View source for Svarog

{{Short description|Slavic blacksmith deity}}
{{For|the Yugoslav doom metal band|Svarog (band)}}

{{npov|date=November 2024}}

'''Svarog'''{{Efn|[[Old East Slavic]]: Сваро́гъ<br/>[[Russian language|Russian]]: Сварог {{IPA|ru|svɐˈrok|}})}} is a Slavic god who may be associated with [[fire]] and [[blacksmith]]ing and who was once interpreted as a [[sky god]] on the basis of an etymology rejected by modern scholarship. He is mentioned in only one source, the ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'', which is problematic in interpretation. He is presented there as the Slavic equivalent of the Greek god [[Hephaestus]]. The meaning of his name is associated with fire. He is the father of [[Dazhbog]] and [[Svarozhits]].

== Etymology ==
{{Main|Etymology of Svarog}}
The [[theonym]] ''Svarog'' presents in several forms. The ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'' has ''Соварога'' (''Sovaroga''), ''Сварогъ'' (''Svarogǔ''), ''Сварогом'' (''Svarogom''), and ''Сварога'' (''Svaroga''). The ''Sofia Chronograph''{{Efn|Later compilation.}} has ''Сваро<sup>г</sup>'' (''Svaro<sup>g</sup>'') and ''Сваро<sup>ж</sup>'' (''Svaro<sup>ž</sup>'').{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=91}}

The fire etymology was one of the first to be proposed by the [[Slovenes|Slovene]] linguist [[Franc Miklošič]] (1875), who explained the theonym ''Svarog'' as consisting of the stem ''svar'' ('heat', 'light') and the suffix ''-og''. The stem ''svar'' itself was derived from an earlier ''*sur'' "shining".{{Sfn|Miklošič|1875|p=9, 283}}

That etymology is also supported by contemporary linguists and etymologists, but the etymology of the stem ''svar'' can also be explained differently. The root ''svar'' derives from the [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]] ''*sъvarъ'', which consists of the prefix ''*sъ-'' meaning "good, (ones') own" and the stem ''*varъ'' "fire, heat",{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=98}} which is continued, for example, by Old Church Slavonic варъ, ''varǔ'' ("heat"),{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=98}} or Old East Slavic варъ, ''varǔ'' "sunny heatwave, scorching heat, heat"{{Sfn|Dal|1863|p=146}} (from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*wār-'' "warmth"{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=98}}). This root was then extended by the suffix ''*-ogъ'', which has no specific function.{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=98}} The common noun ''*sъvarogъ'' "good, own fire, heat" was then transferred to the name of the god because of his function as a divine blacksmith, a god wielding fire, working with fire.{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=99}}

The ''*sъvarъ'' stem is also the origin of words related to blacksmithing. Some examples are Old East Slavic сварити, ''svariti'' "to forge something at high temperature",{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=96}} Old Polish ''zwarzyć'' "to weld, chain two pieces of iron",{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020 |p=92}} and modern Russian and Slovenian words (e.g. сварить, ''svarit''', variti, "to melt", "to weld").{{Sfn|Niederle|1924|p=107}}{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=96}}

Some researchers, including [[Aleksander Brückner]]{{Sfn|Brückner|1985|p=120}} and [[Vatroslav Jagić]],{{Sfn|Vasmer|1986|p=569}} have suggested that the name stemmed from the word ''svar'' meaning "argument, disagreement", or the verb ''svariti'' "to quarrel". Brückner translated this theonym literally as "wrangler, brawler", which would also be associated with fire.{{Sfn|Brückner|1985|p=120}} However, this etymology has been criticized.{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=99}}

In earlier scholarship, the dominant view was that the root ''sva''r was borrowed from an [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] language (e.g., from Sanskrit स्वर्, ''svar'' "radiance", "sky", "sun"), but this etymology is nowadays rejected due to phonetic difficulties.{{Sfn|Vasmer|1986|p=569}}{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=99}}

