To date, there are quite a lot of various articles in the press about unusual miracles and phenomena, most of which are based only on various conjectures and conjectures. Sometimes, journalists, in order to find a sensation, print the absolute absurdity and the gullible reader does not notice the fraud and deliberate deception. But it seemed that it could be simpler, just open a book with old fairy tales and you will find so much sensational material that your head can spin. The most important thing in such a search is perseverance. In this case, ancient legends will be able to reveal ancient secrets to you.
Most of us have heard in school about the existence of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. Of course, most of these chronicles are very difficult to read, and can only be accessed by a narrow circle of readers and specialists. However, among the great number of such manuscripts there are also available, which are reprinted and quite accessible to the modern reader.
Many times, studied by domestic and foreign scientists, they, at first glance, do not seem to be fraught with any more discoveries. But this is only at first glance.
Enough a large number of disputes, today, is about the existence of the character of Russian folk epics and fairy tales - the Serpent Gorynych. What interpretations and explanations you will not hear from historians and publicists. Some see in it the product of a formidable element, including a tornado, someone even sees in it a giant Chinese-Mongolian flamethrower. Also, some of the scientists put forward a version that this is some kind of dinosaur that survived to those times, but they immediately stipulate that these are just assumptions.
In fact, there are versions confirming the existence of the Serpent Gorynych! To confirm, you just need to read a few original texts of famous epics and fairy tales. And also, carefully look through the ancient annals.
Ancient Russian mythology brought to us a very real image of Gorynych - judging by the ancient Russian myth, the roots of which go back to ancient Aryan roots, then the earth was created by a Lizard - the Forefather. It was from his egg that our world hatched. Now it’s worth considering: why did some fantastic image become an object of worship among the Russian tribes, although on all the idols and totems of that time the Slavs and Russ worshiped quite specific representatives of the fauna?

In particular, for some reason, the accumulation of worshipers of the cult of the lizard is noticeable in the northwest Ancient Rus'. In the Pskov and Novgorod lands. Perhaps such a cult existed due to the fact that such lizards actually once lived there. IN northern peoples just as widely known is the myth of the serpent that swallowed the sun in the evening and vomited it into the sky in the morning. Even Herodotus told stories about a certain people who live in the northern lands. They were forced to leave their land due to the spread of some terrible snakes. These events date back to approximately the sixth century BC. Not a single nation on earth and not a single settlement will be simply abandoned by a person because of some non-existent lizards.
For a very long time, the very famous scientist B.A. Rybakov, specializing in Ancient Rus'. He paid special attention to the well-known epic - Sadko. It turned out to be so encrypted with a secret meaning that it turned out to be feasible only for such a scientist.
First of all, it should be noted that B.A. Rybakov, as well as one of the most famous historians of the 19th century Kostomarov N.I. considered this epic one of the most ancient in the lands of Novgorod, which has its roots in pre-Christian times. In the original version about the merchant Sadko, he does not travel, but simply goes to a certain lake and plays his songs to the underwater king.
The image of this water king is not described in any way in the epic, but in some versions he is referred to as the “Queen of the White Fish” or called “Uncle Ilmen”. The epic further says that the king liked the songs of the merchant and, in gratitude for the pleasure he received, he promised him the largest catch of various fish and the opportunity to catch goldfish. After that, the merchant gets rich pretty quickly and becomes the richest and most respected person in Novgorod.
B.A. Rybakov, in his book Paganism of Ancient Rus', wrote the following about this: “In our topic related to the lizard, you can stop your attention on the authentic harps of the 12th century, which were found during excavations in Novgorod. The tool is a flat trough with special grooves for six pegs. The left side of the harp is made sculpturally, in the form of a part of the body and head of a lizard. Just below his head are two small heads of small lizards. A bird and a lion are painted on the back of the instrument. It turns out that in the ornamentation there are all vital zones. This is the sky (bird), earth (lion) and the underwater world (lizards). In the ornament of the harp, it is clear that the lizard has superiority and unites both sides of the instrument, with the help of its three-dimensional sculptural quality.

The harp decorated in this way is imprinted on a bracelet by a gusli of the 12th-13th centuries. There are harps with two horse heads depicted on them (a horse is a common sacrifice brought to the underwater king); also, there are harps on which waves are drawn - these are harps of the XIV century. The painting of the harp of the 11th-14th centuries, found in Novgorod, can be fully correlated with the outdated version of the Russian epic, in which the gusler plays various melodies to the underwater king, thereby pleasing him, and he, in turn, completely changes the life of the poor, but intelligent gusler.
The question immediately arises: Why is a mythical lizard depicted on the ancient harp in addition to existing animals? Maybe he really was never mythical, but was just as real as other animals, but stronger and therefore more revered?

