Perun

Perun is the supreme god of Slavic mythology. He is the god of thunderstorms, thunder and lightning. His symbols include the iris, the axe and the oak.

Its name is derived from the root per- (to beat) and the reinforcing ending -un and thus means "the one who beats strongly". The oldest written tradition dates back to the 6th century: Procopius of Caesarea reports of a thunder god whom the Slavs worship as their only deity and to whom they offer animal sacrifices. However, he does not mention a name. Perun is first mentioned by name as Pyrenos in a 7th century vita of Demetrios of Thessalonica, where he is associated with an oracle. Another, Bulgarian spelling from the 10th century is Porun. Among the Balts, his name has survived as Perkunas.

The most extensive documentation in written sources comes from the East Slavic area: The Nestor Chronicle names Perun as divine guarantor for the treaties of Kievan Rus with the Byzantine Empire in the years 907, 912, 945 and 971. In 980 Prince Vladimir I had a wooden idol with a silver head and golden beard erected to him in Kiev, and another statue was created at the same time in Novgorod. But already in 988/989 both idols were destroyed in the course of the Christianization. The worship of the thunder god in popular belief, however, can be traced far into modern times, with the Bulgarians until the 18th century.

In the pre-Christian land of the South Slavs, Perun is mentioned as the only deity besides Dajbog. He is the god of heaven and the chief god of the pagan South Slavs, and his name may not be uttered. Only in extreme emergencies may he be invoked. The dual power and possible dualism between Perun, the god of heaven and high places, and Dajbog, the god of the sun, the dead, and the wolves, was reinterpreted with the Christianization of the Slavs as a dualism between the Christian god and the devil.