The name of the 3 heads of the gorynych snake. Miracle Yudo, serpent gorynych, snake and other dragons of the Russian land. Characteristic phrases, quotes

Anyone who has ever heard or read Russian folk tales definitely knows about the Serpent Gorynych - a fire-breathing dragon, greedy for treasures and red maidens; right and left, destroying good fellows and brave heroes. But few people realize how mysterious the appearance of this character seems to modern scientists, especially philologists!

Dragon.

There are several hypotheses trying to explain the origin of the fairy-tale image of the Serpent Gorynych. For example, academician Boris Aleksandrovich Rybakov believed that this was nothing more than a memory of mammoths that had undergone significant transformations (!). Other researchers connect the legends of the fire-breathing snake with the attempts of the ancients to understand the essence of the aurora or draw an analogy between the Serpent Gorynych and a tornado.

An assumption of a different order was also expressed: the image of the Serpent Gorynych could have been generated by the struggle of the Slavs with the steppe nomads at the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium.

Traditional ideas about the Mongol invasion of Rus', based on school history courses and popular films, picture wild hordes of nomads flooding the steppe to our imagination. We are accustomed to consider the main reasons for the military successes of this horde to be the surprise of the attack, the overwhelming numerical superiority of the conquerors, and their barbaric cruelty. Meanwhile, serious researchers unanimously claim that the army of Genghis Khan and Batu in that historical era was one of the best armies in the world. Its high fighting qualities are largely explained by borrowing and assimilating other people's military experience. The same can be said about the weapons of the Mongol warriors. In particular, there is no doubt that they had artillery weapons, mainly made in China. These were various types of projectiles that used fire projectiles, the main component of which was a powder charge.

Everyone knows that gunpowder is a Chinese invention. But at the same time, there is an opinion that its original purpose was to create fireworks, and only much later it began to be used in military affairs. However, fire weapons have long occupied an important place in the art of war of the Chinese. Europe did not know or have anything like this at that time. Already at that time, the Chinese had a fairly diverse arsenal of gunpowder weapons. For example, incendiary shells - “fire hawks” - were wooden vessels with gunpowder or clay pots filled with molten fusible metal. Fragmentation shells filled with gunpowder and scattering iron thorns and fragments of iron or porcelain shells during the explosion were used against enemy personnel. The explosion of such a projectile could be heard at a distance of about 50 kilometers, and its fragments easily pierced armor.

The Chinese also had a kind of chemical weapon: smoke balls that emitted multi-colored smoke, sometimes with the addition of asphyxiants, or, for example, balls of poisonous smoke filled with gunpowder mixed with potent plant poisons (monkshood, henbane and others). The Chinese also had shells filled with quicklime in their arsenal. In addition to them, in Chinese chronicles there are references to fire arrows that were thrown from a bow or crossbow, first igniting a powder charge, due to which the arrow received an additional reactive impulse. There were also rockets (!) - hollow bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder.

Thanks to military-economic espionage and the use of the knowledge and experience of captured Chinese specialists, the new weapon did not remain the exclusive property of the Chinese army for long. It is known that already at the end of the 11th century it appeared among the northern neighbors of China. The Mongol conquerors who invaded Northern China at the beginning of the 13th century also actively mastered fire weapons.

Genghis Khan's army successfully used grenades with oil and fire arrows with an incendiary fuse: for example, in 1206 the Mongols burned the fleet of one of the Chinese commanders. In 1225, while besieging Khorezm, the Mongols fired rockets and explosive gunpowder shells at the city. Thus, the Mongol army had various types of fire weapons even before the invasion of Rus'. It would be strange if the troops sent to conquer Europe were not equipped with such an effective means of warfare.

Now let’s return to the Serpent Gorynych and compare the characteristic features of this epic fairy-tale character with some of the above information about Chinese artillery. The Serpent Gorynych invariably appears as the bearer of fire (“flames blaze from his nostrils”) and smoke (“smoke pours out of his ears”). And the Chinese fire shells were primarily gushing grenades: in flight or after hitting the target, their contents, set on fire before launch, burned, emitting fire and smoke through the hole left behind.

Serpent Gorynych has several heads. And the Chinese fire shells had the shape of a ball or a barrel and could really resemble the heads of some kind of monster. In addition, it is likely that some of the shells were painted by enterprising conquerors to look like the heads of dragons and could be perceived by the defenders of the fortresses as the heads of real reptiles severed by someone.

The snake Gorynych has “trunks” with which it can strangle or bruise. According to Dahl's dictionary, the Old Russian "trunk" meant "tail", as well as "bend" and "arc". It is quite possible that this word originally described the plumes of smoke trailing behind shells and missiles. Such smoke could both choke and “hurt”, since some types of shells were designed for this.

The serpent Gorynych in Russian fairy tales always attacks from above and never appears from the forest or from the water, which is typical for dragons from the folklore of other peoples. And Chinese shells and missiles actually fell literally from the sky.

The flight of the Serpent Gorynych in legends is always accompanied by a terrible whistle and roar. This is quite understandable, since powder shells made both a whistle and a roar in flight and during the explosion.

Another interesting point: Zmey Gorynych has black blood, which is not absorbed into the earth for a long time, because “the Russian land does not want to accept it.” This blood could well have been the black, oily liquid leaking from unexploded shells and oil grenades. By the way, it actually doesn’t absorb well into the soil.

The Serpent Gorynych always appears unexpectedly, his appearance in smoke and flame contrasts with the emphatically good weather. Of course, shelling with gunpowder weapons in rainy weather was impossible, since water extinguished the ignited shells and rockets.

The Snake's nickname is Gorynych. It is traditional to associate this nickname with the concept of “mountain”: he is either the son of a large cloud, like a mountain, or he himself is huge like a mountain. But it must be borne in mind that the legends, epics and fairy tales about the Serpent Gorynych were recorded mainly in the Great Russian regions, while the struggle between Dobrynya and the Serpent, to which they go back, took place in the era of Kievan Rus to the south. Perhaps the original nickname of the Snake was associated with the word “burn”, and only later and further north it was rethought.

