Slavic and Greek-Roman Mythology, Comparative Mythology

Abstract

Mythology (μυθολογία), as a field of scientific research, is a set of stories, mythos in Greek meaning ‗story' or ‗legend' and logos ‗word'. Usually, the myths are works of literature. The term mythology may include all the myths of religion or culture. Throughout history, these stories have circulated as works of literature, folk tales (ballads, odes, songs, songs of bravery) or based on historical sources written at different ruler's courts or monasteries. In this paper I will present a number of similarities between Greek and Roman deities and the slavic ones, basing my research as much as possible on the information provided by an etymological analisys, a description of the deity as well as rituals, offerings, sacrifices and celebrations dedicated to the deities. As a main source for Slavic deities, I used a compilation of medieval and religious texts written in the Kievan

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20
Slavic and Greek-Roman Mythology, Comparative Mythology
Mihai DRAGNEA
PhD Student, University of Bucharest
E-mail: terra_mater_2007@yahoo.com
Abstract. Mythology (μυθολογία), as a field of scientific research, is a set of stories, mythos in
Greek meaning ‗story‘ or ‗legend‘ and logos ‗word‘. Usually, the myths are works of literature. The term
mythology may include all the myths of religion or culture. Throughout history, these stories have
circulated as works of literature, folk tales (ballads, odes, songs, songs of bravery) or based on historical
sources written at different ruler's courts or monasteries.
In this paper I will present a number of similarities between Greek and Roman deities and the slavic
ones, basing my research as much as possible on the information provided by an etymological analisys, a
description of the deity as well as rituals, offerings, sacrifices and celebrations dedicated to the deities. As
a main source for Slavic deities, I used a compilation of medieval and religious texts written in the Kievan
Rus' by monk Nestor, called the Russian Primary Chronicle or Nestor's Chronicle. This script presents
Russian history and Kievan Rus between 850-1110 years, written in Kiev during Iziaslav Sviatopolk the
second's (Grand Prince of Kiev 1093-1113) reign. The Chronicle is German-Scandinavian inspired, since
the Prince Sviatopolk's (the principality's ruler) policy was pro-Scandinavian. Also, I could list following
volumes: Dictionary of Slavic mythology by Ilie Danilov and Slavic mythology by Sorin Paliga. In
addition to these works, information about Slavic mythology can be found in the following books:
History of religious beliefs and ideas by Mircea Eliade, Slavic mythology by Anca Ionescu Irina,
Dictionary of General Mythology by Victor Kernbach and Teodor Eugen Sorin, Linguistics and
Archaeology of the early Slavs and Another view of the Lower Danube by Sorin Paliga. The remaining
materials are presented in the bibliography. In Greek mythology, Homer and Hesiod are the main
narrative sources. As reference materials I will use the following volume: Sources for Greek Religion de
David G. Rice & John E. Stambaugh and the book Dictionary of Roman-Greek mythology: gods, heroes,
myths by Zoe Petre, Alexandra Liţu, Cătălin Pavel Cristian Olariu, Florica Mihuţ-Bohîlţea, Alexandra
Ţârlea.
Key words: Slavic mythology, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Paganism, Kievan Rus'
Comparative mythology
At the head of the Slavic pantheon, is
‗Supreme God‘, ‗The higher‘ or God (Бог, Bog),
the generic name for the supreme deity for slavs
‗the rich‘, ‗the powerful‘. It should be noted
however, that this name is just an epithet that
could be attributed to several gods, depending
on the hierarchy (eg Greater Perun, Svarog the
Greater). This term has Indo-European origins
being also found in the ancient Iranians
language, as the bay, a word which means ‗god‘
and represents a ‗god‘ who is offering, gracious,
generous and strong. Procopius and Helmold
tells us that the Slavs belief system is
hierarchical, subordinating other gods to the
Supreme God. At Helmold the function of
‗supreme god‘ of the Baltic slavs tribes is
occupied by Svantevit and for the Eastern Slavs,
Perun. Linguists believe that the word ‗bogat‘ is
derived from this ancient Indo-European root (
1
).
