Svarog
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Svarog (Template:Lang-cu) is a Slavic deity known primarily from the Hypatian Codex, a Slavic translation of the Chronicle of John Malalas. Svarog is there identified with Hephaestus, the god of the blacksmith in ancient Greek religion, and as the father of Dažbog, a Slavic solar deity. On the basis of this text, some researchers conclude that Svarog is the Slavic god of celestial fire, universe and of blacksmithing.
Sources
The only mention of Svarog comes from the Hypatian Codex, a 15th-century compilation of several much older documents from the Ipatiev Monastery in Russia. It contains a Slavic translation of an original Greek manuscript of John Malalas from the 6th century. The complete passage, reconstructed from several manuscripts, translates as follows:
- "(Then) began his reign Feosta (Hephaestus), whom the Egyptians called Svarog … during his rule, from the heavens fell the smith’s prongs and weapons were forged for the first time; before that, (people) fought with clubs and stones. Feosta also commanded the women that they should have only a single husband… and that is why Egyptians called him Svarog… After him ruled his son, his name was the Sun, and they called him Dažbog… Sun tzar, son of Svarog, this is Dažbog."
In the Greek text, the names of gods are Hephaestus and Helios. Apparently, the unknown Russian translator tried to re-tell the entire story (set in Egypt) by replacing the names of classical deities with those that were better known to his readers.[1] It is uncertain to what extent the Greeks gods were thought to resemble their Slavic counterparts.
Furthermore, this passage has raised quite a few theories about family relations between Slavic gods. If one assumes that Svarog was believed to be Dažbog’s father, the question arises of his relation with Svarožič, another deity who is mentioned as a god of fire and war in several other medieval documents describing the beliefs of pagan Slavs.[citation needed] Svarožič is simply a diminutive of Svarog’s name, i.e., "little Svarog", which implies he was considered a child of Svarog.[citation needed] Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov proposed a reconstruction of this mythical genealogy, claiming that Svarog, a deity of fire and the forge similar to the Greek Hephaestus, had two sons: Dažbog, who represented the fire in sky (i.e., the Sun), and Svarožič, who symbolised the flame on earth, in the forge.[1] Henrik Lovmjanjski, however, theorised that Svarog was a Slavic sky god and personification of daylight sky itself, possibly a continuation of Proto-Indo-European *Dyēus Ph2ter, while Svarožič and solar Dažbog were one and the same deity, although he concluded that two other aspects of Svarožič also existed: fiery Svarožič, as in the Sun (mentioned in Russian medieval manuscripts), and lunar Svarožič, associated with the Moon.[2] Franjo Ledić, on the other hand, simply assumed that Svarog and Dažbog are one and the same god.[3]
Eastern Slavic sources also mention Svarožič as a deity, there associated with fire. According to Thietmar of Merseburg, Svarožič (Latinized Zuarasici) was worshipped by a tribe of Ratars in the city of Ridegost (Rethra).[citation needed]
Modern culture
- In neo-paganist religions, Svarog is often the supreme god-creator and the central part of the (holy) trinity Triglav. He completed the creation of the world by giving it Prav.
- Svarog is one of the Goa'uld System Lords in Stargate SG-1.
Notes
References
- Belaj, Vitomir (1998). Hod kroz godinu, mitska pozadina hrvatskih narodnih vjerovanja i obicaja. Zagreb.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Graves, Robert (December 16). New Larousse Encyclopedia Of Mythology (Hardcover ed.). Crescent.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - Ledić, Franjo (1970). Mitologija Slavena. Vol. I. Zagreb.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Lovmjanjski, Henrik (1996). Religija Slovena. Beograd.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Ryan, W. F. (1998). The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia. Magic in History Series (Paperback ed.). Pennsylvania State University Press.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Yoffe, Mark; Krafczik, Joseph (2003). Perun: The God of Thunder. Studies in the Humanities. Vol. 43 (Hardcover ed.). New York, N.Y.: Peter Lang Publishing.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Znayenko, Myroslava T. (1980). The gods of the ancient Slavs: Tatishchev and the beginnings of Slavic mythology (Paperback ed.). Slavica.