Editor: Mandrik R.A. Especially for the site: Brief dictionaries (http://slovo.yaxy.ru/)

ALKONOST (alkonos) - in Russian medieval legends, a bird of paradise with a human face (often mentioned together with another bird of paradise - the sirin). The image of the alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, who was transformed by the gods into a kingfisher. Alkonost lays eggs on the seashore and, plunging them into the depths of the sea, makes it calm for six days. The singing of the alkonost is so beautiful that the one who hears it forgets about everything in the world. “The carver Olekha is a forest miracle, / The eyes are two geese, the lip is ore, / Raised a bird with a girl’s face, / His lips are cursed with a secret cry. /The tree’s cheeks became watery /And a weak voice, like the splash of sedge, /The carver sensed: “I am Al-konost, /I will drink tears from the eyes of a goose!” (N.A. Klyuev. “Pogorelschina”). “The bird Sirin grins joyfully at me, / Cheers, calls from its nests, / But on the contrary, it yearns and sadness / Poisons the soul of the wonderful Alkonost” (V.S. Vysotsky. “Domes”).

BASILISK is the serpent king, whose gaze strikes death like lightning, and whose breath makes the grass wither and the trees droop. He is born from an egg laid by a black seven-year-old rooster and buried in hot manure. The black rooster is a gloomy cloud; in the spring, after seven winter months, called years in folk legends, an egg-sun emerges from it, and at the same time, under the influence of the sun's heat, a thunderstorm serpent is born. Coming from a rooster, the Basilisk dies from it: as soon as it hears the cry of a rooster, it dies immediately, i.e. The demonic serpent-cloud dies in a thunderstorm when the heavenly rooster starts his thunderous song.

GREAT FISH-FIRE WHALE (serpent of Eleatham) - the whale on which the earth is based; From his mouth come thunders of fiery fire, as if a deed has been shot; From his nostrils comes a spirit like a stormy wind, lifting up the fire of hell. In the last times, it will move, shake, and a river of fire will flow, and the end of the world will come. The movements and turns of the fabulous whales shake the earth.

THING - a prophetic bird (magpie): whether it chirps in the yard or on the house roof or jumps at the threshold of the hut - there will soon be guests; in which direction she waves her tail - wait for the guests from there; on her tail she brings all sorts of news. Witches prefer to turn at forty.

VIRIA BIRDS - spring birds. Vyrey, Irey is a fabulous country where there is no winter. Ir - spring. The Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh says: “And we are amazed at this, how the birds of the sky come from Irya.” “Beyond the sea of ​​Lukerye, there the rivers flow well, the banks there are jelly, the springs are sugary, and the viry birds do not stop talking all year round” (A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

EGAN - a mythical bird that gives bird's milk, the eider. “The Gagana bird will meet you, say hello to the bird: Gagana will give you bird’s milk” (A.M. Remizov. “Fairy Tales”).

GAMAYUN - prophetic bird. She flies to the blessed Macarius Island. Lives in the sea. She was usually depicted with a woman's face and breasts. According to legend, when the prophetic bird Gamayun screams, she prophesies happiness. “I love crimson fall, / Falling leaves that are burning and combustible, / That’s why my poems are like clouds / With the distant thunder of warm strings. /So Gamayun sobs in his sleep - /Like a mighty bard forgotten by the tour” (I.A. Klyuev). “Like seven rich moons / Stands in my way - / Then the bird Gamayun / Gives me hope!” (V.S. Vysotsky. “Domes”).

GORGONY - in Slavic book legends, a maiden with hair in the form of snakes, a modification of the ancient Medusa-Gorgon. The face of Gorgonia is deadly. The Magus who manages to behead her gains miraculous power. Another transformation of the image of Medusa-Gorgon in the Slavic apocrypha is the beast Gorgonia, guarding paradise from people after the Fall. The iconography of the head of Gorgonia is a characteristic feature of popular Byzantine and Old Russian amulets - “serpentines”.

Vulture-BIRD is a fabulous bird, with the help of which fairy-tale heroes make their aerial flights. In folk monuments she appears in different images. In the fairy tale “Mink the Beast”, it is like a bird that is so huge that, like clouds covering the sky, it obscures the sunlight. In another tale, a storm arises from the flapping of the wings of a lioness bird or a vulture bird, which is the size of a mountain and flies faster than a bullet from a gun. The Greeks imagined a vulture with the head and wings of an eagle, with the body, legs and claws of a lion - which idea also found its way into Russian fairy tales. The vulture bird grabs the carrion and, together with it, carries the young man across the wide sea.

GRIFFON - a powerful bird-dog.

