Veles (god)

Veles
God of the earth, waters, forests, underworld, music, magic, trickery, cattle and wealth
AbodeNav, Slavic afterlife
Weaponspear
Battlesbattle of Perun and Veles
Animalswolf, bear, snake, dragon, owl
Symbolwillow
FestivalsThe Festival of Veles
Equivalents
Greek equivalentHades
Norse equivalentHela
Christian equivalentSaint Blaise
Indo-European equivalentWelnos
Prussian equivalentPeckols
Modern symbol of Veles, used by Rodnovers[1]
The modern statue of Veles on Velíz mountain, Czech Republic

Veles,[a] also known as Volos, is a major god of earth, waters, livestock, and the underworld in Slavic paganism. His mythology and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of (among other deities) Odin, Loki and Hermes.

According to reconstruction by some researchers, he is the opponent of the supreme thunder god Perun.[2]: 211–214  As such he probably has been imagined as a dragon, which in the belief of the pagan Slavs is a chimeric being resembling a cross between a bear and a snake that devours livestock.[2]: 141 [3]: 87, 88  His tree is the willow, while that of Perun is the oak.[citation needed] No direct accounts survive, but reconstructionists speculate that he may directly continue aspects of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon with the original deity Welnos.[4]

  1. ^ Aleksandra Kojic (2016-08-18). "Veles – The Slavic Shapeshifting God of Land, Water and Underground". Slavorum. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  2. ^ a b Katičić, Radoslav (2008). Božanski boj: Tragovima svetih pjesama naše pretkršćanske starine (PDF). Zagreb: IBIS GRAFIKA. ISBN 978-953-6927-41-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-18.
  3. ^ Успенский, Борис Александрович (1982). Филологические разыскания в области славянских древностей. Реликты язычества в восточнославянском культе Николая Мириликийского. Moscow State University.
  4. ^ Jaan Puhvel, Analecta Indoeuropaea, (a collection of articles), publ. by Innsbrucker Beitrage zur Sprachwissenschaft, Innsbruck, 1981


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