Kiev Pantheon- Slavic GroupCollective"The Six Gods of Kiev"
Also known as: Vladimir's Pantheon and Pantheon of Kievan Rus'
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Description
In 980, Prince Vladimir erected wooden idols on a Kiev hilltop. Perun stood at the head, his face cast in silver, his mustache in gold. Five other gods flanked him. Eight years later Vladimir ordered them all chopped apart and cast into the Dnieper. Between those acts lies the only documented state pantheon of Slavic paganism.
Mythology & Lore
The Hill Outside the Palace
In 980, Vladimir Sviatoslavich seized sole power over Kievan Rus' after killing his brother Yaropolk. Among his first acts, the Primary Chronicle records, he erected wooden idols on a hill outside his palace in Kiev. Perun stood at the head, his figure bearing a head of silver and a mustache of gold. Behind him: Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Simargl, and Mokosh. Sacrifices were offered before the idols. The Chronicle, written by Christian monks a century later, says the people "defiled the earth with their offerings."
Perun's idol was attended by a perpetual fire. Vladimir's uncle Dobrynya erected a matching Perun in Novgorod. For eight years, the six gods stood on the hill above the Dnieper.
Dragged to the Dnieper
In 988, Vladimir accepted baptism from Constantinople and ordered the pantheon destroyed. The idols were toppled, chopped apart, and burned. Perun received special treatment. His figure was tied to a horse's tail and dragged from the hilltop to the river. Twelve men beat it with rods along the way. It was cast into the Dnieper, and attendants were posted along the banks to prevent it from washing ashore until the current had carried it past the rapids.
In Novgorod, Dobrynya carried out a parallel destruction. The population resisted, and parts of the city burned.
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