Å»mij/Zmey – Dragons of Slavic Mythology – Slavic Saturday
Art by Przemek Åšwiszcz After last week’s post about the Dragon of Wawel Hill, we’re continuing our series of dragons this #SlavicSaturday with the Å»mij (also known as Zmey/Змей, Zmei, Zmaj/Змај, Zmiy Змій), a popular form of the beasts from Slavic folktales and mythology. In other posts we’ll go into more details about named Å»mije from across folktales, but for now, we’ll focus on Å»mije in general. Note: As we near June’s release of A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles, you can pre-order the book as well as join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the recently released prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series. Links in post in bio. Our dragons are different? Whenever the topic of Slavic dragons is raised, people often ask how they are any different than the dragons found throughout most European myths. It’s a good question, as at first, it appears that the Å»mije are just the massive, winged, fire-breathing serpents that have been made popular in folklore and fantasy. And it’s not wrong to claim they’re those beasts, but Å»mije are in fact different. It’s important to understand the etymology of the term Å»mij or Zmey when looking at these dragons. Quite literally translating to “viper,” the Å»mij represents perhaps peak of the serpent in Slavic myth. Serpents are incredibly important due to their connection to the god of the lowlands, magic, and the underworld: Weles/Veles. Weles is often represented as a serpent or dragon in his battle against the god of thunder, Perun. Though Weles is often considered a trickster and deceiver, he is not considered evil, and this is important to remember when discussing the dragons and serpents connected to him. “Evil” was rarely considered to be as black and white in Slavic myths as it is in modern-day and many western European folktales.
