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

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

The image of Alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, who was turned by the gods into a kingfisher. This fabulous 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 body. A maiden's head, overshadowed by a crown and a halo, in which a brief inscription is sometimes placed. He holds heavenly flowers or an unfolded scroll with an explanatory inscription in his hands. The legend about the Alkonost bird echoes the legend about 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 depicting her: “Alkonost stays near paradise, sometimes it happens on the Euphrates River. When in singing he emits a voice, 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 sweetness.

(PDF format, 373 Kb)
Additional education programs for schoolchildren (text, DOC format, 43 Kb)

Sirin bird

Sirin [from Greek. seirēn, cf. siren] - bird-maiden. In Russian spiritual verses, descending from paradise to earth, she enchants people with singing, in Western European legends she is the embodiment of an unfortunate soul. Derived from the Greek sirens. In Slavic mythology, a wonderful bird whose singing disperses sadness and melancholy; is only 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 bird Sirin is found in the form of a real bird, without any human components. Her feathers are covered with an invisible mass, symbolizing the Elements. “Her wings were white with blue and red stripes like caramel, her beak was soft 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 can hear the secret. Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of the earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, birds and animals. When Gamayun flies from sunrise, a deadly storm comes.

Initially - from eastern (Persian) mythology. Depicted with a female head and chest. Collection of myths "Songs Gamayun birds” 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 - "Tangles".

Phoenix

Phoenix (possibly from the Greek φοίνιξ, "purple, crimson") is a mythological bird with the ability to burn itself. Known in the mythologies of different cultures. It was believed that the phoenix has appearance 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, it is reborn from the ashes.

According to Herodotus, this is a bird in Assyria. Lives 500 years. Mentioned by many ancient authors. It was generally believed that the Phoenix is ​​a single, unique individual, and not a mythological bird species. Later - a symbol of eternal renewal.

Bennu bird (Ben-Ben)

Bennu (Ben-Ben) - in Egyptian mythology, a bird - an analogue of the phoenix. According to legend, it is the soul of the sun god Ra. The name is related to the word "veben", meaning "shine".

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

Bennu personified the resurrection from 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 goal of finding a hero. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and with their brilliance amaze the human eye.

The extraction of the firebird is associated with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) sets for his sons in a fairy tale. Only a kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasiev) explained the firebird as the personification of fire, light, and the 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 reborn from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype of peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of Phoenixes.

Bird Simurgh

Simurgh is a prophetic bird, originally found only in Iranian myths, but later the Turkic tradition also became its habitat (the Simurgh flew there, leading a flock of peris and devas).

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

The Simurgh is a phantom, no one can see him. In the language of poetry, the expression "to see the Simurgh" means to fulfill an unrealizable dream. This image was further developed and somewhat different interpretation in Sufi literature. In "The Conversation of the Birds", the famous poem by the Persian poet Farididdin Attar, Simurgh is an allegorical expression of true knowledge, a symbol of the identity of the creator and creation. Alisher Navoi expounded his own 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 Simurgh so that he saves them from the suffering of life. Having passed seven valleys (seven steps on the path of perfection), having passed many trials, the birds at the end of their journey reach the lush gardens of unity - the abode of the Simurgh - 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, "murg" is a bird.

The Simurgh and his subjects are united:

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

Embodying such abstract ideas, the Simurgh, however, is not completely devoid of material plumage: the poem "The Language of Birds" tells how, flying over China, he dropped a feather of extraordinary color - sparkling so brightly that all of China (in the poem - the city) dressed in brilliance. Since that day, the entire Chinese population has become addicted to painting. The most virtuoso painter was Mani, the legendary founder of Manichaeism (a religion that combines the features of Zoroastrianism and Christianity), - in the classical oriental poetry of Mani - the image of a brilliant artist.

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

Each of us remembers the feeling of flying since childhood, since everyone made it in a dream. And then we remember it throughout our lives, because this feeling is not enough for everyone, and mentally 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. The deity named Rod, who is the supreme and the beginning of all beginnings, was embodied on earth in a gray duck, which served as his symbol and was the bearer of his own power. It was from this duck that two eggs appeared - Yav and Nav, which embodied good and evil, life and death.

