The bird of happiness in Russian mythology. The image of a bird in Slavic mythology. Legend of Crimea about the Firebird

Alkonost (alkonst, alkonos) - in Russian and Byzantine medieval legends, the bird of paradise-maiden of the sun god Khors, bringing happiness. According to the legend of the 17th century, the Alkonost stays near paradise and when he sings, he does not feel himself. Alkonost consoles the saints with his singing, announcing their future life. Alkonost lays eggs on the seashore and, plunging them into the depths of the sea, makes it calm for 7 days. Alkonost's singing is so beautiful that he who hears him forgets about everything in the world.

The image of Alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, turned by the gods into a kingfisher. This fairy-tale bird of paradise became known from the monuments of ancient Russian literature and popular prints.

Alkonost is depicted as a half-woman, half-bird with large multi-colored feathers (wings), human hands and a body. A maiden's head, shaded by a crown and a halo, in which a short inscription is sometimes placed. In his hands he holds flowers of paradise or an unfolded scroll with an explanatory inscription. The legend of the Alkonost bird echoes the legend of the Sirin bird and even partially repeats it. The origins of these images should be sought in the myth of the sirens. There is a caption under one of the popular prints with her image: “Alkonost stays near Paradise, sometimes it happens on the Euphrates River. When he emits a voice in singing, then he does not feel himself. And whoever is close then will forget everything in the world: then the mind departs from him, and the soul leaves the body ”. Only the Sirin bird can compare with Alkonost in sweet sound.

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Bird Sirin

Sirin [from the Greek. seirēn, cf. siren] - bird-virgin. In Russian spiritual poetry, she, descending from paradise to earth, enchants people with her singing, in Western European legends she is the embodiment of an unhappy soul. Derived from Greek sirens. In Slavic mythology, a wonderful bird, whose singing dispels sorrow and longing; appears only to happy people. Sirin is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy. However, these are by no means bright Alkonost and Gamayun. Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld.

Sometimes the beautiful Sirin bird is found in the form of a real bird, without any human components. Its feathers are covered with an invisible mass, symbolizing the Elements. "Her wings were white with blue and red stripes, like caramel, her beak was pale purple, pointed, like a blade, and her eyes were bright, green, the color of young foliage, and wise, supportive."

Bird Gamayun

Gamayun - according to Slavic mythology, a prophetic bird, the messenger of the god Veles, his herald, singing divine hymns to people and foreshadowing the future for those who know how to hear the secret. Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, birds and animals. When Gamayun flies from sunrise, a deadly storm comes.

Originally from Eastern (Persian) mythology. Depicted with a woman's head and chest. The collection of myths "Songs of the bird Gamayun" tells about the initial events in Slavic mythology - the creation of the world and the birth of pagan gods. The word "gamayun" comes from "gamayunit" - to lull (obviously, because these legends also served as bedtime stories for children). In the mythology of the ancient Iranians there is an analogue - the bird of joy Humayun. "Songs" are divided into chapters - "Balls".

Phoenix

Phoenix (possibly from the Greek. Φοίνιξ, "purple, crimson") is a mythological bird that has the ability to burn itself. Known in the mythologies of different cultures. The phoenix was thought to have the appearance of an eagle with bright red plumage. Anticipating death, he burns himself in his own nest, and a chick appears from the ashes. According to other versions of the myth, he is reborn from the ashes.

According to Herodotus, this is a bird in Assyria. Lives for 500 years. Mentioned by many ancient authors. It was usually believed that the Phoenix is \u200b\u200bthe only, unique individual, and not a mythological species of birds. Later - a symbol of eternal renewal.

Bird Bennu (Ben-Ben)

Bennu (Ben-Ben) - in Egyptian mythology, a bird is an analogue of a phoenix. According to legend, it is the soul of the sun god Ra. The name is associated with the word "weben", which means "to shine".

According to legend, Bennu emerged from a fire that burned on a sacred tree in the courtyard of the Ra temple. According to another version, Bennu escaped from the heart of Osiris. She was depicted as a gray, blue or white heron with a long beak and a tuft of two feathers, as well as a yellow wagtail or an eagle with red and gold feathers. There are also images of Bennu as a man with the head of a heron.

Bennu personified the resurrection of the dead and the annual floods of the Nile. Symbolized the beginning of the sun.

The Firebird is a fabulous bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, usually the target of a hero search. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and amaze a person with their brilliance.