All these reflections allow us to put forward the following hypothesis. In ancient mythology, the theme of the hero’s struggle with a fire-breathing serpent-dragon was widely used. In particular, ideas about incomprehensible, frightening natural phenomena, be it a thunderstorm, a comet or ball lightning, refracted in popular imagination, could take on such a form. As a result, many peoples have a traditional image of the dragon - the guardian of waters and the master of natural elements. In the mythology of the Slavs, who encountered mysterious and terrible fiery weapons during the Mongol invasion, this traditional theme received a completely different twist. The Serpent Gorynych became the personification of such a weapon and turned into a metaphorical image of artillery shelling.

RUSSIAN MYTHOLOGY

DRAGON

Serpent Gorynych in Russian epics and fairy tales, a representative of the evil principle, a dragon with 3, 6, 9 or 12 heads.

Associated with fire and water, flies across the sky, but at the same time correlates with the bottom - with a river, a hole, a cave, where he has hidden wealth, a kidnapped princess (or three princesses), a noble bride, “Russian fulls”; There are also numerous offspring of the 3rd snake Gorynych - “little snakes” (however, they are often “in the open field”, where the epic hero “tramples” them with his horse). 3mey Gorynych is not always clearly distinguishable from other similar images - the Serpent Tugarin, Zmiulan, the Fire Serpent, just the Serpent, etc. In epics, 3mey Gorynych (“fierce snake”, etc.) usually appears in the plot “Dobrynya and the Serpent” , at its two culminating points: the first time when Dobrynya Nikitich bathes in the Puchai River, and the second time when the same hero descends into the holes of 3. G. and frees Prince Vladimir’s niece Zabava Putyatishna.

The hero lashed his horse between the ears with a whip, the horse rose up and rushed the hero straight to Mount Sorochinskaya. And on the mountain near the snake’s lair, the baby snakes are basking in the sun - you can’t count them, you can’t count them! How the horse went to trample them! The Serpent Gorynych saw that the baby snakes were dying, and gnashed his teeth:
- You won’t get Putyatichnya’s Fun! He flew into Dobrynya, and they began to fight tooth and nail. It’s hard for the Russian hero: as soon as he chops off one snake’s head, three new ones grow in its place. For three days he fought with the snake. By the evening of the third day, Dobrynyushka despaired: “It seems that we cannot defeat the filthy Snake. God help me!" I was just thinking this way when I heard a voice from heaven: “Dobrynya, Russian hero, don’t despair!” Hold on for just half an hour more and you will overcome the Snake, the unclean strongman.
And so it happened. With new, unprecedented force, Dobrynya hit the Snake with a whip. The Serpent fell - apparently, the Lord helped the Russian hero. Dobrynya rushed to the snake's cave. He walked in and couldn’t believe his eyes: how many captives—well done Russians—are here! They are all bound by one chain. Dobrynya swung, cut the chain and freed the prisoners. Where's Zabavushka? The prince's niece is not visible! He went to the next cave and saw: Zabavushka was sitting in a dark corner, chained to the wall with a golden chain. He freed Dobrynya Zabava Putyatichna, put her on a horse with him and set off to the capital city of Kyiv, to Vladimir the Red Sun.

The appearance of the 3rd Mey Gorynych is accompanied by a menacing noise, like “rain is falling” and “thunder is thundering.” The main weapon is fire. Dobrynya manages to deal him a crushing blow with the “cap (hat) of the Greek land.” The serpent Gorynych fell on the damp ground and begged Dobrynya for mercy, offering to write “considerable records” not to gather in an open field and not to start bloodshed. Dobrynya agrees and sets Zmey Gorynych free.

Returning to his place and flying over Kiev, 3rd Gorynych, however, violates the “records” and kidnaps Zabava Putyatishna, hiding her in his holes. Prince Vladimir sends Dobrynya to free his niece. Along the way, in an open field, Dobrynya “tromped down” “a lot of baby snakes.”

Illustration by Bilibin. Dobrynya and Zabava Putyatishna.

Throwing back the iron supports and pushing aside the copper locks, he descends into the snake holes and first of all frees the “polons”: princes and boyars, mighty Russian heroes. After that, he takes Zabava Putyatishna out of the holes from the 3rd mey Gorynych. The serpent Gorynych accuses Dobrynya of violating the “records” and destroying the “serpentine creatures”, invading “snake holes” and does not agree to give Zabava Putyatishna “without a fight, without a fight, without bloodshed.” But the second fight did not take place: Dobrynya indicated that the first violation of the “records” was the work of Zmey Gorynych.

In fairy tales, a number of motives are associated with the Serpent Gorynych: the princess fell in love with him; he teaches her to tell her brother-Tsarevich, but dies, being torn apart by the “hunt” of Ivan Tsarevich; in another story, the Serpent Gorynych serves as a cook for Ivan, the merchant’s son, seduces his wife Elena the Beautiful, harasses Ivan, the merchant’s son, with her, but dies. In lower folk mythology, the Serpent Gorynych is also well known: he poses a particular danger to women when he enters into contact with them.

His name refers to the image of the Fire Serpent, known both in Slavic (cf. Serbian Snake Fire Wolf) and in other traditions (cf. Iranian Azhi Dahaka, lit. - “Serpent Gorynych”; Gorynych as Gorynya, Baba Goryninka, etc. - from the verb “to burn” and only secondarily from the word “mountain”: sometimes the motif of the Serpent Gorynych appears on the mountain).

Serpent Gorynych is a fire-breathing dragon with several heads, a representative of the evil principle in Russian folk tales and epics. Gorynych from the verb “to burn” and only secondarily from the word “mountain”

Appearance

Dragon is a talking dragon-like creature with three heads, a tail and copper claws, and has the ability to breathe fire while releasing smoke from its ears. The Serpent can have from 3 to 12 heads, and from 1 to 7 tails, depending on the source. The Serpent moves through the air, but fairy tales are silent about the presence of wings. In the minds of modern man, the Serpent is identical to a winged dragon with three heads.

It has three fire-breathing heads and one tail. The snake Gorynych moves on two hind legs, he has two small front legs, like a tyrannosaurus. Copper claws rip apart the armor of heroes as if it were thin fabric and not iron. The air around the Serpent Gorynych smells of sulfur, and this is a sign that he is an evil creature. His blood is so poisonous that it is not absorbed into the ground. It is impossible to even get close to the Serpent Gorynych - the daredevil is met by his three terrible horned heads and mouths spewing fire with poisonous fangs. One tail beating the ground makes the dragon from behind as dangerous as from the front. His acute sense of smell allows him to sense the approach of a person from afar. The body, covered with scales, smokes sulfur, and this smoke hangs over the Serpent Gorynych like an ominous cloud.