During excavations in the Pskov and Novgorod lands, a huge number of images of the lizard are found, first of all, on the handles of ladles and on the structures of houses. The depicted lizards are very real creatures with an elongated, large head and a large mouth equipped with large teeth. It is likely that the images depicted mosasaurs or kronosaurs, which are doubted by scientists. And the sacrifices that were presented to the “underwater lizard king” also clarify some details. The sacrifice being made is a large animal, in order to satiate the rather voracious "underwater king". An animal is offered as a sacrifice to an underwater monster not at any time, but precisely in winter, that is, in the most hungry period.

The writings that have survived to our time say that often the underwater king took the form of a fierce beast - a crocodile and attacked boats passing by him, with merchants and fishermen. He sank boats and ate those who were there. From this we can conclude that the underwater monster was not always satisfied with the horsemeat sacrificed to him. Such a monster had something to be afraid of and to honor, bringing plentiful sacrifices.

Analyzing the very first of the variants of epics about Sadko, Academician Rybakov found quite existing place communication between the underwater king and the guslar. According to the calculations of the academician, such a place was Lake Ilmen, namely, near the source of the Volkhov, at the “Sofia” bank of the river. This place is best known under the name "Peryn". During excavations in Peryn, in 1952, archaeologists discovered a temple (Rybakov calls it "the sanctuary of the crocodile").

Also, Rybakov turned his attention to the clearly described habitat of the underwater lizard: “The image of the ruler of the underwater kingdom was practically not connected with the worldview of the Slavic tribes living in the forest-steppes of the south ... But, on the other hand, in the northern region, the cult of the lizard is stable and often found. .."

What do the chronicles tell us? The oldest mention of a monster that lives in the water is the "Conversations of Gregory the Theologian on the test of the city", which were written back in the 11th century and are directed against paganism. In one of the sections, which is devoted to fishing and pagan rituals associated with it, it says: “... Ov (someone who) devour his newborn, imishyu many (thankful sacrifice for a rich catch) ... the god who created heaven and earth to irritate. Ov calls the river a goddess, and the beast living in it, as if calling a god, demands to create.

And here is a note by an unknown Pskov chronicler who lived in the 16th century: “In the summer of 7090 (1582) ... The same summer, the wild beasts from the river came out and the path closed; a lot of people eat. And the people were horrified and prayed to God throughout the earth. And packs hide, and beat others.
But the advent of crocodiles was not always so terrible. On this occasion, Sigismund Herberstein (a German travel scientist) left us grandiose information in his Notes on Muscovy, which were written at the beginning of the 16th century. The facts that Herberstein cited in his notes may amaze any skeptic, as the scientist tells about animal lizards tamed by Russian people. I mean northwestern lands Rus', S. Herberstein writes: “There are still quite a large number of idol worshipers there. At home, they feed snakes with four short legs. These snakes look like lizards with a fat black body, no more than three spans in length, which is approximately 60-70 centimeters. They are called Givoites. On certain days, people put things in order in their house and, with incomprehensible fear, the whole family worships them, crawling out to the presented food. All illnesses and misfortunes are attributed to those whose givoit, that is, the lizard, was poorly fed.

From this it can be understood that real animal lizards (both predatory, living in the water, and tamed by people on the ground), felt great a couple of centuries ago, having lived almost to this day.

But what happened after? Why were these so revered, sacred animals still unable to survive to our times? Let's dive into history again. In fact, the point is this: the pagan deity-lizard, without any doubt, was the most dangerous ideological enemy for the ongoing Christianization of the northwestern Russian lands in the 11th-16th centuries, since it was simply impossible to convince the people to renounce the well-known, deified animal . Most likely, there could be only one way out of this situation: the merciless extermination of absolutely all sacred animals and the complete eradication of any memory of them. That is why, in the Christian annals, the lizards are described as "blasphemous and demon-possessed river sorcerers", "fiends of hell" and "devil reptiles". The massacre with the underwater kings was carried out mercilessly. First of all, apparently, they dealt with the tamed lizards, after which they began to deal with the predatory lizards that live in the water. The chronicles very picturesquely describe the actions taken in this direction.

The manuscript of the Great Synodal Library of the 17th century, called “The Flower Garden” among specialists, says: “Our Christian true word ... About this cursed sorcerer and sorcerer - as if evilly broken and strangled from demons in the Volkhov River and dreamed by demonic the deadly body was quickly carried up the river Volkhov and cast out on the run against that magical town, which is not called Perynya. And with much weeping from the darkness, that one was buried, cursed with a great feast of filth. And the velmy's grave is high above him, as if there is a filthy one.