The catch of the firebird is fraught with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) asks his sons in the fairy tale. Only the kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasyev) explained the firebird in the form of the personification of fire, light, sun. The Firebird feeds on golden apples, which give youth, beauty and immortality; when she sings, pearls fall from her beak. The singing of the firebird heals the sick and restores sight to the blind. Leaving aside arbitrary mythological explanations, one can compare the firebird with medieval stories, very popular in both Russian and Western European literature, about the Phoenix bird rising from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype for peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of the Phoenixes.

Bird Simurg

Simurg is a prophetic bird, initially found only in Iranian myths, but later the Turkic tradition also became its habitat (Simurg flew there, leading a flock of Peri and Devas).

In the new place Simurg settled down completely, as evidenced, for example, by the fact of his presence in Uzbek dastans. In fairy dastans, Simurg is a positive image: a giant bird, as a rule, helps the hero by providing him with transport services, for example, transfers him to his relatives. In classical Turkic lyric poetry, the image of Simurg already carries a different semantic load - a mysterious bird lives on Mount Kaf - a mountain range that encircles the earth and supports the heavens - that is, it lives at the very end of the world.

Simurg is a phantom, nobody can see him. In the language of poetry, the expression "to see Simurg" means - to realize a pipe dream. This image was further developed and interpreted somewhat differently in Sufi literature. In Conversation of the Birds, the famous poem by the Persian poet Farididdin Attar, Simurg is an allegorical expression of true knowledge, a symbol of the identity of the creator and creation. Alisher Navoi presented his version of this poem in the Turkic language, calling it “The Language of Birds”.

In Navoi's poem, the birds go in search of the wise Shah Simurg, so that he would save them from the suffering of life. Having passed the seven valleys (seven steps on the path of perfection), having passed many trials, the birds at the end of the journey reach the lush gardens of unity - the abode of Simurg - where in each rose, as if in a mirror, they see their own reflection.

It is revealed to the birds that Shah Simurg is they, thirty birds (out of a huge flock, only thirty reached the goal). The word "si" in Persian is thirty, "murgh" is a bird.

Simurg and his subjects are one:

He who was lifted up to unity at once
The secrets of the one god reached his mind.
The shine of the rays of unity will give light to his gaze,
Between “you” and “me” it will destroy the barrier.
(Navoi, "The Language of Birds")

Embodying such abstract ideas, Simurg, nevertheless, is not devoid of quite material plumage: the poem "The Language of the Birds" tells how, flying over China, he dropped a feather of unusual colors - sparkling so brightly that the whole of China (in the poem - a city) dressed in radiance. From that day on, the entire Chinese population acquired an addiction to painting. The most virtuoso painter was Mani, the legendary founder of Manichaeism (a religion that combines features of Zoroastrianism and Christianity) - in classical oriental poetry Mani is the image of a genius artist.

Thus, Simurg, in addition to the three above-mentioned hypostases, can also serve as a symbol of art.

Each of us from childhood remembers the sensation of flight, as in a dream everyone performed it. And then, throughout our lives, we remember him, since everyone lacks this feeling, and mentally we envy all the birds. These creatures are perceived by us as mysterious and endowed with mystical abilities that bring happiness and can predict the future.

In the mythology of the Slavs, the bird has a significant place. A deity named Rod, which is the supreme and beginning of all beginnings, incarnated on earth as a gray duck, which performed the function of his symbol and was the bearer of his own strength. It was from this duck that two eggs appeared - Yav and Nav, which embodied good and evil, life and death.

We've got different images of birds. This is due to the scale of the territory occupied by the Slavic peoples. But all birds that were endowed by the people with different qualities can be divided into three groups. In the first, it is worth counting such mystical creatures as half-birds-half-humans, which have a prophetic gift and are able to bring a person joy or sorrow, happiness or misfortune. These include such as: Gamayun, Alkonost, Sirim, Stratim and Phoenix.

Gamayun

This is a bird that was the messenger of the gods and sang hymns of the gods for people. By this, she announced the future to all who could hear the secret. In the old edition "The Book, the Verb Cosmography" there is a map on which there is an image of a round plain of the earth, which is washed around by a river-ocean. In the east, you can see the Makariysky island, which is located first from the east of the sun, near paradise, which is why they say that the birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly to this island. It is known that when a storm came from the sunny east that brought death, it was Gamayun who flew. He knows everything about the origin of gods and heroes, about the origin of heaven and earth, people and all living beings. An ancient belief says that if the bird Gamayun cries, then it portends something joyful and happy.

