After last weekend’s discussion of the Ovinnik, this slightly delayed Slavic Saturday we are doing things a bit differently. I have spent the past week visiting parts of the southwestern United States, particularly hiking in a few national parks, and, though they weren’t the Carpathians, Urals, or Balkans, they got me thinking about the role of mountains in Slavic mythology.
(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.
In these posts, I have talked a lot about the role of forests and agriculture for the early Slavs because the forests and plains were plentiful. The mountains of Eastern Europe, though more isolated to specific regions, also had a major role to play. From dividing tribes and nations to serving as towering examples of the gods’ powers, mountains shaped mythology and culture alike among the early Slavs.
Historically, each Slavic mountain range has carved borders among tribes and nations. Because there are many, I won’t dive into too much except to say if you look at a topographic map of Europe, it becomes obvious why many borders exist today. The Krkonoše split the Czech Republic and Poland, the Carpathians sweep across southern Poland and northern Slovakia to western Ukraine and Romania, and a variety of mountain ranges, including the Balkans, cover much the southern Slavic nations. Living in these regions meant travel, farming, etc. all were impacted by them, and just like forests, people wondered what lay within the dark parts of the mountains.
The most obvious mythological connection to the mountains was the god Perun – god of thunder, justice, and war. While his nemesis, Weles (Veles), ruled the lowlands and the underworld of Nawia, Perun reigned above. When sacrifices and offerings were given to Perun, often they were done in high places because of this. It was also believed that if you wanted to speak to Perun, you should go to a peak to do so.
The early Slavs thought of Perun positively, but there was also an element of fear, as, like the mountains, Perun was a powerful, looming figure. He was god of justice that could punish, war that could ravage, and thunder that could destroy. All of this connects to his position on top of the mountains, watching the tribes below.
As evidence of this role, multiple mountains also have names after the god. One such example is the Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria (though there are other possible sources of the name). There is also Perun Mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Perun Hill in Podstrana, Croatia and many others.
Svarožič is another god connected to the mountains. Particularly in Slovenia, he became a mythical hero as the lesser-known son of Swarog (Svarog) and brother of Dadźbóg. Pictured as a deer with golden antlers, Svarožič was a god of fire, war, and magic, and he lived on a golden mountain, from where he protected his people.
A wide variety of demons and spirits were believed to lurk in the mountains as well. From the Płanetnik/Zduhać that controlled the weather and fought on peaks in Polish and Balkan myths to the Chała/Ala/Woe that caused disastrous storms in particularly Serbian and Bulgarian myths, mountain demons and weather were often related. In addition, the bird-like dragon called the Aspid lurked in the mountains of Russia, and the Liczyrzepa/Krakonoš was a shape-shifting protector of the Krkonoše Mountains in Czech and Polish folktales (as well as German). Many other demons, including the famous Mavka, also were thought to lurk in the shadows of mountains and the valleys beneath.
In my own stories, a large mountain range called “Perun’s Crown” encircles much of the world known to the main characters. It divides the tribes of Krowik and Astiw (the tribes based on Slavic ones) from the dangers to the south and east, but there are powers seeking to change that. Though not much in the first book, the mountains will have a crucial part to play later in The Frostmarked Chronicles, as well as the prequel novella I’m working on this month.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable and as well as some creative freedom for my book series.