Exploring the Influence of Slavic Mythology
Exploring the Influence of Slavic Mythology When it comes to the colorful history of Russia, often an important influence and foundation of the nation’s cultural identity is overlooked: Slavic mythology. The ancient mythology of the Slavic people of Eurasia has been heavily intertwined with Buddhism, Christianity, and other mythologies to create the unique culture of Russia today. How did Slavic mythology influence Russia, and what can we still see of it in modern society? Slavic mythology is rich with grand stories, gods and characters that contain universal concepts of good and evil, life and death, love and nature. Some of the best-known stories involve a smith god, a hero who battles monsters, and the creation of a sun maiden. In Slavic mythology, it was believed that death was caused by an evil Spirit of Bolest, but the soul would never really die - it would instead pass through the underworld and be re-born again in the mortal world. In many Slavic countries such as Ukraine an...