FIREBIRD - the embodiment of the god of thunderstorms, in Slavic fairy tales a wonderful bird that flies from another (thirtieth) kingdom. This kingdom is a fabulously rich land that was dreamed of in ancient times, for the Firebird’s coloring is golden, its cage, beak, and feathers are golden. She feeds on golden apples, which give eternal youth, beauty and immortality, and in their meaning are completely identical with living water. When the Firebird sings, pearls fall from its open beak, i.e. Along with the solemn sounds of thunder, brilliant sparks of lightning scatter. Sometimes in fairy tales the Firebird acts as a kidnapper. “Here at midnight / The light spilled over the mountain. / As if midday was coming: / The firebirds are flying ...” (P.P. Ershov. “The Little Humpbacked Horse”).

BEAST-INDR (Indrik, Vyndrik, Unicorn) - a mythical beast, about which the verse about the Pigeon Book tells as the ruler of the dungeon and underground springs, as well as the savior of the universe during a worldwide drought, when he dug up the springs with his horn and let water flow through rivers and lakes. Indrik threatens to shake the whole earth with his turn; moving underground, he digs vents and lets through streams and grooves, rivers and icy wells: “Where the beast goes, the spring boils.” In some versions of the verse, the legend about the beast Indra is associated with sacred mountains: “That beast lives in the Zion Mountains in Tabor or Mount Athos, he drinks and eats in the holy mountain (option: from the blue sea), and brings out children in the holy mountain ; when the beast turns, all the holy mountains will shake.” This evidence links the beast Indra with the Serpent Gorynych. Tearing apart cloudy mountains and dungeons with its lightning horn and causing the earth to tremble, the monstrous beast gives rise to rain springs and rivers.

SERPENT GORYNYCH (Gorynchishche) - a mountain demon, a representative of clouds, which from ancient times were likened to mountains and rocks. By hawking and spitting, he creates cloudy mountains and rain abysses, which later, when the meaning of ancient metaphors became obscured, was recognized as ordinary earthly hills and swamps. The mythical serpent in folk tales is confused with Satan. Like the thunder god, Satan creates companions for himself, calling them with strong blows to the stone, i.e. carving murderous lightning from the cloud-stone. Overthrown by divine power, these storm demons fall from the sky as bright lights along with the pouring rain. The all-world, boundless sea, where mythical rivals meet, is the boundless sky. In fairy tales he is depicted as a dragon with three, six, nine or twelve heads. Associated with fire and water, flies across the sky, but at the same time correlates with the bottom - with a river, a hole, a cave, where he has hidden treasures, a kidnapped princess, “Russian fulls”; There are also numerous offspring there. He appears accompanied by a menacing noise: “it’s raining,” “thunder is thundering.” The Snake's main weapon is fire. “Dobrynya raised his head and saw that the Serpent Gorynych was flying towards him, a terrible serpent with three heads and seven tails, flames blazing from his nostrils, smoke pouring out of his ears, copper claws on his paws shining” (Russian epic).

SERPENT FIRE WOLF (Vuk Ognezmy) is a hero in Slavic mythology. He is born from the Fire Serpent, appears in human form, “in a shirt” or with “wolf hair” - a sign of miraculous origin. Can turn into a wolf and other animals, incl. bird; performs feats using the ability to transform (himself and his squad) into animals.

ZMIULAN is a character in East Slavic mythology, one of the continuations of the image of the Fire Serpent. In Belarusian and Russian fairy tales, Tsar Fire and Queen Molrnya burn the herds of Tsar Zmiulan, who is hiding from them in the hollow of an old tree (a clear parallel with one of the main myths of Slavic mythology, in which Perun’s enemy is a snake, the owner of the herds, who is hiding in the hollow of a tree ). The name Zmiulana is used in folk love spells. “...The Queen sees the inevitable disaster and sends Zilant Zmeulanovich away. Zilant thundered, emerging from the iron nest, and it hung on twelve oak trees, on twelve chains. Zilant rushes like an arrow towards an eagle...” (“The Tale of the Hero Gol Voyansky.” Russian fairy tale retold by B. Bronnitsin).

KAGAN is a prophetic bird that brings happiness. Folk songs often refer to the winds, which ancient man recognized as divine beings. Since the winds were personified in the form of birds, similar appeals began to be sent to them. No image of the Kagan bird has survived. According to legend, anyone who sees her must remain silent about it, or he will not see happiness. “...I had to support myself, prove that he really is a bird, and show what kind of bird he is. With inexpressible contempt, he squinted his eyes at his opponent, trying, for greater offense, to look at him somehow over his shoulder, from top to bottom, as if he were looking at him like a bug, and slowly and clearly said: “Kagan!” That is, that he is a Kagan bird” (F.M. Dostoevsky. “Notes from the House of the Dead”).

