Perun (3.5e Deity)

Perun (Перун)

Greater Deity

|Symbols Axe, Fire, Eagle, Oak, Thunder symbols(коловрат)

[1]

|Plane Heavens

|Alignment Lawful Neutral

|Portfolio Air, Fire, Fertility, Rain, Storms, Strength, Thunder, War

|Domains Air, Fire, Strength, War

|Favored Weapon Axe, Longbow

|Divine Rank 18

[2]

In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перун) is the highest god of the pantheon, mainly with the South Slavs, and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were fire, mountains, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament, horses and carts, weapons (axe (Axe of Perun) and arrow(fiery arrow)) and war. He was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal. Perun is described as a strong, rugged man with a copper beard. He rides in a chariot pulled by a goat buck and carries a mighty axe. The axe is hurled at evil people, monsters and spirits and will always return to his hand.

Dogma

In Slavic mythology, the world was represented by a sacred tree, usually an oak, whose branches and trunk represented the living world of heavens and mortals, whilst its roots represented the underworld, i.e. the realm of the dead. Perun was a ruler of the living world, sky and earth, and was often symbolised by an eagle sitting on the top of the tallest branch of the tree, from which he kept watch over the entire world. Deep down in the roots of the tree was the place of his enemy, symbolised by a serpent or a dragon: this was Veles, watery god of the underworld, who continually provoked Perun by stealing his cattle, children or wife. Perun pursued Veles around the earth, attacking him with his lightning bolts from the sky. Veles fled from him by transforming himself into various animals, or hiding behind trees, houses or people; wherever a lightning bolt struck, it was believed, this was because Veles hid from Perun under or behind that particular place. In the end, Perun managed to kill Veles, or to chase him back down into his watery underworld. To the Slavs, the mythological symbolism of a supreme heavenly god who battles with his underworldly enemy through storms and thunder was extremely significant, and from Perun and Veles, this idea of cosmic battle was passed onto God and the Devil following Christianization. While the exact pantheon characterization differed between the Slavic tribes, Perun is generally believed to have been considered as the supreme god by the majority, or perhaps nearly all Slavs, at least towards the end of Slavic paganism.

Clergy and Temples

Like many other Indo-European thunder gods, Perun's vegetative hypostasis was the oak, especially a particularly distinctive or prominent one. In Southern Slavic traditions, marked oaks stood on country borders; communities at these positions were visited during village holidays in the late spring and during the summer. Shrines of Perun were located either on top of mountains or hills, or in sacred groves underneath ancient oaks. These were a general place of worship and holding of sacrifices (with a bull, an ox, a ram, and eggs). In addition to the tree association, Perun had a day association (Thursday) as well as the material association (tin)

Pantheon

Slavic Pantheon

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Deities → Lesser