Before the mythology of the Slavs, come the people. To understand an overview of their mythology, it is necessary to break out the complexity of their origins, tribes, and languages.

WENDS

A much older designation in the historical authorities than Slav is the name Wend. It is under this designation that the Slavs first appear in history. The first certain references to the present Slavs date from the first and second centuries. They were made by the Roman writers Pliny and Tacitus and the Alexandrian Ptolemy. Pliny (d. A.D. 79) says (Nat. hist., IV,97) that among them on the other side of the Vistula besides the Sarmatians and others are also the Wends (Venedi). Tacitus (G., 46) says the same. He describes the Wends somewhat more in detail but cannot make up his mind whether he ought to include them among the Germans or the Sarmatians; still they seem to him to be more closely connected with the first named than with the latter.

The Wends or Slavs have had connected with them as old tribal confederates of the present Slavs the Budinoi mentioned by Herodotus, and also the Island of Banoma mentioned by Pliny (IV, 94), further the venetae, the original inhabitants of the present Province of Venice, as well as the Homeric Venetoi, Caesar’s Veneti in Gaul and Anglia. With even more reason, can the old story that the Greeks obtained amber from the River Eridanos in the country of the Enetoi be applied to the Wends or Slavs; from which it may be concluded that the Slavs were already living on the shores of the Baltic in the fourth century before Christ.

Contrary to the popular opinion that Slavs appeared for the first time in written documents in the sixth century of the Christian era. the Alexandrian scholar Ptolemy (about A.D. 100-178) mentioned in his work, “Geographike hyphegesis”, a tribe called Stavani (Stavanoi). He also mentioned another tribe, Soubenoi, which he assigned to Asiatic Sarmatia on the other side of the Alani. According to Safarik these two statements refer to the same Slavonic people. The Venedi appear in the sixth century under the name of Slavs. The name Wend, however, was never completely forgotten.

The question still remains to be answered whether the expression Slavs indicated

originally all Slavonic tribes or only one or a few of them. The reference to

them in Ptolemy shows that the word then meant only a single tribe. Ptolemy

called the Slavs as a whole the Venedai and says they are “the greatest nation”

(megiston ethnos). The Byzantines of the sixth century thought only of the

southern Slavs and incidentally also of the Russians, who lived on the

boundaries of the Eastern Empire. With them the expression Slavs meant only the

southern Slavs; they called the Russians Antae, and distinguished sharply

between the two groups of tribes.

After the reference by Ptolemy the Slavs are first spoken of by Pseudo-Caesarios

of Nazianzum; in the middle of the sixth century Jordanis and Procopius gave fuller accounts of them. Even in the earliest sources the name appears in three forms. The old Slavonic authorities such as Slovene of the country called Slovensko, the language and The Greeks wrote Soubenoi, and the Romans used the terms: Sclaueni,

Wherever a Slavonic tribe rose to greater political importance and founded an independent kingdom of its own, the name of the tribe came to the front and pushed aside the general designation Slav. Where, however, the Slavs attained no political power but fell under the sway of foreign rulers they remained known by the general description Slav. Among the successful tribes who brought an entire district under their sway and gave it their name were the Russians, Poles, Czechs, Croats, and the Turanian tribe of the Bulgars. The Slovenes were of Southern Austria on the Adriatic coast, the Slovaks of Northern Hungary, the province Slavonia between Croatia and Hungary and its inhabitants the Slavonians, and the Slovinci of Prussia on the North Sea. Up to recent times the name was customary among the inhabitants of the most celebrated Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa). Until late in the Middle Ages it was retained by the Slavs of Novgorod in Northern Russia and by the Slavs in Macedonia and Albania. These peoples, however, have also retained their specific national and tribal names.

Jordanis (Get., 34, 35) divides all Slavs into three groups: Veneti, Slavs, and Antae; this would correspond to the present division of western, southern, and eastern Slavs. However, this mention appears to be an arbitrary combination. In another passage he designated the eastern Slavs by the name Veneti. Probably he had found the expression Veneti in old writers and had learned personally the names Slavs and Antae; in this way arose his triple division.