(
1
) Sorin Paliga 2008, 29.
The term refers specifically to the god Perun.
About Zeus we discover that he is given the
royal honor as ‗the one who divides wealth
amog people‘ and ‗the one who watches over
mortals‘ (
2
). When they pray to God, the Slavs
invoke him by the name of Bog which is not the
same as the Judeo-Christian Jehovah. Under this
term of Bog, the old Slavs made reference to the
god Perun. The term of Zeus, in terms of
etymology, defines and ranks his generation on
the top level of the Greek pantheon. Zeus is
accompanied by the appellative Dyaus pitar-
Zeus pater from Sanskrit translated to ‗heavenly
Father‘ (
3
). The same situation is met in Roman
mythology, where Jupiter has the appelative
Iovis pater-Deus pater, symbolizing absolute
power over men and gods as ‗heavenly Father‘
(
4
). Like Zeus, Jupiter and Perun, he is described
(
2
) Victor Kernbach 1996, 68.
(
3
) Idem 1983, 776.
(
4
) Idem 1996, 317.

21
as the god of thunder (
1
), lightning and eternal
fire (Ignis aeternus), showing their absolute
power over men and gods alike. Perun was
depicted as a man with an imposing stature, with
hair as silver (the silver head) and a golden
mustache (
2
), also berring on himself a hammer,
a war axe and a bow, which drew arrows made
of lightning. The same vengeful representation
characterizes Zeus (
3
). In Titanomahia, Zeus
descends from Olympus and begins to throw
lightning accompanied by thunder against the
Titans and Giants (
4
). He has the nickname
Keraunos (named after the arcadian word for
lightning) (
5
). In Hesiod‘s Theogony, Zeus is
introduced as handsome, strong and sturdy (
6
),
just like Perun. Jupiter has the nickname Fulgur
which is known as ‗lightning master‘ or
Summanus ‗nocturnal lightning source‘.
7
Perun
is known as ‗the one who brings the rain‘ or ‗the
one who brings the clouds‘, essential for natural
fertilization (
8
). The same attribute is given to
Zeus, ‗the bringer of clouds‘ in Hesiod‘s
Theogony (
9
). In Roman mythology, Jupiter‘s
nickname is Elicius which means ‗rain producer‘
or Vernus ‗the spring rain god‘ (
10
). Any
covenant of the people or any form of oath
which was done in the name of Perun (
11
), just as
in Greek mythology, where Homer tells us in the
Iliad that the vows were made in the name of
Zeus (
12
).
Human sacrifices are in both parties. In
Nestor's Chronicle we learn that Vladimir,
Prince of the Kievan Rus, after raising more
pagan idols in Kiev offered humans as sacrifice
to the gods. Nestor tells us that the Russians
even sacrificed their own children (
13
).
Testimonies about human sacrifices among the
ancient Greeks are in the works of Xenophon
Anabasis (vol.VI) that, according to prophetic
oracle of Delfii, two people were slaughtered on
the altar in honor of Zeus (
14
). Thursday was
considered dedicated to Perun. And, there's
(
1
) Tamara Kondratieva 2000, 34.
(
2
) Cronica lui Nestor 1935, 80.
(
3
) Roger. D. Woodard, 89.
(
4
) Victor Kernbach 1996, 275.
(
5
) Idem 1983, 777.
(
6
) N. A. Kun 1964, 10.
(
7
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 317.
(
8
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 185-186.
(
9
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 276.
(
10
) Ibidem 317.
(
11
) Cronica lui Nestor 1935, 50.
(
12
) David G. Rice, John E. Stambaugh 2009, 85.
(
13
) Cronica lui Nestor 1935, 80.
(
14
) David G. Rice, John E. Stambaugh 2009, 84.
Perun's day celebrated on 21 June (
15
). In the
case of Jupiter, under the appellation of
Summanus, has a ceremony dedicated on June
20 in his temple (
16
). After Perun's victory
against the enemy (probably Veles) the waters
of the world are set free and rain starts pouring.