KOSHCHEY THE IMMORTAL - as a demonic creature, the serpent appears under this name in Russian folk legends. The meaning of both is completely identical: Koschey plays the same role of a stingy treasure keeper and a dangerous kidnapper of beauties as the snake; both of them are equally hostile to the fairy-tale heroes and freely replace each other, so that in the same fairy tale, in one version the character is the snake, and in the other, Koschey. The word “kosh” is also related to the word “kosht” (bone). Many heroes of fairy tales turn for some time into stone, wood, ice and other states - they ossify. The old Russian “to create blasphemies” means to perform actions befitting sorcerers and the devil (to blaspheme). “Vyazen” - “uzen” are somehow related to this concept. A prisoner is an enemy who has been captured. It is in this meaning that the word “koschey” is used in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and in many Russian fairy tales. The legends about the death befalling Koshchei seem to be contradicted by the epithet “Immortal” constantly given to him; but this is precisely what testifies to its spontaneous character. Melted by the spring rays of the sun, broken by the arrows of Perun, the clouds again gather from the vapors rising into the sky, and the demon of darkness, struck to death, seems to be reborn again and challenges his winner to battle; Likewise, the demon of winter fogs, cold and blizzards, who dies at the beginning of spring, comes to life again with the end of the summer half of the year and takes possession of the world. That is why Koschey was considered an immortal being.

LAMYA (lamya) - a fabulous snake, among the southern Slavs a monster with the body of a snake and a dog's head; it descends like a dark cloud onto the fields and gardens, devouring the fruits of agricultural labor. She was also associated with a nightmare - Mara. The image goes back to the Greek Lamia, a monster, daughter of Poseidon.

FOREST BIRD - a mythical bird, lives in the forest, builds a nest there, and if it starts to sing, it sings without waking. The spell for toothache “for toothache” says: “The forest-bird is silent, silence your slave’s teeth at night, midnight, daytime, midday...” The forest-bird is a forest bird, just as the forest-prey is forest prey. “...There in the blue forest... there on the ruined swamp in the red willow forest the forest bird builds a nest” (A.M. Remizov. “Fairy Tales”).

MAGUR - bird of Indra. Mentioned in the Book of Veles.

MOTHER SVA - a sacred bird, the patroness of Rus', combines the images of many folklore birds, primarily the Gamayun bird.

SWORD-TRAISH (self-cutting) - in Russian folklore and medieval book tradition, a wonderful weapon that ensures victory over enemies. In the legend about the city of Babylon, the treasure sword is called “Aspid-serpent” and is endowed with the features of a werewolf (turns into a snake). A common motive is to search for a sword hidden in the ground, walled up in a wall, etc., associated with the idea of ​​a treasure (kladenets) or burial (a sword under the head of a murdered hero).

MOGAL is a mighty bird.

NOG (noguy, inog, natai, nogay) is the Old Russian name for a griffin (in ancient manuscripts the word “nog” is translated as “griff”). In medieval literature, the image of the leg is associated with the motif of heroes flying through the air (Alexander the Great, the prophet Habakkuk). Like the Nightingale the Thief of Legs, he builds a nest on twelve oak trees. The Nogai bird is identical to the Stratim or Strafyl bird. The Greeks imagined a vulture with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. “... So Ivan Tsarevich shot geese and swans at the seaside, put them in two vats, placed one vat on the Nagai-bird’s right shoulder, and the other vat on her left, and sat down on her ridge. Nagai began to feed the bird, it rose and flies into the heights” (A.N. Tolstoy. “The Tale of Rejuvenating Apples and Living Water”).

RESULT - swan, bird of sadness, resentment.

FIRE (Tsar Fire) is one of the names of personified thunder in Russian and Belarusian fairy tales. Fire is the husband of Queen Mologna; this married couple pursues the Serpent and burns his flocks in the same sequence as in the ancient ritual of burning various types of domestic animals as a sacrifice to the thunder god.

EAGLE - bird of Perun. The Thunderer can turn into an Eagle, can fly on an Eagle, and send him to carry out various assignments.

BIRD OF SVYATOVIT - Western Slavs honored the rooster as the bird of Svyatovit; subsequently, due to the consonance of the name of the Ancient God with Saint Vitus, pagan memories were transferred to this latter. As a representative of the day's dawn, fire and lightning, the rooster in mythical tales is depicted as a brilliant red bird. The blazing fire is still called the “red rooster”. In the Voronezh province there was such a custom: if a child cried for a long time at night, then the mother put him in the hem and went to the chicken coop to treat him for cryxy; there she bathed him under the perch, saying: “Zorya-Zorenka, beautiful maiden! Take your cryx and give us the dream.” On ancient icons of St. Vita there is an image of a rooster, and until the last century, on the day of this saint, the custom of carrying roosters to the church of St. Feita.