Gorynych is one of the types of intelligent dragons (reptiles). The snake flies widely and well, its light bones are adapted for movement through the air. In order to spew fire, microflora is used, so part of the food is digested, and part is used to produce hydrogen. Perhaps the hydrogen produced is not pure; in the complex microbiota of Gorynych there may be various bacteria that produce methane, for example. But only a significant hydrogen content will allow the Snake to easily ignite the exhaled gas with the help of a platinum catalyst, and at the same time the supply of hydrogen lightens the body and simplifies flight.

There are problems with platinum in its pure form on Earth, so Gorynych has to “gorge himself” on suitable minerals, which explains his craving for the mountains. And to accumulate metals, you can also use symbiont bacteria (in particular, we know that there are bacteria that secrete gold from solution into ingots).

A thin, mobile tongue (protected from fire by horny outgrowths) and an analogue of vocal cords allow Gorynych, despite the absence of mobile lips, to cope well with articulation and conduct tedious verbose negotiations with heroes.

Model 1 - Reptile with Brainless Heads

Fire- In order to breathe out fire and not explode, Gorynych had to acquire a secondary hard palate and keratinized outgrowths in the oral cavity.

Teeth Some of the teeth are ordinary sharp cones. But there are also special teeth: platinum-rich ducts of “catalytic” glands, saturated with symbiotic bacteria, emerge from them.

Heads An unexpected adaptation to the dangerous fiery life was the overactive operation of the regeneration system. She allowed Gorynych to acquire “extra” heads (not too smart).

Paws The Snake's four legs support a large body, and a long-standing mutation disrupted the normal structure of the body, creating an additional pair of limbs - wings.

Stomach A complex multi-chamber stomach (a habitat for special microflora), growing from the esophagus. This “gas holder,” protected by muscular sphincters, stores the produced flammable gas.

Model 2 Loud dimorphs with children

The writer Svyatoslav Loginov put forward an interesting assumption about the nature of the Serpent Gorynych. Let us pay attention to the discrepancy between the two types of European dragons: the Western European dragon is small, flightless and not seen breeding; The Eastern European Serpent is different - hefty, aggressive, and even prolific. The reason, according to Loginov’s theory, is ordinary sexual dimorphism: somewhere in the Carpathian region, the spring swarming of dragons occurs, after which the females nest in the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, and the males migrate to the west. But then our domestic Gorynych is a female, obtaining food not only for herself, but also for her offspring.

On Gorynikha’s broad back, in cozy skin folds and pits, her cubs sit: the shelters are reliable, you can hold on tightly even in flight. After all, the baby snakes themselves do not yet know how to fly. Considering that communication with the Gorynychs rarely takes place in a calm atmosphere, observers are not up to the task of accuracy. So they called the curious babies peeking out from their mother’s back heads and tails.

In the ancestors of the Gorynychs, six-leggedness could only arise after the type of movement began to differ from the “fish” one, the bends of the body in movement changed, otherwise an extra pair of limbs would have caused too much trouble and could have prevented the Gorynychs from surviving. Now they can easily control both full-fledged four paws and a pair of wings.

Teeth Hollow bone outgrowths above the poisonous teeth can further enhance the sound: it is not without reason that Gorynych’s loud voice is often emphasized in fairy tales.

Torso It contains a complex stomach, powerful lungs and a bladder of flammable gas.

Children Many animals are capable of carrying kindergarten on their backs (for example, some spiders, peep toads).

Wings The ancestors of the Gorynychs apparently doubled the shoulder girdle, which made it possible to create wings in addition to the legs and lengthen the body.

Origin

There is a beautiful hypothesis about the connection of this name with the Goryn River, a tributary of the Pripyat, and the non-existent Sorochinsky Mountains, in which the Serpent lives, with the nearby village of Sorochen.

Habitat

He lives in the mountains in a cave, from which it is quite likely, although it is not known for sure, that his middle name “gorynych” could have come from. In some fairy tales, he lives in the water, sleeping on a stone in the sea. In some epics and fairy tales, he lives in the mountains, but when the hero approaches him, he comes out of the water.

His habitat is necessarily lifeless, where grass does not grow, birds do not sing, or, on the contrary, these are chambers sparkling with gold and silver.

Serpent Gorynych is a guard. He guards the borders of the witchcraft “thirtieth kingdom behind the distant mountains.” You can get to the said thirtieth kingdom through the Kalinov Bridge, spanned over a wide, sometimes fiery river. But it is precisely this bridge that guards the Serpent Gorynych, he will not let anyone through - neither a bird nor beast, neither foot nor horse, burns or devours everyone.

In other versions, the Serpent guards not the border, but the very core of this magical country, “keeps watch” despite the fact that in the “thirtieth kingdom” the most valuable thing is treasures, golden apples, living water, and even a beautiful princess, local or kidnapped.

Relatives

Miracle Yudo, Tugarin Zmey

Character traits and habits

Kidnap beautiful girls Frequent use of fire. Evil, but sometimes kind, greedy, ambitious, sycophantic, prone to narcissism.

Interests

Kidnapping beautiful girls. Cooking knights on fire. Burning down a forest for fun.

Friends

Koschey the Immortal, Baba Yaga

Enemies

Russian heroes (in particular Dobrynya Nikitich), Ivan Tsarevich, Theodore Tiron in “The Tale of the Exploits of Fedor Tirinin”

Characteristic phrases, quotes

cartoon "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf"

Serpent Gorynych: You understand, this is someone’s destiny: everyone loves him, they sing songs about him, they give him gifts, at least at the level of flowers and cards. But surely there must be someone whom everyone doesn’t like? Otherwise, the balance between good and evil will be disrupted. This is what we are. Yaga, Koschey and me. Axis of evil.

Why are you pretending?

Why am I pretending?

You pretend to be evil, but you are kind.

Come on, think about what you are saying. I said: “axis of evil.”

You have a kind look.

Only you do evil all the time, and try to do good. Do you know how nice it is?

What's good?