Various images of birds have come down to us. This is due to the scale of the territory occupied by the Slavic peoples. But all the birds that were endowed with different qualities by the people can be divided into three groups. In the first place, 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 the hymns of the gods for people. By this she proclaimed the future to all who could hear the secret. There is a map in the old edition of "The Book of Cosmography" which shows the image of a round plain of the earth, which is washed around by the river-ocean. In the east, you can see Makariysky Island, which is the first from the rising 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 Gamayun bird screams, 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 the face of a woman and the body of a bird. She sang with 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 carried her eggs on the edge of the sea, but she did not hatch them, but immersed them to the depths of the sea. At this time, windless 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 by the gods into a kingfisher.

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 is the messenger of the underground world. She looks like a half-woman, half-bird: from head to waist, she is a woman of incomparable beauty, and below is 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 make Sirin not listen to the singing.

In ancient legends, it is said 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 ships drown and forests and cities are washed off the coast. In this 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 is still preserved, which carries a certain mystery. At the time when the Stratim bird trembles at two o'clock after midnight, then we will hear the crowing of roosters throughout the earth, and the whole earth will become illuminated.

Phoenix

It is a mythical bird that has the ability to burn itself. Phoenix is ​​found in the myths of different cultures. Outwardly, it looks like an eagle, which has a bright red plumage. When the Phoenix foresees its own death, it burns itself in its own nest, and a chick arises from its ashes. There are also other versions of this myth when there is a rebirth from the ashes.

Most likely, the Firebird as a bird-fairytale character has a prototype - the Phoenix. She is a separate character in Russian fairy tales, which serves as a target for finding the main characters. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to glow and shine, which amaze human vision. In order to get the firebird, you need to go through a lot of difficulties. This is the main task that the king (father) sets before his sons. Only one of them finds this firebird - a kind youngest son. The mythologist Afanasiev explains the firebird as a character that personifies fire, light and the sun. The firebird eats apples of 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. If we put aside all arbitrary explanations of myths, then 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 a prototype for peacocks. Based on this comparison, then rejuvenating apples are easily comparable to the fruits from the pomegranate tree, which the Phoenix prefers as a treat.

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, to help and harm others fairy tale characters. They almost always represent the 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 progenitor of all birds and bird-people was Stratim-bird (or Strefil-bird). No one knows where she flew to the sea-ocean, to the White Stone, but her name comes from the Greek word strufokamil (ostrich). The Stratim bird flapped its wing - the sea began to worry, screamed - a storm arose, and when it flew - it blocked the white light. Huge waves rose on the sea, the 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 claim that the Stratim bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When the Stratim bird cries, a terrible storm rises. And even if she only moves her wing, the sea is worried, swaying.
But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such waves rise up that sink the ships of the sea, open up the deepest abysses and wash away cities and forests from the shores. In this sense, it is similar to the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero get out of a deserted island and fly to the ground - because he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has been preserved: “When Stratim trembles at the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters throughout the earth will crow, and the whole earth will be illuminated at that time.”

"... Which bird is the mother of all birds?
And the Stratim bird is the mother of all birds.
And she lives on the ocean-sea,
A builds a nest on a white stone;
How the guests-shipmen will run
And on that nest of the Stratim bird
And on her on the kids on the little ones,
Stratim-bird will tremble,
The ocean-sea will rise,
As if fast rivers overflowed,
He drowns the living ships,
Sinks many scarlet ships
With precious goods!

("Pigeon Book")

Bird Alkonost

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

The image of Alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, who was turned by the gods into a kingfisher. This fabulous 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 body. A maiden's head, overshadowed by a crown and a halo, in which a brief inscription is sometimes placed. He holds heavenly flowers or an unfolded scroll with an explanatory inscription in his hands. The legend about the Alkonost bird echoes the legend about 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 depicting her: “Alkonost stays near paradise, sometimes it happens on the Euphrates River. When in singing he emits a voice, 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 sweetness.

Sirin bird

Sirin [from Greek. seirēn, cf. siren] - bird-maiden. In Russian spiritual verses, descending from paradise to earth, she enchants people with singing, in Western European legends she is the embodiment of an unfortunate soul. Derived from the Greek sirens. In Slavic mythology, a wonderful bird whose singing disperses sadness and melancholy; is only for 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 bird Sirin is found in the form of a real bird, without any human components. Her feathers are covered with an invisible mass, symbolizing the Elements. “Her wings were white with blue and red stripes like caramel, her beak was soft 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 can hear the secret. Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of the earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, birds and animals. When Gamayun flies from sunrise, a deadly storm comes.

Initially - from eastern (Persian) mythology. Depicted with a female 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 - "Tangles".