Alkonost

This bird was a wonderful inhabitant of the Slavic paradise called Iria. She was a creature with a woman's face and a bird's body. She sang in a sweet voice. Anyone who heard the singing of Alkonost, forgot everything in the world, as he was delighted. But this bird does not bring evil to people, not like her friend Sirin. Alkonost laid her eggs at the edge of the sea, but she did not incubate them, but immersed them deep into the sea. At this time, calm weather could be observed for seven days until the chicks emerged from the eggs. The myth of the Slavs about Alkonost is similar to the ancient Greek legend about Alcyone, i.e. about a girl who was turned into a kingfisher by the gods.

Sirin

It is a bird of paradise, but it is not as light as Alkonost or Gamayun. Xining is a bird that carries dark power and represents the messenger of the underground world. She looks like a half-woman, half-bird: from head to waist - this is a woman of incomparable beauty, and below - a bird. Those who hear her voice forget everything, and soon become doomed to misfortune or death. At the same time, there is no such force that could force not to listen to Sirin's singing.

Ancient legends say that Stratim is a bird, which is the progenitor of all other birds. She lives, like Alkonost, on the sea-ocean. During the cry of Stratim, a storm arises, and if it touches the sea with its wing, then it will surely sway and worry. And when the Stratim bird takes off, the sea is so agitated and such oxen rise that all the ships sink and the forests and cities are washed away from the shores. In this way, she resembles the Sea King.

Some legends say that Stratim helped the hero get out of the deserted island, and also helped him fly to the ground. For this, the hero saved her chicks. Also, a prophecy has survived to this day, which carries a certain mystery. At that time, when the Stratim-bird will tremble at two o'clock after midnight, then we will hear the crowing of roosters all over the earth, and the whole earth will be illuminated.

Phoenix

It is a bird from myths that has the ability to burn itself. Phoenix is \u200b\u200bfound in myths of different cultures. Outwardly, she looks like an eagle, which has bright red plumage. When Phoenix foresees his own death, he burns himself in his own nest, and a chick emerges from its ashes. There are other versions of this myth as well, when there is a rebirth from the ashes.

Most likely, the Firebird, as a bird-fairy-tale character, has a prototype - the Phoenix. She is a separate character in Russian fairy tales, who serves as a target for finding the main characters. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to glow and shine, which amazes human eyesight. In order to get the firebird, you need to go through many difficulties. This is the main task that the king (father) sets before the sons. Only one of them finds this firebird - a kind younger son. The mythologist Afanasyev explains the firebird as a character who personifies fire, light and sun. The Firebird eats apples from gold, which give her youth, immortality and unprecedented beauty, and while singing, pearls fall from her beak. During the singing of the firebird, all the sick are healed, and the blind become sighted. All arbitrary explanations of myths aside, the Firebird can be compared to the Phoenix bird, which was very popular in medieval Russian and Western European literary stories. The Firebird also serves as the prototype for peacocks. If we proceed from this comparison, then rejuvenating apples are easily comparable with fruits from the pomegranate tree, which Phoenix prefers as a delicacy.

The third group consists of birds that do not have something unprecedented in their appearance. They simply have some fabulous properties: the ability to speak, help and harm other fabulous characters. They almost always represent companions of characters, for example, Baba Yaga or Koshchei the immortal. This group includes owls, crows and blackbirds.

Prophetic birds of the Slavs

Stratim bird

The ancestor of all birds and bird-people was the Stratim-bird (or Strefil-bird). Where she flew from to the sea-ocean, to the White Stone, no one knows, but her name came from the Greek word strufokamil (ostrich). The stratim bird flapped its wing - the sea began to agitate, screamed - a storm arose, and when it flew - it covered up the white light. Huge shafts rose on the sea, ships went to the bottom, and the water washed away all living things from the shores. The bird embodied the most destructive forces of nature.
Ancient legends say that Stratim-bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When the Stratimbird screams, a terrible storm rises. And even if she just guides her with her wing, the sea waves, sways.
But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such ramparts rise up that the sea sinks ships, opens up the deepest abysses and washes away from the banks of the city and the forest. In this sense, she is like the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero get out of the deserted island and fly to the ground - for the fact that he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has survived: "When Stratim trembles in the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters all over the earth will sing, and the whole earth will light up at that time."

"... Which bird is all mother birds?
And Stratim is a bird to all mother birds.
And she lives on the Ocean-Sea,
And builds a nest on a white stone;
How the shipwreck guests will come
And for that the nest of the Stratimbird
And on her children on the little ones,
The stratim bird will rage
The ocean-sea is rising up
As if fast rivers overflow,
He sinks the living room ships,
Sinks many scarlet ships
With precious goods! "

("The Pigeon Book")

Bird Alkonost

Bird Sirin

Bird Gamayun

Raven

The RAVEN is the Prophetic bird, the faithful companion of the Ruler God Varuna. He accompanies the Souls of the dead to the Gate of Vyriya in the Great Svarga of the Most Pure and informs the Souls-Navyas about what lofty goals they have achieved in their Spiritual and Soul development and in fulfilling their Life Purpose.