In Greek mythology, Zeus has the Eleutherios
epithet, which would translate as ‗liberator‘ (
17
)
that took the sky to himself, giving the waters to
his brother Poseidon and the earth to Hades.
Among the Slavonic chronicles we find that the
oak is Perun's holy tree, which is similar to the
Greek mythology, where the choice location of a
temple to Zeus was conditioned by an oak,
which is said to have the nest of a black dove
(
18
).
That the oak was considered the sacred
tree of Zeus we find out from Athenaeus in the
work Deipnosophists (book XI), where a certain
Lykaios, priest of Zeus, is dedicating a sacrifice
to the god, using an oak (
19
). Procopius of
Caesarea tells us that the Russians, reaching
Constantinople, on the island of St. George,
have worshiped an enormous oak to which they
offered sacrifices. In Ukraine, in Zaporoje
(Запоріжжя), an oak tree is photographed being
6 m wide and a few centuries old. Researchers
support the idea that it is a sacred oak. An old
tradition says that once with the first spring
thunder one must lean back on an oak to prevent
back pains. The ox is Perun's sacred animal,
being used to plough fields by the ancient Slavs.
In the late sixth century Byzantine
Procopius of Caesarea in his work, The fights
with the Goths, wrote about the Slavs, wrote (
20
):
‘They believe that only the god himself, the
creator of lightning, is lord of all and they bring
oxen to sacrifice ...’.
In Greek mythology, Bouphónia ‗the
killing of the bull‘ is a ritual of supreme
sacrifice. During the annual celebration
Bouphónia an ox was sacrificed, which was then
stuffed and yoked to a plow. The priest fled, and
the knife was thrown into the sea (
21
). This ritual
took place on the Acropolis, at the shrine of
Zeus Polieus (
22
). It is known that cattle were the
equivalent of wealth in archaic societes such as
(
15
) Gavrilov, D.A., Nagovitsyn A.E., 2002, 94.
(
16
) Zoe Petre, Alexandra Liţu, Cătălin Pavel (eds.)
2001, 248.
(
17
) N. A. Kun 1964, 13.
(
18
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 375.
(
19
) David G. Rice, John E. Stambaugh 2009, 101-
102.
(
20
) Eugenio R. Luján 105-106
(
21
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 94.
(
22
) Ibidem 374.

22
the Indo-Europeans. It is said that the man who
died struck by lightning, was considered
fortunate, being called to heaven by the god
Perun, who would forgive all of his mortal sins.
This can also be found in Greek mythology,
where according to a divine punishment, Semele
is struck with lightning by Zeus (
1
). After the
Christianization of the Slavs, the cult of Perun
was associated with that of the Holy Prophet
Ilie, the one who ‗Rode madly with a chariot of
fire through the sky‘ and punished his enemies
with lightning (
2
). In Roman mythology, Jupiter
Jupiter descends from the Capitol in a chariot
drawn by four horses (
3
).
The next god as importance in Slavic
mythology is Veles (Велес, Weles in Polish),
who was also called Volos (Волосъ) (
4
). To
better understand the domestic character of God
we must remove the root skot which means
‗domestic animals‘ or ‗cattle‘, especially in its
negative meaning. With the migration of Indo-
Europeans, the word ‗skoy‘ was synonymous
with wealth and abundance, being very well
represented in Rig Veda. By the Middle Ages,
the Russians have the word ‗skot‘ meaning
‗home‘ but also ‗wealth‘, ‗fortune‘ or ‗money‘.
For the Slavs, he was the god who brings wealth
and prosperity (
5
), considered ‗the god of herds‘
(
6
) and animals (
7
). Veles is also the god
protector of farmers, people were worshiping
him to gain an increase in farm yields (
8
). In
Greek mythology, Hermes the Arcadian appears
as a pastoral god, protector of flocks and herds
(
9
). Also Hermes brings luck to merchants
dividing money and wealth among people.
10
Mercury is also the patron of merchants in
Roman mythology (
11
).