The manuscript tells that the "lizard" swam upstream, not downstream.. This means that he was alive, and then inexplicably killed in the water, and possibly died a natural death. But most likely, he was still killed by Christians, after which his body was buried by local pagans. The merciless extermination of water lizards was carried out simultaneously with the persuasion of the inhabitants that this animal is not a god, but just an ordinary, disgusting beast.

Perhaps, together with Christianity being planted in Russian lands in XI-XVI, the last species of the most ancient kind of river pangolins were exterminated. From the point of view of the ideology of that time, everything was done absolutely correctly. But still, it is a pity that the lizards were completely destroyed and did not survive to this day, but only remained in epics, legends and on the pages of annals that tell about past times.

And epics.

Gorynych usually lives in the mountains, often near a fiery river and guards the Kalinov Bridge, through which they enter the kingdom of the dead.

Characteristics of the Snake

The many-headed snake is its indispensable feature. The number of heads is usually a multiple of three, most often there are 3, 6, 9 and 12, but sometimes 5 and 7. Most often, the serpent appears as three-headed. Other features of the serpent are mentioned less often or not at all. In most cases, the snake has the ability to fly, but, as a rule, nothing is said about its wings. So, in the entire Afanasiev collection of Russian folk tales only once is it reported about "fiery wings" (the fairy tale "Frolka-seat"). The body of a snake is not described in fairy tales, however, in popular prints depicting a snake, the favorite details are a long tail with an arrow and clawed paws. Another important feature of the snake is its fiery nature, however, fairy tales do not describe exactly how fire erupts. Serpent fire carries within itself and spews it out in the event of an attack. In addition to the fire element, the serpent is also associated with the water element, and these two elements do not exclude each other. In some fairy tales, he lives in the water, sleeps on a stone in the sea. At the same time, the snake is also the Serpent Gorynych and lives in the mountains (it is also possible that the middle name came from the Slavic name Gorynya). However, such a location does not prevent him from being sea ​​monster. In some fairy tales, he lives in the mountains, but when the hero approaches him, he comes out of the water. According to Dahl, “Gorynya is a fabulous hero and giantess who shakes mountains. Gorynich is a fabulous patronymic given to heroes, sometimes a snake, or inhabitants of mountains, dens, caves. The three-headed serpent Azhi-Dahak from Iranian mythology and the Serbian Serpent Fire Wolf (Serb. Zmaj Ogњeni Vuk) are similar to the Serpent Gorynych.

Opponents

• Theodore Tiron in The Tale of the Exploits of Fyodor Tirinin

Serpent Gorynych in modern culture

Serpent Gorynych in literature

• Folk epic.
• In the story-tale by V. M. Shukshin “Until the third cocks”, the Serpent Gorynych is going to marry the mustachioed daughter of Baba Yaga, he threatens to swallow Ivan the Fool for tricks with his bride, but in the end he is defeated by the Don ataman.
• In the story of the Strugatsky brothers "Monday begins on Saturday" Serpent Gorynych was used for experiments at NIICHAVO.
• In a poetic tale by Dmitry Polovnev, the Snake got bored with his former life and decided to improve.
• In Nikolai Gumilyov's poem "The Serpent", he is the ruler of Lagor, who, turning into a Serpent, kidnaps girls to take them to his palace.
• In the poem by Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy "The Serpent Tugarin", he also has the properties of a werewolf and, turning into a singer, sings at a feast at Prince Vladimir.
• In Sergei's novel, Patsiashvili is the main character, a werewolf-wizard who fights against the yoke of vampires during the christening of Rus'.

Serpent Gorynych in painting

• Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov: "The battle of Dobrynya Nikitich with the seven-headed Serpent Gorynych" (1913-1918)
• Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin: "Fight of Dobrynya with the Serpent"
• Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin: "Dobrynya Nikitich frees Zabava Putyaticna from the Serpent Gorynych" (1941)
• Nicholas Roerich: "Victory" (1942). On this one, created by Roerich during the war years, the Russian hero cuts off the head of the Serpent Gorynych, depicted in the color of the Nazi uniform.

Serpent Gorynych in films

• Vasilisa is beautiful. Gorynych kidnaps the frog princess Vasilisa to marry her, but the hero Ivan (who used to be a simple peasant) comes to the wedding itself and destroys the snake. In this film, Gorynych does not live in the mountains, but in a beautiful palace with numerous servants and an assistant, Baba Yaga.
• Ilya Muromets (1956; USSR) director Alexander Ptushko.
• "Fire, water and ... copper pipes". In this film, Gorynych, invited to the wedding of Kashchei the Immortal, is not. The servant of the Serpent tells Kashchei that Gorynych could not come, because "he is ill - he has been sick for a week in a row: the first, fifth, seventh heads hurt, the twelfth is spinning."
• "There, on unknown paths ...". The film is shot in such a way that Gorynych never appears in a single frame. According to the plot, Gorynych flies to visit Kashchei the Immortal, who gives him a place in the barn. Soon he gives the captured king Makar to be eaten, who, with the help of magical water, turns the dragon into a three-headed goat.
• "They sat on the golden porch." In this film, the one-headed Serpent Gorynych serves as a flying transport for Koshchei the Immortal.