For example, let us go.

Yeah, you're leaving!

Certainly.

Well, what joy do I have?

We will thank you. And you will see how nice it is.

Yes? No one has thanked me yet. Let's try. All the same, if anything happens, I’ll catch up with you and... Go.

cartoon "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf"

cartoon "Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych"

Elisha: - Shall we fly to Gorynych?

Serpent Gorynych: - Yeah! Right now, bring the saddle!

Dobrynya: - What is the strength, brother?

Serpent Gorynych: - There is power in a dream. And the one who sleeps more deeply has more of it.

cartoon "Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych"

Serpent Gorynych: - Oh, who is this?

Dobrynya: - Yes, this is with me. My student.

Serpent Gorynych: - Dobrynya, what can you teach him? This is the ugliest horse I've ever seen!

Dobrynya: - Ah-ah-ah. So this is a camel. Have you, Gorynych, never seen a camel? It's fast, hardy and doesn't require feeding at all. My student got it!

cartoon "Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych"

Cover of E. Uspensky's book "Down the Magic River"

At this time, in Baba Yaga’s hut, the saucer suddenly became cloudy and nothing was visible.

Why? - asked Mitya.

The serpent Gorynych flew out to hunt, answered Baba Yaga. “Now he’s going to stir up all the air.” You won't see anything until evening. May he fail, the wonderful one! May everything blow up for him, the most beautiful one!

Why do you call him wonderful? And pretty? - Mitya was surprised.

But because you can’t scold him,” Baba Yaga explained. - Whoever scolds him will be eaten by him.

Will he eat you too, grandma?

“He won’t eat me,” answered the old woman. - He'll choke. But you won't end up in trouble!

The kite flew quickly and silently. So he put his paws forward and landed, drawing two deep black furrows across the field.

Hooray! - Koschey shouted.

But no one supported him. There were no boyars. Disappeared.

Finally, boyar Afonin emerged from some hole.

Won't he eat us?

No,” Koschey answered. - He’s kind, right, Gorynych?

The Three-Headed Serpent began to stir.

That's right, said one of his heads.

Of course,” another supported.

And the third didn’t say anything, but just smiled: how could it be otherwise?

Can I pet him? - asked Chubarov.

“It’s possible,” Koschey allowed.

The boyars gradually climbed out of the ditch.

Won't he give us a ride? - asked boyar Demidov.

I'll find out now. Will you give them a ride, Gorynushka?

“I can,” answered the Serpent.

And the boyars began to climb on his back in a crowd. They sat down more comfortably, holding each other tightly.

The snake took off, flapped its wings and slowly flew over the palace.

Hooray! - the boyars shouted in unison. - Hooray!

But then they quickly fell silent, because the Serpent flew too high.

So he made two circles over the royal lands and landed again. The silent boyars fell to the ground like peas.

“Thank you, Gorynych,” said Koschey. - Now get settled. Do you see the cowshed by the pond? You will live there...

Eduard Uspensky "Down the Magic River"

At noon, a sad procession appeared on the road to the cowshed where the Serpent Gorynych lived.

Makar walked ahead with his head down and in slippers. On the sides rode two archers on horses. King Makar and his archers

And behind, also on a horse, is the billionaire himself, with a naked sword in his hand. Gavril's servant was sitting on a bench near the cowshed and resting.

Open the gate! - ordered the billionaire. - Here, they brought you to be eaten!

It is forbidden! - Gavrila became worried. - No way! They've just had lunch! They ate three cows! They may burst!

I do not know anything! - answered the billionaire. - If we have lunch, we won’t have lunch! What do I care? I have orders in hand. Must eat, and that's it!

Well, if you have to,” said Gavrila, “then it’s a different matter!” If only I shouldn't have! - He went to open the gate. -Who will there be?

None of your business! Whoever is needed will be there! - answered the billionaire.

Gavrila looked carefully at the prisoner.

Yes, no way, this is the Tsar Father! - he screamed. - What is this being done? Are you really going to be eaten, my dear? This scarecrow! May he choke on you, our gilded one!

Nevertheless, he removed the hook from its socket and pulled the gate leaf towards himself.

Well how are you? How are you at least healthy, tell me?

“Thank you, I’m not complaining,” Makar replied. - One thing offends me - I ruined the kingdom! I let so many people down! And they believed me!

Come in. There's no time to waste! - ordered the billionaire. And the hefty archer pushed Makar with his sword. And the gates closed behind him.

What kind of people are we losing? What people! - said Gavrila and tightly locked the gate with a hook.

Where to now? - asked the billionaire.

How - where?

Well, where are you talking to your Serpent? The order must be given to him.

This is from above. From the attic. There is a special window there.

Well, lead the way!

The archers tied their horses and climbed up a steep ladder into the attic.

Hey, you! Take him! - the billionaire shouted to the Snake. - Koschey ordered!

The snake stirred, groaned, muttered something, but did not move from its place.

And then Brownie ran up to the barn.

Well, what do you have there? Not eating? - he shouted to the archers and Gavrila.

Not at all!

But I brought special water. For your appetite. Give it to him?

Let's! - ordered the archer.

The brownie entered the cowshed and handed a jug to Snake Gorynych.

He threw back one of his heads and drank all the water in one fell swoop. And then it began! The serpent rustled with its wings, rustled like a falling tent, moved in waves and began to shrink.

Let's run! - Brownie shouted to Makar and rushed to the gate. Makar follows him.

They jumped on their horses. A minute later dust began to swirl along the road.

A billion dollars fell head over heels from the attic. Behind him are two archers. Gavrila was the last to jump out.

Let's run to Koshchei! - Billionsky shouted. - Report immediately!

Together with the archers, he seized a cart from some man and drove it into the city. And Gavrila rushed about in the barn:

What will happen now? What will happen? Save yourself, who can!

He knew that he couldn’t expect any good from Koshchei. And he rushed into the forest.

Send Gorynych for them! - Koschey commanded. - Send immediately!

Billiardsky turned pale and took off his hat.

No more Gorynych!

How - no?

They made a little goat out of him.

Are you crazy?

It would be better if I went crazy, Your Majesty. They gave him something to drink, and he became a little goat.

Eduard Uspensky "Down the Magic River"

Cover of V. Shukshin's book "Until the third roosters"

This is not necessary,” said Gorynych. - Skip it.

