Some evidence of pre-Christian temples of the Slavs

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The legend of the First Temple is associated with the Slavic lands, after which all the temples of the Ancient World were built on the model of which. It was the Temple of the Sun near Mount Alatyr. Legends about the Temple of the Sun lead us into hoary antiquity to the beginning of the Sacred History. The legend about this Temple is repeated by almost all the peoples of Europe and Asia.

In India, the architect of this temple was called Gandharva, in Iran - Gandarva (Kondorv), in Greece - Centaur, in Russia Kitovras. He also had other special names. So, the southern Germans called him Morolf, and the Celts - Merlin. In Middle Eastern legends, he is also called Asmodeus and builds a temple for Solomon (the king of the Sun).

Each nation attributed the construction of this Temple to its own land and during the epic times, from which it began to count its history. We, the Slavs and other northern peoples, can rightfully assume that the source of all these legends lies in Russia, in the same place where the source of the Vedas themselves is.

In addition, it has long been noticed that the names of many, if not all, parts of the temple are of Slavic origin. The word “temple” itself is Slavic, it is an incomplete form of the word “mansion”, which means “a rich building, a palace”. The word "altar" comes from the name of the sacred Alatyr Mountain. "Horos" (temple lamp) - on behalf of the sun god Khors. “Ambon” (the elevation from which the priest makes a speech) comes from the word “mov” - “speech” (the “Book of Veles” says that Old Bus ascended the “amvenitsa” and taught how to follow the Path of Rule). Etc.

The Russian legend about the construction of the First Temple is as follows. Long ago, the great wizard Kitovras was guilty of the sun god. He, at the behest of the Month, stole the Zarya-Zarenitsa's wife from the Sun. The gods returned the Dawn to the sun god, and to the wizard, in atonement, they ordered to build a Temple for the sun god and for the glory of the Almighty near the Alatyr Mountain.

The wizard had to build this Temple from rough stones, so that the iron would not desecrate Alatyr. And then the wizard asked the bird Gamayun to help. Gamayun agreed. So the stones for the temple were hewn with the magic Gamayun's claw.

Legends about this Temple are easily dated astrologically to the constellation Kitovras (Sagittarius). The zodiac era of Sagittarius was in the 19th – 20th millennia BC. It is this time that the “Book of Veles” also dates the Exodus from the North of the Slavic-Rus, led by the god of the Sun Yarila. The Temple of the Sun was built near Alatyr Mountain on the model of the Temple of the Sun, which was earlier in the North, on the blessed Alatyr Island, which, in fact, is not an island in the manifested world, but a Slavic Vedic paradise.

According to legend, the Temple of the Sun was erected near the Alatyr Mountain, that is, near Elbrus. “The temple was built at seven versts, on eighty pillars - high, high in the skies. And around the temple was planted the Irian garden, fenced in with a silver back, and on each pillar there is a candle that never fades away”(“Book of Kolyada”IV b). Similar songs about the mansions of the Sun were included in the "grapes" and "carols", which are still sung during many Slavic holidays.

In the Elbrus region and in the Lower Don region, that is, near the mouth of the ancient sacred river Ra, the ancient peoples placed the kingdom of the sun god. Here, according to Greek legends, is the kingdom of the sun god Helios and his son Eetus. Argonauts sailed here for the Golden Fleece. And here, according to the “Book of Veles” (Genus III, 1), “the sun sleeps in the night”, here in the morning it “climbs into its chariot and looks from the East”, and in the evening “goes beyond the mountains”.

Over the centuries and millennia, the Temple of the Sun was destroyed many times by earthquakes, ancient wars, then it was restored and rebuilt again.

The following information about this Temple dates back to the II millennium BC. BC. According to Zoroastrian and Old Russian legends, this Temple was captured by Rus (Rustam) and Useny (Kavi Usainas), who entered into an alliance with Serpent Ladon (hero Awlad) expelled from the Sacred Region. Then the rulers who bore the names of the ancient gods Belbog and Kolyada (the White Diva and the hero Kelakhur) were expelled from the Temple. Then Arius the Oseden invaded the Sacred Region and defeated Ladon. After that, Arius Oseden ascended Alatyr and received the Covenant.