Serpent Gorynych in animation

• Dobrynya Nikitich and the Serpent Gorynych (2006; Russia) directed by Ilya Maksimov, the Serpent Gorynych was voiced by Oleg Kulikovich.
• Three Bogatyrs and the Queen of Shamakhan (2010; Russia) directed by Sergei Glezin, the Serpent Gorynych was voiced by Oleg Kulikovich.
• Three heroes on distant shores (2012; Russia) directed by Konstantin Feoktistov, the Serpent Gorynych was voiced by Oleg Kulikovich.
• "The fairy tale affects". The three-headed dragon is one of the avatars of Kashchei the Immortal, which can only be defeated in this image with the dead hair of his brother Vodyany.
• "Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf ". Serpent Gorynych is an evil character, but learns from Ivan to do good deeds.
• "Key ". Four (instead of the traditional three) diverse heads of the Serpent Gorynych are a parody of formalist bureaucrats.
• "Nikitich ". The puppet cartoon is based on the Russian folk epic. The hero Dobrynya goes to the mountains, where he kills the Serpent Gorynych.
• "Mezha". The oppressors of the villagers are the Serpent Gorynych and the greedy king.
• "Alyonushka and the soldier". The three heads of the Serpent are multi-colored (green, blue, yellow) and diverse. First, the soldier turns them against each other, and then by cunning Gorynych turns into a birch block and throws him into the oven, from where a small and harmless Gorynchik appears.
• "The last bride of the Serpent Gorynych". In this film, the Serpent Gorynych is a kidnapper of beauties from all over the world. Has one head, but many paws; can also take on human form.
• Baba Yaga is against! ". According to the plot, the young Serpent Gorynych is a pet and assistant to Baba Yaga.
• "Ivashka from the Palace of Pioneers". According to the plot of this cartoon, the Serpent Gorynych is a guest of Baba Yaga and the latter must kill and eat the pioneer Ivan, but Ivan defeats him with a fire extinguisher.
• "Sineglazka". Serpent Gorynych can take on different guises.
• "Wait for it! (Issue 16)". A wolf in a dream finds himself in a magical land where the heroes of different fairy tales live outside of time and plot. Serpent Gorynych guards the fairytale castle. (In this film, director Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin and artist Svetozar Rusakov reused the image stated in the film "Mezha".)
• "Dreamers from the village of Ugory". The Serpent Gorynych appears in the fantasies of the main characters as an ally of the enemies: Baba Yaga and Koshchei the Immortal.
• "Grandma Yozhka and others". Serpent Gorynych is the only negative character in the film.
• "Gullible dragon" - The three-headed Serpent Gorynych grows up among people not knowing who he really is.

see also

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Notes

Literature

• Bride / Gura A.V. //: in 5 volumes / Under the general editorship of. N. I. Tolstoy; . - M. : International relations, 2004. - V. 3: K (Circle) - P (Quail). - S. 381–388. - ISBN 5-7133-1207-0.
• / Levkievskaya E. E. // Slavic Antiquities: Ethnolinguistic Dictionary: in 5 volumes / Ed. N. I. Tolstoy; . - M. : International Relations, 1995. - Vol. 1: A (August) - G (Goose). - S. 520-521. - ISBN 5-7133-0704-2.
• Propp V. Ya. The historical roots of fairy tales. Scientific edition, textual commentary by IV Peshkov. - M .: Labyrinth, 2000. - 336 p. - ISBN 5-87604-008-8.
• // = Russisches etymologisches Wörterbuch: in 4 volumes / ed. M. Vasmer; per. with him. and additional Corresponding Member Academy of Sciences of the USSR O. N. Trubacheva. - Ed. 2nd, sr. - M. : Progress, 1987. - T. III: Muse - Syat. - S. 689.

Links

• Ivanov Vyach. Sun. , Toporov V. N.// Mythological Dictionary / Ch. ed. E. M. Meletinsky. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. - 672 p.
• .

Gods Spirits of the place Mortgage dead Mythical creatures ritual characters mythical places see also Notes: 1 the historicity of the deity is debatable; 2 divine status is debatable.

