Thunder, heavy rain, lightning all over the sky … Even to modern man, these natural phenomena inspire some fear. Imagine what it was like to people who lived ten to fifteen centuries earlier!
Then a person had just begun to master natural secrets; much was not clear to him. And all that could not be explained in terms of logic or science, he explained by the existence of supernatural forces and gods. The god of thunder and lightning was at that time the most important among other deities. He was worshiped most of all, he was feared and revered.
Perun - the god of thunder, lightning and war among the Slavic peoples. It was believed that he strikes those who have guilty or somehow angered him. In order to appease Perun, animals were sacrificed to him, and a symbol in the form of a lightning was cut out on each house. His name is found in many historical sources. For example, in The Tale of Bygone Years, written by Nestor, Neptune is mentioned more than ten times. The God of thunder and lightning among the Slavs caused awe and fear; they even said: “Grab you Perun!”, which meant the wish of misfortunes and misfortunes.
People believed that Perun punishes for non-observance of special laws (which were something like the Bible for Christians). It was believed that Perun would send stones, axes, arrows, and, of course, thunder and lightning to those who did not please him. If a family or even a whole village was overcome by crop failures and, as a result, hunger and disease, this meant the intervention of Perun and served as a “reminder” that people lead a wild life and do not work enough.
The god of thunder and lightning was one of the first explanations of unknown natural phenomena. The cult of Perun originated even more than three millennia ago. However, he was not only afraid, but also asked for prosperity. People believed that in the case of regular sacrifices and unconditional worship, Perun would grant them prosperity, save them from diseases, and make their crops rich.
Perun was considered the ancestor of all Slavs. In addition to idols carved from wood, people also had images of God: this was a powerful warrior with blue-black hair with a gray hair and a long fiery beard.
In Kievan Rus, the god of thunder and lightning became a subject of worship in the VI century. Later, the development of this cult, as it turned out according to the results of numerous studies of paganism, was promoted by Prince Vladimir himself. Even after Christianity was adopted in Russia in Russia, the wooden idol, symbolizing Perun, was not burned, like many other figures of the gods, but was launched along the Dnieper. Vladimir could not do this, since the remnants of the previous faith in pagan deities still sat tightly in the heads of people. He was afraid to completely destroy the symbol of a prosperous life and successful conduct of military affairs.
The god of thunder and lightning was not only among the Slavic peoples. Among the ancient Greeks Zeus was considered the main god. In Germanic-Scandinavian mythology, the deity capable of sending punishment in the form of destructive lightning is Thor, and in India Indra.
The times when people massively believed in pagan gods have passed. However, even now there are those called Old Believers: they, continuing the traditions of their ancestors, worship the most ancient gods, among which, of course, there is Perun.