How? - Ivan didn’t understand.

Skip it.

Gorynych, you can’t do that,” Ivan smiled, “you can’t erase a word from the song.” Gorynych silently looked at Ivan; that ugly silence reigned again.

But without this there is no song! - Ivan got nervous. - Well? There is no song!

There is a song,” said Gorynych.

How can you eat? How can you eat?!

There is a song. Even better - more concise.

Well, look what they are doing! - Ivan even slapped his thighs in amazement. - They do what they want! There is no song without this, there is no song without this, there is no song!. I will not sing laconically. All.

Vanyushka,” said Baba Yaga, “don’t be antagonistic.”

Sing it yourself. But I won't. I saw you all in the coffin! I'll eat you all myself! With a mustache together. And these three pumpkins... I’ll fry them a little too...

Lord, how much patience is needed,” sighed the first head of Gorynych. - How much effort and nerves must be spent... until you teach them. No upbringing, no education...

“He said it well about “frying it a little,” said the second head. - A?

What kind of mustache do you keep referring to? - the third head asked Ivan. - All evening today I hear: mustaches, mustaches... Who has a mustache?

And the pa-aren smiles through his wheat mustache,” the first head sang playfully. - What's next about Khaz-bu-lat?

Vasily Shukshin "Until the third rooster"

Cover of the book by E. Krasnitsky "The Youth. The Mad Fox"

All! Everyone was like that! Wild, unbridled, but dedicated to the cause and not sparing themselves or others for the cause. Have you heard the legend about the Serpent Gorynych?

Yes, why? - Bear didn’t understand: what does a fairy tale have to do with it?

Otherwise! This Volyn governor, whose name has already been forgotten, tormented the people of Kiev so much that they no longer called him anything other than a snake. Serpent from the Goryn River. The Kiev governor Dobrynya, somewhere in these places, fought with him and his warriors and finally killed him.

Evgeny Krasnitsky "Youth. Mad Fox"

Image in art

Viktor Vasnetsov "Fight of Dobrynya Nikitich with the seven-headed Serpent Gorynych", 1913-1918

Ivan Bilibin:

Nicholas Roerich:

Monuments and sculptures dedicated to the Serpent Gorynych

Monument-fountain to the Serpent Gorynych and Koshchei in Novosibirsk



Sculpture of the Serpent Gorynych near the village of Smolenskaya



Sculpture of the Serpent Gorynych in Omsk



She's just on the other side



Serpent Gorynych made of sand



Sculpture in Kharkov



He's on the other side



Bogatyr and the Serpent Gorynych (Slavkurort)



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych (Ochakov)

Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in the village of Afipsky, Krasnodar region

Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Omsk



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Perm



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in the village. Sokolinoe, Crimea



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Suzdal



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Ufa, Bashkiria



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Gomel, Belarus

Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Minsk, Belarus



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Rudny, Kustanai region, Kazakhstan



Monument to the Serpent Gorynych in Makeevka, Donetsk region, Ukraine



Ice Snake Gorynych in Tomsk

Snow Snake Gorynych in Harbin, China



Garden Serpent Gorynych



Serpent Gorynych in the amusement park "Divo-Ostrov", St. Petersburg



Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych ("Glade of Fairy Tales", Yalta)

Sculpture “Snake Gorynych” at the “Glade of Fairy Tales” in the Leninsky Komsomol Park of Donetsk

“Kotigoroshko and the Serpent Gorynych” on Obolonskaya embankment in Kyiv

Fountain “Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych” in Greenwich



Dragon



Stove "Snake Gorynych", Zlatoust - Bazhov Mountain Park

The origin and associated semantic content of the name “Gorynych” has long been of concern to admirers of the Russian epic. There are many versions; Off the top of my head, I can list the five most common ones.

Linguistically convincing, but absolutely nothing explains the reduction of the word “Gorynych” to a patronymic from the name Gorynya; Probably, we are talking about the same Goryn, who is in the same group with Usynya and Dubynya.

The second and third explanations try to identify the semantic connections of the word “Gorynych”, elevating it to the word “mountain” (supposedly, an inhabitant of caves under the mountains) or “burn” (the fact of the Snake’s flame-throwing is generally accepted). However, these versions are linguistically untenable and are probably “folk etymology”, because in the case of a mountain the word “Gorich” would appear (Snake-Mountaineer - this sounds unexpectedly relevant, yes), and as for the fiery essence, then, according to the principles of Russian in the language, possessive adjectives, from which patronymics were derived, were for some reason not formed from verbs; the formation could only go through a noun with the substantivizing suffix “-un-”, and then the Serpent would become Gorunych. It is therefore more correct to associate Gorynych with combustion not directly, but through the word “horn” (Old Russian “gurn”), especially since in common parlance this word takes the form “goron” with an unclear second “o”. Thus, “Gorynych” can be considered as a “son of the forge,” which perhaps hints at the artificial, “blacksmith” origin of the Serpent and makes him similar to golems.

An interesting version is to consider the Serpent as a representative of the “upper”, that is, the higher, heavenly world. In addition to linguistic doubtfulness, the scheme of the pagan worldview of pre-Christian Rus', now accepted by historians, speaks against this version: Snakes (lizards) were definitely present there, but they occupied a diametrically opposite place, the “ground floor” of the Cosmos, only occasionally appearing on the surface.

Finally, there is a beautiful hypothesis about the connection of this name with the Goryn River, a tributary of the Pripyat, and the non-existent Sorochinsky Mountains, in which the Serpent lives, with the nearby village of Sorochen.

Studying the life of ancient peoples allows us to put forward a new version of the origin of the name “Gorynych”. In modern Tekin (Turkmen) cuisine there is a dish, the peculiarities of its preparation suggest its origin in the era of nomadic Sarmatian-Alan tribes - the earliest stage of the ethnogenesis of this nation. The dish was prepared as follows: the washed stomach of a ram or goat was rubbed with hot pepper and salt and stuffed with pieces of meat and lard rubbed with the same mixture, after which it was alternately dried in hot sand and air-dried; the result was a product reminiscent of the familiar basturma, but much richer flavored with spicy seasoning. The name of this dish is “garyn”, which means “stomach” in the local dialect. It can be assumed that our distant ancestors, communicating with the nomadic Sarmatians, treated themselves to this delicacy - after which the association with fire-breathing monsters becomes completely justified, and the nomadic lovers of peppered meat, by analogy with our modern “frog-makers” and “pasta-makers”, received the nickname “ Gorynychs."