A.N.Veselovskii believes that the name of
Veles is related to the ancient Slavic cult of the
dead, that of the deceased soul. He does an
etimological parallel between Slavs and Baltic
tribes by the Lithuanian term ‗welis: which
means ‗dead‘ or ‗welci‘ which would mean
‗dead souls‘. A Lithuanian version of Veles is
Velinas, which is found in the Baltic culture as
the creator of reptiles, black birds (raven, crow)
(
1
) Ibidem 138.
(
2
) B.A. Rybakov 1981, 272
(
3
) Sir James George Frazer 1922, 152.
(
4
) Sorin Paliga, Eugen S.Teodor 2009, 219.
(
5
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 251.
(
6
) Cronica lui Nestor 1935, 50.
(
7
) Ibidem 77.
(
8
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 253.
(
9
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 264.
(
10
) N. A. Kun 1964, 45.
(
11
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 252.
and wolves, just as Odin, where he is surrounded
by fighters‘ souls‘ einherjar. The link between
birds and wolves is primordial, symbolizing
death and liaising between the two worlds: the
earthly and after death. The wolf symbolizes the
struggle and courage and the raven symbolizes
wisdom. A celebration of the dead in Lithuanian
mythology is called Velia. Velos word (plural
Velia ‗feast of the dead‘) derives from the Vails
‗dead souls‘. The divinity named Veliona is
invited to take part in the ‗dead feast‘ (alms)
from an old Lithuanian ritual. If we were to
admit that Veliona appears as a goddess in
Lithuanian mythology, closely linked to that of
the Slavs, this theory could be correct (
12
).
Veles appears to us as a god of water, with a
htonic character dealing with scams, being the
bitter enemy of Perun (see Loki and Thor) but
also as a wizard. Some Russian historians
studying ancient Slavic mythology believe that
the universal role of Veles is the ‗bond‘ between
the world of the living and the world of the
dead, with a role of guiding souls (
13
). In ancient
Greek world, Hermes was the messenger of the
gods and his role was to guide the souls of men
who had to reach the underground kingdom of
Hades (
14
). Mercury of the Romans was also a
guide for the souls of those who arrived in the
underground world of Pluto (
15
).
Before Vladimir cristianized the Russian
people, the seven statues of the primordial gods
of Eastern Slavs mythology, were found in large
urban centers of the Kievan Rus‘, especially in
Kiev. Interestingly, the statue of Veles is one of
the seven who are not on the sacred hill of Kiev,
but somewhere in the plain, close to the market.
From here was concluded that Veles was also a
patron of trade, protector of merchants (
16
). The
Greek‘s, Hermes also appears as a protector of
trade and traders worldwide (
17
). In Roman
mythology, Mercury is presented as the god of
commerce, patron of merchants and thieves.
Veles was considered the ‗god of poetry‘ as an
attribute for the value of its intellectual
explanation. Hermes was considered the ‗patron
of writing‘ and had a holiday dedicated to him:
Hermania, giving him an intellectual tone (
18
).
Hors God (Chors, in the Iranian Scythians
Khursun language) represents the Sun (
19
). His
(
12
) Algirdas Julien Greimas 1997, 57-58
(
13
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 252.
(
14
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 265.
(
15
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 253.
(
16
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 729.
(
17
) Ibidem 205.
(
18
) Ibidem 265.
(
19
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 106.

23
name is recorded in the Chronicle of Nestor.
Meaning of the word is ‗moving‘, ‗respect‘,
‗ongoing‘. Iranian xorsed means ‗sun‘, hence the
name of a Persian dynast Khores (
1
) which has
the same meaning ‗sun‘ (
2
). Hors appears as a
young beautiful, with golden hair, curled (
3
).
The name can mean god and ‗shine‘ in Persian
xurset ‗sun shining‘ or ‗grandeur‘ and can be a
divine model to follow for any pre-Christian
Slavic world dynast. Hors was the god of
sunlight, the yellow solar disk.