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

The extraction of the firebird is associated with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) sets for his sons in a fairy tale. Only a kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasiev) explained the firebird as the personification of fire, light, and the 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 reborn from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype of peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of Phoenixes.

Crow

RAVEN is a prophetic bird, a faithful companion of the God-Controller Varuna. He accompanies the Souls of the dead to the Gates of Vyriya in the Great Svarga the Most Pure and informs the Navyam Souls about what high goals they have achieved in their Spiritual and Soul development and in the fulfillment of Life Purpose.

If God Varuna decides that a person needs to be given the opportunity to complete the started deed, which he did not have time to complete due to a sudden death, then he sends his assistant, Raven, to the Soul of the deceased person.

Raven - the keeper of Living and Dead Water, gives the opportunity to the Soul of the deceased to return to his own body, so that a person, returning to the World of Reveal, could complete his unfinished business. In the world of Reveal, they say about such a person: "He survived clinical death" or "He returned from the next world." Oddly enough, but after the return of the God-Controller Varuna of a person to his former life, a person changes his behavior, neither burns his life in vain and completes the work that he did not have time to finish.

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

Bird Simurgh

Simurgh is a prophetic bird, originally found only in Iranian myths, but later the Turkic tradition also became its habitat (the Simurgh flew there, leading a flock of peris and devas).

In the new place, Simurgh completely settled down, as evidenced, for example, by the fact of his presence in Uzbek dastans. In fairy-tale dastans, the Simurgh 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 the classical Turkic lyrics, the image of the Simurg already carries a different semantic load - the mysterious bird lives on Mount Kaf - a mountain range that encircles the earth along the edge and supports the heavens - that is, it lives at the very edge of the world.

The Simurgh is a phantom, no one can see him. In the language of poetry, the expression "to see the Simurgh" means to fulfill an unrealizable dream. This image was further developed and somewhat different interpretation in Sufi literature. In "The Conversation of the Birds", the famous poem by the Persian poet Farididdin Attar, Simurgh is an allegorical expression of true knowledge, a symbol of the identity of the creator and creation. Alisher Navoi expounded his own 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 Simurgh so that he saves them from the suffering of life. Having passed seven valleys (seven steps on the path of perfection), having passed many trials, the birds at the end of their journey reach the lush gardens of unity - the abode of the Simurgh - 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, "murg" is a bird.

The Simurgh and his subjects are united:

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

Embodying such abstract ideas, the Simurgh, however, is not completely devoid of material plumage: the poem "The Language of Birds" tells how, flying over China, he dropped a feather of extraordinary color - sparkling so brightly that all of China (in the poem - the city) dressed in brilliance. Since that day, the entire Chinese population has become addicted to painting. The most virtuoso painter was Mani, the legendary founder of Manichaeism (a religion that combines the features of Zoroastrianism and Christianity), - in the classical oriental poetry of Mani - the image of a brilliant artist.

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

Bennu bird (Ben-Ben)

Bennu (Ben-Ben) - in Egyptian mythology, a bird - an analogue of the phoenix. According to legend, it is the soul of the sun god Ra. The name is related to the word "veben", meaning "shine".

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

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

"Why don't people fly like birds?"

Anyone, probably, is familiar with the feeling of flying - everyone flew in their childhood in a dream. And then all our lives we miss this feeling, and therefore we envy the birds so much. And we readily accept them as mysterious creatures endowed with mystical abilities, able to predict the future, bring 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 form of a gray duck, which was his symbol and the bearer of his strength. It was this duck that laid two eggs - Yav 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 vast territories inhabited by the Slavic peoples. In general, for ease of perception, I would divide the birds endowed with mystical qualities by the people's consciousness into three groups.
The first must include mythical creatures - half-birds, half people, with the gift of prophecy and the ability to bring people misfortune 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 of Cosmography" the map depicts a round plain of the earth, washed on 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 blissful paradise; therefore it is so named because the birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly into this island and wear a wonderful fragrance. When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm comes from the east of the sun.
Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of the 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, a resident of Iriy - Slavic paradise.
Her face is feminine, her body is birdlike, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Hearing the singing of Alkonost with delight, he can forget everything in the world, but there is no evil from her to people, unlike her bird friend Sirin. Alkonost carries 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, who was 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 is a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world, but is soon doomed to troubles and misfortunes, and 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 claim that the Stratim bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When the Stratim bird cries, a terrible storm rises. And even if she only moves her wing, the sea is worried, swaying.
But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such waves rise up that sink the ships of the sea, open up the deepest abysses and wash away cities and forests from the shores. In this sense, it is similar to the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero get out of a deserted island and fly to the ground - because he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has been preserved: “When Stratim trembles at the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters throughout the earth will crow, and the whole earth will be illuminated at that time.”

