Monsters of Slavic Mythology

throughout time people across the world told each other Tales of how they came to be of Heroes and monsters romance and tragedy death and rebirth mythology helped shape the ancient world explaining the unexplainable this is mythology some of the absolute scariest and outright strangest monsters ever imagined are rooted in the mythology and folklore of the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe and Russia a lot of the creatures bear a striking resemblance to other mythical creatures of European origin dragons vampires demons goblins and creatures of the water and the night time are all present all have an air of familiarity about them and yet there is something that makes the Slavic creatures even more otherworldly and even disturbing this program will discuss some of the most famous and most vile Monsters of Slavic mythology our first monster is a winged demon called the Strega often shown in a female form and rarely shown in the male form the Strega was said to be an ominous large-headed bird with a human-like face human fingers that curved into razor-sharp talons gray bat wings yellowed eyes and a long voracious beak with which it used to drink the blood of its victims or feed on their bodies her breath was said to be toxic easily ending the lives of her preferred prey sleeping infants the Strega was said to be born from people who were born with two hearts two souls or a double row of teeth in Slavic beliefs the striga often died at a young age but when one Soul left the other survived to begin its hunt these Undead creatures were believed to fly at night in the form of an owl and attack nighttime Travelers and people who had wandered off into the woods at night sucking out their blood and eating their entrails the creature could be recognized by a characteristic blue glow that surrounded its body at night and their victims could be recognized by their left eye that always remained open in a dead stare it was possible to defend against the striga by hanging branches of Hawthorne in the window sprinkling the threshold with holy water or giving it the blood of a pig to drink as with many dark vampiric creatures the striga could be killed when exposed to sunlight or when its head was separated from its neck are male Slavic Forest Guardians as big as a tree or as small as a leaf these shape-shifting Spirits wander the woods protecting animals and tormenting humans that they come across they serve as Protectors of the forests and its wildlife having a particularly close bond with gray wolves and often being accompanied by bears they naturally are the form of large human looking beings but can shapeshift into any plant or animal they choose they have long hair and beards made of living grass and foliage and are said to change size depending on where they stand in the forest at the forest center they are a tree-like giant who camouflage nicely with their long limbs grassy eyebrows and no detectable Shadows however their eyes are always apparent colored very bright and green as they Venture further away from the center of their forests they become smaller by the time they have reached the forest's edge they are tiny enough to hide under leaves the less she is said to be unable to communicate in human speech but rather he makes Forest noises instead mimicking the sounds of animals birds or rustling of trees or the Babbling of a brook thank you like many other nature spirits and deities of Mythology the leshi often acts as a mediator between farmers and the Wilds occasionally protecting livestock from being preyed upon by wolves although Lord describes these Spirits as non-evil the leshi has no particular love for humans most commonly engaging in misleading Travelers on wrongful paths deeper into the trees unless she was not known to be friendly to loggers or hunters and would lure them away or even attack them if he believed they had threatened too much of his home lashes have also been known to remove signs and steal ax heads from woodcutters or cause accidents the less she may even kidnap people who trespass into his realm Legends suggests that if those who have been kidnapped by the leshi refrain from eating his food they may Escape his domain those who Escape are described as looking wild and distraught some have lost powers of speech or the ability to reason however not all encounters with the leshi are unpleasant allegedly if you encounter him what get him to laugh you will be safe if a person manages to befriend Alessia they will in return receive the secrets of magic looming up out of the murky depths are the vojanoi or vodneck water spirits that are said to appear as a naked old man with a frog-like face greenish beard and long hair with his body covered in algae and muck usually covered in black fish scales consequently he is often referred to as grandfather or forefather by the local people he has webbed Paws instead of hands a fish's tail and eyes that burn like red-hot coals Virginia are never seen too far away from their watery abodes as their power on land is infantile but they are virtually Invincible in the water they usually float in rivers streams or ponds on have sunken logs making obnoxiously loud splashes as they go though they enjoy upsetting others should they become upset they will not hesitate to break dams destroy water Mills or drown people and animals in lieu of drowning a virginoi May drag their victim down to their watery realm and make slaves of them for all eternity Russian peasants maintained a belief that anyone who dared to approach a body of water after dark risked a virginity attack they have a preference for attacking inexperienced swimmers but will also Place alluring items such as ribbons or hand mirrors near the banks of water bodies to entice fishermen closer before ambushing them they have been known to marry drowned or disinherited girls although they will occasionally Target happily married women like most freshwater creatures they are believed to hibernate during the winter months and when they awaken in the spring they crush the ice in the river and disperse it about as with the leshi the virginoi can be selectively benevolent towards people if they happen to be in a good mood they may guide fish into Fisherman's Nets or warn them against