Names of Zeus: Perun

Born from the heavenly forge of Svarog, Perun is the chief God of the Slavs. He was regarded as a thunderer God and a God who oversaw all oaths in battle, referenced in the chronicles of Russia as the most important God in the pantheon. In Kievan Rus and many other ancient Slavic entities, he was given pride of place.

Procopius of Caesarea, a historian of Christian Rome writing about the Ostrogoths and Slavs, references Perun the most:

One of the biggest problems with the analysis of the God named Perun is that many modern sources about him are neo-pagan forgeries from the past two centuries, often intermixing symbolism from other thunder Gods such as Indra or Zeus. Due to the thoroughness of Christianization, the majority of sources about Perun come from purely Christian perspectives on "demonic idols" and are pieced together from fragmented folklore.

While the Temple of Zeus does not disapprove of Neo-Pagan movements such as Rodnovery, which express a desire to move toward the God of Gods even in co-opting symbolism that likely belonged to this God, we must stick to what the classical sources and evidence suggest. Thus, any page about Perun one encounters on the internet should be approached with rigid awareness of this issue.

COSMOLOGICAL ROLE

In The Tale of Bygone Years, a chronicle of the post-Christian history of the Rus, Perun is referenced as a taker of oaths. Anyone who defied their oath not to commit war suffered grisly punishments. Similarly to the role of Jupiter, this may also indicate his connection to the concept of xenia among the Slavs.

SKY GOD OF RULERS

It was believed that Perun carried the power to fertilize the fields through lightning. Due to this terrifying power, he served as one of the patron images of the Rurik dynasty. Many years after Christianization, some sources bitterly lament that peasants would return to the worship of Perun.

According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Rus swore by Perun in treaties with the Greeks. They stated that those who broke the oaths were to be cursed and would have to pay with death by their own weapons and slavery in the afterlife. Later, the chronicle relates that Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich established a temple of Perun in Novgorod and Kiev, placing Perun at the head of the other Gods.

The First Novgorod Chronicle recounts how Archbishop Joachim of Korsun cast Perun’s idol into the river.

Another revealing text, much like the Welsh texts, concerns a primary translation of the Alexander Cycle from the 9th or 10th century, where Alexander is called a child of Perun (Zeus) by the translator:

A fragment of the work The Word of a Certain Lover of Christ and Zealot for the True Faith from the Paievsky Collection laments the endurance of belief in "demons," also noting the connection of fire-worship to these beliefs, similar to the Celts and Zoroastrians:

Another work, Walking of the Most Holy Theotokos Through Torment, based on a more limited Greek work, references Perun:

A certain 15th-century codex contains a question-and-answer format regarding "How many heavens exist?" The response includes: "... there are many Peruns." This is also reflected in the Lithuanian equivalent reference to Perkūnas.

PERUN MOUNTAINS

The mountains of Perun have been located in Montenegro, Croatia, Russia, and many other areas. This suggests the presence of a mountain cult.

SYMBOLISM OF PERUN

Perun was described as silver-headed, with a golden beard.

These "thunder mark" symbols are often associated with Perun in all his facets. Resembling petaled rosettes or swastikas, they were carved on homes, weapons, and jewelry for protection against evil and to invoke Perun's power against thunder. In many regions, the symbols were added to beams to prevent lightning strikes.

Archaeologists have discovered shrines associated with Perun, featuring the symbolism of the number nine in their layout and other aspects. It is assumed that the God was linked to this number, representing completion.

The name "Perun" is closely related to the Baltic God Perkūnas and the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European deity *Perkʷunos, suggesting a shared origin among these cultures. The root *perkwu initially denoted "oak," a tree sacred to thunder Gods, but in Slavic languages, it evolved to mean "to strike" or "to kill," reflecting Perun's association with thunderbolts.

Perun was worshipped by the Varangian Norse warriors hired by Oleg and Igor during their campaigns against Byzantium. In the 971 AD treaty, the Varangians swore their oaths not only by Perun but also by the Slavic deity Veles. Perun was thus largely interchangeable with Thor.

A major element of the Perun cult was absorbed into the Hebrew prophet Elijah (Ilya) in Russia, who was considered to rule over matters of lightning.

OAK TREE

Perun has a strong association with the oak tree, a connection evident in Slavic traditions. In a forged charter supposedly from 1302, Perun’s oak is mentioned as a boundary marker for estates donated by Prince Lev Danilovich to the Bishop of Przemysl.

Throughout Slavic lands, the oak was the most revered tree, widely attributed with cultic significance. In South Slavic folklore, oak groves were places of worship, reinforcing the idea that the connection between Perun and the oak was not coincidental.

Western Slavs were also known to venerate sacred oaks. Helmold recorded that they had fenced-off oak groves dedicated to a god of justice, Prova—a name some believe to be a distorted form of Perun. The Slavic Chronicle describes how Bishop Gerald, upon arriving in Oldenburg, ordered the destruction of sacred groves and forbade the Slavs from swearing by trees, springs, and stones, instead requiring them to bring criminals before a priest.

The link between Perun and oaths is well-documented, further solidifying his association with the oak in Slavic tradition.