... Which bird is the mother of all birds?
And Stratim is a bird to all mother birds.
And she lives on the ocean-sea,
A builds a nest on a white stone;
How the guests-shipmen will run
And on that nest Stratim-birds
And on her on the kids on the little ones,
Stratim - the bird will tremble,
The ocean-sea will rise,
As if fast rivers overflowed,
He drowns the living ships,
Sinks many scarlet ships
With precious goods!
"Pigeon Book"

Phoenix


(possibly from the Greek "purple, crimson") - a mythological bird with the ability to burn itself. Known in the mythologies of different cultures. It was believed that the phoenix has 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, it is reborn from the ashes.

The Egyptians believed that the Phoenix is ​​a link between the divine plan and the embodiment of the plan in life, reminds of divine creation and the revival of life. Phoenix is ​​the soul of Osiris, it is the hope of overcoming 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 story 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, the 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 - Simurgh. The bird had the gift of foresight, but its nature was dual, containing the "good" and "harmful" halves.

In Sufism, the Simurgh symbolizes the Perfect Man, possessing the knowledge of the Divine Essence. This Essence, like the legendary bird, cannot be seen.

In the early Christian apocrypha of Baruch, it was written about the Bird: “This is the guardian of the world ... If it were not for covering | the fiery eye | of the sun, neither the human race nor all creatures on earth would live 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 the purifying and transforming fire, the chemical element sulfur, and the color red.

Description Birds are very similar to different peoples. “The air blossomed 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 miraculous bird Simurgh in an Arabic treatise of the 13th century. “There is another sacred bird there, ... and its name is Phoenix,” Herodotus wrote. “Her appearance and appearance are very reminiscent of an eagle, and her feathers are partly golden, partly red.” “The cinnabar bird, the substance of the flame”, “its color is pleasing to the eye, its crest expresses righteousness, its tongue is sincere,” the Chinese said, referring to Feng Huang, the ruler of the South. The fire bird, the Slavs believed, meaning the Firebird, you can easily get burned on its plumage. Each feather glows like a multitude of candles, and is sharper than damask steel. And she herself shines either blue or crimson light.

“O Atum-Khepri, you shone [in the form of] Benu on the eternal Hill of Ben-Ben…” – this is how the words of the ancient Egyptian Hymn about the creation of the world sound. Not created by anyone, the originally former bird flew over the waters of the ocean, until it finally built a nest for itself on Ben-Ben Hill. Or maybe it was not Benu at all, but a beautiful white goose the Great Gogotun, who laid an egg on the same hill, from which the sun god was born? However, many nations 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 obelisks shone, reflecting the sun, on a memorial hill near Heliopolis.

If we try to restore history according to the surviving legends fabulous Firebird, or as it is more commonly known - Phoenix, then you can tell such a legend.

The beautiful Bird with dazzling plumage existed from the very beginning of the world, perishing and being reborn in the purifying flame at the turn of the eras. She herself sacrificed herself, and each time, rising again from the ashes, she turned her gaze beyond the earthly limits, through the stars, to the world of pure light, 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 it kept the world in which it built its nest. People who heard about the Bird believed that, like her, they also have an immortal soul that only changes shells.

Lived magic bird far, far away, on the very edge of the earth. Exactly where, no one knew. Some said that her nest was hidden from human eyes on the top of a mountain, others said that she built it in the middle of an endless desert, in the thirtieth "other" state, perfect and far from worldly fuss. A lot of trials and dangers lay in wait 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 Amazement, the Desert of Annihilation and Death. And one could try to go this long way along the roads, washing iron boots and gnawing iron loaves, or one could - in one's heart, overcoming and changing oneself.

Rarely have mortals been able to 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 through life, could see her, having overcome many trials. No wonder the Bird was sometimes called the Firebird, because heat, fire is both creativity, and creation, and “burning”.

She was a perfect creation of the One, and everyone who saw her even from a distance became the owner of a wonderful gift. The light of the divine radiance that surrounded the Bird also fell on a 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 magical light.

