Tugarin Zmeyevich
Encyclopedia
Tugarin Zmeyevich is a mythical creature in East European bylinas and fairy tales, which personifies evil and cruelty and appears in the form of a bogatyr
of a dragon
-like nature.
Tugarin Zmeyevich has many different names in East Slavic mythology
, such as Zmey Tugarin, Zmey Tugaretin, Zmeishche Tugarishche and others. Tugarin Zmeyevich is best known from a bylina about his duel with Alyosha Popovich
, which comes in many different versions. When the two approach each other in a field, Tugarin is hissing like a snake and his horse is neighing like a beast. Tugarin's torso is covered with fiery snakes. It appears that Tugarin represents the element of fire, which he uses in different forms as a weapon. He threatens to strangle Alyosha Popovich with smoke, throw fiery sparks at him, scorch him with fire, and shoot charred logs at him. It also appears that Tugarin represents the element of water, because their duel usually takes place near the Safat River. At the same time, Tugarin is also a dragon. He is flying in the sky flapping his paper-like wings, which fail him when it rains. Alyosha Popovich wins the duel, cuts Tugarin's body into pieces and scatters them across the field.
Some bylinas mention Tugarin's intimate relations with the wife of knyaz
Vladimir
. When she finds out about his death, she turns sad and reproaches Alyosha Popovich for separating her from her "dear friend".
Tugarin Zmeyevich is a chtonical character of an ancient dragon-fighting myth, related to Zmey Gorynych , Fiery Dragon etc. In Kievan Rus, Tugarin Zmeyevich became a symbol of paganism
and wild steppe
s full of dangers.
Bogatyr
The bogatyr was a medieval heroic warrior of Kievan Rus' and the Novgorodian Republic, akin to a Western European knight errant.- Kievan Rus' :...
of a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-like nature.
Tugarin Zmeyevich has many different names in East Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....
, such as Zmey Tugarin, Zmey Tugaretin, Zmeishche Tugarishche and others. Tugarin Zmeyevich is best known from a bylina about his duel with Alyosha Popovich
Alyosha Popovich
Alyosha Popovich , alongside Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets, is a bogatyr . He is the youngest of the 3 main bogatyrs of Kiev Rus.The three of them are represented together at Vasnetsov's famous painting Bogatyrs....
, which comes in many different versions. When the two approach each other in a field, Tugarin is hissing like a snake and his horse is neighing like a beast. Tugarin's torso is covered with fiery snakes. It appears that Tugarin represents the element of fire, which he uses in different forms as a weapon. He threatens to strangle Alyosha Popovich with smoke, throw fiery sparks at him, scorch him with fire, and shoot charred logs at him. It also appears that Tugarin represents the element of water, because their duel usually takes place near the Safat River. At the same time, Tugarin is also a dragon. He is flying in the sky flapping his paper-like wings, which fail him when it rains. Alyosha Popovich wins the duel, cuts Tugarin's body into pieces and scatters them across the field.
Some bylinas mention Tugarin's intimate relations with the wife of knyaz
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....
Vladimir
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
. When she finds out about his death, she turns sad and reproaches Alyosha Popovich for separating her from her "dear friend".
Tugarin Zmeyevich is a chtonical character of an ancient dragon-fighting myth, related to Zmey Gorynych , Fiery Dragon etc. In Kievan Rus, Tugarin Zmeyevich became a symbol of paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
and wild steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s full of dangers.