Or what eyewitnesses show and what is said in the chronicles

Today our press is full of sensational articles about all sorts of unusual phenomena and miracles, which, alas, are often based only on the idle speculation of their authors. Sometimes, in search of sensations, they do not disdain anything, including even deliberate deception of the gullible reader and gross manipulation of real facts.

But what’s easier, you just have to look around carefully, look into old books that seem to be well known to everyone, and a real wave of such incredible facts will fall upon you, the abundance of which will make the most daring science fiction writer stagger! To do this, you just need to be attentive and diligent, only in this case the yellowed volumes of ancient tomes will reveal their revelations to you!

Who among us has not heard since school years about the famous PSRL (Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles). There are no words, numerous volumes of difficult-to-read texts are the lot of a narrow circle of professional specialists. However, among dozens and dozens of ancient manuscripts, reprinted many times, there are also those that are well adapted to the language of the modern reader. Studied and re-studied up and down by many generations of domestic and foreign historians, they do not seem to contain anything new, much less unusual, but it only seems so at first glance. You just have to break away from today's bustle and breathe in the aroma of bygone eras, touch the past, as it will certainly reward you with the most incredible discoveries!

How much debate there is today about such a famous character in many Russian fairy tales and epics - the Serpent Gorynych! How historians and publicists fail to explain the essence of this very unusual creature. Some see in it the product of the forces of a formidable element, in particular a tornado, others even see in it a giant Mongol-Chinese flamethrower. There are, however, voices that perhaps Serpent Gorynych had a very real prototype as some kind of relict dinosaur, but at the same time everyone immediately stipulates that there is no factual confirmation of this hypothesis.

Completeness! There is confirmation of the version about the real existence of the Serpent, you just have to carefully re-read the original texts of the same well-known epics, you just have to slowly leaf through the ancient chronicles.

Let's start with the fact that in addition to numerous fairy-tale and epic images of the Serpent, ancient Russian mythology brought to us an amazing and very specific image of a certain sacred Lizard - the forefather who supposedly created everything living on Earth. It was from the egg hatched by this first lizard that our world was born. The origins of this myth go back to the beginnings of ancient Aryan culture and are, apparently, one of the most ancient. Now let’s ask ourselves a very logical question: why was there such a long-standing and incredibly persistent worship of some fictional creature, while all other worship and totems (a deified animal, considered the ancestor of the clan) among the ancient Rus and Slavs were always associated with very real and specific representatives animal world: leopards and bears, bulls and swans?

For some reason, the cult of the lizard beasts was especially strong in the northwestern regions of Rus', in the Novgorod and Pskov lands. Maybe that’s why this cult existed because lizard beasts once lived there? Thus, the myth of a certain miracle two-headed lizard, which swallowed the setting sun with one head and spewed the morning sun into the sky with the other, is widely known. Herodotus also spoke about a certain people of the Neuroi, living “on the land facing the north wind,” and forced to flee from there to the country of the Budins (tribes of the Yukhnov culture) only because their land was overrun by some terrible snakes. These historians date the events to approximately the sixth century BC. Of course, no people will ever move because of mythical monsters, but it is more than likely that they will flee from very real monsters, especially if they were very bloodthirsty.

At one time, the world-famous expert on Ancient Rus', Academician B. A. Rybakov, was engaged in research on issues related to “Russian lizards”. Of particular interest to us is his analysis of the well-known epic about the Novgorod merchant Sadko. This epic turned out to be so encrypted that only such a great scientist could understand its essence and meaning.

First of all, let’s make a reservation that B.A. Rybakov, as well as the famous historian of the 19th century N.I. Kostomarov, considered the epic about Sadko to be one of the most ancient in the Novgorod lands, dating back to pre-Christian times. Moreover, in the original version, Sadko does not travel, but simply comes with a harp to the shore of a lake-river and plays his songs there to a certain water king. The image of the king in the epic is implied to be anthropomorphic; it is not described in any way.

However, in a number of cases he is referred to as a certain “Uncle Ilmen” or “Queen Belorybitsa”. Next, the water king, who liked Sadko’s game, comes out of the water and promises him for the pleasure he has received a constant rich catch of fish and even the capture of a goldfish (“fish of the golden feather”). After which Sadko rapidly grows rich, becoming the most respected person in Novgorod. Academician B.A. Rybakov, in his fundamental work “Paganism of Ancient Rus'”, writes on this matter: “In connection with our topic (the theme of the lizard - V.Sh.’s note), the authentic harp of the first half of the 12th century from excavations in Novgorod is of particular interest. The gusli is a flat trough with grooves for six pegs.

The left (from the guslar) side of the instrument is sculpted, like the head and part of the body of a lizard. Under the head of the lizard, two small heads of “lizards” are drawn. On the reverse side of the gusel, a lion and a bird are depicted. Thus, in the ornamentation of the gusel, all three life zones are present: sky (bird), earth (horse, lion) and underwater world (lizard). The lizard does not dominate everyone and, thanks to its three-dimensional sculpturality, unites both planes of the instrument. Such decorated harp is depicted on a guslar bracelet of the 12th-13th centuries. There is a harp with the image of two horse heads (a horse is a common sacrifice to a merman); there are harps on which, like the ornament on Ukrainian banduras, waves are depicted (harps of the 14th century)... The ornamentation of the Novgorod harps of the 11th-14th centuries directly indicates the connection of this underwater kingdom with the lizard. All this is quite consistent with the archaic version of the epic: the guslar pleases the underwater deity, and the deity changes the standard of living of the poor but cunning guslar.”

And immediately the question: why is the harp, among real animals, suddenly depicted one mythical one - a lizard? So maybe it’s not mythical at all, but just as real as the others, and even superior to them in strength and power, and therefore more revered?

Numerous images of the lizard found during excavations in the Novgorod and Pskov regions, primarily on house structures and bucket handles, are almost an image of a very real creature with a large, elongated muzzle and a huge mouth with clearly defined large teeth. These images may well correspond to mososaurs or kronosaurs, which confuse the minds of scientists with new and new rumors about their current existence. And the nature of the sacrifices made to the “underwater king” also clarifies a lot.

