E-mail: ksiupolk@mail.ru Tel.: +7 (904) 657-95-39
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119234, Russian Federation
Graduate student, Faculty of Philology, Moscow State University
The article examines the image of the mythological flying serpent, which has undergone a unique development in the South Slavic tradition, which has preserved the relics of the concept of the benevolent serpent deity, an ancestor-patron, despite the fact that later, in the developed mythological system, the serpent is predominantly endowed with negative connotations. Thus, the duality of the serpent is reflected in two types of serpent-like creatures found in the folklore of the South Slavs: the good serpent, which has a pronounced male nature, and the evil demons Hala and Lamia, exclusively female characters. The main duty of the serpent is to protect the locus entrusted to him, usually a village or a field, from the snakes who send storm clouds and destroy crops, with whom he enters into battle. It turns out that the serpent and the snake-dragon, opposed to each other on the basis of gender, element, moral category, etc., are in constant opposition. We will try to characterize these images and their iconic opposition that represents the South Slavic worldview and is the basis of folk beliefs and numerous folklore texts.
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