Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Book of Veles


So I decided to look up Russian Mythology and I came across this book called the Book of Veles. Apparently it was a text of ancient Slavic Mythology and History that began in the 7th century B.C. and has stories as late as 9th century A.D written on wooden planks. It has been widely criticized for being inauthentic and many think it was a forgery made in the 1800s. (Above is the original Book of Veles)
It first emerged in a Russian newspaper and it believed this paper forged the details of the book to gain publicity. Scholars analyzing the book say that modern words are used where ancient words should be, the phonetics do not match up with ancient Slavic roots, and features inconsistent grammar forms. These details make it apparent that the book was artificially aged. Proponents of the book say that these discrepancies are due to the varied nature of the Slavic tribes during the time. Still scholars rebuke this claim.
Unfortunately, the books are lost today and there will probably never be a consensus on their authenticity. They were discovered in 1919 by General Lizenbeck of the Russian White Army who refused to let others outside of Russia see them. He gave them to the editor of a Russian newspaper who was the only one to read and transcribe them. Afterwards, they were either stolen by the Nazi's or the KGB or burned and lost. The book outlines the Slavs migration from possibly Kazakhstan to the Carpathian Mountain where they are eventually defeated by the Normans (Vikings).
Veles, also known as Volos, was the Slavic god of the underworld, earth, and water and was in constant opposition with the thunder god Perun. Their battle is the Slavs etymological myth for the seasons for when Veles was killed rain would come and the next season would take over. The death of Veles was a cyclical occurrence.

This is Thor. He is much cooler than Veles. Also, I couldn't find any pictures of Veles, but there is a definite link between the Slavic thunder god Perun and Thor. Thor is also much cooler than Perun.

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