If God Varuna decides that a person must be given the opportunity to complete the deed he has begun, which he did not manage to complete due to the sudden death, then he directs his assistant - the Crow - to the Soul of the deceased person.

The Raven is the keeper of the Living and Dead Water, gives the Soul of the deceased the opportunity to return to its own body, so that the person, having returned to the World of Reveal, could complete his unfinished business. In the world of Revelation, they say about such a person: "He experienced clinical death" or "He returned from the other world." Strange as it may seem, but after the return of a person to his former life by the God-Ruler Varuna, the person changes his way of behavior, or wastes his life in vain and completes the work that he did not manage to finish.

In fairy tales, he sometimes helps the hero and even saves him, warning of danger. In the form of Voron, Voronovich kidnaps the hero's sister or mother and either enters into mortal combat with him, or becomes a faithful friend and observes the laws of kinship.

Bird Simurg

Simurg is a prophetic bird, initially found only in Iranian myths, but later the Turkic tradition also became its habitat (Simurg flew there, leading a flock of Peri and Devas).

It is revealed to the birds that Shah Simurg is they, thirty birds (out of a huge flock, only thirty reached the goal). The word "si" in Persian is thirty, "murgh" is a bird.

Simurg and his subjects are one:

Thus, Simurg, in addition to the three above-mentioned hypostases, can also serve as a symbol of art.

Bird Bennu (Ben-Ben)

Bennu personified the resurrection of the dead and the annual floods of the Nile. Symbolized the beginning of the sun.

"Why don't people fly like birds?"

Anyone, probably, a person knows the feeling of flight - everyone flew in childhood in a dream. And then all our life we \u200b\u200black this feeling, and therefore we are so envious of birds. And we readily accept them as mysterious creatures endowed with mystical abilities, capable of predicting the future, bringing happiness or just good luck.

The bird in Slavic mythology occupies a special and very significant place. The supreme deity Rod - the beginning of all beginnings, in his earthly incarnation took the image of a gray duck, which was his symbol and the bearer of his strength. It was this duck that laid two eggs - Reality and Nav - the embodiment of good and evil, life and death ...
The images of birds that have come down from the depths of time are very diverse, which is explained by the huge territories inhabited by Slavic peoples. In general, for the sake of simplicity, I would divide the birds, endowed with folk consciousness with mystical qualities, into three groups.
The first must include mythical creatures - half-birds, half of people with the gift of prophecy and the ability to bring people trouble or happiness, grief or good luck. These include Gamayun, Alkonost, Sirin, Stratim and Phoenix.

Gamayun

Messenger of the Slavic gods, their herald. She sings divine hymns to people and proclaims the future to those who agree to listen to the secret.
In the old "Book, the verb Cosmography", the map depicts a round plain of the earth, washed from all sides by a river-ocean. On the eastern side is marked “Makariysky Island, the first under the very east of the sun, near the blessed paradise; because it is so denounced that birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly into this island and wear out a wonderful fragrance. " When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm emanates from the east of the sun.
Gamayun knows everything about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, animals and birds. According to ancient belief, the cry of the Gamayun bird portends happiness.

Alkonost

This is a wonderful bird, an inhabitant of Iria, a Slavic paradise.
Her face is feminine, her body is that of a bird, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Having heard Alkonost singing with delight, he can forget everything in the world, but there is no evil from her to people, unlike her friend Sirin the bird. Alkonost lays eggs "at the edge of the sea", but does not incubate them, but plunges them into the depths of the sea. At this time, the weather is calm for seven days - until the chicks hatch.
The Slavic myth about Alkonost is similar to the ancient Greek legend about the girl Alcyone, turned by the gods into a kingfisher.

Sirin

This is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy.
However, these are by no means bright Alkonost and Gamayun.
Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld. From the head to the waist, Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty, from the waist - a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world, but soon is doomed to troubles and misfortunes, or even dies, and there is no strength to make him not listen to Sirin's voice. And this voice is true bliss!

Stratim

Ancient legends say that Stratim-bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When the Stratimbird screams, a terrible storm rises. And even if she just guides her with her wing, the sea waves, sways.
But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such ramparts rise up that the sea sinks ships, opens up the deepest abysses and washes away from the banks of the city and the forest. In this sense, she is like the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero to get out of the deserted island and fly to the ground - for the fact that he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has survived: "When Stratim trembles in the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters all over the earth will sing, and the whole earth will light up at that time."

