Unlike ancient Egyptian and Greek mythologies, ancient Slav mythology does not enjoy a vast following, does not possess extensive research facilities and importantly does not have ancient written relics. It therefore relies heavily on handed-down verbal, anecdotal history.

Like so many ancient peoples, the Slavs were more or less dragged into Christianity by invading forces from the Twelfth Century and records of their former history and beliefs written by their conquerors lack the enthusiasm and possible detail of what may have been recorded had the Slavs been able to keep their own written records. There is an added disadvantage that what “second hand” records exist are recorded in many different languages.

Archaeology has, to a certain extent, removed some of the mystery. Several multi-headed figures have been discovered in shrines in countries now known as Croatia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic giving credence to early Christian written accounts of the Slavic worship of polycephalic (multiple headed) gods.

From various bits and pieces of evidence, it is possible to deduce certain aspects which bind together the ancient Slavic mythologies. The Slav view of the world was as a gigantic tree, with the realm of the dead being at its roots, the world of the living in its trunk and the world of the future (heaven) in its crown. Gods included Perun, god of thunder; Veles, god of horned animals and the twin gods of light and darkness, Byalobog and Chernobog.

Vampires find a history in Slavic mythology with Drekavac the precursor of the infamous Count Dracula of countless nickel and dime horror movies.

Slavic folklore is widespread and varied, with fairy tales of fantastic creatures such as Alkonost, a bird with the face of a woman; Baba Yaga, a witch-like character who flies astride a giant mortar (from where, perhaps, our Halloween broomstick originates?) and Domovoi, a peculiar little hairy character, typically small and mischievous. There is an argument, though, that these creatures, although part of Slavic tradition and history are not part of the mythology, not being religious in character or worshipped as gods.

Slavic nations embrace more than ten modern day countries including Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. In a geographical area so vast it is unsurprising that traditions should vary, anecdotes merge and fact become blurred into fiction and supposition.

A wealth of material concerning the Slavic mythology and folklore can be found at winterscapes.com, a site put together by an enthusiast, which also contains a comprehensive bibliography and list of websites on the subject.