Perun – mighty god of thunder, storms and heavenly heights

Perun, known as a lightning carrier and an invincible warrior, as Svarog's eldest son was one of the greatest gods, worshiped by some Slavic peoples as the supreme god. He inherited many goods from his father. His first deed and the gift of heaven was light and fire. By this act, Perun proved to be a great benefactor of mankind, because he pointed a ray of light and lit a fire with it. He gave them not only fire, but he untied and spread the clouds, and poured them like rain on the ground.

However, even the powerful lord of thunder – Perun had his shortcomings. Namely, for all his warrior courage and fearlessness, he was very shy and clumsy in talking to female beings, and he hid that with a proud and arrogant demeanor. His wife was a beautiful owner of a thunderbolt, Strijelka. Under his gaze, her eyes would shine like jewels, and a pleasant uneasiness entered her heart. If a cloud fairy looked at Perun a little longer, Strijelka would rush her thunderbolt into the cloud and shake the audacious one thoroughly. The moment when Perun and Strijelka walked hand in hand was the beginning of the end of the reign of the giants of winter.

The strongest among the gods, a guardian and a friend

Perun is a god, who rules on earth, in the air, and in the clouds. He rules the rain and the storm, the wind and the weather. Rain, lightning and thunder depend on him. While preparing for the storm, he shook the clouds so much that the whole sky roared from the strong shaking. Nevertheless, he did no harm while doing that, because he is a good and a bright god of earthly heights.

Perun, the strongest of the gods, was also a tamer of storms at sea. He ruled both favorable and unfavorable weather, i.e. rain and wind. As not only navigation depends on the weather, but also the fertility of the land, he would shake the black clouds with a thunderstorm and pour rain from them. People would then go out to thank Perun for saving their crops and fruits from the devastating hail. Perun is therefore the best guardian of the peasants, and a friend of the workers and sailors.

Image source: meettheslavs.com

If Perun thunds on you!

When Perun thunders then he knows why he thunders, or warns or punishes. Perun does not thunder out of spite and does not shoot out of sheer joy, but when injustice angers him. He also shoots arrows at the perjurers, because they violate the word called to his faith. In that capacity he is a heavenly judge and an executor of God's justice. The cult of Perun as the god of revenge and justice was very widespread, so historical chronicles mention Perun as a god who was sworn to honor and faith. Whoever was faithful to Perun, he gave back a hundredfold. Faith for faith - and punishment for disbelief.

Christian Prometheus

The successor of Perun is none other than St. Elijah. He is the Christian Prometheus, who, like Perun, brought fire from heaven to the people, and according to the Bible, ascended to heaven in Perun's fiery chariot. Saint Elijah was sung by the baptized people in their folk songs, so they attributed to him many qualities and divine virtues of the great god Perun.

Forests and hillforts, villages and towns from north to south were dedicated to Perun like Porin mountain in Herzegovina, Perun and Perunčevac south of Učka in Istria, Perun Dubrava in Croatia, Perun mountain near Vareš in Bosnia where people swore with Perun’s name up to XX century. All these names are irrefutable proof that Perun's worship of God was once extraordinarily widespread. What’s more, that our forefathers were grateful for being under Perun's auspices is best evidenced by the dedication of one day a week to God Perun. That was Perenden, the Slavic word for Thursday. On that day, which was celebrated on the 21 of June (the day of the summer solstice), the elders paid their respects to Perun and sang hymns in his honor.