Russia, the family did not have the right to terminate the marriage. In the pagan era, marriages were concluded in words, rituals were performed, and there was an understanding that marriage with one wife is «forever» and extends beyond the grave. But since the main factor in the family was childbirth, and if the wife could not give birth to her husband’s child, then the husband had the right to take another wife. Most often, there was no divorce as such; just the husband took another wife.
Polygamy in Russia was present in all Slavic tribes, from which the Russian ethnos was subsequently formed. In pagan times, polygamy existed among Western, southern, and eastern Slavs. Before the adoption of Christianity, many princes had several wives. The Polish Prince Mieszko had seven wives, the Czech Prince Slavnik had many wives, the Pomeranian prince had several wives, as well as twenty-four concubines. Among the Old Russian nobility, in addition to polygamy, concubinage also flourished. From our Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich had a whole harem. He had 300 concubines in two ancient Russian cities of Belgorod and Vyshgorod, as well as another 200 in the village of Berestov. The prince brought concubines from military campaigns; the concubine became a prisoner, and served as entertainment to the prince and his retinue, as well as concubines were the subject of trade.
After receiving baptism, Prince Vladimir immediately dissolved his harem and abandoned his usual life; he turned to his wife Rogneda with these words: «I have been baptized now. I have accepted the faith and the Christian law, now I should have one wife, which I took in Christianity, but you choose one of my nobles for yourself, and I will marry you to him.» The adoption of Christianity in 988 significantly affected the life of the Old Russian nobility.
On the subject of concubinage, there is one very heartbreaking story, which is known from the chronicle. Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galicia (reigned 1157—1187) was so attached to his concubine Anastasia that he decided to marry her. To do this, he needed to get rid of his legal spouse, the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky. The prince planned to send his lawful wife to a monastery. Having learned about this, the boyars did not allow him to do this, they sided with the princess, raised an uprising, and burned Anastasia alive. The prince sent Anastasia’s son to prison. The prince was sworn to live with his lawful wife.
Who are the Slavic gods? Gods are a rather late invention of the human mind. The most ancient people did not believe in gods, it is difficult to believe in what you do not see. Almost nothing is known about the religion of the ancient Slavs, the first sources about Slavic culture appear in the 6th century. This is fragmentary information in written sources; they appeared after reaching the borders of the Byzantine Empire. The Slavic religion was formed for quite a long period, it was a process of intertwining the ancient Slavs from the Indo-European community with the mythology and religion of neighboring peoples of the II—I millennium BC. Therefore, naturally, there is a significant Indo-European layer in the Slavic religion. It is assumed that this period includes images of the god of thunderstorms and fighting squads (Perun), the god of cattle and the other world (Veles), the image of the faceless deity Yarilo, and the deity of the Sky-Father (Stribog). In addition, Indo-European gods include such images as the Mother of Cheese-the Earth, the associated goddess of weaving and spinning (Mokosh), the solar deity (Dazhbog), and many others. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC, the mythology and religion of the Slavs were significantly influenced by the Celts and the steppe Iranian-speaking population of the Scythians, Sarmatians and Alans.
The main features of Slavic paganism as a worldview are the belief in the animateness of nature (animatism and animism), the cult of ancestors and supernatural forces that are constantly present. And take part throughout the life of each person, the developed lower mythology, the belief in the possibility of influencing the state of things in the world by means of primitive magic.
Slavic polytheism (belief in nature) is not the religion of one closed community. This is the religion of small communities connected by a single origin, language and elements of culture, and nothing more. This religion is deeply rooted in the history of the development of Slavic communities. The pagan Slavs worshipped the elements, believed in the kinship of people with various animals, offered sacrifices to the deities inhabiting everything around. Each Slavic tribe had its own gods, For example, the rites of the northern Baltic and Novgorod Slavs were very different from those of Kiev and the Danube. The Slavs never had a single idea of the gods, since the Slavic tribes in pre-Christian times did not have a single state, so they were not united in beliefs. Some gods are similar to each other, but have nothing in common with each other.
As with most peoples of the world, in the paganism of the ancient Slavs there was an idea of a single god. That is, it was a god above all the numerous gods. Who could directly influence all the processes taking place in the universe?
Rod is the main deity in the Slavic Pantheon. The Creator of everything, the primordial spirit, the Primordial God, the Prabog. The genus is also called the Supreme God or the Most High and Belbog, the White God, Sventovit. Sventovit translates as the Knight of Light. Dark – Dark Knight, or Chernoboga, the opposite of Belbog. The genus is the ancestor; all other gods obey him, because they are descended from this primordial deity, the closer they stand to their ancestor, the stronger their power.
The Eastern Slavs actually had two supreme gods. Most Slavs – especially revered Yar or Yarilo (in some tribes: Khoros). Horse is a borrowed god from Iranian mythology. So the Slavs called the sun, which was considered a living supernatural being, giving people warmth and light. Tribal nobility, engaged in military campaigns, defended their tribal lands from enemy attacks, this was their main occupation. They worshipped the thunder god Perun more. The god Perun was especially revered by vigilantes and warriors.
Svarog is one of the highest gods of the Slavic-pagan pantheon. This is a particularly revered god, the creator of Heaven and Earth. It is believed that Svarog endowed people with blacksmithing and taught them to forge metal products. Any forge itself is a temple of Svarog, and the anvil and hammer are symbols of Svarog. It is also known that the Slavs revered fire as a natural element, whose father was Svarog and affectionately called Svarozhich. Svarog is also considered the patron saint of warriors and weapons.
The patron god of cattle, Volos or Veles, was very revered. It was believed that this god patronizes the reproduction and damage of livestock, good offspring of meat and fat, the size of milk yield. Also, this god is considered the guardian of the forest, patronizes hunters and warriors. The god Veles, he has many personifications – the god of wisdom, the patron of the magi, can guide on the path of spiritual self-knowledge in the world of Reality, as a god-magician, the leader of magicians, the patron of the animal world, he is also addressed as the god of prosperity. The god Veles accompanies souls between the gates of the otherworld, helps to cross between the worlds of the doers, the lord of the underworld.
Of the female deities, Mokosh or Makosh is known. The goddess of fate, prosperity, family happiness. Makosh is one of the goddesses of childbirth. She is revered as the goddess of the harvest. Her sign is present in the ornaments of clothing, in spring with her hands raised up, in autumn with her hands lowered down. Makosh is one of the revered goddesses of the Slavic pantheon. She is revered as the goddess of needlework. He really dislikes the lazy, and those who depart from traditions. Her name is also Mati Spinning, her main occupation is spinning. He sits high in the heavenly palace and spins the threads of fate together with a share and a short time. If there was a difficulty on your way, or something went wrong, then Makosh tied a knot on your way. Makosh is especially revered by women, she is asked to create a marriage, the birth of healthy children.
There is also a particularly revered goddess Lada. The goddess Lada is one of the most important goddesses in the pagan pantheon. She is the daughter of a Genus (sometimes considered the female hypostasis of a Genus)