Taken altogether, however, the natural arrangement was not much disturbed, kindred tribes journeyed together and settled near one another in the new land, so that even today the entire Slavonic race presents a regular succession of tribes. As early as the first century of our era individual Slavonic tribes must have crossed the boundaries of the original home and have settled at times among strangers at a considerable distance from the native country.

The Slavs, however, formed the lower strata of the population of Central Europe; all the migrations of the other tribes passed over them, and when the times grew more peaceful the Slavs reappeared on the surface. It is only in this way that the appearance of the Slavs in great numbers in these countries directly after the close of the igrations can be explained without there being any record in history of when and whence they came without their original home being depopulated.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE SLAVONIC PEOPLE

The question as to the classification and number of the Slavonic peoples is a

complicated one. Scientific investigation does not support the common belief,

and in addition scholars do not agree in their opinions on this question. In 1822 the father of Slavonic philology, Joseph Dobrovsky, recognized nine Slavonic peoples and languages: Russian, Illyrian or Serb, Croat, Slovene, Korotanish, Slovak, Bohemians, Lusatian Sorb and Polish. In his “Slavonic Ethnology” (1842) At the present time some eleven to fourteen languages, not including the extinct ones, can be enumerated which lay claim to be reckoned as distinct tongues.

MYTHOLOGY

Jordanian (Get. 34, 35) divides the Slavs into eastern, western, and southern. Following that alignment Alex Fantalov’s dissertation on Slavic Mythology p. 541 explains the following:

“The god of Thunder of east Slavics was Perun , like Balt Perkunas though he and was not esteemed by such significant deity. Traces of his existence were kept and between southern Slavs in toponymics. Perun’s attributes were a horse, a chariot, an axe or hammer,stone arrows. In southern Slav a ceremony: the girl dressed in green branches and named Dodola, pour water to cause a rain.”

In the East Slav mythology ‘the heroic beginning’ is not so expressed. The annals speak about Svarog’s son - Dazhbog - Tsar (king) -sun. “The fragment about Svarog, the father of the sun, is connected to an insert about Sovius in John Malala’s “Chronicle”. These both texts, probably, reflect the common cultural tradition connected to tradition of cremation. There are in Baltic Slav culture Svarozich (differently named Radegast, Radigast, Redigost, Riedigost) it was venerated in the cult centre Retra as one of the main gods which attributes were a horse and spears (like Svantevit)..

In the Serbian folklore the Tsar-sun is on a purple throne and near are two maidens - Morning down and Evening glow, seven judges - planets and the seven emissaries flying in an image of stars. Here is the uncle of him bald month also. (Afanasjev, 1994. v. 1)……

In medieval Russia the legend as Alexander the Great is embodied in decor of a cathedral in Vladimir, on diadems 12 c. A.D., on Russian embroideries. These show a young man in a crown, on a chariot harnessed by birds or griffins.The legendary king rising to the sky, is known and in ancient Iran mythologies. He was Kay Kavus (“Shahname”) who according to some of sacred texts also has constructed seven magic palaces on sacred mountain (mountain Berezan of the Russian plots returning youth (Rak, 1998, 230 - 236).

CONCLUSION

Sometimes the basic form of god;s name is ‘Dazhbog’, from Indo-European ‘burn’, that is ‘the burning god’ turns out. Most researchers bases on other spelling - ‘Dazhdbog’, that is deciphered as ‘granting god’. In this quality the image is similar with Indian Bhaga.
Also known as a Slavic god under the name ‘White god’, who opposites ‘Black god’. He was represented as old man in white clothes, with a white beard and a staff in hands. During harvest he is present on fields and helps peasants, and also save people in wood and gives riches. (Afanasjev, 1994. v. 1).

For Slavs, the big value takes place in “the Word about Igor’s regiment” where ancient Russians are named ‘Dazhdbog’s grandsons’. He can be treated as the indication of a role of a primogenitor, that in addition confirms the Slav identification Dazhdbog with the Cultural Hero.