Myth and folktales

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Vlado Nartnik, in his astro-ethnological analysis, came to the conclusion that 
this legend was brought to Alpine territory by Slovenes from their old Indo-European 
homeland, and has its origins in that period (1987: 95). In addition to this, he pre-
sumed that this legend reflects the sequence of three constellations of that time: the 
constellation of Capricorn, the constellation of Sagittarius and the constellation of 
Scorpio (Nartnik 1987: 106). 
Considering all the material that was collected during these years, it can be said 
that the legend about Zlatorog in Slovenia has old roots, and that the tradition about 
the unicorn, a white chamois with golden horns or with golden hooves, or about a 
deer (a stag) bearing a golden cross on its head, is of Indo-European origin, known 
in Europe from Ireland to Albania. The traces of Zlatorog were preserved by Greek 
historian Polybius who wrote about the unusual cloven-hoofed animal in the Julian 
Alps and the golden mines of the Celtic Taurisci living there (Polybius, 34
th
 book, 
144–129 B.C.). Later, the geographer Strabo included this source in his books (Strabo 
IV 6.12 C 208), as Marjeta Šašel Kos exhaustively discussed and proved that it is 
evident that reports about a moose-like animal and about gold mines in the Julian 
Alps are extremely old, which is why the origin of folktales about rich Venetian gold 
merchants and Zlatorog is partly rooted in the historic and geographic circumstances 
of that time (Šašel Kos 1998).
In Slovene legends, Zlatorog has an adversary: the Green Hunter. The Wild 
Hunter Jarnik has also been known among the Slavs under the name Jernej 
(Bartholomew), or sometimes Jurij s pušo. He is the opponent of Zeleni Jurij (Green 
George). Zlatorog in myth personifies the deity of the heavens, holds the key to treas-
ures on earth, and has a power of healing. Reflecting also the constellation of the 
stars at the time of its origin, this myth was brought to Alpine territory by Slovenes 
from their old Indo-European homeland.
In Slovenian mythopoetic traditions, Zeleni Jurij as a rider on a white horse, 
Kresnik with horse hooves, Zlatorog or the white horse, and the white foal born 
as a foal at Christmastime, represent a teriomorphic image of the deity that has 
the decisive role in the process of renewal. Zeleni Jurij, Kresnik, Zlatorog and the 
Christmas foal mark the four turning points in the yearly cycle and represent an 
earthly incarnation of Perun (Kropej 1998). 

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77
svaroG
Svarog, Svarožič, Božič (Slovenian božič means Christmas), the god of fire and 
the sun, is mentioned in the Slavic translation of Joann Malal’s chronicle from the 
12
th
 century as a deity similar to the ancient Hephaestus in Greece.
In his History of Kranjska, Anton Linhart (1788) described the Slavic god Božič 
(Boshizh) as a young god who was called Badnjak by the Uskoki in Dalmatia (Linhart 
1981: 261). Badnjak is also South Slavic Christmas and the oak block or branch burn-
ing on the Orthodox Christmas fire. Like Linhart, Ivan Navratil noted that the term 
božič denotes a young or small god (Navratil 1848: 203–204). Niko Kuret suggested 
that the origin of Božič may be in the period of the Old Slavs, when he represented 
a young (small) god by the name Svarog, Svarožič. Like the Greek Dionysus, god 
of agriculture, Svarog was allegedly born, each year anew, on the winter solstice. 
Shortened into the name “Božič”, the name of the young god Svarožič was allegedly 
transferred to the new-born Christian saviour when the population living in the 
territory of present day Slovenia embraced Christianity, which in that period was 
spread by Irish missionaries (Kuret 1970/IV: 116).
In his review of Peisker’s article (Peisker 1926) about Tvarog and the Deva, Jakob 
Kelemina stressed the likelihood that Tvarog is but another form of Svarog, Svarožič, 
or the equivalent of Sventovid later St. Vid (Kelemina 1926/27). He also expressed 
the opinion that rather than keeping alive the memory of dualistic religious concept, 
which was claimed by Peisker, such toponyms refer to the tripartite system of gods, 
i.e. Svarog (Sventovid, Perun), Črt (Šent, Trdoglav), and Deva (Marjetica).
Kelemina believed that among the Old Slavs, Svarožič was the supreme god, 
the primogenitor of heaven and earth, the sun and light, and that his other name 
was Sventovid. Both Svarožič and Sventovid corresponded to the Greek Uranus, or 
Chronos. Since this deity also caused thunder, some Slavic nations referred to him 
as Perun (Kelemina 1930, 25).
Despite certain similarities between the three Slavic deities, i.e. Svarog, Sventevid, 
and Perun, it is unlikely that they represented the same god. It seems that they played 
an important role as celestial, or solar, deities and as deities of light. Since the etymo-
logical source of the word comes from the word svaro- meaning the sky firmament. 
Svarog certainly is a celestial deity. Roman Jakobsen substantiated the premise that 
the old Slavic term svaro denoted the moving sky (Jakobsen 1971).
Baltic and Labian Slavs worshipped Sventevid as the supreme god. In his Chronica 
Slavorum (The Chronicle of the Slavs) from the 12
th
 century, Helmold writes that 
Sventevid was the mightiest deity in their pantheon, worshipped as the god who wins 
the most glorious of battles and makes the most successful prophesies; other deities 

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78
were but demigods. Sventevid’s most famous sanctuary was situated in Arkona on 
the island of Rügen, Germany. Sventevid had four heads with which he was able to 
see all in all directions, thus symbolizing his omniscience. His attributes were the 
sword, the ensign, spears, and the battle flag with an eagle. However, with the pos-
sible exception of some customs and narratives associated with St. Vid, his memory 
has not been preserved in the Slovene tradition.
People believed that during the period around the winter solstice, when the days 
are the shortest and nights the longest, the young sun is born. It is born on a wintry 
night when, according to an Iranian myth, there was a fight between Indra and Vitra. 
Indra kills Vitra and releases the sun. A Slavic parallel describes the battle between 
Perun and Veles. Once Perun defeats Veles, Božič is released, or born. In folk songs, 
Božič is referred to as the Christmas foal (Pleterski 1989).
Old carols from Bela Krajina
42
 mention a black horse. Upon stopping at a village 
house, carol singers sang a song in which they set the young son of the master of the 
house on horseback. The child wore a hat and a silver belt. The song conveyed good 
wishes for male offspring and for a bountiful harvest, particularly of wheat and wine. 
In 1893, Janko Barle wrote that the “Žumberčani” – people from Žumberak in Bela 
Krajina – came to perform magic, which means to celebrate Christmas with the song: 
Good day, master,
May God give you good visitors!
In the courtyard there is a green pine, 
With a black horse tied to it. 
The horse is saddled,
And your small son is seated there,
Wearing a silver belt. 
Your good repute is worth more 
Than that silver belt.
May your wheat be prolific,
And your grapevine as well! 
43
Just as the black horse in Russian folk songs does not foretell death but is a 
symbol of youth and vitality, the black horse in this song is not associated with death 
(Keber 1996: 167).
The memory of the Christmas foal has also been preserved in some customs. The 
most obvious traces of this belief can be found in the traditions from the hills of Šavrin 
in Istra/Istria, which mention the Christmas “foal” that will come in the evening to eat 
42 
Folk songs Š III/1904: no. 4743–4747, collected by Ivan Šašelj and Janko Barle in 1839 and 1893. 
43 
Š III/1904: no. 4746.

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