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


Of the birds-fabulous characters, the Firebird, most likely, has a direct prototype from mythological birds, namely the Phoenix. This fabulous bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, is usually the target of a search for a hero. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and with their brilliance amaze the human eye. The extraction of the firebird is associated with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) sets for his sons in a fairy tale. Only a kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasiev) explained the firebird as the personification of fire, light, and the 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 reborn from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype of peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of 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 fairy-tale 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 the images of mythological birds, in painting - Vasnetsov, Vrubel, Bakst.

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

IN different cultures the image of the Firebird acquired its own details and shades. The Slavs have the Firebird, ptak Ohnivak (Czech and Slovak) - a fabulous, fiery bird, its feathers shine with silver and gold (Ognivak has reddish feathers), wings like flames, and eyes glow like a crystal.
It is about the size of a peacock.
The Firebird lives in garden of paradise Iria, in a golden cage.
At night, it flies out of it and illuminates the garden with itself as brightly as thousands of lit fires.

The Firebird has a favorite food in the garden - rejuvenating apples, which give her beauty and immortality.
The Firebird has a healing song, and when it sings, pearls fall from its beak.
A blinding light surrounds her. Every year, in the fall, the Firebird dies and is reborn in the spring.
Sometimes you can find a dropped feather from the tail of the Firebird, brought into a dark room, it will replace the richest lighting.
You can’t catch it with your bare hands, as you can get burned on its plumage.
The fallen feather retains the properties of the plumage of the Firebird for a long time. It glows and gives warmth. And when the pen goes out, it turns into gold.

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

According to a Russian fairy tale, each feather of her "is so wonderful and bright that if you bring it into a dark room, it shone so much, as if a great many candles had been lit in that peace." The golden coloration of the Fire Bird, its golden cage are connected with the fact that the bird arrives from another (“thirtieth”) kingdom, from where everything that is colored golden comes from. The Firebird can act as a kidnapper, in this case approaching the Fire Serpent: she takes away the mother of the hero of the fairy tale "to distant lands."

Firebird

A comparative analysis suggests an ancient connection between the Firebird and the Slovak “fire bird” with other mythological images embodying fire, in particular with Rarog, the fire horse-bird.

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

The extraction of the firebird is associated with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) sets for his sons in a fairy tale. Only a kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasiev) explained the firebird as the personification of fire, light, and the 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 reborn from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype of peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of Phoenixes.

The feather of the firebird is a subject of Russians folk tales known for its magical properties. Who has not read or listened in childhood to the fairy tale about Ivan the Fool, who found the feather of the fire bird. It was from this find that his adventure began.

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

According to descriptions from fairy tales and illustrations for them, the fire bird looks like a peacock, and the fire bird's feather also resembles a feather from a peacock's tail. The firebird is also about the size of a peacock, while the phoenix is ​​described as being about the size of an eagle.

They say that the only way to catch the heat of a bird is to use the bait - a cage with golden apples inside. Since not only the found feather of a fire 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 put on a bag so that the heat would not reach her hands.

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

fire feather bird fire

For all famous fairy tale Ivan the Fool found a feather of a fire bird in the forest on a stump when he passed by at night. This feather glows in the dark, it burns as if 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 firebird, some talk about the red, orange, yellow and even crimson color of the firebird feathers. Someone mentions that the heat bird glows with silver and gold, and its wings are fiery, which once again proves the connection between the fire bird and the phoenix. In books, the heat of the bird and its feathers are usually drawn in red and orange.

Fire bird feather properties

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

According to legend, over time, the feather of the fire bird ceases to glow and burn with fire, hardening and turning into gold. If you find a few of these feathers, you can get rich pretty well, if only you knew where to look.

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

The feather of the heat of the bird for a long time, until it becomes golden, retains the properties of the plumage of the heat of the bird. And besides the fact that it glows brightly, it gives warmth. Apparently, not so much that they could burn themselves, since Ivan the Fool took it with his bare hands, but enough so that he could warm himself from it. Such a 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 the earth without loving anyone and destroy 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 has been flying on the ground and spreading the fire of love.
Happiness to the one who manages to catch her, but a hundred times greater happiness to the one whom the Firebird will honor as his master. After all, the Firebird is more like the molten metal of which it most likely consists. You can catch it only in mittens, it is very hot - you can get burned very badly. To the one to whom she submits of her own free will, she will give her beneficial warmth all her life. But as soon as she feels indifference, she will immediately fly away - she cannot stand it, and it’s easy to kill her ... Put her in a cage and she will die. Her fiery body will cool down and there will be a cold piece of gold in the cage instead of hot love ...

This is such a beautiful legend. It is a pity that I could not find the original.