4
Available
sunlight and the name of god are played by
many words horoshii (good), pohoroshet '(to
improve), prihoroshivatisya (to arrange, to
adorn, dress style), and horovod (dance), horom
(in chorus). In many nations, cuvânul horo
means ‗gold record‘, ‗circle‘ or ritual dances,
urano-solar nature. Hence the name in a circle
dance called the hora. Even the town of Korsun
wear Horsun last name in honor of the god of
sunlight. It is possible that region Kherson
Herson, (Херсон) in Ukraine today, bear the
name of god.
In Greek mythology, Apollo is the
representative of generation seconds Olympians
appears as a god of sunlight, which is assigned
the symbol of the purity of sunlight, Phoibos.
5
By the description of Apollo ‗the golden haired‘
we understand the divine emanation or sunlight.
6
sunlight.
6
The protective character of the god
confirms that Apolon is a deity positive to help
people in need. After killing the dragon Python,
Apollo buried the corpse of the monster in the
place that would be built later famous oracle at
Delphi, where people were prophesied the
wishes of Zeus, father of Apollo (
7
). It is said
that the god Hors is defeated by the Black God,
but he revives, being worshiped by the ancient
Slavs as a god of healing, survival, triumph
against diseases and weakness, considered a
‗master herbs.‘ So the god is presented as a wise
medicine man. Of Apollon we learn that one of
her states is Apollo Medicus (
8
), the physician.
Dažbog (Dazhbog, Dazbog, Dazhdbog,
Dabog, Dajbog, Dadzbóg, Dadźbóg) is another
important god, worshiped by the time of Prince
Vladimir ruler of the Kievan Rus (
9
). Dažbog
(
1
) The old Persian name of the latin version Cyrus
was Kūruš-Khores.
(
2
) B.A. Rybakov 1981, 280-281.
(
3
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 106.
(
4
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 275.
(
5
) Ibidem 61
(
6
) N. A. Kun 1964, 27.
(
7
) Ibidem 29.
(
8
) Victor Kernbach 1996, 242.
(
9
) Anca Irina Ionescu 2000, 92.
appears under the name of Radegast in the case
of the Baltic Slavs. He is a solar god (
10
)
representing fertility, male power (
11
) and is
considered the ancestor of the slavs. This is
confirmed by the apostle of Pskov, in the XIV
century. As a common element, the Greek
Helios, we have solar deity status (
12
). Helios
appears as a solar, pre-Olympian god, having an
image of a young beautiful and powerful symbol
of fertility (
13
). The slavs believed Dažbog ran
across the sky in a war chariot drawn by four
beautiful white horses with golden wings.
Sunlight came from the solar fire shield, which
Dažbog always bears with him. At night,
Dažbog wanders the sky from East to West
illuminating the earth with his divine glory.
Twice a day, morning and evening, he crosses
the great ocean with a boat pulled by some
geese, wild ducks and swans. Therefore the old
Slavs gave a special power to charms in the
shape of a duck with horse head. They believed
that Dažbog (Sun) will help them wherever they
are in the Old World or the Dark World. In the
times of pagan Russia, killing a Swan was
forbidden on the grounds that it is a sacred
animal. In Greek mythology, Helios crosses the
sky daily in a chariot drawn by four horses:
Pyroeis, Eous, Aethon and Phlegon (
14
). Of
Apollon, we learn that he traveled to Delphi and
Hyperborea in his chariot drawn by snow white
swans (
15
). Vladimir Toporov believes that the
Khors (Khorsun) epithet is an Iranian version
and that Dažbog is the Slavic or Slavicized
version. Dažbog can be compared by some
people with Apollo, representing the power of
the fruits and solar heat. Russian historian Boris
Ryabakov believes that Hors is the god of the
sun and that Dažbog would only be the solar
power of Hors.
Stribog (Stribozh, Strzybog, Стрибог) is
the god and also the spirit of wind, storm (
16
),
air, ice, cold and the sky, having a divine,
Uranian character. After the old Slavic tradition,
he would be the ‗father of the eight wind
directions.‘ He is linking the Sky (Realm of the
Gods) and the Earth (Land of Men) and his own
destiny defines the link between the two worlds.
