Perun

Perun is the highest god of the Slavic mythology. He is the god of storms, thunder and of lightning. His symbols include the iris, the ax and the oak.

Its name derives from the root per- ( beat ) from and reinforcing the ending- un and therefore means " The strong shock end ". The oldest written tradition dates from the 6th century: Prokopios of Caesarea tells of a god of thunder, the Slavs worshiped as the sole deity and they offer animal sacrifices. However, he does not mention any names. It is first mentioned by name Perun as Pyrenos in a Life of Demetrius of Thessaloniki from the 7th century, where it is associated with an oracle. Another Bulgarian notation from the 10th century is Porun. In the Baltic, his name has been handed down as Perkunas.

The most extensive documentation in written sources dates back to the East Slavic area: The Primary Chronicle called Perun as divine guarantor for the contracts of Kievan Rus with the Byzantine Empire in the years 907, 912, 945 and 971 In 980 Prince Vladimir I. let him in Kiev a wooden idol build with silver head and golden beard, another statue was built at the same time in Novgorod. But both idols already 988/989 were destroyed in the course of Christianization. The worship of the god of thunder, is detectable in popular belief but until well into modern times, with the Bulgarians in the 18th century.

In pre-Christian Serbia Perun is mentioned as the only deity but Dajbog. He is the god of the sky and the chief god of the pagan Serbs, and his name should not be pronounced. He may be called only in extreme emergencies. The dual power and potential dualism between Perun, the god of heaven and height, and Dajbog, the God of the Sun, the Dead and the wolves, was reinterpreted with the Christianization of the Serbs to the dualism between the Christian God and the devil.