ASlavic dragon is anydragon inSlavic mythology, including thePolishżmij,Russianzmei (orzmey;змей),Ukrainianzmiy (змій), and its counterparts in other Slavic cultures (See§ Formsbelow). The physiognomy resembles a combination of theclassical dragon and asnake (as a winged serpent), less often depicted with two legs and/or more than one head. Similar representations include theAztecQuetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent) orCaduceus (Sumerian symbol of the godEnki borrowed intoGreek mythology).
TheRomanianzmeu could also be deemed a "Slavic" dragon, but a non-cognate etymology has been proposed.
Azmei may be beast-like or human-like (assuming dragon form in air, human form on ground), sometimes wooing women, but often plays the role of chief antagonist inRussian literature. In theBalkans, thezmei type is overall regarded as benevolent, as opposed to malevolent dragons known variously aslamia [bg],ala orhala, oraždaja.
ThePolishsmok (e.g.Wawel Dragon ofKraków) or theUkrainian orBelarusiansmok (смок),tsmok (цмок), can also be included. In some Slavic traditionssmok is an ordinary snake which may turn into a dragon with age.
Some of the common motifs concerning Slavic dragons include their identification as masters of weather or water source; that they start life as snakes; and that both the male and female can be romantically involved with humans.
The Slavic terms descend fromProto-Slavic*zmьjь. The further derivation that Serbo-Croatianzmaj "dragon" andzemlja "earth" ultimately descend from the same Proto-Slavic rootzьm-, from thezero grade ofProto-Indo-European*ǵhdem, was proposed by CroatianlinguistPetar Skok.[2] Lithuanian scholarship also points out that the connection of the snake (zmey) with the earthly realm is even more pronounced in folk incantations, since its name would etymologically mean 'earthly (being); that which creeps underground'.[3]
The Russianzmei, Ukrainianzmiy may be rendered "serpent", but a "flying serpent" is always implicit,[4] and similarly for the Belarusianzmiej,[5] hence "dragon".
There is dissenting opinion that the Romanianzmeu may not be a loan word from the Slaviczmei group of words, but rather an early borrowing from theThracian language.[6]
The forms and spellings are Russian:zmei orzmeyзмей (pl.zmeiзме́и); Ukrainian:zmiyзмій (pl.zmiyiзмії);Belarusian:zmiej (змей);[7] Bulgarian:zmeiзмей (pl.zmeioveзмейове; femalezmeikinyaзмейкиня);[8] Polishzmiyżmij (pl.żmije); Serbo-Croatianzmajзмај (pl.зма̀јеви);[8]Slovene:zmajzmáj orzmàj (pl.zmáji orzmáji), orMacedonian:zmev (змев; pl.zmevoviзмевови).[8] theSlovenezmaj, theSlovakdrak andšarkan,Czechdrak,[citation needed]
In the legends ofRussia andUkraine, a particular dragon-like creature,Zmey Gorynych (Russian:Змей Горыныч orUkrainian:Змій Горинич), hasthree to twelve heads,[9] andTugarin Zmeyevich (literally: "Tugarin Dragon-son"), known aszmei-bogatyr or "serpent hero", is a man-like dragon who appears in Russian (orKievan Rus) heroic literature.[10] The name "Tugarin" may symbolize Turkic or Mongolsteppe-peoples.[11]
Both the Russian flying serpent or dragon (змей летающий;zmei letayushchiy) andfiery serpent (Russian:змей Огненный;zmei ognennyi) are considered types of demons, which take on the shape of serpent/dragon in air, and a humanoid on land.[12]
The Chudo-Yudo (or Chudo-iudo,чудо-юдо; pl.Chuda-Yuda) is a multi-headed dragon that appears in some wondertale variants, usually considered to be water-dwelling.[13][14] Some legends portray him as the brother ofKoshchey the Deathless, and thus the offspring of the witchBaba Yaga; others present him as a personification of the witch in her foulest form.[15] A Chudo Yudo is one of the guardians of the Water of Life and Death, and his name traditionally was invoked in times of drought.[15] He can apparently assume human-like forms and is able to speak and to ride a horse. He has the ability to regenerate any severed heads.[16][17]