BIRD'S NEST (Duck's Nest) - constellation Pleiades; the name apparently arose from the fact that golden eggs were seen in the bright stars of the Pleiades, which were laid by a wonderful chicken or duck.

RAROG (rarig, rarashek) - a fiery spirit associated with the cult of the hearth. According to the beliefs of the southern Slavs, the rarashek could be born from an egg that was hatched by a man on a stove for nine days and nights. Rarog was represented in the form of a bird of prey or a dragon with a sparkling body, flaming hair and radiance escaping from the mouth (beak), as well as in the form of a fiery whirlwind. Perhaps he is genetically related to the ancient Russian Svarog and the Russian Rakh (the embodiment of the dry wind).

RHIPA MOUNTAINS - mythological mountains where the garden of Iria is located.

FISH is a variant of the serpent, the ruler of the underworld.

SIRIN - bird of paradise maiden. The image goes back to the ancient Greek sirens. In Greek mythology, these are half-birds, half-women, who inherited wild spontaneity from their father, and a divine voice from their mother-muse. In Russian spiritual poems, Syria, descending from heaven to earth, enchants people with her singing. There is an idea that only a happy person can hear the singing of this bird. In Russian art, sirin and alkonost are a traditional pictorial subject. “The bird, the verb Sirines, is humanoid, existing near the holy paradise... it is called the bird of paradise of sweetness for the sake of its songs” (Old Russian alphabet books. 17th century). “The Sirin bird grins joyfully at me, / Cheers, calls from its nests, / But on the contrary, it yearns and sadness / Poisons the soul of the wonderful Alkonost” (V.S. Vysotsky. “Domes”).

SKIPPER-BEAST - King of the above-ground inferno. Perun's main opponent.

NIGHTINGALE THE ROBBER - in the epic epic, a monstrous opponent of the hero, striking enemies with a terrible whistle. Related to the Snake - the horned Falcon (Nightingale) in the Belarusian epic. Sitting in his nest (on twelve oak trees, etc.), the Nightingale the Robber blocks the road (to Kyiv), the hero (Ilya Muromets in Russian epics) hits him in the right eye, the duel ends with the Nightingale the Robber being cut into parts and burning it, which is reminiscent of the myth about the duel of the thunderer Perun with his serpentine opponent.

STREPHIL (Straphil-bird, Stratim-bird) - in Russian spiritual poems about the Dove Book - “the mother of all birds”: “Stratem-bird is the mother of all birds. / The bird Stratim lives on the ocean-sea / And gives birth to children on the ocean-sea, / According to God’s command. /The Stratim-bird will perk up - /The ocean-sea will swell; / She sinks living ships / With precious goods.” From the blows of her mighty wings, winds are born and a storm arises. “And the Strafyl bird flew away somewhere. The strafel bird - the mother of birds - has forgotten the light. And once upon a time she loved her light: when a formidable force found itself, and the world shook, Straphilus the bird defeated the force, buried her light under her right wing” (A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

TUGARIN (Snake Tugarin, Zmey Tugaretin, Tugarin Zmeevich) - in Russian epics and fairy tales the image of an evil, harmful creature of a serpentine nature. This is a character from an ancient serpent-fighting myth, related to the Serpent Gorynych, the Fire Serpent, etc. In Kievan Rus, during the era of the struggle against nomads, it became a symbol of the wild steppe, the danger emanating from it, and paganism. The name Tugarin itself correlates with the Polovtsian Khan Tugorkan (11th century) mentioned in the chronicle. “...The evil enemy Tugarin, the son of the Snake, camped there. How tall he is. a tall oak tree, an oblique fathom between the shoulders, you could put an arrow between the eyes. He has a winged horse - like a fierce beast: flames burst from his nostrils, smoke pours from his ears” (Russian epic).

DUCK - the bird that gave birth to the world. Sometimes she bifurcates and appears in the form of a white gogol (who is God) and a black gogol - Satan.

FINIST CLEAR FALCON - warrior bird; a character from a Russian fairy tale, a wonderful husband in the guise of a falcon, who secretly visited his beloved. He appears in a fairy-tale plot, which is a variation of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. The name Finist is a corruption of the Greek “phoenix”. In Russian wedding folklore, the image of a falcon-groom is often found. During the day, Finist turns into a feather, and at night into a beautiful prince. The envy and machinations of his beloved's relatives lead to Finist flying to a distant kingdom, where, after long wanderings and difficult trials for the bride, the lovers meet.

