Heroes and their enemies in Russian mythology
9.99 €
In stock
Heroes and their enemies in Russian mythology
9.99 €
Discover an entire universe hidden within the fairy tales and folklore stories familiar from childhood, and embark on an epic journey to the origins of the eternal struggle between light and darkness in Russian mythology!
Under the cover of this book lies a unique guide to an archetypal story in which not only good and evil struggle, but also the fate of the world is decided, and where each of us, like the knight in Viktor Vasnetsov's painting, stands at a crossroads.
You will meet the heroes of this struggle—the Russian fairy tale characters Ivan Tsarevich and his magical assistants; the elder and younger bogatyrs of the Russian land: from Svyatogor, the son of the Mother of the Damp Earth, and the famous trinity in the service of Prince Vladimir to the daring gusli player Sadko; as well as the female bogatyrs Vasilisa Mikulishna and Nastastya Mikulishna. And you'll meet their enemies—from direct antagonists like Koschei the Deathless, Likh the One-Eyed, Nightingale the Robber, Tugarin the Zmeevich, and Idolish the Pagan—to hidden ones, for the stories of the boastful hero Stavr Godinovich, the ushkuiniks' robber Vasily Buslaev, and other heroes teach that sometimes a hero's enemy can be... himself.
You'll learn how it all began and how pre-Christian gods feuded with each other. You'll understand how seemingly simple fairy tales work, and you'll delve into Vladimir Propp's fairy-tale archetypes, all while examining color and black-and-white illustrations.
Who was Baba Yaga really? Did the heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich have real-life counterparts, and what character traits and weaknesses make them relatable to us? According to the epics, from what tragic confrontation did the Danube and Dnieper rivers emerge?
You'll find answers to these and other questions on a journey through fairytale-like Rus', but beware—a terrifying monster lives near the Kalinov Bridge over the Smorodina River, waiting for its hero to test his strength!
Under the cover of this book lies a unique guide to an archetypal story in which not only good and evil struggle, but also the fate of the world is decided, and where each of us, like the knight in Viktor Vasnetsov's painting, stands at a crossroads.
You will meet the heroes of this struggle—the Russian fairy tale characters Ivan Tsarevich and his magical assistants; the elder and younger bogatyrs of the Russian land: from Svyatogor, the son of the Mother of the Damp Earth, and the famous trinity in the service of Prince Vladimir to the daring gusli player Sadko; as well as the female bogatyrs Vasilisa Mikulishna and Nastastya Mikulishna. And you'll meet their enemies—from direct antagonists like Koschei the Deathless, Likh the One-Eyed, Nightingale the Robber, Tugarin the Zmeevich, and Idolish the Pagan—to hidden ones, for the stories of the boastful hero Stavr Godinovich, the ushkuiniks' robber Vasily Buslaev, and other heroes teach that sometimes a hero's enemy can be... himself.
You'll learn how it all began and how pre-Christian gods feuded with each other. You'll understand how seemingly simple fairy tales work, and you'll delve into Vladimir Propp's fairy-tale archetypes, all while examining color and black-and-white illustrations.
Who was Baba Yaga really? Did the heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich have real-life counterparts, and what character traits and weaknesses make them relatable to us? According to the epics, from what tragic confrontation did the Danube and Dnieper rivers emerge?
You'll find answers to these and other questions on a journey through fairytale-like Rus', but beware—a terrifying monster lives near the Kalinov Bridge over the Smorodina River, waiting for its hero to test his strength!
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books in the series Myths of the World: The Most Fabulous Stories of Humanity