The termChudo-Yudo may not be a name for a specific type of dragon at all, but rather a fanciful term for a generic "monster". According to this explanation, the term is to be understood as a poetic form ofchudovishche (чудовище) meaning "monster", with a-iudo ending appended simply for the rhyme.[18][19]Chudo in modern Russian means "a wonder", and once also had the meaning of "a giant"; "yudo" may relate toIuda, the Russian form of the personal name"Judas", with connotations of uncleanness and the demonic.[20]
Three- and six-headedzmei, slain by the titular hero in "Ivan Popyalov" (Иван Попялов, "Ivan Cinders",Afanasyev's tale #135)[21] appear as six-, nine-, and twelve-headed Chuda-Iuda in the cognate tale #137 "Ivan Bykovich" (Иван Быкович). The inference is that Chudo-Yudo must also be a dragon, even though the word "serpent" (zmei) does not appear explicitly in the latter tale.[22][23] The six-, nine-, and twelve-headed Chuda-Yuda that appear out of theBlack Sea are explicitly described aszmei in yet another cognate tale, #136 "Storm-Bogatyr, Ivan the Cow's Son" (Буря-богатырь Иван коровий сын). The Storm-Bogatyr possesses a magic sword (sword Kladenets), but uses his battle club (ormace) to attack them.[24][25][17]
A Chudo-Yudo's heads have a remarkable healing property: even if severed, he can pick them up and re-attach them with a stroke of his fiery finger, according to one of these tales,[16] comparable to the regenerative power of theLernaean hydra that grows its head back.[26]
Folktales often depict Chuda-yuda as living beyond theRiver Smorodina [ru] (the name may suggest "Stench River")—that is, in the realm of the dead, reached by crossing over theKalinov Bridge [ru] ("White-hot Bridge").
The termssmok ("dragon") andtsmok ("sucker") can signify a dragon, but also just an ordinary snake. There are Slavic folk tales in which asmok, when it reaches a certain age, grows into a dragon (zmaj, etc.).[citation needed]
The folklore that an ancient snake grows into a dragon is fairly widespread in Slavic regions. This is also paralleled by similar lore in China.[a]
In Russian lore, when thegrass snake (уж) or some other serpent, lizard, rooster, or carp achieves certain longevity, such as 9 years or 40 years, it transmutes into a flyingzmei.[8]
In Bulgaria is a similar folk belief that thesmok ("Aesculapian snake"[27]) begins itslife-cycle as a non-venomous snake but later grows into azmei dragon after living 40 years.[28][29][30] Or, if the body of adecapitated snake (zmiya) is joined to an ox or buffalo horn, it grows into a lamia after just 40 days, according to Bulgarian folk tradition published byRacho Slaveykov [bg] in the 19th century.[31]
There are also among theEast Slavic folk the tradition that aviper transforms into a dragon.[32] In Ukrainian folklore the viper needs 7 years to metamorphosize into a dragon, while in Belarusian folklore the requisite time is 100 years, according to one comparison.[32]
The weather-making dragon,ismeju (orzmeu[33]), of RomanianScholomance folklore is also locally believed to grow out of a snake which has lived for 9 years (belief found at "Hatzeger Thal" orHațeg).[34]
There are other accounts of how thezmei is engendered. A hen-hatched egg unbeknownst to a human may turn into azmei (Bulgaria).[8] Or a dragon may be born when a grass snake is swept up by whirlwind (Bulgaria).[8] It is also explained as a cross hybrid between a serpent and grass snake (Macedonia), serpent and ram (Serbia), serpent and asamovila (Macedonia). A woman may conceive a zmei with a serpent (Macedonia), but may suffer a prolonged period of pregnancy.[8]
Locally in Ukraine, aroundLutsk, therainbow is calledtsmok ("sucker") which is said to be a tube that guzzles water from the sea and rivers and carries the moisture up into the clouds.[37][38]
There is the notion (thought to be inspired by the tornado) of a Slavic dragon that dips its tail into a river or lake and siphons up the water, ready to cause floods.[39]
In Romanian folklore, dragons are ridden by weather-controlling wizards called theSolomonari. The type of dragon they ride may be thezmeu[b][33] or thebalaur, depending on the source.[40][41]
The lamia and the hala (explained further below) are also generally perceived as weather dragons or demons.
