Story · Slavic Mythology · 4 chapters

The Slavic Cosmology (the three-layered world)

The Slavic cosmos is three-layered: the Sky (Nebo) above, the Earth (Zemlya) in the middle, and the Underworld (Nav/Cherd) below. A world-axis (the world-tree, the 'axis mundi') connects the three layers. The Sky is the realm of Nebo and Perun; the Earth is the realm of the human world and the earth-gods; the Underworld is the realm of the dead (Nav/Cherd) and Veles [S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic[S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic[S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic.

reconstructed tradition

Pre-Christian Slavic religion left no native written corpus. Named gods are attested (Vladimir's pantheon, 980 CE; chronicles; ethnography), but the narrative layer is largely scholarly reconstruction (Ivanov–Toporov et al.). Every reconstructed claim is badged as such.

⚠ Scholars disagree

The three-layered cosmology is a scholarly reconstruction from folk belief and comparative evidence; it is not described in a single pre-Christian source [S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic.

CHAPTER 01

The Sky (Nebo)

The highest heaven, the realm of Nebo and Perun [S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic[S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic.
Sources[S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic
CHAPTER 02

The Earth (Zemlya)

The human world, the realm of the earth-gods [S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic[S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic.
Sources[S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic
CHAPTER 03

The Underworld (Nav/Cherd)

The realm of the dead, the domain of Veles and Cherd [S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic[S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic[S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic.
Sources[S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic [S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic
CHAPTER 04

The World-Axis

The world-tree (the 'axis mundi') connects the three layers [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic[S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic.
Sources[S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic [S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic
Primary sources[S4]S4 · Vsevolod Miller, 'Slavic God-Concepts' (Slavjanskije bozhestvennye predstavl'enija)1860 (19th c. ethnographic)academic [S5]S5 · 19th-20th c. Slavic ethnographic collections (Volkov, Ivanov, etc.)19th-20th c.academic [S6]S6 · Modern comparative reconstruction (e.g., Ivanov & Toporov, 'Theses on Slavic Mythology')1970s-2000sacademic