Some historians believe that the origin of
Stribog's name is related to the old Slavic word
‗strga‘ meaning to scatter ‗or‘ stretch ‗. The
(
10
) Sorin Paliga, Eugen S.Teodor 2009, 220.
(
11
) Anca Irina Ionescu 2000, 93.
(
12
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 193.
(
13
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 258.
(
14
) Bernard Evslin, Ned Hoopes 1966, 71.
(
15
) N. A. Kun 1964, 31.
(
16
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 656.

24
Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great
Russian Language by Vladimir Dal, we find the
words Stryj (strâi) – ‗paternal uncle‘ and Stryt
'(Strât') where stryvat means ‗to stretch‘, ‗to
destroy‘. Moreover, there are other words that
have the same root with the word stribog -
stremlitelnyi (fast), bystryi (fast), strela (arrow),
prostranstvo (transparency) and strah (fear). The
word can also be explained by Strîi-Bog or
Starîi-Bog (God of the Old); also, the old
Russian radical Strega meaning ‗older‘ (
1
). After
After the old Slavic legend, the wind has several
grandchildren and sons, represented in the form
of lower winds (
2
):
— Posvist (higher wind, the storm god),
— Podoga (hot wind, light, god good season),
— Podaga (hot wind, alluring, living in deserts,
in the South)
— West-wind (a bit dry at times ‗angry‘, but it's
mostly gentle)
— Siverko (North wind, bears from the Arctic
cold, very rough),
— East-wind (is of a sudden, mysterious and
evil).
We establish a connection between these
cardinal winds and their corresponding deities of
Greek mythology. So titanida Eos (Aurora in
Roman mythology), wife of the titan Astraios
(father winds) gave birth to the four winds
(Aνεμοι-Anemoi):
— Notos (south wind, Auster at Romans)
— Zephir (the West Wind, the Roman Favonius)
— Boreas (north wind, the Romans Aquilo)
— Eurus (east wind, the Romans Vulturnus).
Mokoš (Мокошь, Mokoş) is the only
female deity of primordial gods of the seven
series of the eastern Slavs. In the Slavic
pantheon in the time of Vladimir she appears as
the only goddess (
3
). The goddess is worshiped
for good harvests, and is considered the
protector of the household, bringing harmony
between family members, through love, wisdom
and temperance establishing a balance essential
for a happy home. In the Greek mythology, Hera
(Juno to the Romans), under the appellation
Telea, fulfills marriage and virginity prior to
legitimate marriage, wearing at Hermione the
epiclesa Parthenos (Virgin) (
4
). In Roman
mythology, Jupiter's wife is Juno also named
Queen of Heaven (Regina Ivno), protector of
(
1
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 224.
(
2
) Ibidem 225.
(
3
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 16.
(
4
) Zoe Petre et alii 2001, 195.
women, patron goddess of wives and mothers
(Juno Matrona) (
5
).
Mokoş is ‗the goddess who spins wool‘
often represented with anthropomorphic
deformities (large head and long arms) (
6
). She
protects, respects and legislates women's work,
especially handmade objects. In Olympia, where
the temple of Zeus and Hera is situated, once
every four years, with the large opening
celebrations dedicated to Zeus, Hera celebrates
women in response to the great celebration of
the Olympics which were exclusively male. She
receives a cow as a sacrifice and her statue is
dressed with a new peplos woven by 14 married
women (
7
). Mokoş is ‗the one who toil fate‘ or
‗the one who knotted fate‘, meaning she is a
goddess of fate and destiny (
8
). Among the
Greeks, Hera also has the power to bind and
unbind marriages (
9
).
