No family tree relationships found
Try selecting a different category
Three-headed god whose heads oversee heaven, earth, and the underworld. His eyes were blindfolded to prevent him from seeing human sins. His black horse was used for divination.
Triglav means "three heads," and he is depicted as a deity with three faces looking in different directions, often with eyes blindfolded or covered. Each head rules over one realm: heaven, earth, and the underworld. He sees all—past, present, and future; gods, mortals, and the dead—yet his vision is veiled from humanity's sins.
Triglav's eyes were covered with golden bands, sometimes described as blindfolds. Medieval chroniclers explained this was to prevent the god from seeing human sins and being moved to destroy humanity. Others suggest it represents how the divine sees differently than mortals—not with physical eyes but with spiritual sight.
Triglav's temple at Szczecin (Stettin) kept a sacred black horse used for divination. Priests would lead the horse over a series of crossed spears—if it stepped over them without touching, the omens were favorable; if it stumbled, disaster loomed. The horse was never ridden except in these sacred rituals.
Triglav was particularly important among the Western Slavs, with major temples at Szczecin, Brandenburg, and other locations. When German crusaders destroyed these temples in the 12th century, they documented his worship, providing some of our best evidence for Slavic paganism. The priests' resistance showed his importance to the people.
Scholars debate whether Triglav was one god with three aspects or a representation of three separate gods united. Some see him as a Slavic trinity—Perun, Veles, and Svarog combined—while others view him as a unique deity who happened to govern multiple realms. His three-fold nature echoes triple deities found across Indo-European traditions.
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and improve your experience. Learn more