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FEMUSINDO.com - Veles, or Volos, a very versatile and strange god worshiped by all Slavic tribes. He is the god of music, earth, water, livestock and the underworld.
Veles the god can change shape and appear in various forms. Believed to be the son of Rod and Zemun, the heavenly cow, he is often depicted as a strong man with bull horns.
Not only as the god of music, Veles is responsible for livestock and crops, and the prosperity of society greatly depends on him.
As the god of animals and forests, Veles is depicted in the form of a bear, or sometimes a wolf, the king of the Slavic forest.
As the representative of the earth, Veles is the arch enemy of Perun, the highest god in the sky, who is on par with the Greek Zeus.
Veles and Perun are important because they are two gods in the Slavic pantheon who are generally worshiped by all Slavic tribes. Their struggle is considered to represent the eternal battle between heaven and earth.
According to various narratives, Veles stole Perun's wife, his cattle, his servants, or his children, thus causing a great feud.
Perun continued to shoot Veles with lightning bolts, and he finally won at the beginning of each summer, when Veles had to descend from the crown of the World Tree and live in its roots with Zaltys the serpent.
Nevertheless, Veles was indefatigable, always inventing something new and eventually spending the winter in the sky, in Iriy.
As the god of music, one of the few Slavic gods whose offerings can be found in all Slavic peoples, Veles was also believed to be the patron of traveling musicians.
For example, in some wedding ceremonies in northern Croatia—which continued into the 20th century—the music would not start unless the groom, when toasting, spilled some of the wine on the ground, preferably on the roots of a nearby tree.
The symbolism is clear, though long forgotten by those who still practice it: the musicians would not sing until they had toasted their patron god. (*)
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