== Legacy ==
After [[Christianization of the Slavs|Christianization]], Svarog was preserved in toponymy and vocabulary. In [[Bulgaria]] these are the towns of Сва́рог, ''Svarog'', Сва́рошка бара, ''Svaroshka bara'', in the Czech Republic it is the [[Zwercheck|''Svaroh'']] mountain, and the [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] name ''Zwarogk''. Brückner also added the [[Poland|Polish]] town of ''[[Swarożyn]]'' here, based on a notation in the German Latin ''Swarozino'' from 1205,{{Sfn|Brückner|1985|p=121}} but the original notation was ''Swarozina'' and is dated 1305, so it should be read as ''Swarocino'', from the personal name ''Swarota'', or, as other records indicate, the town was called ''Swaryszewo'', from the personal name ''Swarysz''. Modern notation ''Swarożyn'' should be regarded as false transcription.{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=98}}

In the Russian dialect (Novgorod) the obsolete word сва́рог, ''svarog'' meaning "fire" and "blacksmith", is preserved.{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=99}} The [[Romanian language|Romanian]] word ''sfarog'', meaning "something burnt, charred, dried", was probably borrowed from an unspecified [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic language]], probably [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], and the source word is reconstructed as ''*svarogъ''.{{Sfn|Łuczyński|2020|p=96}}

== Svarog-Svarozhits ==
{{Main|Svarozhits}}
A god named ''[[Svarozhits]]'' appears in the sources as well. Some scholars have suggested that Svarozhits means 'young Svarog' or is a [[diminutive]] of ''Svarog''. The argument for the existence of only one god is based on the fact that in [[Serbo-Croatian]] the suffix ''-ić'' means 'young' or 'small' (e.g., ''Djurdjić'' is not the 'son of Djurdjo', but 'little Djurdjo').{{Sfn|Gieysztor|2006|p=171}} [[Aleksander Brückner|Brückner]] also believed that the [[Lithuanians]] called their gods fondly, e.g. ''Perkune dievaite'' meaning 'little god [[Perkūnas|Perkun]]' and not 'god Perkun'.{{Sfn|Brückner|1985|p=135}} However, most scholars disagree with this interpretation.{{Sfn|Vasmer|1986|p=569}}{{Sfn|Łowmiański|1979|p=98}}{{Sfn|Szyjewski|2003|p=111}} The suffix ''-its'', ''-ich'' (from [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]] ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-iťь|*-iťь]]'') is most often a patronymic suffix (e.g. Polish ''pan'' 'master' → ''panicz'' 'son of a master'). The family relationship between Svarog and Svarozhits is also indicated by accounts of these gods.{{Sfn|Gieysztor|2006|p=171}}

== Sources ==
The only source that mentions Svarog is the Slavic translation of the ''Chronicle'' (''Chronography'') of [[John Malalas]], which was placed in the ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'' under year 1114. In this translation, in [[Gloss (annotation)|glosses]], the Greek god of fire and smithing [[Hephaestus]] is translated as Svarog, and his son, the sun god [[Helios]], is translated as [[Dažbog|Dazhbog]] (glosses are in italics{{Sfn|Alvarez-Pedroza|2021|p=294-296}}):

{{Blockquote|author=|title=|text=And after the flood and the division of the languages, the first to reign was [[Mizraim|Mestrom]], of the line of [[Ham (son of Noah)|Cam]], after him [[Hermes]], after him [[Hephaestus]]'', whom the [[Egyptians]] call Svarog''. During the reign of this Hephaestus in Egypt, at the time of his reign, tongs fell from the sky and he began to forge weapons, as before that they beat each other with sticks and stones. This Hephaestus established the law that women should marry a single man and behave in a chaste way, and he ordered that those who committed adultery should be punished. ''For this reason he was also called the god Svarog, as before this women fornicated with whomsoever they wished and fornicated with cattle. If they gave birth to a child they gave it to whomsoever they wished: “Here is your child”. And the person held a feast and accepted it. But Hephaestus eliminated this law and decreed that a man should have one wife, and that a woman should marry a single man, and that if anyone were to violate (that law), they should be thrown into a fiery furnace; this is why he was called Svarog'', and the Egyptians blessed him. And after him reigned his son, called Sun'', who was known as [[Dazhbog]]'', for seven thousand four hundred and seventy days, which make twenty and a half years. Because neither the Egyptians (nor) others knew how to count; some counted by the moon and others counted the years by days; the figure of 12 months was known later, from the time that men began to pay tax to the emperors. The emperor Sun, son of ''Svarog, who is Dazhbog'', was a strong man. Having heard from someone that a certain Egyptian woman, who was rich and respected, that someone wished to fornicate with her, he sought her to apprehend her so she did not break the law of her father ''Svarog''. Taking with him some of his men, having discovered the moment at which the adultery would take place by night, he surprised her and did not find her husband with her but found her lying with another, with who she wanted. He seized her and tortured her and ordered her to be taken around the country for opprobrium and he beheaded her lover. And life was pure in all Egypt, and they began to praise him.{{Sfn|Alvarez-Pedroza|2021|p=294-296}}}}

