Also known as: Svarožić
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The supreme sky god and god of celestial fire. He forged the sun and gave it to his son Dazhbog to carry across the sky. He taught humans to work with metal and gave them the plow.
Svarog is the ancient sky father of Slavic mythology, god of celestial fire and divine blacksmith. His name comes from the word for "sky" or "bright," and he represents the heavens themselves—not the active thunder like Perun, but the eternal, creative fire of the cosmos. He is the craftsman god who forged the world's foundations.
Svarog is the father of some of the most important Slavic deities. He forged the sun and placed it in the sky, then gave it to his son Dazhbog to carry across the heavens each day. Some traditions name Svarozhich ("son of Svarog") as a separate fire god, the sacred flame worshipped in temples. Through his children, Svarog's creative fire lights and warms the world.
Svarog gave humanity the tools of civilization. He forged iron and taught people metalworking—the transformation of raw ore into tools and weapons. He created the first plow, freeing humans from gathering to farming. He established the laws of marriage, ordering society as he ordered the cosmos. His gifts lifted humanity from wilderness to culture.
Fire in the forge is Svarog's domain—the controlled, creative fire that transforms metal into form. This is different from the wild fire of destruction or the gentle fire of the hearth. The blacksmith's art was considered sacred, and smiths held special status in Slavic societies. Every hammer stroke echoed Svarog's original act of creation.
Some scholars suggest Svarog represents an older, more distant creator god who stepped back after establishing the world, leaving active rulership to Perun and the younger gods. This pattern appears in many mythologies—the sky father who creates, then withdraws. Yet his fire remains: in the sun, in the forge, in every hearth that warms a home.
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