Legend of the Firebird

If you want - believe, if you want - check.
If you want, listen, if you want, listen.
But it was, the reality grew,
and what was not - fiction.

Only in one distant kingdom,
heavenly state
lived, were, red girls -
they are all such needlewomen,
your article is bright and pretty,
the beauty of the soul is fine.
Only with people, who of them was known,
pretended to be a bird of paradise
burning fiery bird,
light the world of the soul illuminating.
Because they were all called Firebirds,
expelling all that is unclean,
that's why all people are not just like that
now hear the songs of the birds of paradise.
But waiting for everyone bird of fire,
that you can’t take it with your hand, don’t touch it,
where the goblin did not even walk,
The tree is one life true,
a beautiful bird sits there,
glowing with heat and with a marvelous voice
gives the traveler sweet peace
and burns everything that is wrong in it.
It is unlikely to be able to reach the Tree on your own,
dark forces do not let people in,
strict guards guard from the eyes
by command from above.
For a long time escorted there
were that they knew
go around like dark thickets
and impassable mountains.
But worthy only and lucky
could lead to the Tree of Eternity,
so that when meeting with that bird girl
the fire ceased to burn her.

That's the whole tale of that marvelous one.
Who was obedient, to feast - for that.
for good, for health, but for glory
to live, but at the same time not to be twisted !!!

Legend of the Crimea about the Firebird

Long ago, peace, joy and prosperity reigned in our region. Overseas guests came with outlandish gifts, they were welcomed by local residents, they were taken to look at the wondrous marvel - the Firebird.

There was that bird of extraordinary beauty: every feather on it burned and shimmered, and it shone in the night like the clear sun. The Firebird flew in every night to feast on the rejuvenating apples that grew at that time on our fertile land. Having eaten, 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, with one ship, Greed sailed from across the sea. She went into the huts to people, whispered evil intentions in her ear.

The neighbors began to quarrel with each other, looking for richer guests so that they would get the best and richest gifts. Black thoughts entangled their heads, fierce envy settled in kind hearts. People became greedy, evil and inhospitable, they began to slander and often stomp their feet in anger.

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

From this apple trees with bulk apples dried up, there was no one to look after them. Yes, and magic apple trees never grow on earth, where brother will not give a hand to brother and where discord reigns between people.

The marvelous Firebird stopped coming for her favorite delicacy. The last bulk apple fell from the branch, the grains fell into the earth's cracks, and did not germinate again.

So they lie there until now, waiting for the soil to become soft and caring again. And the earth will be better only if kind and good people begin to live on it.

As soon as people begin to coexist in love with each other again, they stop envying and intrigues to repair evil, so the earth and nature will answer them the same. 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 marvel, listen to angelic songs, and will praise our wonderful prosperous land.

Alkonost

The wonderful bird Alkonost, or Alcyone, 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. A creature of fabulous beauty lays its eggs on the seabed, on the edge of the sea, and for seven days, until the chicks are born, according to legend, the weather is calm and calm. Alkonost is a bird of goodness and sadness. She does not carry any danger to humans, but on the contrary, she mourns those who died on the field after the battle. And the singing of Alkonost, similar to love itself, is so beautiful that one 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, she is very similar to Alkonost and is his frequent companion. However, despite the fact that, unlike Alkonost, Sirin sings songs of Joy, promising bliss to come soon, his singing is detrimental to people, because hearing it, you can lose your mind.

Gamayun

The 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. The cry of Gamayun is good news, and she sings divine songs to people. Gamayun knows about everything in the world, knows the secrets of the origin of the earth and sky, and is ready to tell about the future to anyone 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 along with our world and its purpose is to remind people of the highest values ​​of being.

Stratim

The mysterious and gigantic Stratim bird, she is also the Strafil bird, is the archetype of the progenitor, the mother of all birds. She lives on the sea-ocean and keeps the whole white world under her right wing. Stratim personified the most terrible and permissive forces of nature. She flaps her wing - the sea will stir, scream - a storm will rise, and fly - so it will close the white light ... Ships will sink in the sea, the deepest abysses will open, cities and forests will disappear under water.

Firebird

The most famous and late bird in the world of Russian folk fantasy is the Firebird, which has adopted some of the properties of many others. fabulous birds. Its prototype, obviously, was the Phoenix. Similar to a peacock, she also lives in the beautiful Garden of Eden in 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 vision, 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. Maybe that's why they hunted her. fairy-tale heroes, and musicians and artists sang it in their works.

 

It might be useful to read: