Morning Myth - Brotherly Love

Ah the Slavic people. I imagine life just beneath the roof of the world to have been somewhat harsh.The dangers extend from climate to the bogs, bears to wolves, and last but not least, to each other. Their religion seems as stark as their landscape. The two main deities of the Slavs in that region were Savarog and Chernobog. Being brothers, one might think they would get along. 

Nope! The brotherly love thing just seems to be a myth concocted by some winsome unloved brother, because my reading of history produces something less than brotherly love almost everywhere and this is a prime example and proof that perhaps genes determine who the person is going to become and not the parenting style (I no longer indulge nature versus nurture discussions. Well, unless I am awake).

Savarog is the good brother. He sits on top of the Tree of Life and Chernobog sits at the bottom. They have different worldviews and different goals for man. Savarog prefers the typical good thing; a good crop, health, warm home, and all the accouterments of modern life it seems (minus inflation). Chernobog much prefers another world, one in which death and catastrophe rule the day and all is just miserable. I imagine the two like Hobbes and Rousseau except with actual physical axes to grind against one another.

So they fight. And. They use man to fight one another. How awesome is that? 

Over time these ancient and terrifying deities are denuded of their original nature and constantly reproduced for a new generation. Disney used Chernabog in Fantasia and the evil atop ? Mountain (can't remember). Chernabog has finally morphed into a cute doll. Cuddle him at night, but be aware, Chernabog carries a large hammer and loves nothing more than killing.

These brothers and their woeful tale of enduring hatred for one another is addressed more fully in the Codex Slavorum. This is, incidentally, produced by Troll Lord Games and comes in a book. :)