View source for Svyatogor

{{Short description|Russian mythical hero}}
{{Other uses}}

[[Image:Святогор.jpg|thumb|''Svyatogor'' by [[Andrei Ryabushkin]], 1895]]

'''Svyatogor''' ({{Lang-rus|Святого́р|p=svʲɪtɐˈɡor}}) is a [[mythology|myth]]ical ''[[bogatyr]]'' ([[knight]]/[[hero]]) in Russian ''[[bylina|byliny]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=James |last2=Ivanova |first2=Tatyana |title=An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics |date=20 May 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47693-1 |page=12 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Anthology_of_Russian_Folk_Epics/UadzCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |language=en}}</ref> His name derives from the words for "sacred mountain". Svyatogor's tale, ''Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor'', forms a part of the [[Ilya Muromets]] cycle. According to the epic, the mother-Earth cannot support the weight of Svyatogor, but he can not overcome the "pull of the earth" contained in the bag; when he tries to lift the bag, his feet sink into the ground. Svyatogor's father is "dark", he is blind - a sign of coming from another world.

After becoming a ''bogatyr'' of [[knyaz]] [[Vladimir the Great|Vladimir the Bright Sun]] (Владимир Красное Солнышко, ''Vladimir Krasnoye Solnyshko''), [[Ilya Muromets|Ilya]] (another bogatyr) rides off to challenge Svyatogor, despite being forewarned not to do so by pilgrims who had miraculously healed him. On the road, Ilya Muromets sees a giant asleep on a giant horse. Ilya strikes him three times with his mace, with the only result that the giant, still asleep, grabs Ilya and puts him into his pocket. Eventually, the giant awakes, Ilya introduces himself and learns that the giant is Svyatogor; they become friends and journey together. They arrive at a giant stone coffin and both have a premonition that it is for Svyatogor. Ilya manages to lie down in the coffin first, but it appears too large for him, but it fits Svyatogor perfectly. When Svyatogor closes the lid, it seals the coffin. Before the coffin seals completely, Svyatogor passes part of his strength to Ilya through his breath.

[[Belarusians|Belarusian]] [[Slavic Native Faith|Rodnovers]] worship Svyatogor as a god.<ref>Shnirelman, Victor: ''[http://www.wlu.ca/documents/6483/Christians_Go_home.pdf “Christians! Go home”: A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia] {{Webarchive|url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20140922163017/http://www.wlu.ca/documents/6483/Christians_Go_home.pdf |date=2014-09-22 }}''. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002. '''p. 202'''
</ref>

==In popular culture==
*[[Vasily Slesarev]]'s aircraft, the [[Slesarev Svyatogor]], was named after the mythical bogatyr.
*''Svyatogor'' was the first name of the [[Krassin (1916 icebreaker)|icebreaker ''Krasin'']].
*Svyatogor appears in the 1956 live action Soviet film ''[[Ilya Muromets (film)|Ilya Muromets]]''.
*Svyatogor appears in the animated film ''[[Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey]]'' (2004) of ''Three Bogatyrs'' trilogy, voiced by [[Ivan Krasko (actor)|Ivan Krasko]].
* A Czech [[Stop motion|stop motion animation]] version of this was made and became part of [[WGBH-TV|WGBH Boston]]'s anthology series, ''[[Long Ago and Far Away (TV series)|Long Ago and Far Away]]''.
*In the [[first-person shooter]] game ''[[Overwatch (video game)|Overwatch]]'', several mechanical warriors (Mechs) called Svyatogor appear in the background of the Volskaya Industries map, used by the Russian Army for defense.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8EzpLZmYuc ''Svatohor'' on YouTube] Part 1
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WDM-XesqQM ''Svatohor'' on YouTube] Part 2
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YBLCnNyidk ''Svatohor'' on YouTube] Part 3

{{Slavic mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Slavic mythology]]


{{Lit-char-stub}}
{{Russia-culture-stub}}