impending floods in some instances fishermen would even place a pinch of tobacco on the surface of the water in hopes that the resident volginoi would give them a fish in return or at least not kill them the beata is a primeval demon and an immortal shapeshifter who brings Misfortune misery hardship and grief wherever she May Roam she wanders the Earth as an unusually tall and Slender Woman no larger than a fragile twig and adorns herself in tattered rags she nourishes herself on human happiness and luck draining it from her victims along with their vital forces once she chooses her targets she settles down in their household her presence can be noticed right away in a series of troubles happening without warning she can turn herself into any object or animal she desires and it was thus advised to watch out for any new thing that had suddenly appeared in the house birds like sparrows or swallows who had built their nests under the roof but never seemed to lay eggs or lone mice who seem to be smarter than the cats bieda is an immortal being and thus cannot be killed many people have tried to burn or drown the object or creature she turned into but she would then Escape squealing and screeching loudly only to turn herself again or hide into another object she could feed herself on a single family until everyone within had died therefore it was necessary to find her and remove the unfamiliar object far from the household the dragovac whose name means screamer or screecher is a creature variously depicted in the form of an undead man that crawled out of the Grave during the night to haunt people as an undead unbaptized child that Rose from its grave to haunt its parents or even in the form of a humanoid canine creature that walks on its hind legs and prays upon Travelers in the countryside or stray children out after Dark whatever its appearance the dracov is considered among the most foul and Dreadful of creatures ever imagined it's screaming mainly heard coming from a graveyard is said to be a cry for baptism though in some places should it scream outside a house all night one lodger from the house will die soon other than its terrible scream a dracobach May engage in falling on a person or allowing its shadow to cross a person in either case the victim will soon fall ill and die when assuming the form of a child it is a sign of someone's imminent death when seen in its animal form it predicts cattle disease the people of Serbia and Bosnia believed that one will only encounter a dracobach if one were to dream of a dracov if this is the case then death is within the Drake of ox power through strangulation of the subject while they lie asleep in bed though it will only target those who have mistreated it in life for defense against the dracovok a dog must be obtained for it is known that dracobach is afraid of them it also dislikes sunlight which is why a dracovac screaming is usually only heard at night or through dense fog among Slavic rural communities the dracov is used as a cautionary tale to scare children into obedience despite this well-known method true belief in it can exist in some adults whereupon some attest to having witnessed corpses of the creature our final monster for this program is this me in Slavic mythology the words me and his cognates are used to refer to dragons and other massive serpents although they may at times resemble the classic depiction of European folklore such as the one in the Epic of Beowulf complete with wings fire breath and a reptilian appearance which me May arguably be much more powerful and unlike most European dragons Slavic Dragons Were Not always completely evil Slavic dragons are incredibly smart tricksters capable of using conning in addition to Brute Force to kidnap maidens and toy with a story's hero like many gods and demons of Mythology they possess the power to shapeshift frequently taking the form of humans often for sexual purposes they were even capable of having children with people and The Offspring of dragons and humans were thought to become Brave Warriors and heroes dragons like the gods were sometimes thought to have power over a specific element or area A Satisfied Dragon could provide help or a positive form of their element to a village in the South the Shmi were seen as protectors defending from brutal storms that could hit the Balkans ravaging farms and villages in eastern Slavic Tales particularly Russian fairy tales dragons are typically enemies to be vanquished by the bogotier some of the most famous Slavic dragons include Shmi gorenich a dangerous multi-headed Beast large enough to block out the sun with his massive wings who guards the Slavic underworld and the kalimov bridge into it and Smock wawelski the war well Dragon who plagued the capital city of the legendary King Croc no matter their interpretation Slavic dragons as with the dragons of other cultures or equal parts feared and honored these are but a taste of the bizarre and frightening creatures to appear in Slavic mythology in folklore some may bear a resemblance to other creatures found throughout European folklore yet there is a unique twist to each of them that makes them their own entity many are distinctly tied with nature serving as Protectors of the forests and waterways who punish and torment human beings who wander into their worlds some are truly creatures of Darkness mirroring some of Mankind's worst fears about each other and the world we inhabit and then there are some who succeed at doing both the monsters and creatures of Slavic mythology have been used both to entertain as well as to frighten people for Generations and they continue to do so in many modern fantasy stories that feature them

Channel: Mythology Unleashed

Views: 257,144

Keywords: Mythology Unleashed, Mythology, Myth, Greek, Egyptian, Celtic, Viking, Norse, Nordic, Meso-American, Gods, Goddesses, Monsters, Heroes, Heroines, Magic, Grimm Fairy Tales, Slavic mythology, Russian mythology, Ukrainian mythology, Ivan, Koschei the Deathless, Baba Yaga, Strzyga, Striga, Bieda, Vodyanoi, Vodyanoy, Vodnik, Leshy, Leshovik, Zmey, Zmei, Zmije, Dragons, Slavic Dragon, Zmey Gorynych, Drekavac, Chudo Yudo, Smok Wawelski, Wawel Dragon

Id: UrGXs6AX8O4

Length: 18min 9sec (1089 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 01 2023