Simargl or Semargl is a deity or mythical creature in East Slavic mythology, depicted as a winged lion or dog. His wife is Kupalnitsa, goddess of night. He is also a father of Kupalo and Kostroma. Zoryas, solar goddesses who are servants or daughters of the deity Dazhbog, keep Simargl chained to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor, to prevent him from breaking free and destroying the constellation, and causing the world to end. Simargl is also the father of Skif and the founder of Cythia.
An idol of Semargl was present in the pantheon of Great Prince Vladimir I of Kiev.
It may be the equivalent of Simurgh in Persian mythology,[1] which is also represented as a griffin with a dog body.
See also
- Simurgh, a related being in Iranian mythology
Gallery
References
- ^ Majorov, Aleksandr Vjačeslavovič (2012). Velika Hrvatska: etnogeneza i rana povijest Slavena prikarpatskoga područja [Great Croatia: ethnogenesis and early history of Slavs in the Carpathian area] (in Croatian). Zagreb, Samobor: Brethren of the Croatian Dragon, Meridijani. p. 102. ISBN 978-953-6928-26-2.