HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
Slavic mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the B ...
, Perun (
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
: Перýн) is the highest
god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
of the
pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
and the god of
sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...
,
thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
,
lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
,
storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
s,
rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
,
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
,
fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
and
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
trees. His other attributes were
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
,
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s,
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
,
iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
,
eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
,
firmament In biblical cosmology, the firmament is the vast solid dome created by God during his creation of the world to divide the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear. The concept was adopted into the subsequent ...
(in
Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, this was joined with the notion of the ''sky of stone''),
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s and
cart A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...
s, and
weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
s (
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
,
axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...
(
Axe of Perun An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
), and
arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
). He was first associated with weapons made of
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
and later with those of
metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
.


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 The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
historian
Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
. 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. To this day the word ''perun'' in a number of Slavic languages means "thunder," or "lightning bolt". The
Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
relates that in the year 6415 (907 AD) prince
Oleg Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...
(
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
: 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 Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
, the god of cattle, they confirmed the treaty. We find the same form of confirmation of a peace treaty by prince
Igor Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...
in 945. In 980, when prince
Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...
came to the throne of
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, he erected statues of five pagan gods in front of his palace which he soon thereafter discarded after his Christianization in 988. Perun was chief among these, represented with a silver head and a golden moustache. Vladimir's uncle
Dobrynya Dobrynya (russian: Добрыня, uk, Добриня) was Vladimir the Great's maternal uncle and tutor. He was the historical prototype of the invincible bogatyr Dobrynya Nikitich in Kievan Rus folklore. Dobrynya's life and extent of his inf ...
also had a shrine of Perun established in his city of
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
. After the Christianization of
Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
, 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 Helmold of Bosau (ca. 1120 – after 1177) was a Saxon historian of the 12th century and a priest at Bosau near Plön. He was a friend of the two bishops of Oldenburg in Holstein, Vicelinus (died 1154) and Gerold (died 1163), who did much to ...
's
Chronica Slavorum The ''Chronica Sclavorum'' or ''Chronicle of the Slavs'' is a medieval chronicle which recounts the pre-Christian culture and religion of the Polabian Slavs, written by Helmold (ca. 1120 – after 1177), a Saxon priest and historian. It describe ...
, 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
Perperuna and Dodola Dodola (also spelled ''Dodole'', ''Dudola'', ''Dudula'' etc.) and Perperuna (also spelled ''Peperuda'', ''Preperuda'', ''Preperuša'', ''Prporuša'', ''Papaluga'' etc.), are Balkan rainmaking pagan customs practiced until the 20th century. The t ...
of the couple ''Perun''–''Perperuna/Perunika'', Lord and Lady Thunder, shared with the neighbouring
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
,
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
and
Arumanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and c ...
, corresponding to the Germanic ''Fjörgynn''–''Fjörgyn'', the Lithuanian ''
Perkūnas Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...
/Dundulis''–''Perkūna'', and finding similarities in the Vedic hymns to ''
Parjanya Parjanya ( sa, पर्जन्य ) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven. Description It is assumed Parjanya is ...
''.


Etymology

Perun is strongly correlated with the near-identical ''
Perkūnas Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...
''/''Pērkons'' from
Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic people stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Baltic region w ...
, suggesting either a common derivative of the
Proto-Indo European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
thunder god (whose original name has been reconstructed as ''*
Perkwunos (Proto-Indo-European: ', 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks') is the reconstructed name of the weather god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. The deity was connected with fructifying rains, and his name probably invoked in times of drought. In a ...
''), or that one of these cultures borrowed the deity from the other. The root ''*perkwu'' originally probably meant ''oak'', but in
Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the Attested language, unattested, linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately ...
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
Ukko Ukko (), Äijä or Äijö ( Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', 'old man'), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology. Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder, ...
, which has a
Balto-Slavic The Balto-Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, traditionally comprising the Baltic and Slavic languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits not found in any other Indo-European bran ...
origin. Artifacts, traditions and toponyms show the presence of the cult of Perun among all Slavic,
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
and Finnic peoples. Perun was also related to an archaic form of
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
– the
Pole star A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, nearly aligned with the axis of a rotating astronomical body. Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude-2 star aligned approximately with its ...
was called Perun's eye and countless Polish and Hungarian astronomers continued this tradition – most known ones are
Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
, and
Franz Xaver von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was a Hungarian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and s ...
.


Myth

In Slavic mythology, much like in Norse and Baltic mythologies, the world was represented by a
sacred tree A sacred tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Greek, Hindu mythology, Celtic and Germanic mythologies. T ...
, usually an oak, whose branches and trunk represented the living world of heavens and mortals, whilst its roots represented the underworld, i.e. the realm of the dead. Perun was the ruler of the living world, sky and earth, and was often symbolised by an eagle sitting on the top of the tallest branch of the sacred tree, from which he kept watch over the entire world. Deep down in the roots of the tree was the place of his opponent, symbolised by a serpent or a dragon: this was Veles, watery god of the underworld, who continually provoked Perun by creeping up from the wet below up into the high and dry domain of Perun, stealing his cattle, children, or wife. Perun pursued Veles around the earth, attacking him with his lightning bolts from the sky. Veles fled from him by transforming himself into various animals, or hiding behind trees, houses, or people; wherever a lightning bolt struck, it was believed that this was because Veles hid from Perun under or behind that particular place. In the end, Perun managed to kill Veles, or to chase him back down into his watery underworld. The supreme god thus reestablished order in the world, which had been disrupted by his chaotic enemy. He then returned to the top of the World tree and proudly informed his opponent down in the roots ''"Well, there is your place, remain there!"'' (Ну, там тваё мейсца, там сабе будзь!). This line came from a Belarusian folk tale. To the Slavs, the mythological symbolism of a supreme heavenly god who battles with his underworldly enemy through storms and thunder was extremely significant. While the exact pantheon characterization differed between the various Slavic tribes, Perun is generally believed to have been considered as the supreme god by the majority, or perhaps by nearly all Slavs, at least towards the end of Slavic paganism. The earliest supreme god was probably Rod; it is unclear precisely how and why his worship as the head of the pantheon evolved into the worship of Perun. Another candidate for supreme deity among at least some Slavs is
Svarog Svarog is a Slavic god of fire and blacksmithing, who was once interpreted as a sky god on the basis of an etymology rejected by modern scholarship. He is mentioned in only one source, the ''Primary Chronicle'', which is problematic in interpret ...
.


Weapons

In the
classification scheme In information science and ontology, a classification scheme is the product of arranging things into kinds of things (classes) or into ''groups'' of classes; this bears similarity to categorization, but with perhaps a more theoretical bent, as cla ...
of Georges Dumézil, Perun was the god of the second function (physical and military power), a
god of war A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
, and as such, he was armed with several fantastic weapons. Perun's lightning bolts were believed to be
stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
and stone arrows. According to folk beliefs,
fulgurite Fulgurites (), commonly known as "fossilized lightning", are natural tubes, clumps, or masses of sintered, vitrified, and/or fused soil, sand, rock, organic debris and other sediments that sometimes form when lightning discharges into ground. ...
s,
belemnite Belemnitida (or the belemnite) is an extinct order of squid-like cephalopods that existed from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous. Unlike squid, belemnites had an internal skeleton that made up the cone. The parts are, from the arms-most ...
s, and sometimes even the remains of prehistoric stone
tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
s found in 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 Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, "Perkun's finger" (
Belemnitida Belemnitida (or the belemnite) is an extinct order of squid-like cephalopods that existed from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous. Unlike squid, belemnites had an internal skeleton that made up the cone. The parts are, from the arms-most to ...
). These thunderbolt stones were sometimes said to be transferred back to the sky by the
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
after being under earth for a period of seven years. The weapons of Perun protected against bad
luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
, evil
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
,
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
, 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, the
golden apple The golden apple is an element that appears in various national and ethnic folk legends or fairy tales. Recurring themes depict a hero (for example Hercules or Făt-Frumos) retrieving the golden apple (symbolism), apples hidden or stolen by a mons ...
appears as a
talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
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
Baltic tribes The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...
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 An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
as the main tree) and the origin of the name (from the PIE root *''perk''). In the modern
Baltic languages The Baltic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 4.5 million people mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. Together with the Slavic lang ...
, 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 (
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n) 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 Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
, also the thunderer. The
Finnic peoples The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...
had a deity Ukko, which had similar functions and attributes with the Slavic and Baltic deities.