An excerpt characterizing the Serpent Gorynych

One evening, when the old countess, sighing and groaning, in a night cap and blouse, without overhead letters, and with one poor tuft of hair protruding from under a white calico cap, was laying prostrations of the evening prayer on the rug, her door creaked, and in shoes on her bare feet, also in a blouse and hairpins, Natasha ran in. The Countess looked back and frowned. She was finishing her last prayer: “Will this coffin be my bed?” Her prayer mood was destroyed. Natasha, red and animated, seeing her mother at prayer, suddenly stopped in her run, sat down and involuntarily stuck out her tongue, threatening herself. Noticing that her mother was continuing her prayer, she ran on tiptoe to the bed, quickly sliding one small foot against the other, kicked off her shoes and jumped onto that bed, for which the countess was afraid that he would not be her coffin. This bed was high, feather-bed, with five ever-decreasing pillows. Natasha jumped up, drowned in a featherbed, rolled over to the wall and began to fiddle under the covers, laying down, bending her knees to her chin, kicking her legs and laughing a little audibly, now covering her head, then looking at her mother. The countess finished her prayer and with a stern face went up to the bed; but, seeing that Natasha was covered with her head, she smiled her kind, weak smile.
“Well, well, well,” said the mother.
“Mom, can we talk, huh?” – said Natasha. - Well, in the darling once, well, more, and it will be. And she took her mother's neck and kissed her under the chin. In her treatment of her mother, Natasha showed outward rudeness of manner, but she was so sensitive and dexterous that no matter how she wrapped her arms around her mother, she always knew how to do it so that the mother would not be hurt, unpleasant, or embarrassed.
“Well, what are we talking about today?” - said the mother, sitting on the pillows and waiting until Natasha, also rolling twice over herself, lay down next to her under one blanket, holding out her hands and assuming a serious expression.
These nightly visits by Natasha, made before the return of the count from the club, were one of the favorite pleasures of mother and daughter.
– What are we talking about today? And I need to tell you...
Natasha covered her mother's mouth with her hand.
“About Boris… I know,” she said seriously, “that's why I came. Don't say, I know. No, tell me! She let go of her hand. - Tell me, mom. Is he nice?
- Natasha, you are 16 years old, I was married at your age. You say that Borya is nice. He is very sweet and I love him like a son, but what do you want?… What do you think? You completely turned his head, I can see it ...
Saying this, the Countess looked back at her daughter. Natasha lay, looking straight ahead and motionless at one of the mahogany sphinxes carved on the corners of the bed, so that the countess could only see her daughter's face in profile. This face struck the countess with its peculiarity of a serious and concentrated expression.
Natasha listened and thought.
- Well, so what? - she said.
- You turned his head completely, why? What do you want from him? You know you can't marry him.
- From what? - without changing the position, said Natasha.
“Because he’s young, because he’s poor, because he’s kindred… because you don’t love him yourself.”
– Why do you know?
- I know. This is not good, my friend.
“And if I want ...” said Natasha.
“Stop talking nonsense,” said the Countess.
- And if I want ...
Natasha, I'm serious...
Natasha didn’t let her finish, pulled the countess’s big hand to her and kissed her from above, then on the palm, then turned again and began to kiss her on the bone of the upper joint of the finger, then in the gap, then again on the bone, saying in a whisper: “January, February , March April May".
- Speak, mother, why are you silent? Speak, - she said, looking back at her mother, who looked at her daughter with a tender look and because of this contemplation, it seemed that she forgot everything she wanted to say.
“That won’t do, my soul. Not everyone will understand your childhood connection, and seeing him so close to you can harm you in the eyes of other young people who travel to us, and, most importantly, torment him in vain. He may have found himself a party of his own, rich; and now he's going crazy.
- Coming down? Natasha repeated.
- I'll tell you about myself. I had one cousin...
- I know - Kirilla Matveich, but he is an old man?
“There was not always an old man. But here's the thing, Natasha, I'll talk to Borey. He doesn't have to travel so often...
“Why not, if he wants to?”
“Because I know it won’t end.”
- Why do you know? No, mom, you don't tell him. What nonsense! - Natasha said in the tone of a person from whom they want to take away his property.
- Well, I won’t get married, so let him go, if he’s having fun and I’m having fun. Natasha looked at her mother smiling.
“Not married, but like this,” she repeated.
- How is it, my friend?
- Yes, it is. Well, it’s very necessary that I won’t get married, but ... so.
“So, so,” repeated the countess, and, shaking with her whole body, she laughed a kind, unexpected old woman’s laugh.
- Stop laughing, stop it, - Natasha shouted, - you are shaking the whole bed. You look terribly like me, the same laughter ... Wait a minute ... - She grabbed both hands of the countess, kissed the bone of the little finger on one - June, and continued to kiss July, August on the other hand. - Mom, is he very in love? How about your eyes? Were you so in love? And very nice, very, very nice! Only not quite to my taste - it is narrow, like a dining room clock ... Don't you understand? ... Narrow, you know, gray, light ...
– What are you lying about! said the Countess.
Natasha continued:
- Do you really not understand? Nikolenka would understand... Earless - that blue, dark blue with red, and it is quadrangular.
“You flirt with him, too,” said the countess, laughing.
“No, he is a Freemason, I found out. He is nice, dark blue with red, how do you explain ...
“Countess,” came the voice of the count from behind the door. - Are you awake? - Natasha jumped up barefoot, grabbed her shoes in her hands and ran into her room.
She couldn't sleep for a long time. She kept thinking about the fact that no one can understand everything that she understands and what is in her.
"Sonya?" she thought, looking at the sleeping, curled-up kitty with her huge braid. “No, where is she! She is virtuous. She fell in love with Nikolenka and doesn't want to know anything else. Mom doesn't understand. It's amazing how smart I am and how ... she's sweet," she continued, speaking to herself in the third person and imagining that some very smart, smartest and best man was talking about her ... "Everything, everything is in her , - continued this man, - she is unusually smart, sweet and then good, unusually good, dexterous - she swims, she rides excellently, and her voice! You can say, an amazing voice! She sang her favorite musical phrase from the Cherubinievskaya opera, threw herself on the bed, laughed at the joyful thought that she was about to fall asleep, shouted to Dunyasha to put out the candle, and Dunyasha had not had time to leave the room, as she had already passed into another, even happier world of dreams, where everything was the same easy and beautiful, as in reality, but it was even better because it was different.