There are also ancient Greek legends telling about the campaign of the Argonauts and Jason, who fought the dragon at the Golden Fleece, to these places (presumably, we are talking about the same battle between the Settlement and Ladon).

And I must say that the first news of ancient geographers and historians about these places also contains references to the Temple of the Sun. Thus, the geographer Strabo in the North Caucasus places the sanctuary of the Golden Fleece and the oracle of Helios' son Eet. According to Strabo, this sanctuary at the turn of our era was plundered by the Bosporan king Pharnacs, the son of Mithridates Eupator. The plundering of the Temple of the Sun so outraged the peoples of the Caucasus that a war began, and Pharnak was killed by the Sarmatian king Asander. Since then, the Sarmatian royal dynasty came to power in the Bosporus (Lower Don region, Taman and Crimea).

After that, there was another plunder of the Temple - by the king Mithridates of Pergamon. The final plundering and destruction of the Temple dates back to the 4th century. AD Apparently, it was completed by the Goths and Huns during the Great Migration of Nations.

However, the memory of him did not fade away in the Slavic lands. Legends about the destruction of the Temple, the predictions of its upcoming revival, the return of the torn away Sacred area for a long time excited the minds. One of these legends was retold by the Arab traveler and geographer Masudi Abul Hasan Ali ibn Hussein in the 10th century.

“In the Slavic lands there were buildings revered by them. Between others, they had a building on a mountain, about which philosophers wrote that it is one of the highest mountains in the world (this is Elbrus - AA). There is a story about this building about the quality of its construction, about the location of its heterogeneous stones and their various colors, about the holes made in its upper part, about what was built in these holes to observe the rising of the Sun, about the precious stones and signs placed there., noted in it, which indicate future events and warn against incidents before their implementation, about the sounds in the upper part of it and what comprehends them when hearing these sounds”.

Venedian temples

The “Book of Kolyada” also tells about the god Indra, who came from Inderia (India) to the lands of the Rus and was amazed that all the most famous temples in this land were made of wood. “Either here,” Indra exclaimed, “in rich Inderia, temples are built of marble, and the roads are strewn with gold and precious stones!”

Inderia of Russian epics and legends is not only India, but also Vendia. The Indians, who came in the 4th millennium from the Punjab together with Yaruna, became Vinids or Wends in the Slavic lands. They also began to build rich temples in honor of the gods. The gods of war were especially revered by them: Indra himself, Yaruna (Yarovit), Radogost. They also honored Svyatovit (Svyatogor).

According to legend, earlier the Wends were Vani. In the Kingdom of Van, which is near Ararat, they intermarried with the clans of the Atlanteans-saints. In the “Book of Kolyada” there is a myth about how the progenitor Van married the daughter of Svyatogor Mera. This legend corresponds to the Greek myth of the daughter of Atlas Merope.

The Veneds, like all Aryans, settled first from the North, then from the Urals and Semirechye, then from the Punjab and the Kingdom of Van. For a long time, the Venedian (Indian) regions were on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus near modern Anapa (ancient Sindica), as well as on the coast of Italy (Venice). But most of the Wends settled in Eastern Europe. Here they later became Western Slavs, East Germans (vandals), and some also joined the clans of the Vyatichi and Slovenians. And in all these lands they built the richest temples.

The most famous temple of the ratari-cheer that was in the city of Retra. He was lucky, because the statues of the temple were hidden by the priests after its destruction in 1067-1068, and then (six hundred years later) were found, described, and engravings were made from them. Thanks to this, we still have the opportunity to see samples of the temple art of the ancient Slavs.