HALA - among the southern Slavs, a dragon or a huge serpent (sometimes multi-headed) five to six steps long, thick as a human thigh, with wings under the knees and horse eyes, or a serpent with a huge head located in the clouds and a tail , descending to the ground. Sometimes it takes on the appearance of an eagle. He has enormous strength and insatiability, leads black clouds, hail clouds, brings storms and hurricanes and destroys crops and orchards. The Khals also fight for a magic wand and try to hit each other with ice bullets, and then lightning flashes or hail hits. A wounded challah may fall to the ground, and then it should be watered with milk from a milk pan or bucket. “The Khalas can attack the sun and the moon, cover them with their wings (then eclipses occur) or try to devour them (then from the bite of Khala, the sun, bleeding, turns red, and when Khala is defeated, it turns pale and shines). Challahs can, most often on the eve of major holidays, lead a round dance (“kolo”), and then a whirlwind rises. A person caught in such a whirlwind can go crazy” (N.I. Tolstoy). Khals sometimes turn into people and animals, and only a six-fingered person can see them.

THE SNAKE KING - the ancient metaphorical language likened the sun not only to gold, but also to a precious stone and a shiny crown. The serpent who covers the sun wears a golden crown on his head, and during a spring thunderstorm and rain, which brightens the face of the sun, he throws off this crown. Over time, this myth was transferred to earth, to earthly snakes, which, according to legend, have a king adorned with a wonderful crown, which he takes off only when he bathes.

BLACK SEA SNAKE (Chernomor) - the king of the underwater world and the dark kingdom, the husband of Queen Belorybitsa.

BLACK SNAKE is the embodiment of all dark forces. In the Western Slavic tradition he is Chernobog.

LIZARD (Yusha) - the serpent-ruler of the underground kingdom. The lizard is often found in folk songs; sometimes, having lost the ancient meaning of symbolism, in these songs it is called Yasha.

mythical snake

Alternative descriptions

Lernaean (Greek hydra water serpent) in ancient Greek mythology - a monstrous nine-headed snake that lived in the Lernaean swamp in the Peloponnese

In ancient Greek mythology, a many-headed serpent that was killed by Hercules

Space monster

Spawn of Echidna and Typhon, a multi-headed dragon or water snake killed by the hero Hercules during his service with Eurystheus (mythical)

Freshwater coelenterate animal

Freshwater polyp with tentacles around mouth

Protozoan lower multicellular

Constellation, most of which is located in the southern hemisphere of the sky

Southern Hemisphere Constellation

What mythical monster devastated the surroundings of the city of Lerna?

The largest constellation, consisting of 68 stars

What constellation is the star Alphard in?

Monster with head regeneration

Lernaean...

Multi-headed snake

Lernaean monster defeated by Hercules

Small animal, polyp

The simplest

Constellation South...

Freshwater polyp

Many-headed snake (myth.)

Constellation monster

The snake that became a constellation

Largest constellation

One of the victims of the 12 labors of Hercules

Serpent Gorynych in Ancient Greece

Mythical snake with nine heads

Monster with growing heads

What was the name of the multi-sided animal?

Multi-headed reptile

Mythical snake with nine heads

Monster with head regeneration

Victim of the second labor of Hercules

Lernaean monster

The mythical snake of imperialism

Southern Hemisphere Constellation

Mythological nine-headed snake

In Greek mythology, a nine-headed snake

Small animal, freshwater polyp

Southern constellation

What constellation is the star Alphard in?

Nine-headed Lernaean snake

J. Greek a fabulous, multi-headed water serpent; *evil, against which there are no remedies, growing, like a hydra, instead of each cut off head, a new one grew; snake Hydrus; rather small animal plant, Hydra pulp polyp. Hydraulics applied hydrodynamics; -personal, related to hydraulics. Hydraulic lime, cement, lubricant, a composition that hardens in water and is used for underwater masonry; waterproof or water-strong lime. Hydraulic pressure, press, machine for very strong pressure. Hydraulic architect, builder who deals with structures for lifting, conducting and storing or draining water; water engine builder; plumber, water builder, water builder. Hydrate is a substance containing water in its chemical composition, in dry or hardened form; waterman, iceman. Hydrography description of waters, shores, water communications; water description: hydrographic, related to this; hydrographer is a science or business engaged in this, a water describer. Hydraulic engineering hydraulic architecture. Hydrodynamics part of mechanics, the science of the laws of motion of liquid bodies; hydrostatics, the science of their equilibrium. Hydrodynamic and hydrostatic, related to the first or second. Hydrostatic scales, a device for weighing bodies in water, which determines their specific gravity. Hydrology g. the study of the composition of various waters, hydrology. Hydromancy, divination by (on) water. Hydrometer or hadroscope m. water meter, a projectile for measuring the height of water, ebb and flow; or a projectile for measuring the gravity, density, strength of liquids; in the latter meaning a top. Hydropathy, hydrotherapy; hydropath, water doctor Hydrofan M. oko-mir, an opal stone that only shows through when saturated with water. Hydroce(ke)phal m. head, cerebral dropsy; hydrothorax m. chest water. Hydrophobia w. hydrophobia, attack of rabies, esp. from being bitten by 6animals