The next day, the countess, having invited Boris to her place, had a talk with him, and from that day he stopped visiting the Rostovs.

On the 31st of December, on the eve of the new year 1810, le reveillon [night dinner], there was a ball at the Catherine's nobleman. The ball was supposed to be the diplomatic corps and the sovereign.
On the Promenade des Anglais, the famous house of a nobleman shone with countless lights of illumination. At the illuminated entrance with red cloth stood the police, and not only the gendarmes, but the police chief at the entrance and dozens of police officers. The carriages drove off, and new ones kept coming up with red footmen and with footmen in feathers on their hats. Men in uniforms, stars and ribbons came out of the carriages; ladies in satin and ermine carefully descended the noisily laid steps, and hurriedly and soundlessly passed along the cloth of the entrance.
Almost every time a new carriage drove up, a whisper ran through the crowd and hats were taken off.
- Sovereign? ... No, minister ... prince ... envoy ... Can't you see the feathers? ... - said from the crowd. One of the crowd, dressed better than the others, seemed to know everyone, and called by name the noblest nobles of that time.
One-third of the guests had already arrived at this ball, and the Rostovs, who were supposed to be at this ball, were still hastily preparing to dress.
There were many rumors and preparations for this ball in the Rostov family, many fears that the invitation would not be received, the dress would not be ready, and everything would not work out as it should.
Together with the Rostovs, Marya Ignatievna Peronskaya, a friend and relative of the countess, a thin and yellow maid of honor of the old court, who led the provincial Rostovs in the highest St. Petersburg society, went to the ball.
At 10 pm, the Rostovs were supposed to call for the maid of honor to the Tauride Garden; and meanwhile it was already five minutes to ten, and the young ladies were still not dressed.
Natasha was going to the first big ball in her life. She got up that day at 8 o'clock in the morning and was in feverish anxiety and activity all day long. All her strength, from the very morning, was focused on ensuring that they all: she, mother, Sonya were dressed in the best possible way. Sonya and the countess vouched for her completely. The countess was supposed to be wearing a masaka velvet dress, they were wearing two white smoky dresses on pink, silk covers with roses in the corsage. The hair had to be combed a la grecque [Greek].
Everything essential had already been done: the legs, arms, neck, ears were already especially carefully, according to the ballroom, washed, perfumed and powdered; shod already were silk, fishnet stockings and white satin shoes with bows; the hair was almost finished. Sonya finished dressing, the countess too; but Natasha, who worked for everyone, fell behind. She was still sitting in front of the mirror in a peignoir draped over her thin shoulders. Sonya, already dressed, stood in the middle of the room and, pressing painfully with her little finger, pinned the last ribbon that squealed under the pin.
“Not like that, not like that, Sonya,” said Natasha, turning her head from her hairdo and grabbing her hair with her hands, which the maid who held them did not have time to let go. - Not so bow, come here. Sonya sat down. Natasha cut the ribbon differently.
“Excuse me, young lady, you can’t do that,” said the maid holding Natasha’s hair.
- Oh, my God, well after! That's it, Sonya.
- Are you coming soon? - I heard the voice of the countess, - it's already ten now.
- Now. - Are you ready, mom?
- Just pin the current.
“Don’t do it without me,” Natasha shouted: “you won’t be able to!”
- Yeah, ten.
It was decided to be at the ball at half past ten, and Natasha still had to get dressed and stop by the Tauride Garden.
Having finished her hair, Natasha, in a short skirt, from under which ballroom shoes were visible, and in her mother's blouse, ran up to Sonya, examined her and then ran to her mother. Turning her head, she pinned the current, and, barely having time to kiss her gray hair, she again ran to the girls who were hemming her skirt.
The case was behind Natasha's skirt, which was too long; it was hemmed by two girls, hastily biting the threads. A third, with pins in her lips and teeth, ran from the countess to Sonya; the fourth held the entire smoky dress on a high hand.
- Mavrusha, rather, dove!
- Give me a thimble from there, young lady.
– Will it be soon? - said the count, entering from behind the door. “Here are the spirits. Peronskaya was already waiting.
“It’s ready, young lady,” said the maid, lifting a hemmed smoky dress with two fingers and blowing and shaking something, expressing with this gesture the awareness of the airiness and purity of what she was holding.

