonian people believe that the name of the Bulgarian mountain Pirin , one of the highest mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, was named after Perun. Perun is also the name of the hill in Podstrana next to Split, Croatia . There are also places called: Perun (the famous mountain in Bosnia Herzegovina , Vareš ), Perunac, Perunovac, Perunika, Perunička Glava, Peruni Vrh, Perunja Ves, Peruna Dubrava, Perunuša, Perušice, Perudina and Perutovac. The word "Pero" means feather and

2280-471: 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

2337-557: The name of the god of thunder and lightning. From this root comes the name of the Finnish deity Ukko , which has a Balto-Slavic origin. 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 well known

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2394-479: 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. The Bulgarian people believe that

2451-584: The near-identical Perkūnas / Pērkons from Baltic mythology , suggesting either a common derivative of the Proto-Indo European thunder god (whose original name has been reconstructed as *Perkʷūnos ), or that one of these cultures borrowed the deity from the other. The root *perkwu originally probably meant oak , but in Proto-Slavic this evolved into *per- meaning "to strike, to slay". The Lithuanian word "Perkūnas" has two meanings: "thunder" and

2508-517: 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. According to the book Dezionization by Valery Yemelyanov , one of the founders of Russian neopaganism, in

2565-601: 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

2622-401: The shore. Three of Vladimir's sons are also recognized as saints. 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, also embodying spring thunderstorms that fertilize the earth. Slavic neopaganism has two directions: the militant worshipers of Perun and the "nature-like" worshipers of Veles. In

2679-416: The sky by the wind after being under earth for a period of seven years. The weapons of Perun protected against bad luck , evil 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 Slavic folk accounts,

2736-483: 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 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

2793-698: The territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina . Contamination with land mines and unexploded ordnance is a serious threat, especially east of a line that can be drawn from Čelebići to the summit of Zelena Glava and then to the village of Ravni. Former combat positions can be found as high up as the shoulders of Otiš at around 2000 meters. Nevertheless, Prenj is a very attractive destination for climbers and hikers. The peaks bear typical dolomitic features with vertical rock faces, soaring over green alpine valleys and dense mixed forests. Some mountain huts have re-opened (Bijele Vode, Hrasnica) and marked itineraries to

2850-520: The theory, on the other hand, include Boris Uspensky , T. Sudnik and T. Tsivyan, and others. According to Ivanov and Toporov, Veles' portrayal as having a penchant for mischief is evident both from his role in the storm myth and in carnival customs of Koledari shamans. In his role as a trickster god, he is in some ways similar to both Greek Hermes and Scandinavian Loki . He was connected with magic. The word volhov , obviously derived from his name, in some Slavic languages still means sorcerer while in

2907-509: The tree stump and the log"). However, this etymology can be discounted as there is no velar in Veles. There is also the Indo-European word *woltus meaning 'meadow' which is derived from the same root. Accordingly, Veles is the shepherd of the dead who was imagined to browse the deceased on green lush meadows in the underworld. The name is also related to Slavic terminology for oxen, for which

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2964-431: The watery realm lying beneath the roots of the cosmic tree ( axis mundi ). Order thus restored, the two gods cease hostilities until the next time that Veles tries to crawl up into Perun's realm. The myth was cyclical, repeating itself each year. The death of Veles was never permanent; he would reform himself as a serpent who would shed its old skin and would be reborn in a new body. Although in this particular myth he plays

3021-545: The year 6415 (907 AD) prince Oleg ( Old Norse : Helgi) made a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire and by taking his men to the shrines and swearing by their weapons and by their god Perun, and by Volos , the god of cattle, they confirmed the treaty. We find the same form of confirmation of a peace treaty by prince Igor in 945. In 980, when prince Vladimir the Great came to the throne of Kiev , he erected statues of five pagan gods in front of his palace which he soon thereafter discarded after his Christianization in 988. Perun

3078-471: Was chief among these, represented with a silver head and a golden moustache. Vladimir's uncle Dobrynya also had a shrine of Perun established in his city of Novgorod . After the Christianization of 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

3135-693: Was down, in the lowlands. A similar pattern can be observed among the South Slavs . Here the name of Veles appears only in toponyms , the best-known of which is the city of Veles in Macedonia , over which looms a hill of St. Elias the Thunderer. Also, in Bosnia and Herzegovina , a part of Sarajevo is called Velešići and a mountain Velež near Mostar, Herzegovina. Other examples are Veles in Western Serbia, Velesnica on

3192-545: 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 hypostasis was the oak , especially a particularly distinctive or prominent one. In South Slavic traditions, marked oaks stood on country borders; communities at these positions were visited during village holidays in

3249-428: Was the triumph of Perun over Veles and the re-establishment of world order. On a deeper level, as has been said above, Perun's place is up, high and dry and Veles' down, low and wet. By climbing up into the sphere of Perun, Veles disrupts the equilibrium of the world and needs to be put in his place. Perun achieves this in a fierce battle, smiting his adversary with lightning and driving him back down into his proper place,

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