What was the name of the multi-sided animal?

What mythical monster devastated the surroundings of the city of Lerna

The snake is a symbol of the years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025. The Year of the Snake 2013 will come into its own from 02/10/2013 and will last until 01/30/2014.

The snake is an important symbol in almost all cultures of the world. On the one hand, the image of a snake is associated with death (the poisonousness of snakes), on the other hand, it symbolizes rebirth, wisdom and power (shedding of skin, healing properties of poison).

Myths, fairy tales and legends about the Snake

Snake symbol in different countries

The Snake symbol is a traditional symbol of wisdom and power. The myths and legends of the countries of the Ancient East reflected echoes of the cult of snakes, often associated with the water element.

An ancient Egyptian tale tells the story of a sailor who was shipwrecked and washed up on a wonderful island. Soon he heard a loud noise: “the trees were trembling, the earth was shaking. I opened my face and realized that it was a snake that was approaching. His length is 30 cubits, his beard is more than 2 cubits, his limbs are gilded, his eyebrows are made of real lapis lazuli. He moved forward." The snake is called in this tale the “Prince of Punta” - the legendary land of incense, “the land of the gods”.

Another, later Egyptian tale tells of an immortal serpent guarding a miraculous book at the bottom of the sea.

In Eastern mythology, the boundaries between snakes and dragons are often blurred. If the snake acts as an independent symbol, it can personify a negative principle.

At the same time, in Chinese fairy tales, snakes sometimes give pearls to their saviors. The Chinese believed that snake skin brought wealth, and that a snake in a dream hinted at sexual energy.

In Japanese mythology, the image of a snake is associated with female deities, in particular with the figure of the “Eternal Mother”. At the same time, in Japan, the snake is an attribute of the god of thunder and thunderstorms. In the modern world, the snake, as an ancient zoomorphic symbol, is considered a symbol of longevity and wisdom.

In ancient times, Hindus believed that, together with the elephant and the turtle, the snake could serve as a support for the world. The thousand-headed ruler of the snakes Ananta, whose rings encircle the axis of the world, in Hinduism personifies boundless fertility.

That is why in modern India a snake, a cobra, is a symbol of happiness in marriage.

The traditions of Babylon and Assyria, Jewish and Abyssinian legends connect prehistoric times with the kingdom of the serpent. Here is what the Abyssinian legend says about this: “There is a great serpent; he is the king of the land of Ethiopia; All the rulers bow to him and bring him a beautiful maiden as a gift. Having decorated her, they bring her before this serpent and leave her alone, and this serpent devours her... The length of this serpent is 170 cubits, and the thickness is 4; his teeth are a cubit long, and his eyes are like a fiery flame, his eyebrows are black like a raven, and his whole appearance is like tin and copper... He has a horn of three cubits. When he moves, the noise can be heard for seven days' journey."

Legends about islands inhabited by snakes are preserved in Greek chronicles. Herodotus and Theophrastus mentioned snakes guarding jewels on wonderful islands; Diodorus Siculus talks about a “snake island” filled with jewels, and describes a hunt for a 30-cubit-long snake, in whose mouth one of the hunters died.

So another Greek myth tells about a miraculous remedy that Zeus gave to people. It could restore a person's youth. However, people did not want to carry this priceless gift themselves and put it on a donkey, who gave it to the snake. Since then, people have been bearing the heavy burden of old age, and snakes have been enjoying eternal youth.

African tales and legends tell of the first people who, like snakes, could exchange old skin for new ones and live forever.

In the Sumerian myth, Gilgamesh finds a flower of eternal youth in the depths of the waters, however, while he was bathing, a snake stole the flower and immediately became younger, shedding his skin. Since then, legend teaches, snakes have gained immortality, but people have remained mortal creatures.

The legends of Ancient China call the huge serpent - the dragon the ancestor of the first emperors, and endow its claws, teeth, saliva and horns with healing properties. On the back of a dragon one could reach the land of the immortals.

In the ancient world, the snake played the role of guardian of the hearth. During excavations in Pompeii, an image of a snake was discovered on the walls and home altars of many houses, which symbolized the peace and health of the inhabitants of the house.

Ancient Roman chronicles preserve evidence that during a plague epidemic, Asclepius was symbolically transported from Epidaurus to Rome in the form of a snake. According to one of their hypotheses about the origin of the name of the god of medical art, Asclepius, it came from the name of a special kind of snake - “askalabos”. Later, these snakes, harmless to humans, began to be called “Asclepius snakes.” The snake was depicted on the first aid kit of a Roman military doctor.

Snakes were often associated with rain. For example, this connection is reflected in the ancient rituals of worshiping the serpent, as sacrifices during the rainy season or waiting for rain during a drought. These rituals correspond to myths about the victory of a snake fighter over a snake, followed by a thunderstorm, rain or flood.

We find a similar myth in the ancient Peruvian myth of a snake that spewed out water that flooded the whole world after it was killed by the three sons of the first man.

And the myth of one of the Brazilian tribes says that once a woman kept a snake, which was in a cage immersed in water. Every day the woman fed the snake meat. But one day she did not bring food to the snake, and then the snake ate the unfortunate woman that same day. After the tribesmen killed the snake, heavy rain began - “At the same time the rain fell, the victorious wind blew, the conqueror of the great anaconda snake.”

Symbol of the Snake in Slavic mythology

Snakes (as symbols) had several meanings and purposes.

1. In the Slavic calendar there are two holidays where snakes are honored (usually harmless snakes).

March 25 is the time when cattle are driven out “to St. George’s dew” and snakes crawl out of the ground, i.e. the ground becomes warm, agricultural work can begin. And September 14th is the departure of the snakes.

The agricultural cycle is basically ending. That. the snakes symbolized the cyclical nature of rural field work and were a kind of natural climatic clock. It was believed that they also helped to beg for rain (heavenly milk; breasts falling from the sky), since snakes love not only warmth, but also moisture, hence in fairy tales snakes often suck milk from cows (clouds). Images of snakes, snakes decorated ancient vessels with water.

2. Snakes from the Perunova suite. They symbolized the heavenly thunderclouds and the powerful revelry of the elements. These snakes are multi-headed. If you cut off one head, the other grows and shoots out tongues of fire (lightning). Serpent-Gorynych is the son of the heavenly mountain (cloud). These snakes kidnap beauties (the moon, stars and even the sun). The snake can quickly turn into a boy or girl. This is due to the rejuvenation of nature after rain; rejuvenation of nature after every winter.

3. Snakes are the guardians of countless treasures, medicinal herbs, living and dead water. Hence the snake doctors and symbols of healing.

4. Snakes from the retinue of the gods of the underworld - Viy, Death, Mary, Chernobog, Kashchey, etc. Death (Koshey, Nedol) mows down, collects the ominous kosht, the harvest of the dead, and the snake guards the underworld.

5. A variant of the serpent-ruler of the underworld - Lizard (less often Fish). The lizard is often found in folk songs; sometimes, having lost the ancient meanings of symbolism, it is called Yasha.

In religions, the symbol of the Snake

The staff of the legendary physician Asclepius is wrapped around a snake. The prototype of the famous biblical serpent tempter should be sought in ancient Sumerian myths. One of them tells how once the hero Gilgamesh returned from the divine palaces with the plant of life. One of the gods, not wanting people to gain immortality, turned into a snake and snatched this plant from Gilgamesh as he swam across the river.

In Buddhism, the image of a snake in the Wheel of Samsara personifies anger and symbolizes cosmic power in its negative manifestations. At the same time, the multi-headed cobra protected Buddha Shakyamuni during his meditation. Cobra in India is often associated with the Buddha himself, who could transform into the Naga snake to heal people.

The snake was also a symbol of eternal youth: the annual change of skin symbolized rejuvenation. This idea found an interesting embodiment in the religion of the Egyptians. The change of day and night was associated with the fact that at midnight the sun god Ra leaves the solar boat with his retinue and enters the body of a huge serpent, from which everyone emerges as “children” in the morning, gets back into the boat and continues their journey across the sky.

Yoga likens the spiritual energy of a person to a snake - kundalini (means “coiled in a ring”, “coiled in the shape of a snake”).