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This character is one of the brightest and most famous in the Slavic epic epic. Usually, the Serpent Gorynych is an anti-hero, insidious and terrible, with whom the hero fights. At the same time, he does not have an anthropomorphic image, but the appearance of a relic dinosaur. The villain also has multiple heads and spews flames. Where did this outlandish image come from in Russian fairy tales?

The image of evil

In the myths of many peoples there are dragons - snake-like monsters, which could also have several heads, such as the ancient Greek Lernean Hydra or the ancient Persian Azhi-Dahaka, in which, among the three faces, one was human. They also belched flames, like the Sumerian dragon god Zu, and almost all of them flew, and some also swam.

There are also a number of references in the biblical texts to the dragon-like sea monster Leviathan.

All these lizards, including the Slavic Serpent Gorynych, symbolize the test that the main character must go through in order to accomplish a feat and get a treasure. Accordingly, monsters are the personification of evil.

Some researchers of Slavic epics suggest that under the collective image of the Serpent Gorynych, countless hordes of Tatar-Mongolian or other steppe nomads lurk.

The invasions that the local heroes tried to repel were endless, like the heads of a monster: you cut off one, two grow in return. In addition, historians confirm that all nomadic attacks were accompanied by terrible conflagrations and sometimes they began long before the enemy troops broke through into the fortified settlement.

There is a number of evidence that the Tatar-Mongolian warriors in Rus' used gunpowder, or at least something like napalm with its addition, apparently borrowed from the Chinese. As you know, this people invented gunpowder as early as one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ. But for the ancient Slavs, the clubs of fire flying outside the city walls were probably akin to the breath of the Serpent Gorynych, spewing flames.

The terrible reality in the form of endless attacks, accompanied by fiery whirlwinds and hundreds of deaths, coupled with the mythological perception of the world, may have created in the human mind the image of a monster that destroys settlements and takes relatives and friends into captivity.

Guardian of the Dead

The well-known culturological work of Vladimir Propp "The Roots of a Fairy Tale" states that almost all Slavic myths are associated with the ritual tradition of initiation. The ancient communal life assumed that the growing boys, in order for them to become men and warriors, should be sent “to the ends of the world”, where they will accomplish a feat, “die, rise again”, and then return home different, adults and strong.

In some epics, the origin of the Serpent Gorynych is seen as the son of Viy, the lord of the Middle Underworld. Therefore, the monster has the nickname Gorynych, because it is so powerful and heavy that Mother Earth Cheese, for which it is alien, cannot carry it on itself.

Accordingly, this monster lives in the mountains and guards the entrance to the kingdom of the dead there. Meanwhile, the young Slavic hero, according to a fairy tale, needs to go to the Underworld in order to “die and rise again,” which means that he must kill the Serpent Gorynych, that is, accomplish a feat.

The appearance of the guardian of the world of the dead among the Slavs was obviously formed on the basis of the most ancient cosmogonic myths. One of them says that all life on earth, both good and evil, came from an egg hatched by a sacred serpent. Well, the Underworld is that bunch of the unknown and incredible, knowing which, you can understand the universe.

Echoes of reality

There is a well-founded opinion that the prototype of mythological dragons in the culture of all peoples are dinosaurs that once lived on earth. And if mankind hardly encountered relic animals themselves, then people probably found their skeletons, and so all sorts of myths arose.

