List of Slavic pseudo-deities explained

Slavic pseudo-deities (pseudo-gods, pseudo-goddesses) are Slavic deities described in popular and sometimes even scientific literature, whose historicity is not recognized by the vast majority of scholars, i.e. the deities in question are not deemed actually to have been objects of worship among pagan Slavs. The pseudo-deities of the Slavs, like those of other ethnic groups, were created as a result of mistakes (e.g., by understanding the given name as a theonym, unfamiliarity with the Slavic languages, misunderstanding of pagan ritual, or uncritical use of sources), as a result of the creation and falsification of Slavic Romantics, or even as a result of falsification for political motives. Much of them are originated from the works described as "pseudo-mythology" (kabinetnaya mifologiya, "office mythology", in Russian sources). The reason for the last two may be that, unlike, for example, those of Greek mythology, the sources on Slavic mythology are severely limited.

The first Slavic pseudo-deities began to appear as early as the Middle Ages, mainly in Latin Christian texts, as a result of mistakes. Slavic pseudo-deities on a large scale began to appear from the 18th and especially the 19th century. In 1768, a popular forgery of the time appeared, the so-called Prillwitz idols, depicting alleged Slavic deities decorated with alleged Slavic runes. Based on this forgery, many deities were created by Andreas Masch and later by . In the 19th century, Czech philosopher Ignác Jan Hanuš was a popular fantasist, particularly known for his Die Wissenschaft des slavischen Mythus and Bájeslovný kalendář slovanský. Russian, who was rather uncritical in treating sources in his Bozhestva drevnikh slavyan ("Deities of the Ancient Slavs"), was also influential. In addition to the above-mentioned authors, every Slavic country had forgers of varying popularity. Contemporary falsification of the Slavic pantheon is continued by in Poland (e.g. Stworze i zdusze, czyli starosłowiańskie boginki i demony. Leksykon, or Mitologia słowiańska: Księga tura), and by Alexander Asov in Russia (e.g. Kniga Kolyady).

Popular pseudo-deities

West Slavs

Polabian Slavs

Prillwitz idols

See main article: Prillwitz idols.

Many of the deities were created by Andreas Gottlieb Masch (1771), a German theologian who studied the so-called Prillwitz idols, taking them to be authentic Slavic statues, but which are now recognized as 17th century forgeries. The drawings for his book were made by Daniel Woge, a German painter and illustrator. Masch's information was further repeated by Martin Friedrich Arendt (1820), a German botanist and antiquarian, and Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1824), a Danish writer.

Andreas Gottlieb Masch:

Martin Friedrich Arendt:

Czechs

Václav Hájek, a Czech chronicler who is accused of making up many events in his work, lists the deities in his Chronicle: Klimba, Krasatina, Krosina.

Hájek gained imitators after his death: Pavel Stránský, Jan Jiří Středovský, Juraj Papánek, who added the following deities by themselves: Chasoň, Ladoň, Zeloň, Živěna, Nočena, Krasopaní, Hladolet.

Priest Antonín Liška, one of the translators of Homer into Czech, also made up deities. He replaced Greek theonyms with similar Czech ones or just transferred them into Czech. He gave up to three versions of the same invented Czech name, writing them in brackets or footnotes:

Another forgery is the glosses added to Mater Verborum, a Czech-Latin dictionary, added by Václav Hanka, containing deities invented by him:

Hanka also mentions gods from other sources, e.g. Belebog, Perun, Živa, Svetovit, Triglav, Veles, Lada, Devana, and Morana. In addition, he mentions many demons, including vesna.

East Slavs

Book of Veles

See main article: Book of Veles. The Book of Veles is a 20th century forgery that has gained particular popularity among Ukrainians. It lists, in addition to authentic gods, the following pseudo-gods:

Others

South Slavs

One of the major forgeries from the South Slavs is the Serbian Песме и обичаи укупног народа српског (1869; "Songs and customs of the all Serbian peoples") by Miloš Milojević:

The second important forgery is Veda Slovena (1874) by Stefan Verković:

In Croatia, a long list of authors contributed to romanticized interpretations, uncritical theories and unverifiable claims about Croatian pagan beliefs. This group includes the likes of Giorgio Sisgoreo, Marin Držić, Matija Petar Katančić, Pavao Ritter Vitezović, Natko Nodilo, Nikola Sučić and Franjo Ledić, among others. These authors' works are now sources of many pseudo-deities and fabricated systems in what is today popularly considered Croatian folklore, including Črt, Sarmand, Velja and an entire systematically presented "Croatian pantheon"[3] containing deities such as Bjelobog, Danica, Domovoj, Slava, Vesna, Voloska, Zora and Žibog.[4]

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Кто и зачем придумывал древних славянских богов? . 2021-05-22 . Arzamas . ru-ru.
  2. Book: Zeno.org . Simzerla . Pierer's Universal-Lexikon . 16 . Altenburg . 1863 . 121.
  3. Web site: Bajuk . Lidija . 2018 . Odjeci slavenskoga mita u nematerijalnoj kulturi Međimurja . Echoes of Slavic mythology in the immaterial culture of Međimurje . 4 August 2024 . 2, 30.
  4. Book: Ledić, Franjo . Mitologija Slavena: Tragom kultova i vjerovanja starih Slavena . 1969–1970 . 1 and 2.

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