Characteristics

Remains of an ancient shrine to Perun discovered in
Peryn Peryn ( rus, Перынь, p=pʲɪˈrɨnʲ) is a peninsula near Veliky Novgorod (Russia), noted for its medieval pagan shrine complex, and for its later well-preserved monastery. Location The Peryn peninsula is at the confluence of Lake Ilmen ...
consisted of a wide circular platform centred around a statue, encircled by a trench with eight
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
s, 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 Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...
of
Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic people stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Baltic region w ...
, 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 hypostasis was the
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, 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 A holiday is a day set aside by Norm (social), custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate ...
in 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 A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...
, an ox, a
ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
, and
eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
). In addition to the tree association, Perun had a day association (Thursday) as well as the material association (tin).


Post-Christian Perun

With the arrival of Christianity, the old gods fared poorly amongst the Slavs. Grand prince
Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...
, who had once been a very vocal and lavish patron of Perun, converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. In 988 he, his family and the people of the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
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. Three of Vladimir's sons are also recognized as saints.


Legacy


Toponyms

Moreover, the name of Perun is also commonly found in South Slavic toponymy. The
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n and Macedonian people believe that the name of the Bulgarian mountain
Pirin , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
, one of the highest mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, was named after Perun. Perun is also the name of the hill in
Podstrana Podstrana ( it, Postrana) is a municipality and settlement in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County. It has a population of 9,129 (2011 census), 97% which are Croats. In the Second World War, the town suffered 131 casualties. Podstrana experience ...
next to
Split, Croatia )'' , settlement_type = List of cities and towns in Croatia, City , anthem = ''Marjane, Marjane'' , image_skyline = , imagesize = 267px , image_caption = Top: Nighttime view of ...
. There are also places called: Perun (the famous mountain in
Bosnia Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
,
Vareš Vareš ( cyrl, Вареш) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is famous for the local m ...
), Perunac, Perunovac, Perunika, Perunička Glava, Peruni Vrh, Perunja Ves, Peruna Dubrava, Perunuša, Perušice, Perudina and Perutovac. 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 Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
'' 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.Radenković, Ljubinko. 2013. “Perunika – Cvet Nebeskog Ili Htonskog sveta?" erman Iris – The Flower from the Heavenly or Chthonian World? ''
Studia Mythologica Slavica ''Studia mythologica Slavica'' is a Slovene academic journal dedicated to ethnology, history, archaeology, linguistics, religious studies, literary history and philosophy in the context of Slavic mythology. Published since 1998 by the Instit ...
'' 16 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, 105-16. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v16i0.1547.
The
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n people believe that the name of city
Pernik Pernik ( bg, Перник ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both banks ...
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 Parndorf ( hu, Pándorfalu, hr, Pandrof) is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the Austrian state of Burgenland. Its original ancient name Perun In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheo ...
(formerly known as Perun) and
Pernitz Pernitz is a town in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. History The origin of the name ''Pernitz'' is the Slavic word ''perenica'', which refers to a stream on which charcoal is used. The Slavic settleme ...
in the
Parndorf Plain Parndorf Plain (german: Parndorfer Platte, hu, Parndorfi-fennsík, Pándorfalvi-fennsík, sk, Parndorfská plošina) also called Parndorf Heath (german: Parndorfer Heide) in the northern part of Burgenland, Austria, at an altitude of 160– ...
, Perná in
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...
, Beroun in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, and
Pernek Pernek is a village and municipality in Malacky District in the Bratislava Region of western Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1394. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 278 metres and co ...
in
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.


