Veles (god)

Veles or Volos is one of the main gods in Slavic mythology. He is originally a god of fertility and magic, protector of cattle and harvest and ruler over the realm of the dead. From this basic function of its jurisdiction for the economic area, the preservation of wealth and ensuring the legal system is derived.

As god of the earth Veles is the antithesis to the thunder god Perun, which is the contrast between the Indian Indra and the demon Vala and indicating a high age of this cult. Veles is represented as a horned snake with a long beard.

Veles is mentioned mainly in Russian sources and there carries the nickname skotij bog (god of cattle ). For the other regions only hints in place and personal names, proverbs and songs have survived. With his southern Russian harvest traditions relate, in which the first or last sheaves of corn were sacrificed to the gods, demons or saints nature. The naming of the Pleiades in the eastern and southern Slavs as Volosyni (Russian), Vlascite ( Bulgarian) or Vlašići (Serbian and Croatian ) is also associated with Veles. His name still appears in the medieval Russian heroic ballads, the byliny. The clairvoyant singer Bojan comes on the stage, his grandson.

In the 10th century, Veles was invoked as the God of the legal next Perun also the conclusion of the Russian contracts with the Byzantine Empire. Idols of the deity mention the legends of St. Vladimir and St. Avraam Rostovskij: Prince Vladimir I. was after his baptism, a statue of Veles throw into the river, Avraam destroyed a stone idol in Rostov.

After the Christianization of Veles was reinterpreted the hell his name appears in this role in proverbs on. Took over the role of livestock protector, probably due to the similarity in name, the Holy Blasius.