A well-known specialist in the history and culture of Ancient Rus', academician Boris Rybakov, believed that the inhabitants of Novgorod of the 4th-5th centuries worshiped a certain lizard - the ruler water element. On this occasion, in his writings, he wrote: “... Of particular interest are the authentic harp of the first half of the 12th century from excavations in Novgorod. (...) The left (from the harpist) side of the instrument is sculpted like the head and part of the torso of a lizard. Under the head of the lizard, two small heads of "lizards" are drawn. On the reverse side of the goose, a lion and a bird are depicted. Thus, all three vital zones are present in the ornamentation of the goose: sky (bird), earth (horse, lion) and the underwater world (lizard). The lizard dominates everything and, thanks to its three-dimensional sculpture, unites both planes of the instrument ... "

Also, during excavations in the Novgorod and Pskov regions, archaeologists found numerous images of lizards made on the structures of window casings and on the handles of ladles. All of them represent by no means a fabulous, but a very real image of a large beast with an elongated muzzle and a huge mouth with clearly defined large teeth.

In one of the annals of the 11th century, “The conversation of Gregory the Theologian on the testing of hail”, in the section devoted to fishing and pagan rituals associated with it, it is told about a crocodile lizard that came out of the river and devoured the victim left to it by the local population.

The ethnographer of the 19th century and the collector of folk songs Pavel Yakushin, during his trip to the Novgorod region, recorded from the words of one elder the story of the appearance of the Yuryevsky Skete: the most holy skete stands (...). Every night this Snake Beast went to sleep in Ilmen-Lake ... "

An unknown chronicler in the 16th century, who traveled around Russia, wrote that “... In the summer of 7090, fierce crocodiles came out of the river and the path closed behind them, they ate a lot of people. People fled in horror all over the earth and prayed to God. They hid and he ran away…”

And these are far from all the very strange records of ancient years about the existence of certain "crocodile lizards" in the rivers of Rus'. Therefore, it is possible that the origin of the fairy-tale character Zmey Gorynych has a very real basis.

Probably everyone knows that the Chinese worship dragons. They even call themselves "children" or "descendants" of this mythological lizard. However, dragons are found not only in the myths and legends of our eastern neighbors. In Slavic folklore there are such colorful characters as and the serpent Gorynych. In terms of strength and power, the Russian dragon is not inferior to its "relatives" from the Middle Kingdom.

The historical homeland of the snake Gorynych - Kievan Rus. Although it would be more accurate to say that the “homeland” of this mysterious lizard is heaven. The mythical creature appears surrounded by smoke and flames, "like a bolt from the blue." His power is truly colossal, only a real epic hero can survive in a battle with such an adversary.

The image of the snake Gorynych

Ancient legends give quite detailed description the Gorynych snake, what the mythical dragon looks like today is known to every child. However, few people know where this image came from. There is a version that the old legend was born during the time of Genghis Khan, during the Mongol invasion of Rus'.

By the time the Russian-Mongolian war began, the troops of Genghis Khan had a solid arsenal of gunpowder weapons, which they inherited from Northern China. It is possible that it was the action of this artillery that formed the basis of the epic about the three-headed dragon. However, judge for yourself.

Gorynych means "to burn"

So what do we know about the mighty snake? That's right, he has three heads, and his flight is accompanied by a roar and whistle. Chinese fire shells had a spherical shape, which can be compared with the head of an unknown monster. In flight, such a projectile emits a rather loud whistle, and during the explosion - a roar.

In the legend, the serpent Gorynych always appears unexpectedly, "in the midst of a clear sky." This has a practical meaning, because in rainy weather, shelling with gunpowder weapons was difficult or even impossible. Downpour is able to extinguish ignited shells.

Another curious fact is that the legendary lizard has black blood, which "the Russian land does not accept." This "blood" could be a black oily liquid that leaked from unexploded shells. By the way, oil and really very poorly absorbed into the soil.

Ancient legends

The serpent has copper claws that can easily tear apart the hero's chain mail. The air around him smells of sulfur, and terrible horned heads spew flames. Seven tails hit the ground, so he is no less dangerous from behind than from the front. The snake has offspring - numerous small snakes living "in an open field." The epic hero tramples them with his horse.

The Russian dragon loves gold and beauties of the princely family. So he once happened to kidnap the niece of the Kyiv prince Vladimir himself - Zabava Putyatishna. Gorynych kept his captive in a cave and did not let anyone near her. Many good fellows perished in an attempt to free the young princess. But only the Russian hero Dobrynya Nikitich managed to defeat the three-headed dragon and return the captive to the free world.