Onomastics

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


See also

*
Slavic Native Faith The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...
*
Slavic paganism Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The So ...
*
Axe of Perun An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
*
Horagalles In Sami shamanism, Horagalles, also written Hora Galles and Thora Galles and often equated with Tiermes or ''Aijeke'' (i.e. "grandfather or great grandfather"), is the thunder god. He is depicted as a wooden figure with a nail in the head and wit ...
*
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
*
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
* Veles


References


Further reading

* "Perun, Dieu slave de l'orage". Archéologie, histoire, folklore, by Patrice Lajoye; Lingva (France) (2015) * Borenović, Mirjana. "René Girard’s Scapegoating and Stereotypes of Persecution in the Divine Battle between Veles and Perun". In: ''Bogoslovni vestnik'' heological Quarterly79 (2019) 4. pp. 1039–1052. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34291/BV2019/04/Borenovic * Фатюшина, Н. atyushyna, N "ОБРАЗ БОГА-ГРОМОВЕРЖЦЯ ПЕРУНА В ЯЗИЧНИЦЬКОМУ СВІТОГЛЯДІ ДАВНЬОЇ РУСІ"
he image of the thunder god Perun in the pagan outlook of ancient Russia He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
In: ''Ukrainian Religious Studies''. n. 10 1999. pp. 64–67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32420/1999.10.842 (in Ukrainian) * Graves, Robert: New Larousse Encyclopedia Of Mythology (Hardcover), Crescent (December 16, 1987) * Грузнова, Е. Б. ruznova, E. B. "Новгородский змияка-Перун и его аналоги" he serpent-Perun from Novgorod and his analogies In: ''ROSSICA ANTIQUA''. 2010.1 (1). pp. 108–127. * * Łuczyński, Michał. “Kognitywna Definicja Peruna: Etnolingwistyczna próba Rekonstrukcji Fragmentu słowiańskiego Tradycyjnego Mitologicznego Obrazu świata" ognitive Definition of Perun: An Attempt at Reconstruction of a Fragment of the Traditional Mythological Appearance of the Slavic World In: ''
Studia Mythologica Slavica ''Studia mythologica Slavica'' is a Slovene academic journal dedicated to ethnology, history, archaeology, linguistics, religious studies, literary history and philosophy in the context of Slavic mythology. Published since 1998 by the Instit ...
'' 14 (October). 2011. Ljubljana, Slovenija. 219–230. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v14i0.1611. * Lyle, Emily. "Indo-European Time and the Perun-Veles Combat". In: ''
Studia Mythologica Slavica ''Studia mythologica Slavica'' is a Slovene academic journal dedicated to ethnology, history, archaeology, linguistics, religious studies, literary history and philosophy in the context of Slavic mythology. Published since 1998 by the Instit ...
'' XII. 2009. pp. 147–152. * * Ryan, W. F. "The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia". ''Magic in History Series'' (Paperback). Pennsylvania State University Press. September/1999. * Téra, Michal. ''Perun bůh hromovládce, sonda do slovanského archaického náboženství''. Russia Altera svazek 8, řada Slavica svazek 3, Nakladatelství Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec. 2009. * Znayenko, Myroslava T. "The gods of the ancient Slavs: Tatishchev and the beginnings of Slavic mythology". ''Slavica''. 1980. * Yoffe, Mark; Krafczik, Joseph. ''Perun: The God of Thunder''. Studies in the Humanities V. 43. New York, N.Y: Peter Lang Publishing. 2003


External links


A description of petroglyphs of Perun (Kresnik) in a subterranean Early Slavic shrine in Slovenia

Overview of contemporary shrines and temples dedicated to Perun
{{Authority control Fire gods Nature gods Slavic gods Thunder gods War gods Slovene mythology Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints