Meet the Slavic god Veles

Veles counts among the most prominent deities of the Slavic pantheon. He’s one of the so-called horned gods of Europe; like them, he is typically depicted as a mature man, bearded, usually in the company of forest animals.

While myths and legends can differ quite a bit among different Slavic peoples, the presence of Veles is fairly consistent throughout the Slavic world: he is the protector of cattle, strongly associated with woodlands, magic and, perhaps more ominously, the underworld. His cult seems to have been particularly prominent among the South Slavs, where there are still numerous place names derived from his name.

Speaking of which, the etymology of the word Veles is not entirely clear, but the existing theories are very interesting. There are several PIE (Proto-Indo-European) roots that his name could have come from, among them:

• *welg- indicating humidity and wetness, by extension the underworld
• *wel- = ‘wool’, which could refer to him being hairy – either in his male form, or in one of his shape-shifting forms of a wolf or a bear

Also, to Slavic speakers, his name – which also appears as Volos – is immediately evocative of vo(l), a Slavic word for ‘ox’ or ‘bullock’, but this connection may be coincidental.

As is the case with other Slavic myths, the myth of Veles is shrouded in darkness as there are precious few reliable written sources. Sadly, the Slavs haven’t produced anything like the Nordic or Celtic sagas, nor is there an attested tradition of writing predating the arrival of Christianity. However, we can reconstruct the main points by doing some comparative research; in this particular case, by looking into the closely related Baltic myths.

In the Baltic mythology, the god of the underworld is invariably known as Velns / Velnias / Velinas (obviously a close cognate of Veles). He was seen as the enemy of the thunder-god Perkunas (another close cognate of the Slavic sky-god Perun). And here, perhaps with some simplifications, we discover the typical Indo-European polarity between the sky-god (Zeus / Jupiter / Thor etc.) and the god of the underworld.

It remains something of a controversy among contemporary mythologists whether it would be justified to talk about the actual enmity between the two: the Slavic conception of time is a cyclical one, and the Veles-Perun ‘animosity’ is likely to be a reflection of the annual seasonal changes more than anything else.

There are many stories in which Veles is portrayed as a cunning and crafty deity, outsmarting Perun through sheer trickstery, so there’s also a touch of Loki-esque mischievousness to him. Perun usually does manage to defeat him, though, as in this representation of Perun slaying Veles in the form of a dragon.

An important part of the story is the myth of Yarilo, the youthful god of spring. Fathered by Perun, Veles kidnapped him when he was a baby, raised him in the underworld and taught him magic, as well as all the knowledge needed for the protection of livestock. In a way, Yarilo embodies the best of both worlds: this youthful, dashing lad’s annual return from the underworld results in the arrival of spring, hence his strong and unsurprising connection with the fertility cult. Among Slavs, the veneration of Yarilo is still going strong, thinly veiled in the Christian observance of the feast day of St George, a major springtime festival.

There’s a lot more to be said about Veles, but I’ll leave you with a short list for suggested reading. (As a final note, if you come across something know as “The Book of Veles”, please know that it’s a modern forgery that most certainly wasn’t written in the Slavic antiquity. Best avoid altogether.)

Veles (Volos), Slavic God of Cattle and the Underworld

Veles – The Slavic Shapeshifting God of Land, Water and Underground

Veles and Perun: The Legendary Battle of Two Slavic Gods

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