Svarog (Сварог, Polish Swaróg) is the
god of fire (
10
), a solar deity, which is
represented by heavenly light (Sun Eternal) (
11
),
in a cyclic form, the symbol of the Slavonic
swastika, known as Коловрат (Kolovrat). It
seems that the God had a specific fire-
worshiping cult, representing a spirit as eternal
fire (
12
). Fire symbolizes eternal flame immortal
spirit with a purifying. Svarog represents the
hearth fire people (
13
) who help prepare food,
vital for human existence and material-fire in the
furnace where weapons and tools are
manufactured (
14
). This is similar to the Greek
Hephaestus or Vulcan of the Romans. In Greek
mythology, Hephaestus is called ‗blacksmith‘,
the absolute symbol of metallurgy (
15
). In his
honor, the island of Lemnos, is dedicated to this
god, once a year all fires were extinguished
without being lit during sacrifices. Then, a ship
brought ‗the new fire‘ from the island Pelosi to
ignite the fire in the hearths and furnaces (
16
). In
Roman mythology, Vulcan is also called
Mulciber (blacksmith of the gods) (
17
).
Another female deity in Slavic mythology
is Lada. She appears as a goddess of love and
(
5
) Florence Noiville 2006, 9.
(
6
) Anca Irina Ionescu 2000, 100.
(
7
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 196.
(
8
) Sorin Paliga, Eugen S.Teodor 2009, 221.
(
9
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 196.
(
10
) Sorin Paliga, Eugen S.Teodor 2009, 222.
(
11
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 659.
(
12
) Anca Irina Ionescu 2000, 104.
(
13
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 227.
(
14
) Anca Irina Ionescu 2000, 105.
(
15
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 222.
(
16
) Ibidem 223.
(
17
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 366.

25
summer, harvests, protector of lovers, couples,
marriage and families, women and children. The
goddess is depicted as a woman in the prime of
life, full-bodied, mature symbol of motherhood.
As etymology, LAD in Czech means ‗harmony‘,
‗understanding‘, ‗order‘. Ladny means
‗graceful‘, ‗cute‘ LAD in Polish means ‗order‘,
‗Polity‘ ladny ‗beautiful‘, ‗cute‘ (
1
). In Russian
folk songs, pre-Christian Slavic mythology
lyrical relics, the name of the goddess of love,
marriage and marital harmony, became a
common noun to mean ‗close‘, ‗love‘ is used as
a diminutive epithet for jena ‗wife‘, ‗woman‘.
Lado its male counterpart means ‗devoted
spouse‘ (
2
). The Greek Aphrodite appears as a
goddess of beauty, love, attraction and sexuality
(
3
). As Pandemos, Aphrodite is the guarantee of
public tasks and protector of peaceful relations
between citizens (
4
). She planted love in the
hearts of all gods and men. She is represented as
a tall woman, slender, with delicate features,
with a wave of golden hair, placed as crown on
her glamorous head. The goddess is the
embodiment of divine beauty and eternal youth
(
5
). Aphrodite gives happiness to those who
serve with faith. A certain Pygmalion brings to
the goddess an offering of a white heifer with
horns covered with gold, asking Aphrodite to
give him a beautiful wife as the statue made by
him (
6
). Among the Romans, Venus is the
goddess of vegetation and fertility, with the
same attributes as Aphrodite (
7
).
Iarilo (Ярило, Јарило; Jaryło Polish,
Croatian: Jura, Juraj, Serbian: Đorđe ‗George‘)
is the god of light and spring storms, which
embodies the fertilizing power of Perun. It is the
symbol of spring heat, being represented as a
young impetuous like the storms of spring,
dominated by his erotic passions. He roams the
sky riding a white horse, wearing a white robe.
The head has a braided wreath of spring flowers.
Etymologically, the radical iar in the Slavic
languages, means ‗male power‘, ‗virility‘ (
8
).
His counterpart in Greek mythology, Eros
(Cupido in Roman mythology), personifies a
desire born of chaos, symbolizing maddening
love and carnal pleasures (
9
). The son of
Aphrodite, he is the messenger of his mother.
(
1
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 137.
(
2
) Ibidem 138.
(
3
) Zoe Petre et alii (eds.) 2001, 33.
(
4
) Ibidem 36.
(
5
) N. A. Kun 1964, 51.
(
6
) Ibidem,54.
(
7
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 730.
(
8
) Ilie Danilov 2007, 110.
(
9
) Victor Kernbach 1983, 197.