This is not some abstract fetish, but a very real animal, and at the same time quite large to satisfy the very voracious lake deity. This animal is sacrificed to the underwater monster not when necessary, but mostly in winter, that is, in the hungriest time. The famous historian and folklorist A.N. Afanasyev wrote about it this way: “The peasants buy a horse, fatten it with bread for three days, then put on two millstones, coat its head with honey, braid red ribbons into its mane and lower it into an ice hole at midnight...”

However, apparently, the demanding “underwater king” was not always satisfied with sacrificial horse meat, as the writings that have come down to us say, and transforming “into the image of the fierce beast korkodil,” quite often attacked fishermen and merchants sailing past him in boats, drowning their boats. and eating themselves. There was something to be afraid of such a “king” and why to make abundant sacrifices to him.

Academician Rybakov, analyzing the original versions of the epic about Sadko, even found a very real place of “communication” between the guslar and the underwater king. According to his calculations, it took place on Lake Ilmen, near the source of the Volkhov, on the western (left, so-called “Sofia”) bank of the river. This place is known as Peryn. In 1952, during excavations by archaeologists in Peryn, a temple was discovered, which Rybakov refers to as the sanctuary of the “crocodile” in Peryn. There is an opinion that it was from there that the later appearance of the god Perun occurred...

Academician Rybakov also drew attention to the very stable and clearly defined habitat of the “underwater king”: “The cult of the ruler of the underwater underworld had little connection with the agricultural worldview of the Slavic tribes of the forest-steppe south... But in the lake north the image of a lizard is frequent and stable... But also in the Slavic In ancient times, the lizard is found, especially in the northern region...”

Well, what do the chronicles say? The oldest mention of an underwater serpent dates back to the 11th century. These are the so-called “Conversations of Gregory the Theologian on the trial of the city,” directed against paganism and included in the chronicle under the year 1068. In the section dedicated to fishing and pagan rituals associated with it, it is written: “...Ov (someone who) devoured his new fish, having a lot (a grateful sacrifice for a rich catch)... the god who created heaven and earth trembled. He names the river a goddess, and the beast that lives in it, calling it a god, I demand to create.”

And here’s what an unknown Pskov chronicler of the 16th century writes: “In the summer of 7090 (1582) ... That same summer, lute beasts came out of the river and closed the path; there are a lot of people. And people were horrified and praying to God throughout the whole earth. And she hid again and beat them up” (Pskov Chronicles. M., 1955, vol. 2, p. 262).

However, the appearance of “corcodiles” was not always so terrible. The German traveler-scientist Sigismund Herberstein left us sensational messages on this matter in his “Notes on Muscovy,” written in the first half of the 16th century. The facts cited by Herberstein (and historians today have no doubt about their veracity) can plunge any skeptic into amazement, for the German scientist talks about the lizards domesticated by Russian people!

So, Herberstein writes, speaking about the northwestern lands of Rus': “There are still a lot of idolaters there who feed in their homes, as if they were penates, some kind of snakes with four short legs, like lizards with a black and fat body, having no more 3 spans (60-70 cm) in length and called givoites. On the appointed days, people cleanse their house and, with some fear, the whole family reverently worships them as they crawl out to the food provided. Misfortune is attributed to the one whose snake deity was poorly fed” (S. Herberstein. Notes on Muscovite affairs. St. Petersburg, 1908, p. 178).

So, we can say with confidence that real lizards, of several species (both underwater predators and domesticated terrestrial ones), felt quite well a few centuries ago, thus surviving almost to our historical times (after all, from the events described we delays the life of some eight generations!)

But what happened next? Why did these seemingly so revered and sacred animals not survive to this day? Most likely, that’s why they didn’t live, because they were too revered! And again let's turn to the chronicles. The fact is that for Christianity, which was implanted in the 11th-16th centuries in the northwestern Russian lands, the pagan lizard god was, of course, the most dangerous ideological opponent, because it was impossible to convince people to renounce the powerful and deified animal they knew well.

There could most likely be only one way out in this situation: the merciless physical extermination of all sacred animals and at the same time the complete eradication of all memory of them. That is why lizards are referred to in Christian chronicles as “godless and demon-possessed river sorcerers”, “fiends of hell” and “devilish reptiles”. Such epithets meant a clear death sentence for relict animals. The reprisal against the “underwater kings” was merciless. First of all, apparently, they dealt with the domesticated small creatures, and then they began to deal with the river predators. The chronicles tell a very picturesque story about concrete steps in this direction.

Thus, the manuscript of the Great Synodal Library of the 17th century, known among specialists as the “Flower Garden,” narrates: “Our Christian true word... About this cursed sorcerer and sorcerer - how evil was quickly broken and strangled from demons in the river Volkhov and the cursed body was carried by demonic dreams went up the Volkhov River and fled against the Volkhov town, which is called Perynya. And with much weeping from the unknown voice, the cursed one was buried with a great filthy funeral feast. And he piled his grave high above him, as if he were filthy.”

The “Flower Garden” very eloquently says that the “corcodile” swam not down, but up the river, i.e. he was alive, then somehow was “strangled” in the river, perhaps died a natural death, but most likely was apparently still killed by Christians, after which his body, washed ashore, was buried with the greatest solemnity by local pagans. The merciless extermination of river lizards took place simultaneously with a very active convincing of the inhabitants that the “corcodile” was not a god at all, but just an ordinary, albeit very “disgusting” beast. Let us recall the passage we have already mentioned above about the anti-pagan “Conversations of Gregory the Theologian on the Trial of the City,” where it is unequivocally stated that certain people make sacrifices (“they perform rites”) in honor of an ordinary beast living in the river and called God.

Most likely, as the northwestern outskirts of Russia became Christianized, the last representatives of the ancient genus of river lizards were destroyed on its rivers and lakes. It is possible that, from the point of view of the dominant ideology of that time, everything was done absolutely correctly. And yet, I am frankly sorry that our neighbors in the historical era - the lizards - were completely exterminated and did not live to this day, remaining only on the pages of chronicles, in epics and tales of times past!

However, who knows...