In Bulgarian lore, thezmei is sometimes described as a scale-covered serpent-like creature with four legs and bat's wings,[29] at other times as half-man, half-snake, with wings and a fish-like tail.[28]
In Bulgaria, thiszmei tends to be regarded as a benevolent guardian creature, while thelamya andhala were seen as detrimental towards humans.[42][43][c]
A flyingzmei may appear as a "mythological lover", i.e., a mythical creature behaving as a suitor and lover of human females.[8][44] A favorite topic of folk songs was the malezmey-lover who may marry a woman and carry her to the underworld, or a femalezmeitsa (zmeitza) who falls in love with a shepherd.[45][46] When azmei falls in love with a woman, she may "pine, languish, become pale, neglect herself ... and generally act strangely", and the victim stricken with the condition could only be cured by bathing in infusions of certain herbs, according to superstition.[46]
In Serbia, there is the example of the epic songCarica Milica i zmaj od Jastrepca (Serbian:Царица Милица и змај од Јастрепца) and its folktale version translated as "The Tsarina Militza and the Zmay of Yastrebatz".[47][48]
Zmey of Macedonian fairy tales
In most Macedonian tales and folk songs they are described as extremely intelligent, having hypnotizing eyes. However, sometimes Zmey's could be men who would astrally project into the sky when there is a storm to battle the Lamia, a female evil version that wants to destroy the wheat. They were also known as guardians of the territory, and would even protect the people in it. Hostile behaviour was shown if another zmey comes into his territory. They could change their appearance in the form of a smoke, strong spark, fire bird, snake, cloud but almost afterwards he would gain the form of a handsome man and enter the chambers of a young maiden. They fell in love with women who were conceived on the same night as them, or born in the same day as them. He usually guards the girl from a small age and his love lasts forever. Some girls get sick by loving a zmey, and symptoms include paleness, shyness, antisocial behaviour, watery eyes, quietness and hallucinations. They didn't live a long life, because it resulted in suicide. Zmeys would kidnap girls and lead them into their mountain caves where she would serve him.
There is a pan-Balkan notion that thezmei (known by various cognates) is a sort of "guardian-spirit dragon" against the "evil" types of dragon, given below.[49][50] One explanation is that the Balkanzmej symbolized thepatriotic dragon fighting the Turkish dragon, a way to vent the local population's frustration at not being able to overthrow the long-timeTurkish rule.[51]
The zmaj dragon in Serbian fairy tales nevertheless have sinister roles in a number of instances. In the well-known tale[52] "A Pavilion Neither in the Sky nor on the Earth" the youngest prince succeeds in killing the dragon (zmaj) that guards the three princesses held captive.[d][54]
Vuk Karadžić's collection of folktales have other examples. In "The Golden Apple-tree and the Nine Peahens", the dragon carries away the peahen maiden who is the hero's lover.[55][54] In "Baš Čelik" the hero must contend with a dragon-king.[56][57]
Thelamia [bg] orlamya (Bulgarian:ламя), derived from the Greeklamia,[58] is also seen as a dragon-like creature in Bulgarian ethnic population, currently inhabiting Bulgaria, with equivalents in Macedonia (lamja,lamna;ламја), and South-East Serbian areas (lamniaламња).[59]
The Bulgarian lamia is described as reptile- or lizard-like and covered with scales, with 3–9 heads which are like dog's heads with sharp teeth.[60][32] It may also have sharp claws,webbed wings, and the scales may be yellow color.[32]
The Bulgarian lamia dwells in the bottoms of the seas and lakes, or sometimes mountainous caverns,[32] or tree holes[e][61] and can stop the supply of water to the human population, demandingsacrificial offerings to undo its deed.[32][60] The lamia, bringer of drought, was considered the adversary of St. Ilya (Elijah) or a benevolent zmei.[60]
In the Bulgarian version ofSaint George and the Dragon, the dragon was alamia.[60] Bulgarian legends tell of how a hero (actually a double of St. George, denoted as "George of the Flowers",Cveten Gǝorgi,Bulgarian:цветен Гьорги[62]) cuts off the heads of the three- or multi-headed Lamia, and when the hero accomplishes its destruction and sever all its heads, "rivers of fertility" are said to flow.[60][63][62] This song about St. George's fight with the lamia occurs in ritual spiritual verse supposed to be sung aroundSt. George's day.[f][65]
One of the versions collected by ethnologistDimitar Marinov [bg] begins: "Тръгнал ми е цветен Гьорги/Да обиди нивен сънор/На път среща сура ламя.. (George of the Flowers fared out / Going around his congregation /On the road he met thefallow lamia..)".[66][g] Another version collected by Marinov substitutes "Yuda-Samodiva" in the place of the lamia.[62] Three rivers gush out of the dragons head-stumps: typically one of corn, one of red wine, and one of milk and honey. These benefitted the crop-growers,vineyard growers (winemakers), and thebeekeepers and shepherds, respectively.[66][63][62].