This source is problematic for several reasons. The first problem is place and time the glosses about Svarog and Dazhbog were included in the Slavonic translation of the ''Chronography''.{{Sfn|Szyjewski|2003|p=105}} Some scholars believe that these glosses come from the 10th-century Bulgarian translator of the ''Chronography'' (the first Slavic translation in general), and some scholars assume that the glosses were added by a Ruthenian copyist. [[Aleksander Brückner]] supported this thesis by adding that the [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] texts avoided mentioning Slavic or [[Turkic mythology|Turkic paganism]] in Bulgaria. [[Vatroslav Jagić]] suggested that the glosses were written in [[Novgorod Land|Novgorod]] because the ''Chronography'' translation also contains references to [[Lithuanian paganism]], which the Bulgarian translator could not do. The downside of this theory is that the glosses must have been written before 1118 (this is probably when they first found their way into the compilation of the ''Primary Chronicle''), and in the 11th century Ruthenian writers were not interested in Lithuanian paganism because of underdeveloped contacts with Lithuania. For this reason, [[Viljo Mansikka]] has proposed that the Baltic interpolation and glosses came into translation in 1262 in Lithuania or Western Rus. However, this explanation raises some objections: Svarog is not mentioned in any other Russian sources (unlike Dazhbog), and he is also omitted by [[Patriarch Nikon of Moscow|Nikon]] in his list of deities worshiped by [[Vladimir the Great]]. According to [[Henryk Łowmiański]], who identified Svarozhits with Dazhbog, an argument for the Bulgarian origin of the glosses is the fact that in these glosses Dazhbog is called "the son of Svarog" – in Bulgarian the patronymic suffix ''-ic'', ''-ič'' has been forgotten, so that Dazhbog could not be called simply Svarozhits. If the Bulgarian origin of the glosses is recognized, Svarog must also be considered a [[South Slavs|South Slavic]] god, not an [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] one.{{Sfn|Łowmiański|1979|p=93-97}}

The second problem is that it is not clear which information in the glosses pertains to [[Slavic paganism|Slavic mythology]] and which to [[Greek mythology]].{{Sfn|Szyjewski|2003|p=105}} According to the glosses Svarog is: (1) the Slavic equivalent of [[Hephaestus]], the Greek god of fire and smithing, (2) the father of Dazhbog, and (3) the creator of [[monogamy]]. According to Andrzej Szyjewski, the myth of the adulterous wife fits Hephaestus (pagan Slavs were [[Polygamy|polygamous]]{{Sfn|Alvarez-Pedroza|2021|p=319}}), whereas the myth of the blacksmith god being the father of the Sun does not appear anywhere in Greek mythology.{{Sfn|Szyjewski|2003|p=105}} Łowmiański believed that Hephaestus was not translated as Svarog because of his association with fire and smithing, but precisely because of his being the father of the Sun.{{Sfn|Łowmiański|1979|p=98}} Brückner and [[Dimitri Obolensky]] interpreted this account as a distorted myth about a blacksmith god who forged a sun disk. Such an affinity may be indicated by the Baltic parallel where [[Teliavelis]] forges the sun and casts it on the sky.{{Sfn|Szyjewski|2003|p=105}}

== Interpretations ==
[[File:Swarog (2013).jpg|thumb|''Svarog'', Marek Hapon, 2013]]Because it is unclear to what extent the fragmentary translation of the ''Chronography'' can be used, and because of only a single source about Svarog, as well as uncertain clues in folklore, the interpretation of this god is problematic. Some scholars have even suggested that Svarog was created from the figure of Svarozhits and never existed in the beliefs of the Slavs.{{Sfn|Dynda|2019|p=60-64}}