... Which bird is all mother birds?
And Stratim is the bird of all mother birds.
And she lives on the Ocean-Sea,
And builds a nest on a white stone;
How the shipwreck guests will come
And that's why Stratim-birds nest
And on her children on the little ones,
Stratim the bird will rage,
The ocean-sea is rising up
As if fast rivers overflow,
He sinks the living room ships,
Sinks many scarlet ships
With precious goods!
"Pigeon Book"

Phoenix

(possibly from the Greek. "purple, crimson") - a mythological bird that has the ability to burn itself. Known in the mythologies of different cultures. The phoenix was thought to have the appearance of an eagle with bright red plumage. Anticipating death, he burns himself in his own nest, and a chick appears from the ashes. According to other versions of the myth, he is reborn from the ashes.

The Egyptians believed that the Phoenix is \u200b\u200ba link between the divine plan and the embodiment of the plan in life, recalls the divine creation and revival of life. Phoenix is \u200b\u200bthe soul of Osiris, it is the hope to overcome the path of the dead. In the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" it is written: "Like a phoenix, I will pass through the regions of the other world."

The Greeks, who took the history of the Phoenix from Egypt, believed that the life of the Bird is cyclically connected with world history and depends on the course of the planets (the Sun, Moon and other planets return to their "former" places). The Stoics, in support of this, said that the world, like the Bird, perishes and is born in fire, and there is no end to this transformation.

The Iranians knew another name for this bird - Simurg. The bird had the gift of foresight, but its nature was twofold, containing in itself the "good" and "harmful" halves.

In Sufism, Simurg symbolizes the Perfect Man who possesses the knowledge of the Divine Essence. This Entity, like the legendary bird, cannot be seen.

In the early Christian apocrypha of Baruch it was written about the Bird: “This is the keeper of the world ... If it had not covered | the fiery ghost | the sun, then neither the human race nor all creation on earth would be alive from the heat of the sun. "

The Chinese fiery Feng Huang was one of the four sacred creatures, and symbolized immortality, perfection and generosity. The appearance of such a bird, even in a dream, meant a turning point in a person's life, the need to commit a significant act or the birth of a child endowed with special talents.

The alchemists of medieval Europe considered the Phoenix a symbol of rebirth, the completion of the "Great Work". For them, it also meant purifying and transforming fire, the chemical element sulfur and red.

The description of the Bird is very similar for different peoples. “The air bloomed with all the colors of the rainbow, beautiful sounds came from the feathers and wings of the bird, a pleasant smell emanated from it…” - this is how it was said about the wonderful bird Simurg in an Arab treatise of the 13th century. “There is another sacred bird there,… and her name is Phoenix,” Herodotus wrote. "Her appearance and become very much like an eagle, and her feathers are partly golden, partly red." "The cinnabar bird, the substance of the flame," "his color is pleasing to the eye, his comb expresses righteousness, his tongue is sincere," the Chinese said, referring to Feng Huang, the ruler of the South. Firebird, - the Slavs believed, meaning the Firebird, - you can easily get burned about its plumage. Each feather glows like many candles, and is sharp, stronger than bulat. And she herself shines with blue, then crimson light.

"O Atum-Khepri, you shone [in the image of] Ben on the eternal Ben-Ben Hill ..." - this is how the words of the ancient Egyptian Hymn about the creation of the world sound. Not created by anyone, the original bird flew over the waters of the ocean, until it finally made a nest for itself on the Ben-Ben hill. Or maybe it was not Benu at all, but the beautiful white goose the Great Gogotun, who laid on the same hill the egg from which the sun god was born? However, many peoples tell stories that a bird took part in the process of creating the world. It is unlikely that people knew exactly who created the world, but the image of a dazzling bird remained in myths and legends, and the obelisks on the memorial hill near Heliopolis shone, reflecting the sun.

If you try to restore the history of the fabulous Firebird, or as it is often known, the Phoenix, according to the surviving legends, then you can tell the following legend.

The beautiful Bird with dazzling plumage has existed since the beginning of the world, dying and reborn in the cleansing flame at the turn of the ages. She herself sacrificed herself, and each time, once again rising from the ashes, she turned her gaze beyond earthly limits, through the stars, to the world of pure light, to the place where the once immortal gods were born, and where she went in those three days, until her body turned to dust, and her soul became free. The bird knew what was, what is and what will be, and yet she kept the peace in which she made her nest. People who heard about the Bird believed that, like her, they also have an immortal soul, only a changing shell.