Eros appears as a child frisky, cheerful, cunning
but cruel sometimes. He flies on his golden
wings, sending arrows bearing joy and
happiness (
10
).
Conslusions
I would like to say that in this paper I tried
to show as much as the documents I have
allowed me to present common elements
between the pre-Christian Slavic pantheon‘s
main deities and their correspondents in the
Greco-Roman mythology. You can see the
common elements in the three Indo-European
belief systems: Slavic, Greek and Roman. On a
religious level, we can say that Slavs had a
similar mythological Greek or Roman
polytheism because of the lack of information
the only accurate sources are themedieval
chronicles, which in turn contain data either
reduced or altered because the information is
influenced by the Christian propaganda used by
the authors. One should not confuse some
mythological or religious system, with some
popular traditions, even if these traditions can be
a set of popular beliefs. Restoring a religious
pantheon based on traditions and popular
sources may have a different result from the
same pantheon reconstruction based on
historical sources, whether using chronicles or
any other literary documents. But we admit that
on the popular level, some pagan religious
traditions and customs have survived. At
present, we can not build a Slavic pantheon in
Greek and Roman pantheon model, but rather a
‗barbaric‘ one, similar to the Scandinavian,
Baltic and Celtic. This is possible due to the
common Indo-European elements that define a
unique character and unity of religions found
among the Aryan peoples. Due to a relatively
lower level of development of the Nordic
Europeans, the Greeks and Romans of the south,
and because of their cruel Christianization
campaigns, data on the ‗mythology‘ of the
Slavic, Scandinavian, Baltic and Celtic, peoples
is reduced. It is important to note that all Nordic
peoples (Germanic, Celtic, Baltic, Prussian,
Slavs and Thracians) had a developmental focus
of popular culture in a, rural, rustic ‗barbaric‘
style to developing what the Greco-Roman
produced on a literary, architectural, social
development axis where the engine was
represented by the cities. This can be
demonstrated by several theories. One of them is
the fact that the Slavs, like the Nordic peoples,
drank mead an alcoholic drink made from
(
10
) N. A. Kun 1964, 59.

26
fermented honey and called it medovukha.
Another theory is the belief in a supreme god of
the Slavs who owns sky and controls lightning
(Perun). This is present in almost all Indo-
European beliefs. The Germans have it on Thor
and Donar, the Celts and Gauls have Taranis or
Ambisagrus, Loucetios, in the Balkan the
Thracians have Zibelthiurdos, in Dacia –
Gebeleizis, in Albania – Perëndi, Perkūnas in
the case of the Lithuanians, Latvians have
Pērkons, Prussians have Perkūns, the Hittites
have Teshub, the Romans have Jupiter and the
Greeks have Zeus. In the Greco-Roman, Indo-
European character of Zeus/Jupiter was outlined
in an archaic time, long before the birth of
‗civilization‘ being heavily influenced by the
‗barbarian‘ neighbors.
Another key feature of the Indo-European
religion is the policefalia of some deities. The
existence of policefalia in Slavic religion, where
they have the Triglav and Svantevit confirms
that the Slavs had an Indo-European religion.
Like the god Svantevit, whose idol was
represented with four heads suggesting the four
cardinal points and could read the future, so was
the god Janus in the Roman mythology, and
Typhon and Hecate in the Greek one, Brahma in
Hinduism, or the giant Þrúðgelmir in the
Scandinavian mythology. Human sacrifice is
another common feature of Indo-Europeans. The
Slavs, along with the deceased, sacrificed his
wife if he was a peasant or a slave if he was a
noble.
The ancient Slavic language was founded
on a Balto-Slavic background with elements
from western Iran, Thracian-Dacian and
German. For example, the South Slavs use
archaic Romanian words of Thracian origin.
This patern of linguistical interferences is
applied even in the religious plan. The
hypothesis of work mentioned can help to
distinguish the local Slavic deities from the
foreign ones. As an explanation, we can say that
the name and significance of local deities of the
Slavs can be ‗translated‘ through the usual terms
of the modern Slavic languages.
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