=== God of fire, blacksmithing, sun ===
Czech historians Martin Pitro and Petr Vokáč believe that Svarog is a god who receded into the background after the creation of the world, but at the same time is a celestial smith and sun god.{{Sfn|Pitro|Vokáč|p=15|2002}}

It is possible that Svarog echoes the mythology of northern Europe: the smith in [[Norse mythology|Norse]] and [[Baltic mythology|Baltic]] mythology forges weapons for the Thunderer, and as in Finnish mythology, the smith god [[Ilmarinen]] is the creator of the Sun, the sky, and many wondrous objects. The smith god also fights the powers of chaos in defense of his creation.{{Sfn|Szyjewski|2003|p=106-107}}

[[Aleksander Gieysztor]] interpreted Svarog as celestial fire (the sun), Perun as atmospheric fire (the thunderbolt), and Svarozhits-Dazhbog as earthly fire (fire).{{Sfn|Gieysztor|2006|p=308-309}}

[[Jiří Dynda]] rejects the understanding of Svarog as a sovereign deity of heaven or a ''[[Deus otiosus|deus otiousus]]'' type deity, and points out that in the source Svarog, or rather his prefiguration, does not bear the characteristics of such a deity, except for the paternity of the solar deity, which he considers a secondary feature. Instead, he compares him to the figure of the magician and hero [[Volga Svyatoslavich|Volkh Vseslavyevich]] from Russian bylines, and to the ancient blacksmiths who, in Russian folklore, make weapons for heroes and weld the hair of men and women symbolically uniting them into marriage, which include, for example, the blind father of the hero [[Svyatogor]].{{Sfn|Dynda|2019|p=60-64}}

It is possible that Svarog is related in some way to mythological bird [[Raróg|Rarog]] ([[saker falcon]]), perhaps on the taboo basis pointed out by [[Roman Jakobson]]. In Vedism [[Indra]] is sometimes called ''Indra Vritrahan'', "Indra the victor of [[Vritra]]". In the Iranian version of this motif, [[Verethragna|Veretragna]] is transformed into the falcon ''Varhagan'' during his duel with Vritra. Czech ''Raroh'', ''Rarach'' is a generous yet vengeful demonic being associated with the campfire, taking the form of a bird or dragon, with a body and hair of flame, who flies out through the chimney as a ball of fire or whirlwind. He indicates a Balto-Slavic motif: the names ''raróg'', ''rarok'' in Polish, ''jarog'' in Czech, and ''raragas'' or ''vanagas'' in Lithuanian refer to a bird with glowing eyes.{{Sfn|Gieysztor|2006|p=177-178}}

=== Sky god ===
On the basis of solar and celestial etymology, Svarog is often interpreted as a celestial [[creator deity]] whose role in cult mythology has been overlooked. Svarog would have been the heir of a hypothetical Proto-Indo-European [[Dyēus|''*Dyḗus'']]. In this case, he would correspond to deities such as the Vedic [[Dyaus]] or the Baltic [[Dievas|Dievs]], but also to the Greek [[Zeus]] or the Roman [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] – the latter two deities, however, took on thunderer characteristics and occupied an important place in their respective pantheons.

Michal Téra interprets Svarog as the counterpart of the Vedic sky-god Dyaus, who according to some accounts is the father of the fire-god [[Agni]]-Svarozhits and of the sun-god [[Surya]]-Dazhbog. He also links him to the mystical figure [[Svyatogor]], whose place in the [[bylina]]s is taken by [[Ilya Muromets]], Perun's heir – according to Téra described as tired, whose weight the earth cannot bear, and he compares this last motif to the mythical separation of Heaven and Earth which is necessary to put the world in order. He also believes that Svarog appears in the [[Slavic creation myth|myths of the creation of the world]].{{Sfn|Téra|2009|p=310-324}}

[[Henryk Łowmiański|Łowmiański]] developed a theory that the cult of the Proto-Indo-European god ''*Dyḗus'' developed among the Slavs in two forms: in the form of Svarog among the [[West Slavs]], and in the form of [[Perun]] among the [[East Slavs]]. Subsequently, the cult of Svarog was to be transported in the 6th century by [[Serbs]] and [[Croats]] from West Slavs to the [[Balkans]].{{Sfn|Łowmiański|1979|p=99}}