The magic Bird lived far, far away, on the very edge of the earth. Nobody knew exactly where. Some said that her nest was hidden from human eyes on the top of the mountain, others - that she built it in the middle of the endless desert, in thirty "other" state, perfect and far from worldly vanity. Many trials and dangers lurked on the way of those who dared to go in search, for any path to a creature that keeps the fire of the original creation in itself is thorny and unpredictable.

To get to the Bird, one had to overcome the Valley of Search, the Valley of Love, the Valley of Knowledge, the Valley of Separation, the Valley of Unity, the Desert of Astonishment, the Desert of Destruction and Death. And this long way could be tried to go along the roads, washing iron boots and gnawing iron loaves, or it was possible - in your heart, overcoming and changing yourself.

Rarely did mortals see the beautiful Bird in all its glory. For this to happen, peace and harmony had to reign on earth. Only a desperate daredevil with pure thoughts, led by a dream, could see her, having overcome many trials. It is not for nothing that the Bird was sometimes called the Firebird, because heat, fire is creativity, and creation, and "burning".

She was the perfect creation of the One, and everyone who saw her at least from afar became the owner of a wonderful gift. The light of divine radiance that surrounded the Bird also fell on the person, endowing him with what he most wanted in his heart: talents, skills, happiness. And now the person who received the gift from the Bird himself carried a reflection of the magic light.

The second category should include birds-fairy-tale characters, namely the Firebird, Finista the Clear Falcon, the Swan Princess.

Of the birds-fairy-tale characters, the Firebird most likely has a direct prototype from the mythological birds, namely the Phoenix. This fabulous bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, is usually the target of a hero search. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and amaze a person with their brilliance. The catch of the firebird is fraught with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) sets in the fairy tale to his sons. Only the kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasyev) explained the firebird in the form of the personification of fire, light, sun. The Firebird feeds on golden apples, which give youth, beauty and immortality; when she sings, pearls fall from her beak. The singing of the firebird heals the sick and restores sight to the blind. Leaving aside arbitrary mythological explanations, one can compare the firebird with medieval stories, very popular in both Russian and Western European literature, about the Phoenix bird rising from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype for peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of the Phoenixes.

The third group includes all birds that do not carry something unprecedented in their appearance, but are simply endowed with fabulous properties to talk, help or harm fabulous human characters and are, as a rule, companions of such characters as Baba Yaga or Kashchei the immortal. These are crows, owls, blackbirds.

In Russian literature and painting, birds are quite common. In poetry, such poets as Blok and Klyuev turned to images of mythological birds, in painting - Vasnetsov, Vrubel, Bakst.

THE SECRETS OF THE FIRE BIRD
In different parts of our world, there are legends about amazing animals and birds, which no one has ever seen, but the descriptions of which are strikingly similar.

In different cultures, the image of the Firebird has acquired its own details and shades. For the Slavs, the Firebird, ptak Ohnivak (Czech and Slovak) is a fabulous, fiery bird, its feathers shine with silver and gold (Ognivak has reddish feathers), its wings are like tongues of flame, and its eyes shine like a crystal.
It reaches the size of a peacock.
The Firebird lives in the Garden of Eden of Iria, in a golden cage.
At night it flies out of it and illuminates the garden with itself as brightly as thousands of lighted fires.

The Firebird has a favorite food in the garden - rejuvenating apples, which give it beauty and immortality.
The Firebird has a healing chant as it sings pearls pouring out of its beak.
Blinding light around her. Every year, in the fall, the Firebird dies and is reborn in the spring.
Occasionally, a dropped Firebird's tail feather can be found brought into a dark room to replace the richest lighting.
It is impossible to catch it with bare hands, as you can burn yourself on its plumage.
The dropped feather retains the plumage properties of the bird's fever for a long time. It glows and gives warmth. And when the feather goes out, it turns into gold.

And only then, so that the luck and happiness that the Firebird bestows did not leave them, people began to make amulets and amulets, paint dishes with its bright images.

According to the Russian fairy tale, each feather of hers "is so wonderful and light that if you bring it to a dark room, it shone so much, as if a great many candles were lit in that peace." The golden color of the Firebird, its golden cage is associated with the fact that the bird flies from another ("thirtieth") kingdom, from where everything that is colored gold comes from. The Firebird can act as a kidnapper, approaching in this case with the Fiery Serpent: she takes the mother of the hero of the fairy tale “beyond the distant lands”.

Firebird

Comparative analysis suggests an ancient connection between the Firebird and the Slovak “firebird” with other mythological images that embody fire, in particular with Rarog, the fiery horse-bird.

The Firebird is a fairytale bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, usually the target of a hero search. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and amaze a person with their brilliance.