Snake symbol - description of the symbol

The supremely Snake is a complex and universal symbol. The snake symbolized death and immortality, good and evil. They were personified by her forked tongue, the poisonousness of her bites, along with the healing effect of the poison, and the mysterious ability to hypnotize small animals and birds. This apparent contradiction, the combination in one image of two different, often opposing principles, is characteristic of symbols that have come to us from ancient times. A snake can be either male or female, and can also reproduce itself. As a creature that kills, it means death and destruction; as a creature that periodically changes its skin - life and resurrection.

A coiled snake is identified with the cycle of phenomena. This is both the solar principle and the lunar principle, life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, wisdom and blind passion, healing and poison, preserver and destroyer, spiritual and physical rebirth.

A phallic symbol, the fertilizing male force, "the husband of all women", the presence of a snake is almost always associated with pregnancy. The snake accompanies all female deities, including the Great Mother, and is often depicted in their hands or coiled around them. In this case, the snake takes on feminine qualities such as mystery, enigma and intuitiveness, and symbolizes unpredictability, as it unexpectedly appears and disappears unexpectedly.

The snake was considered bisexual and was the emblem of all self-generating deities, also symbolizing the power of the fertility of the earth. It is a solar, chthonic, sexual, funereal symbol and represents the manifestation of power on any level, the source of all potential in both the material and spiritual realms, closely associated with the concept of both life and death.

Because the snake lives underground, it is in contact with the underworld and has access to the powers, omniscience and magic of the dead. The chthonic snake is a manifestation of the aggressive power of the gods of the underworld and darkness. She is widely considered the source of initiation and rejuvenation and the “mistress of the subsoil.” In its chthonic form, the snake is hostile to the Sun and all solar and spiritual forces, symbolizing the dark forces in man. In this case, the positive and negative principles are in conflict, as in the case of Zeus and Typhon, Apollo and Python, Osiris and Set, the eagle and the snake, etc.

It also symbolizes the original instinctive nature, the surge of vitality, uncontrolled and undifferentiated, potential energy, the inspiring spirit. It is a mediator between Heaven and Earth, between the earth and the underworld.

The snake is associated with sky, earth, water and especially with the Cosmic Tree.

It is also a cloud dragon of darkness and a treasure guardian. The snake can symbolically represent the rays of the sun, the path of the Sun in the sky, lightning and the power of water, being an attribute of all river deities.

The snake is knowledge, strength, deceit, sophistication, cunning, darkness, evil and corruption, as well as the Tempter.

Mythical snake

The first letter is "g"

Second letter "i"

Third letter "d"

The last letter of the letter is "a"

Answer for the clue "Mythical snake", 5 letters:
hydra

Alternative crossword questions for the word hydra

Serpent Gorynych in ancient Greece

Lernaean monster defeated by Hercules

Freshwater polyp with tentacles around mouth

The largest constellation, consisting of 68 stars

Moon of Pluto

Nine-headed Lernaean snake

Multi-headed snake

Definition of the word hydra in dictionaries

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov The meaning of the word in the dictionary Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language. D.N. Ushakov
hydra, w. (Greek hydra - water serpent). In Ancient Greek. mythology - a multi-headed snake, in which new heads grew in place of the severed heads. trans. A hostile secret political movement, the fight against which requires a lot of effort and time (newspaper). Hydra of counter-revolution....

Wikipedia Meaning of the word in the Wikipedia dictionary
Hydra (134340 III, formerly S/2005 P 1) is one of five known natural satellites of Pluto, one of two (with Nikta) discovered in June 2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs on which the discovery was made were taken on 15...

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova. The meaning of the word in the dictionary Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.
-y, w. In Greek mythology: a many-headed snake, in which new heads grow in place of severed heads. G. slander (translated). A small animal, a freshwater polyp with tentacles around its mouth.

Examples of the use of the word hydra in literature.

I left my grandfather, and you know that yourself, and I left the fox, and I left the tiger, and from the elephant, and from the raccoon dog, and from the eight-armed octopus, and from Hydras Lernaean, and from the serpent Apep, and from Behemoth and Leviathan!

True, you are superior to other snakes, Ahelous, but you are no match for the Lernaean hydra.

thousand-headed hydra in front of the platform she shuddered and leaned forward, under the pressure of Braganza’s voice, which again commanded the attack.

Because of these innumerable lies inflicted on the Ukrainian people, the gentry seemed like a headless beast with an insatiable belly, but in reality they were hydra multi-headed, long-winded, and sometimes wise, in boasting and magnificence she raised her Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the level of Roman deeds, and longed to have her own Tarquinii, Gracchi, Caesars and Ciceros.

The top of the gangster syndicate, led by the chief, not only managed to escape from justice, but also to hide almost the entire capital of the gang, and Interpol really hoped to capture it, which would be tantamount to cutting off the main head of the gangster hydra.