Home›Slavic Deities›Theology›Polytheistic: many godsBrowse ByPolytheistic: many godsThis page groups deities by the theological framework used to describe their nature, since traditions disagree about whether a god is a distinct being, an aspect of a single divine reality, or something else again. Wikipedia describes theology as "the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity and the history behind religion." Browsing this way lets a visitor compare how differently two traditions can explain what a deity actually is.FactsLearn MorePolytheistic: many godsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of the pre-Christian Slavs, collected from evidence that is thin and almost entirely external: Byzantine and Latin notices, Christian polemic, the treaty oaths and idol-lists of the Rus chronicles, and much later folklore. There is no Slavic religious text. This is among the most contested reconstructions in the atlas, and several once-standard figures are now doubted or rejected. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe East Slavs of Rus, whose gods are named in the treaties and idol-lists of the Primary Chronicle 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe South Slavs, for whom the pre-Christian evidence is thinnest of all 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe West Slavs, above all the Polabian and Pomeranian peoples whose temple cults are described by German and Danish chroniclers 2AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedThe earliest notice is a sixth-century Byzantine report of a Slavic maker of lightning. Named gods appear in the tenth-century Rus treaties and in the idols set up at Kiev in 980, and in the Latin chronicles of the Baltic Slavs to about 1200. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe pre-Christian cult was suppressed with Christianisation and no continuous worship survives. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedVenerated in the modern Slavic reconstructionist movements known collectively as Rodnovery. 3DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA large part of the received Slavic pantheon derives from late, hostile or Romantic-era sources, and some of it from outright nineteenth-century forgery. Recent scholarship has cut the securely attested list down sharply. 2Learn MoreThe Gods of the Slavs This group gathers the deities of the pre-Christian Slavic peoples of eastern and central Europe. The sources are notoriously thin, scattered chronicles, Christian polemics and later folklore, so the Slavic pantheon is among the most contested reconstructions in the atlas, and some once-standard figures are now doubted by scholars. The browser will find the thunder-god Perun, the cattle-and-underworld god Veles, the sun-related Dazhbog, and the multi-headed Baltic-Slavic idols recorded by medieval writers. The entries are careful to distinguish securely attested gods from figures that rest on late or unreliable evidence, and note the modern Rodnovery revival.Polytheistic: many godsFilter Results14 entriesChild OfAllPerun (1)Svarog (1)HistoricityAllHistorically attested (2)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (1)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (11)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (1)The Creator (1)The Explorer (1)The Hero (2)The Lover (1)The Magician (2)The Ruler (2)Veneration StatusAllHistorically attested; no continuous cult (12)No Cult Attested (1)Venerated in a modern revival tradition (1)Era Attested Start YearAll550 (1)900 (1)980 (2)1114 (1)1240 (1)1405 (1)Worshipped InAllSlavic Native Faith (Rodnovery) (13)Domain / FunctionAllChaos and adversary (1)Commerce and wealth (1)Cosmic order and truth (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Dawn (1)Death (1)Fate and time (1)Fertility and generation (2)Fire (1)Herds and pastoralism (1)Justice, law and oaths (1)Kingship and sovereignty (1)Love and desire (1)Magic and sorcery (1)Motherhood (1)Spring and renewal (1)Storm and thunder (1)Sun (1)The underworld (1)War and battle (2)Weaving and textile craft (1)Wind (1)GenderAllFemale (4)Male (10)PantheonAllSlavic (13)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 14ChernobogPolytheistic: many godsChernoglavPolytheistic: many godsDazhbogPolytheistic: many godsJariloPolytheistic: many godsLadaPolytheistic: many godsMokoshPolytheistic: many godsMoranaPolytheistic: many godsPerunPolytheistic: many godsRodPolytheistic: many godsStribogPolytheistic: many godsSvarogPolytheistic: many godsTriglavPolytheistic: many godsVelesPolytheistic: many godsZoryaPolytheistic: many godsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Slavic Gods and Heroestier 1Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel, Routledge, 2019Introduction3. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectivestier 1Michael F. Strmiska (ed.), ABC-CLIO, 2005chapter on Slavic PaganismDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.