The religion of the Eastern Slavs began to emerge a very long time ago - another 30 thousand years BC. At that time, it still faintly resembled some kind of belief system, since it was just a desire to explain strange things to the supernatural. But with the development of society, the transition to cattle breeding and a settled way of life, it began to acquire great importance.
The culture and religion of the Eastern Slavs is difficult to study. Firstly, not so much information has reached our days. And secondly, the Slavic tribes always existed separately, and each had its own religious views and traditions, which sometimes intersected, but it is very difficult to combine them into a single system.
Religion of the Eastern Slavs: basic information
With the transition to a settled way of life and the organization of community centers, religion became centralized and acquired great significance for the Slavic tribes. The role of the priests was played by the so-called magi, who made sacrifices, took a direct part in fortune-telling and other religious events. It is still unknown who exactly was the head of the temple, but there are speculations that he was the prince, since during the excavation of the princely graves there were discovered many ritual objects: a sacrifice knife, fortunetelling bones, etc.
Yes, the religion of the Eastern Slavs included rituals of sacrifice. As gifts to the gods, they brought food, slaughtered animals, and sometimes the sacrifice was human.
As for idols, they were usually made of wood. Such a statue had the appearance of a wooden pillar with the head of a deity. Idols were placed in the center of the temple so that it could be worshiped.
There is some news of ancient pagan temples. For example, they were divided into temples (places where it was possible to worship the gods) and treasures (places where sacrifices were made). Traditional temples had an oval shape and were located either on the tops of the hills, or in a large meadow in the middle of the forest. The temple was fenced by a rampart and a moat. In the middle was a wooden pillar - the idol of a deity, near which was a pedestal for sacrifice.
Religion of the Eastern Slavs: Pantheon of the Gods
At present, it is very difficult to determine the hierarchy of ancient deities, as different tribes worshiped different gods. In addition, over time, the religion of the Eastern Slavs evolved, but at the same time, new beliefs literally layered on the old.
The religion of the Eastern Slavs in ancient times recognized the god Rod as the head of the pantheon. He defended the human race and helped him in this with the so-called Mothers of God - faceless and nameless goddesses who helped women to housekeeping, bear, give birth and raise children. The representative of women in labor is Lada, who was considered the defender of the hearth.
But over time, Perun became the main god, who is often associated with the Scandinavian god Thor. His symbol was the hammer and ax, he commanded lightning and thunder. Perun was the deity that caused fear, since his strength was unlimited. That is why the ancient warriors tried to gain his favor, since he helped during the war. Perun was a symbol of heavenly power, which constantly fought earthly evil. His main enemy was the Serpent, which combined all the evil of the earth.
In addition, the religion of the Eastern Slavs praised Svarog, who was considered the god of heaven. His sons Yarilo and Stribog were also very important for the ancient peoples. Yarilo was considered the deity of the sun, while Stribog commanded the forces of the wind.
The only goddess of the Slavic pantheon is Makosh, who was the patroness of weaving. It was for her that women brought gifts so that she would not tangle the yarn. They say that sometimes she even spun, helping the housewives.
In addition to the main gods, the ancient Slavs recognized the existence of other, supernatural beings. These were the goblin, mermaids, kikimors, lodges and other representatives of the cult, each of whom was attributed some forces and duties in nature.
It is believed that after the transition of the Slavs to Christianity, pagan cults completely disappeared. In fact, this is completely wrong, since Christians still celebrate some pagan holidays. For example, it was on Christmas Day that the ancient Slavs celebrated Kolyada, and the traditions of this holiday have been preserved to this day. The pagan religion of the Eastern Slavs simply merged with Christianity and in some way exists to this day.