== References ==
; Notes
{{Notelist}}
; References
{{wikt|Svarog}}
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book|last=Alvarez-Pedroza|first=Juan Antonio|title=Sources of Slavic Pre-Christian Religion|year=2021|isbn=978-90-04-44138-5|publisher=Koninklijke Brill|place=Leiden|language=en}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Borissoff|first=Constantine Leo|title=Non-Iranian origin of the Eastern-Slavonic god Xŭrsŭ/Xors|url=https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/sms/article/view/1491|journal=[[Studia Mythologica Slavica]]|volume=17|pages=9–36|year=2014|issn=1581-128X|doi=10.3986/sms.v17i0.1491|language=en|doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book|last=Brückner|first=Aleksander|title=Mitologia słowiańska|year=1985|isbn=8301062452|publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe|place=Warsaw|language=pl|author-link=Aleksander Brückner}}
* {{Cite book |last = Dal |first = Vladimir |title = Толковый словарь живаго великорускаго языка В. И. Даля |year = 1863 |place = Moscow |volume = 1: А-З |author-link = Vladimir Dal |language = ru |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=R91bAAAAcAAJ&dq=%22%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8A%22&pg=RA2-PA146 |publisher = Общество любителей российской словесности}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dynda|first=Jirí|authorlink=Jiří Dynda |title=Slovanské pohanství ve středověkých ruských kázáních|year=2019|isbn=978-80-88013-87-7|publisher=Scriptorium|place=Červený Kostelec|language=cs}}
* {{Cite book|last=Gieysztor|first=Aleksander|title=Mitologia Słowian|year=2006|isbn=978-83-235-0234-0|publisher=Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|place=Warsaw|language=pl|author-link=Aleksander Gieysztor}}
* {{Cite book|last=Łowmiański|first=Henryk|title=Religia Słowian i jej upadek, w. VI-XII|year=1979|isbn=83-01-00033-3|publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe|place=Warsaw|language=pl|author-link=Henryk Łowmiański}}
* {{Cite book|last=Łuczyński|first=Michał|title=Bogowie dawnych Słowian. Studium onomastyczne|year=2020|isbn=978-83-60777-83-1|publisher=Kieleckie Towarzystwo Naukowe|place=Kielce|language=pl}}
* {{Cite book |last = Miklošič |first = Franc |title = Vergleichende Grammatik der slavischen Sprachen |year = 1875 |place = Wiedeń |author-link = Franc Miklošič |volume = 2 |language = de}}
* {{Cite book|last=Niederle|first=Lubor|title=Slovanské starožitnosti.|year=1924|place=Prague|volume=1: Oddíl kulturní|author-link=Lubor Niederle|edition=2|language=cs|url=https://digi.law.muni.cz/xmlui/handle/digilaw/1467}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Pitro|first1=Martin|title=Bohové dávných Slovanů|year=2002|isbn=80-85866-91-9|publisher=ISV|place=Praga|language=cs|first2=Petr|last2=Vokáč}}
* {{Cite book|last=Szyjewski|first=Andrzej|title=Religia Słowian|year=2003|isbn=83-7318-205-5|publisher=Wydawnictwo WAM|place=Kraków|language=pl}}
* {{Cite book|last=Téra|first=Michal|title=Perun: Bůh hromovládce|year=2009|isbn=978-80-86818-82-5|publisher=Pavel Mervart|place=Červený Kostelec|language=cs}}
* {{Cite book|last=Vasmer|first=Max|title=Этимологический словарь русского языка|year=1986|publisher=Progress|place=Moscow|author-link=Max Vasmer|edition=2|language=ru|translator-last=Trubachyov|translator-first=Oleg|chapter=Сварог|translator-link=Oleg Trubachyov|chapter-url=https://starlingdb.org/cgi-bin/response.cgi?basename=%5Cyear%5Cie%5Cvasmer&text_word=%D0%A1%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B3&method_word=begothersng&ww_word=on|volume=3|pages=569–570}}
{{refend}}

{{Slavic mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Slavic gods]]
[[Category:Fire gods]]
[[Category:Solar gods]]
[[Category:Smithing gods]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]
[[Category:Hephaestus]]
[[Category:Falcon deities]]