The feather of a bird's heat is a subject of Russian folk tales, known for its magical properties. Who has not read or listened to the tale of Ivan the Fool, who found the feather of a bird's heat in childhood. It was with this find that his adventures began.

Many different tales are associated with the heat of the bird and its feather, which eventually became legends. Better known, perhaps, is only the fern flower. It can also be noted that our firebird is clearly a relative of the phoenix - the firebird from European legends and fairy tales.

According to descriptions from fairy tales and illustrations to them, the firebird looks like a peacock, and the feather of a bird's heat also resembles a feather from a peacock's tail. The firebird is also about the size of a peacock, while the phoenix is \u200b\u200bdescribed as about the size of an eagle.

They say that you can catch the heat of a bird only with bait - a cage with golden apples inside. Since not only the found feather is the heat of the bird, but also all its plumage burns with fire, you cannot grab such a bird with your bare hands, you will instantly burn yourself. So Ivan had to lure her into a cage and throw a sack so that the heat would not reach his hands.

Also, according to legends, the firebird guards the fern flower on the night of Ivan Kupala, when it blooms only once a year, and many young people go to the forest to look for it.

Fiery feather heat bird

According to the well-known fairy tale, Ivan the Fool found the feather of a bird's heat in the forest on a stump when he passed by at night. This feather glows in the dark, burns as if it was glowing with fire. At first Ivan even decided that it was a fire burning in the darkness of the night, but coming closer, they saw a feather of unearthly beauty.

According to some descriptions, this feather is golden, like all the plumage of the bird's heat, some talk about the red, orange, yellow and even crimson color of the feathers of the bird's heat. Someone mentions that the bird's heat shines with silver and gold, and its wings are fiery, which once again proves the connection between the bird's heat and the phoenix. In books, the heat of the bird and its feathers are usually painted in red and orange.

Feather properties of the bird

The feather of a bird's heat can illuminate any, the darkest room so that it will be light at night, as it does not happen on the clearest day. If you remember the tale, this is how the king's servant noticed that Ivan the Fool had a feather of the heat of a bird, instantly reporting this to his master.

According to legends, over time, the feather heat of a bird ceases to glow and burn with fire, hardening and turning into gold. Having found a few of these feathers, you can get rich, you should also know where to look.

Also, they say that with the help of a feather, the heat of a bird can be found treasures, since like attracts like. And so the golden feather attracts the gold stored in the earth.

The feather of the bird's heat for a long time, until it turns golden, retains the properties of the plumage of the bird's heat. And besides the fact that it glows brightly, it gives warmth. Apparently, not so that they could get burned, since Ivan the Fool took him with his bare hands, but enough to keep warm from him. A sort of good heating pad.

Somehow I accidentally came across an article in which, referring to a Slavic legend, it was said that when the gods saw that people walk on the earth without loving anyone and were destroying themselves with the cold of their hearts, they sent a magical fire of love to the earth in the form of a bird - Firebirds.

And since then she flies on the ground and spreads the fire of love.
Happiness is to the one who succeeds in catching her, but a hundred times greater happiness is to the one whom the Firebird considers his master. After all, the Firebird is more like molten metal from which it most likely consists. You can only catch her with gloves on, she is very hot - you can get burned very much. She will give her wholesome warmth all her life to the one to whom she will submit herself at will. But as soon as she feels indifference she will immediately fly away - she cannot stand him, and to kill her simply ... Put her in a cage and she will die. Her fiery body will cool down and a cold piece of gold will be in the cage instead of hot love ...

Such is the beautiful legend. It’s a pity that I couldn’t find the original.

The Legend of the Firebird

Believe it or not, check it out.
If you want - listen, if you want - hear.
But it was, the reality grew,
and what was not - fables.

Only in one distant kingdom,
heavenly state
once upon a time, maidens were red -
they are all such needlewomen,
its article is light-looking,
the beauty of the soul is fine.
Only with people, which of them knew,
seemed like a bird of paradise,
a fiery bird,
light the world of the soul illuminating.
They were called because of all the Firebirds,
casting out all unclean things,
that's why all people have a reason
now hear the songs of the birds of paradise.
But a fiery bird is waiting for everyone,
what you can't take with your hand, don't touch,
where the goblin did not even walk,
The tree is one true Life,
a beautiful bird sits there,
glows with heat and wondrous voice
gives the traveler sweet peace
and burns whatever is wrong in it.
You can hardly reach the Tree yourself,
dark forces do not let people,
strict guards guard
by order of heaven above.
For a long time there have been escorts
were that they knew
go around like dark thickets
and the mountains are impassable.
But only worthy and lucky
could lead to the eternal tree,
so that when you meet that bird-girl
the fire stopped burning her.

