Abstract
Based on archaeological artifacts, this paper considers another side of Christian and pagan dual faith in the West of Ancient Rus. We analyze material evidence, namely petroglyphs, amulets and ornaments, proving that people still worshiped the pagan deity, Perun, after adoption of Christianity. We place an emphasis on the motif of hatchet which, according to archaic beliefs, is the symbol of weapon, thunder, lightning, heavenly fire and light. We also explore significance of Perun's worship among the princely elite and warriors during the period of forceful unification and defense of the Ruthenian lands.
Highlights
It is customary to refer to a certain period in spiritual life in Rus after its adoption of Christianity in 988 as Orthodox and pagan syncretism – the term, used by both Ukrainian and European researchers
Archaeologist, historian and ethnographer Mykhailo Klapchuk, while carrying out research on the Pokuttya-Hutsul borderland between Deliatyn and Nadvirna, recorded a number of toponyms derived from names of pagan gods, such as the mountain of Strahora, which rises near the villages of Loieva and Strymba, named in honor of god Stryboh – king-father of winds, heavenly master of storms, tempest, hurricanes [5, 5,6,7,8,9,10]
Characteristic of the 10th century ceramic fragments found in the shrine, as well as pieces of an iron battle axe, a symbol of awe-inspiring Perun [2, 50‒51] discovered in the upper layer, and hatchet amulets, small models of Perun’s Axe, which in Kyiv were made from bronze, iron and lead, are of interest
Summary
It is customary to refer to a certain period in spiritual life in Rus after its adoption of Christianity in 988 as Orthodox and pagan syncretism – the term, used by both Ukrainian and European researchers. The researcher associates the abundance of these names in a very limited area with names of pagan deities: Stryboh, Diva, Mara, Khors, Kostrub, Dazhboh, Liubizh, Slovboh. Worthy respect in this pantheon was given to god Veles – the patron of peasant households, animals, shepherds, poetry and music, who, in pre-Christian times or the so-called cattle breeding period (late 1st millennium BC – middle 1st millennium AD), was represented as a large bull. This toponym, as well as archival records dating back to the 18th century, confirms functioning of a pagan religious structure with a stone idol on
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