Once upon a time there was a Serpent Gorynych

Ethnographer and historian Ivan Kirillov suggests that it was once a very real creature that lived on the territory of Russia.
Kirillov calls himself a “dragon expert” with a grin. For many years he has been studying myths and legends about this creature. And one day I came to the conclusion that the Serpent Gorynych from Russian fairy tales could well have had a living prototype.

“It all started when I decided to clarify the origin of the winged serpent on the coat of arms of Moscow,” says Ivan Igorevich. — The serpent fighter rider first appeared on the coat of arms of the Moscow Principality under Ivan III. The seal of Grand Duke Ivan (1479) has been preserved, which depicts a warrior striking a small winged dragon with a spear. Soon the image of this scene became known to any resident of Russia. The spearman began to be minted on the smallest coin. That’s why, by the way, people nicknamed her “penny”...

Many researchers perceive the image of St. George the Victorious piercing the Serpent as a beautiful artistic image, symbolizing the confrontation between Good and Evil. He once thought so too. But one day he came across an image of a 12th-century fresco from the Church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga. And there is a horseman with a spear, but in that fresco the winged serpent is not killed, but dragged on a string, like a prisoner or a pet.

This image, which appeared much earlier than the official coat of arms of Muscovy, introduces, according to Kirillov, new semantic elements into the familiar picture with a spear-bearer. A tower with windows, a woman leading a strange creature resembling a crocodile or a giant lizard, all this looks very lifelike and looks more like a sketch from life than some kind of artistic image-symbol.

“Then I thought: didn’t such an event actually happen?” - Ivan Igorevich continues the story. “Soon I came across another document confirming my fantastic version. The Austrian ambassador Sigismund Herberstein, who worked in Russia in 1517 and 1526, mentioned strange lizards not typical of our fauna in his memoirs. This is what he wrote in his diary: “This area is replete with groves and forests in which terrible phenomena can be observed. It is there that to this day there are a lot of idolaters who feed in their homes some snakes with four short legs, like lizards, with a black and fat body ... "

Did our ancestors really see with their own eyes the fabulous “mountain snakes” and even knew how to tame them? Ivan Kirillov collected historical documents that can serve, if not direct, then indirect evidence that “Russian dragons” could exist in reality. Here are some of these materials.

In the Russian National Library, among the manuscripts, there is an old diary of a priest. The title page has been lost, so the name of the eyewitness is unknown. But the entry he made in 1816 is quite remarkable: “While sailing on a boat along the Volga River, we saw a huge flying kite, which carried a man with all his clothes in his mouth. And all that was heard from this unfortunate man was: “Them!” Them! “And the serpent flew over the Volga and fell with a man into the swamps...”

Further, the priest reports that on that day he had a chance to see the Serpent again: “Near the Kolominsky district of the village of Uvarov there is a wasteland called Kashiryaziva. We arrived there to spend the night with more than 20 people. Two hours or more passed, the area suddenly lit up, and the horses suddenly rushed in different directions. I looked up and saw a fiery serpent. It meandered over our camp at the height of two or three bell towers. It was three arshins or more long and stood above us for a quarter of an hour. And all this time we were saying prayer...”

An interesting piece of evidence was discovered in the archives of the city of Arzamas. Here is a short excerpt from this document: “In the summer of June 1719, for 4 days there was a great storm in the district, a tornado and hail, and many livestock and all living creatures perished. And the serpent fell from the sky, scorched by God’s wrath, and stank disgustingly. And remembering the Decree of God by the grace of our All-Russian Sovereign Peter Alekseevich from the summer of 1718 about Kunshtkamora and the collection for her of various wonders, monsters and freaks of all sorts, stones of heaven and other miracles, this serpent was thrown into a barrel of strong double wine ... "

The paper was signed by Zemstvo Commissioner Vasily Shtykov. Unfortunately, the barrel did not reach the St. Petersburg Museum. Either it got lost along the way, or the disdainful Russian peasants poured “double wine” (that’s what vodka used to be called) from a barrel. It’s a pity, perhaps today the Serpent Gorynych, preserved in alcohol, would be kept in the Kunstkamera.

Among the memoirs, one can highlight the story of the Ural Cossacks, who became eyewitnesses to an incredible incident in 1858. Here is a record of their memories: “A miracle happened in the Kyrgyz Bukeev horde. In the steppe, not far from the Khan’s headquarters, in broad daylight, a huge serpent, as thick as the largest camel and twenty fathoms long, fell from the sky to the ground. For a minute the serpent lay motionless, and then, curled up in a ring, raised its head two fathoms from the ground and hissed strongly, piercingly, like a storm.

People, livestock and all living things fell on their faces in fear. They thought that the end of the world had come. Suddenly a cloud descended from the sky, approached the serpent about five fathoms and stopped above it. The serpent jumped onto the cloud. It enveloped him, swirled and went into the heavens.”
“All this is so incredible that I, of course, do not take such stories too seriously,” says dragon expert Kirillov. - But somewhere in my soul I believe that something like this is not excluded... According to the most common version, the mythological Serpent-Dragon owes its origin to the remains of dinosaurs, which our ancestors found from time to time. At first glance, everything is simple and clear... But a careful analysis of this version reveals a number of its shortcomings.

Firstly, myths about the Dragon are widespread, and easily accessible dinosaur remains are found only in the desert regions of Central Asia (in other regions, fossil remains are most often discovered only under thick layers of sediment - it is unlikely that ancient people dug so deep).

Secondly, the bones of dinosaurs are very different from each other, and Dragons of different nations are similar, like twin brothers. Maybe the fairy tales did not originate on ancient bones, but after encounters with living dinosaurs that have survived to this day? It’s a crazy assumption, but how can one not make it when reading the testimony, and not so far from the distant past?

So biologists recently confirmed to me that the “fire-breathing Gorynych” from the fairy tale does not contradict science at all. It is theoretically possible that there are cavities in the body of an animal where methane (swamp gas) is formed as a result of decomposition. When exhaled, this gas can ignite (think swamp fires). By the way, this assumption is confirmed by eyewitness testimony, which invariably indicates a stench or foul breath emanating from the Serpent...

Could our acquaintance have flown across the Atlantic? Or maybe there is a Gorynych there?

(From the book “One Hundred Mysteries of Nature” by N. Nepomnyashchy)

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