There is some overlap or conflation of the lamia and thehala (orhalla), although the latter is usually conceived of as a "whirlwind".[32][68] Or it might be described as regional differences. Thelamia in Eastern Bulgaria is the adversary of the benevolent zmei,[69] and thehala orala takes its place in Western Bulgaria.[59][49]
This motif of hero against the evil dragon (lamia, ala/hala, or aždaja) is found more generally throughout theBalkan Slavic region.[70] Sometimes this hero is a saint (usually St. George).[70] And after the hero severs all its (three) heads, "three rivers of wheat, milk, and wine" flow out of the stumps.[70][h]
The demon or creature known ashala (orala), whose name derived from the Greek word for "hail" took the appearance of a densemist orfog, or a black cloud.[60][32] Hala was believed to be the cause of strong winds and whirlwind in Eastern Bulgaria,[60] whereas the lamya was blamed as the perpetrator in Southwestern Bulgarian lore.[71] In Western Bulgarian tradition, thehalla itself was regarded as the whirlwind, which guarded clouds and contained the rain,[72] but was also regarded as a type of dragon,[59][49] alongside the folklore that thesmok (roughly equated with "grass snake" but actually theAesculapian snake[i][27]) was a crag-dwelling whirlwind.[72]
Thesehala were also known in East and CentralSerbia.[59] Similar lore occur inCroatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Montenegro.[citation needed]
The demonhala was also called by other names regionally, in some parts of Bulgaria they were known asaždarha (Bulgarian:аждарха) oražder (аждер), inMacedonian asaždaja oražder (аждаја,аждер), inBosnian andSerbian asaždaja (аждаја).[j][59][49]
The wordaždaja oraždaha is borrowed fromPersianazdahā (اژدها),[73] and has its origins in theIndo-Iranian mythology surrounding the dragonazidahā.[70] As an example, in some local Serbian icons,St. George is represented as slaying the aždaja and not azmaj.[74]
Apozoj is a dragon of legends in Croatia.[k] InMeđimurje County, theČakovecpozoj was said to dwell beneath the city, with its head under the church and tail under the town square, or vice versa, and it could only be gotten rid of by agrabancijaš (a "wandering scholar", glossed as a "black [magic] student").[76]
Thepozoj is also known inSlovenia, and according to legend there is one living underneathZagreb, causing an earthquake whenever it shrugs.[77] PoetMatija Valjavec [sl] (1866) has published some tales concerning the pozoj in theSlovenski glasnik magazine, which also connected the creature to thečrne škole dijak ("black school student"),[78] which other Slovene sources callčrnošolec ("sorcerer's apprentice"),[79] and which some equate with agrabancijaš dijak[80]
Dragons in Slovenia are generally negative in nature, and usually appear in relation withSt. George.[81] The Slovene god-heroKresnik is known as adragonslayer.[82]
There are natural and man-made structures that have dragon lore attached to them. There are also representations in sculpture and painting. Iniconography,Saint George and the Dragon is prominent in Slavic areas. The dragon is a common motif inheraldry, and thecoat of arms of a number of cities or families depict dragons.
TheDragon Bridge (Slovene:Zmajski most) inLjubljana,Slovenia depicts dragons associated with the city or said to be the city's guardians,[83] and the city's coat of arms features a dragon (representing the one slain by Kresnik).[82]
Thecoat of arms of Moscow also depicts aSt George (symbolizingChristianity) killing the Dragon (symbolizing theGolden Horde).[84][85][need quotation to verify]
Some prehistoric structures, notably theSerpent's Wall nearKyiv, have been associated with dragons as symbols of foreign peoples.[citation needed]
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