The Retra temple was also described at the beginning of the 11th century. Bishop Titmar of Merseburg (d. 1018) in his Chronicle and Adam of Bamberg. They wrote that in the land of the ratars there is the city of Radigoszcz (or Retra, "the seat of idolatry", near modern Mecklenburg). This city was surrounded by a large forest, inviolable and sacred in the eyes of local residents … At the gates of the city there was a temple skillfully built of wood, "in which the supporting pillars were replaced by the horns of various animals." According to Titmar, “the walls (of the temple) from the outside, as everyone can see, are decorated with wonderful carvings depicting various gods and goddesses; and inside there are handmade idols of gods, terrible in appearance, in full armor, in helmets and armor, on each of them his name is engraved. The main one, who is especially respected and revered by all pagans, is called Svarozhich. " According to Adam Bamberg, “the image is made of gold, the bed is of purple. Here are the battle banners, which are taken out of the temple only in case of war …"

Judging by the memoirs of contemporaries, temples in the lands of the Wends stood in every city and village. And I must say that the cities of the Wends were revered as the greatest and richest in Europe. According to Otto of Bamberg (XII century), it is known that there were four kotyny (temples) in Shchetin, the most important of which was the temple of Triglav. It stood out for its decorations and amazing craftsmanship. The sculptural images of people and animals in this temple were made so beautifully that "it seemed as if they were living and breathing." Otton also noted that the colors of these images were not washed off by rain or snow, and did not darken. “There were also kept gold and silver vessels and bowls … In the same place they kept in honor of the gods huge horns of wild bulls (rounds), framed in gold and precious stones and suitable for drinking, as well as horns that were blown, daggers, knives, various precious utensils, rare and beautiful to look at. There was also a three-headed image of a deity, which had three heads at one end of the body and was called Triglav … In addition, there was a tall oak tree, and under it was the most beloved spring, which was revered by the common people, since they considered it sacred, believing that in it the deity lives”.

Temples of the Eastern Slavs

Less is known about the Eastern Slavic temples than about the temples of the Venedians, for up to now travelers did not reach the lands and geographers knew little about these lands. It is clear that there were temples, but how rich they were can be judged only by indirect data.

The richest in peacetime, presumably, were the temples of Veles, for they were built at the expense of merchants. And in wartime, in the event of a victorious war, the temples of Perun grew richer.

Veles was revered most of all in the Russian North. These lands were little affected by wars, on the contrary, people fleeing from the restless southern borders and from the Venedian lands flocked here.

The richest churches were in Novgorod-on-Volkhov. Here, especially in the 8th – 9th centuries, there were communities, partly consisting of people who fled from the Vagr (Obodrit) Stargorod, the first border West Slavic city destroyed by the Germans.

The sanctuaries of Novgorod were created on the model of the Venetian ones and differed little from them. These were wooden buildings, similar to the later northern churches, masterpieces of wooden architecture.

And, by the way, one should not think that wooden means poor. In the East, for example in China and Japan, both temples and palaces of emperors were always built of wood.

In addition to rich temple buildings, there were also sanctuaries on the hills, near springs, in sacred groves. All these sanctuaries are mentioned in the “Book of Veles”.

The churches in Kiev were no less rich and revered. There was a sanctuary of Veles in Podol (apparently, ruined during the time of Vladimir). There was also a temple (budynok) of Perun, combined with the prince's mansions, for the prince was revered as the high priest of Perun.

There was also the Busa Beloyar temple on Busovaya Hill in Kiev. “The Book of Veles” also mentions the sanctuaries in the sacred grove, in Bogolissya. Yes, and throughout the Kiev land there were many sanctuaries and temples.

In Rostov the Great, at the "Chud end", the sanctuary of Veles stood until the beginning of the 10th century. and was destroyed by the labors of the Monk Abraham of Rostov: "That idol (Veles), the monk by his prayers, and the reed given to him in a vision from the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, crush it, and turn it into nothing, and in that place put the temple of the Holy Manifestation."

In the lands of the Krivichi, Perun and the bird Gamayun were most revered. So, in Smolensk, obviously, there was a temple of Perun (and to this day on the coat of arms of Smolensk we can see a cannon, as a symbol of the thunderous weapon and the god Perun, as well as the bird Gamayun).