That’s the whole story.
Who was obedient, to feast - for that.
for good, for health, but for glory
to live, but not to twist!

Legend of Crimea about the Firebird

Long, long time ago, peace, joy and prosperity reigned in our region. Overseas guests came with outlandish gifts, the locals greeted them, took them to look at the wondrous miracle - the Firebird.

There was a bird of that extraordinary beauty: every feather on it burned and shimmered, and it shone in the night like a clear sun. The Firebird flew in every night to feast on the rejuvenating apples that grew at that time on our fertile land. After eating, she began to sing angelic songs in a heavenly voice. The guests listened to healing singing and admired such a rich land and its kind people.

Year after year passed, and somehow Greed came from across the sea with one ship. She went to the huts to people, whispering in her ear evil intentions.

The neighbors began to quarrel with each other, they were looking for richer guests so that they could get the best and richest gifts. Black thoughts entangled their heads, fierce envy settled in good hearts. People have become greedy, angry and inhospitable, they began to speak evil and often stomp their feet with anger.

And the earth hardened, went like stones, dried up without human love.

The apple trees with liquid apples dried up from this, there was no one to care for them. And magic apple trees never grow on earth where a brother will not give his brother a hand and where discord reigns between people.

The wondrous Firebird has ceased to arrive for its favorite delicacy. The last liquid apple fell from the branch, the grains fell into the earth's cracks, and did not germinate again.

So they lie there to this day, waiting for the soil to become soft and nurturing again. And the land will be better only if good and good people begin to live on it.

As people begin to coexist in love with each other again, they will cease to envy and evil intrigues to repair, so the earth and nature will answer them in the same way. And then the seeds of the rejuvenating apple tree will sprout, and the Firebird will again fly to us. And again, overseas guests will come with gifts to look at the wondrous, listen to angelic songs, and praise our wonderful prosperous land.

Alkonost

The wonderful bird Alkonost, or Alcyon, with a female appearance and similar to a kingfisher, lives either on the banks of the Euphrates, or on the island of Buyan, or in the ancient Slavic paradise of Iria. The creature of fabulous beauty lays its eggs on the seabed, at the edge of the sea, and for seven days, until the chicks are born, according to legends, the weather is calm and calm. Alkonost is a bird of goodness and sorrow. She does not pose any danger to humans, but on the contrary, mourns those who died on the field after the battle. And the singing of Alkonost, like love itself, is so beautiful that he who hears it can forget everything in the world.

Sirin

Another bird of paradise - Sirina, reminiscent of the ancient Greek Sirens - is usually attributed to the dark forces. Outwardly, it is very similar to Alkonost and is his frequent companion. However, despite the fact that, unlike Alkonost, Sirin sings songs of Joy that promise the soon-to-come bliss, his singing is destructive for people, because hearing him can lose your mind.

Gamayun

Prophetic Gamayun-bird is a wise messenger of the Slavic gods and a harbinger of happiness. Her name probably comes from the old word "gamayunit", that is, to lull. Gamayun's cry is good news, and she sings divine songs to people. Gamayun knows about everything in the world, knows the secrets about the origin of the earth and the sky and is ready to tell about the future to everyone who knows how to understand the secret. In Slavic mythology, it was customary to turn to her for advice. According to popular beliefs, this miracle bird was born together with our world and its purpose is to remind people of the highest values \u200b\u200bof life.

Stratim

The mysterious and gigantic Stratim-bird, also known as the Straphil-bird, is the archetype of the progenitor, the mother of all birds. She lives on the sea-ocean and keeps all the white light under her right wing. Stratim personified the most terrible and permissive forces of nature. It flaps its wing - the sea is agitated, screams - the storm will rise, and it will fly - so it will cover the white light ... Ships will sink into the sea, the deepest abysses will open up, cities and forests will hide under water.

Firebird

The most famous and late bird in the world of Russian folk fantasy is the Firebird, which has taken over some of the properties of many other fabulous birds. Its prototype was obviously Phoenix. Similar to a peacock, she also lives in the beautiful Garden of Eden of Iria in a golden cage, from which she flies out only at night. Her golden feathers are able to shine in the darkness and amaze human eyesight, but at the same time, the Firebird returns the ability to see to the blind, and her singing heals the sick. At the same time, when she sings, pearls fall from her beak. The Firebird feeds on golden apples, which give it eternal youth, beauty and immortality. Perhaps that is why fairy-tale heroes hunted for her, and musicians and artists sang her in their works.

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