In the lands of the Krivichi, Prussians and Lithuanians, the temples of Perun (Perkunas) were laid back in the 13th century. So, in 1265, among the magnificent oak grove near Vilna in the Svintorog tract, the stone temple of Perkunas was founded, in which the famous priest Krive-Kriveito from the priestly-princely dynasty, ascending to the progenitor of Skreva, daughter of Bohumir, and the progenitor of Kriva, the son of Veles, preached. In this temple in 1270 the body of Prince Svintorog, the founder of the temple, was burned.

“The temple was about 150 arshins in length, 100 arshins in width, and its height extended to 15 arshins. The temple did not have a roof; it had one entrance from the western side. Opposite the entrance there was a stone chapel with various vessels and sacred objects, and under it was a cave where snakes and other reptiles crawled. Above this chapel was a stone gallery, like a gazebo, which had 16 arshins in height above the chapel, and in it was placed the wooden idol of Perun-Perkunas, transported from the sacred forests of Polagen (on the shores of the Baltic Sea).

In front of the chapel, on 12 steps that marked the course of the moon, an altar stood 3 arshins in height and 9 in width. Each step was half an arshin in height, so in general the height of the altar was 9 arshins. An unquenchable fire called Znich burned on this altar.

The fire was sustained day and night by priests and priestesses (weydelots and weydelots). The fire blazed in an inner recess in the wall, designed so skillfully that neither wind nor fire could extinguish it”[1].

Near Vitebsk in 1684, on the ruins of an ancient temple, a large golden idol of Perun was found on a huge gold tray. Ksendz Stenkevich, who described this event, added that "the idol brought many a profit, and even the Holy Father got a share."

Many traces of ancient sanctuaries, temples remained in the lands of the Vyatichi (in the names of sacred groves, mountains and springs). Most of these names can be found on the territory of modern Moscow. So, according to the chronicles, on the site of the Kremlin in ancient times there was a temple of Kupala and Veles (the sacred stone from this temple was revered until the 19th century and was in the Church of John the Baptist). On Krasnaya Gora, Bolvanovka, on a vacant lot that is near Taganka, and now you can find three sacred boulders, once revered by the Vyatichi. Many traces of other Vedic sanctuaries can be found in Moscow toponymy.

Mention should be made of the cult of the Black God and its temples. The richest temples of this god were in all Slavic lands, and there are their most detailed descriptions.

Most of all, the Black God was revered by the Wends, including those who settled in the East Slavic lands, for they revered the Black, or Fierce, God as the face of the afterlife judge Radogost, from here the veneration of Radunits passed to Christianity.

In general, in Christianity there are many traces of the ancient veneration of the God of Death: the Mother of God resembles Marena, the crucified Christ resembles not only Bus Beloyar, but also the crucified Chernobog Kashchei (based on songs from the Star Book of Kolyada). Black vestments of priests and monks, churchyards, a developed burial ritual are also a reminder of the ancient burial cult.

It is true that there were churches of Chernobog in Chernigov near the famous Black Mud (the ancient lands of the Scythian-melanchlen, who walked in black cloaks). There was a temple of Chernobog and in the Urals near Mount Karabash (Black Head), and in the Carpathians (Black Mountains). The Montenegrins in the Balkans also revered the Black God.

And here is a description of the temple of the Black God left to us by Masudi Abul Hasan Ali ibn Hussein in the 10th century: “Another building was built by one of their kings on the Black Mountain (we are talking about the temple of the Black God; such were known among the Baltic Slavs - A. A.); it is surrounded by wonderful waters, colorful and varied, famous for their benefits. In it, they had a large statue of a god in the form of Saturn (the Slavs called the Black God Sedunich, the son of the Seduni Goat - AA), represented as an old man with a stick in his hand, with which he moves the bones of the dead from the graves. Under his right leg there are images of black ravens, black krall and black grapes, as well as images of strange Abyssinians and Zandians (ie blacks; we are talking about demons - AA)”.

Temples of Belovodye

The source of the entire temple culture, as well as the source of the Vedic faith itself, was placed by the Slavs in the Sacred Belovodye, in the Far North. And where was Belovodye located?

According to the testimony of the "Mazurinsky Chronicler", Belovodye was located somewhere near the mouth of the Ob, that is, on the Yamal Peninsula, next to which there is a White Island today. The “Mazurin Chronicler” says that the legendary princes Sloven and Rus “possessed northern lands throughout Pomorie … both to the Great Ob River, and to the mouth of the White Water, and this water is white as milk …” It is here, on White Island (or Alatyr -island), the legends of the Book of Kolyada place the most ancient Temple, which was the prototype of the First Temple at the sacred Alatyr Mountain.

But what is even more important, here the semi-legendary Icelandic sagas actually place a temple, behind the treasures of which in the VIII-IX centuries. there were Vikings. In those years, these lands belonged to a country called Bjarmaland (in the Russian chronicles Bjarmia). According to the testimony of Russian chroniclers, this country, like the entire North, was subject to Veliky Novgorod, and from time immemorial not only the Finno-Ugric (Bjarms) lived in it, but also the Rus. The Varangians were seduced by the incredible riches of the temples of Bjarmaland. Bjarmaland was revered by the Vikings as a richer land than Arabia, and even more so than Europe.

According to the Saga of Sturlaug the Hardworking Ingolvson, this Jarl Sturlaug went to Bjarmaland at the behest of the queen. And there he attacked the temple of a certain gigantic priestess: “The temple is full of gold and precious stones, which the priestess stole from different kings, as she rushes from one end of the world to another in a short time. Wealth similar to those collected there cannot be found anywhere, not even in Arabia.”

Despite the opposition of this priestess and her magical assistants, Sturlaug plundered the temple. He took away a magic horn and a golden vessel with four precious stones, the crown of the god Yamal, decorated with 12 precious stones, an egg with golden letters on it (this egg belonged to a magic bird that guarded the temple), many gold and silver bowls, as well as a tapestry, more valuable than the three ships with the goods of the Greek merchants”. So he returned to Norway with a victory. This temple of the god Yamal, presumably, was located on the Yamal Peninsula near the mouth of the Ob. In the name of this god, it is easy to recognize the name of the ancient progenitor and god Yama (Yima, he is Ymir, Bohumir). And you can be sure that the foundation of this temple dates back to the time of Bohumir.

This temple was so famous that it was known even in the Islamic lands. So, Masudi says that in the Slavic lands, “on a mountain surrounded by a sea arm”, there was one of the most revered temples. And it was built "of red coral and green emerald." “In its middle there is a large dome, under which there is a statue of a god (Bohumir.- A. A.), whose members are made of precious stones of four kinds: green chrysolite, red yacht, yellow carnelian and white crystal; his head is of red gold. Opposite him is another statue of a god in the form of a maiden (this is Slavunya - AA), which brings him sacrifices and incense”.

According to Masudi, this building was built in ancient times by a certain sage. It is impossible not to recognize Bohumir in this sage, for Masudi ascribes to him not only witchcraft, but also the construction of artificial canals (and Bohumir is the only one who became famous for this during the Flood). Further Masudi notes that he has already spoken in detail about this sage in previous books. Unfortunately, these books of Masudi have not yet been translated into Russian, and they clearly contain the most important information about the deeds of Bohumir, perhaps not preserved by other sources.

In Bjarmia (modern Perm land) there was not only this one, but also other temples. For example, churches in the capital of this land, the city of Barma, which, according to the Joachim Chronicle, was located on the Kumeni River (Vyatka Region). Barma was recognized as the richest city in Asia, but for a thousand years no one knows its location.

And how many churches have disappeared in the Holy Ural Mountains near Berezan (Konzhakovsky stone), Azov mountains near Yekaterinburg, Iremel mountains near Chelyabinsk? When will Russian archaeologists get to the ruins of these sanctuaries? When will we know anything about this?