Fairytale bird with a human face 8 letters. Fairytale birds. Birds among the Slavs
“The bird is at the same time a symbol of happiness, flight, dreams; sadness, sadness and reflection; gluttony and deceit. That is why, probably, in myths, legends and traditions there are different birds.
So, Alkonost and Gamayun, Sirin and Phoenix, the Firebird and the griffins are our heroes today.
Alkonost
A fabulous bird with a human face, depicted in ancient Russian popular prints. The voice is sweet and magical. The face of a beautiful woman. The body is a bird's.
Alkonost lives in the Slavic paradise (Iria).
Whoever hears Alkonost singing will forget everything with delight and joy. Alkonost can lay eggs “at the edge of the sea”, not by hatching, but by plunging into the depths of the sea. The weather has been clear and windless for seven days in a row, which means Alkonost's chicks are about to hatch.
It is interesting that the Slavic myth about Alkonost echoes the ancient Greek legend about the girl Alcyone. According to ancient Greek myth, Alcyone, having learned about the death of her husband, threw herself into the sea and was turned into a bird, named after her name alkyon (kingfisher). Apparently, this is how the word got into the Russian language: it is a distortion of the Old Russian expression “alcyon is a bird.”
Sirin
One of birds of paradise. Its name is reminiscent of the name of the Slavic paradise - Iriy. Although, of course, this name comes from the Greek word siren.
In ancient Russian writing and oral legends - a mythical bird with a woman's face and breasts.
But Sirin, unlike Gamayun and Alkonost, is a gloomy, dark and sad bird. Sirin is the embodiment of an unhappy soul.
In Russian art, Sirin and Alkonost are a frequently encountered subject.
Gamayun
Gamayun is also a bird, the herald of the Slavic gods. She sings divine hymns to people and tells them the future.
The bad weather has cleared up,
A menacing cloud was rising.
The oak trees made noise and bowed down,
The grass and feather grass swayed in the field.
Then Gamayun flew - the prophetic bird -
From the eastern side,
Raising a storm with wings.
From behind the mountains flew high...
The poet Nikolai Klyuev dedicated the following lines to this bird:
I love raspberry padun
Leaf fall is burning and combustible,
That's why my poems are like clouds
With the distant thunder of warm strings.
This is how Gamayun sobs in his sleep,
That the bard forgotten by the tour is mighty.
Firebird
The Firebird is a fairy-tale bird from the Slavic epic, the embodiment of the radiant sun god and at the same time the angry god of thunderstorms.
In the popular imagination, the Firebird is inextricably linked with the heavenly fire-flame, and its radiance is as blinding to the eyes as the sun or lightning. Fairy-tale good fellows go after the Firebird, and great happiness comes to those who master at least one of its feathers.
The Firebird lives in the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state in a beautiful garden surrounding the tower of the Tsar Maiden (or at Koshchei the Immortal in the stone caves among other treasures that he guards). Golden apples grow in that garden, restoring youth to old people. During the day, the Firebird sits in a golden cage, singing heavenly songs to the Tsar Maiden. When the Firebird sings, stingray pearls fall from its beak. At night the Firebird flies through the garden, all burning like heat; will fly somewhere - everything around will light up at once. One of her feathers will be worth more than an entire kingdom, but the Firebird herself has no price at all.
Phoenix
A legendary and somewhat tragic bird that creates a funeral pyre for itself and is reborn from its own ashes. Its place of origin is often associated with Ethiopia. The name was given to it by the Assyrians. Even in Ancient Egypt, the Phoenix was a sacred creature. There he was called Venu and resembled an eagle. It was said that this bird (male only) with beautiful red and gold plumage lives for five hundred years or longer. It is said that at the end of its life, the Phoenix builds a nest from the branches of incense trees and sets it on fire. The flame consumes both the bird and its nest. A caterpillar crawls out of the ashes into the light, and a new Phoenix grows from it.
Herodotus offers a version according to which the Phoenix bird from Arabia carries the ashes of his father in an egg to Egypt, where the priests burn it.
In early Christian literature, the Phoenix is a symbol of immortality and resurrection.
Simurgh
A gigantic prophetic bird of ancient Iranian myths, nesting in the branches of the Tree of Knowledge.
As the king of birds, Simurgh was depicted as a fantastic winged creature with the head and paws of a dog, covered with fish scales (which symbolized his dominance on earth, air and water). Its bright plumage outshone the brilliance of the pheasant and peacock. The Simurgh was endowed with the ability to heal, sometimes he acted as an instrument of fate and was credited with immortality. He witnessed the triple destruction of the world and knows everything about all eras, past and future.
Roc
A giant bird, known from Arabian tales, legends, and the legends of ancient travelers. If you believe the descriptions, these gigantic birds were so huge and powerful that they grabbed an elephant with their paws, lifted him into the air, and then threw him to the ground to kill and then peck him. They attacked the ships, throwing huge stones and rocks at them.
The famous traveler Marco Polo reports that the inhabitants of the island of Madagascar told him about amazing birds, whose feathers are eight steps long. In appearance they resemble eagles, only much larger in size. Marco Polo adds that the Chinese ambassadors brought the Great Khan a feather from the Roc bird.
Garuda
In Hindu mythology, the progenitor and king of all birds, a ruthless snake eater, a giant bird on which the god Vishnu makes his flights. He is depicted as a humanoid creature with an eagle's beak, golden wings and clawed paws. The movement of his wings generated a storm, the brilliance of Garuda's plumage was so strong that it even eclipsed the radiance of the sun. Garuda had the ability to increase his strength as much as he needed.
Garuda agreed to become the riding bird of the god Vishnu when he recognized Garuda as superior to himself and placed his image on his banner. Since ancient times, statues of Garuda made of bronze or stone have been worshiped in Indian temples; in the 5th century AD. e. His images appear on coins.
Griffin
Griffins are mythical winged creatures with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle or lion. They have sharp claws and snow-white or golden wings. Griffins are contradictory creatures, simultaneously uniting Heaven and Earth, Good and Evil. Their role in various myths and literature is ambiguous. They can act both as defenders, patrons, and as evil, unrestrained animals.
In the mythology of different nations there is a bird with a human face. This fabulous creature can be both good and evil, help people or, conversely, prevent them from achieving their goal. We all know about Odysseus, the ancient Greek hero of the Trojan War. On his way home, he sailed past the island of sirens, half-women, half-birds. And only cunning and ingenuity helped him save the ship and his comrades from death. But our Slavic ancestors also had mythical birds.
Birds among the Slavs
The Slavs also had a bird with a human face or head, and more than one. Such creatures differed from each other in plumage color, habitat, and other features. But in mythology, birds were given a special role: it was the duck(s), according to legend, that took part in the creation of the world. They, born from the foam of the ocean or hatched from the acorns of heavenly oaks, dived into the depths of the sea and reached the earth. According to one version, they held together twigs and leaves with silt, thus building a nest, and according to another, the magic alatyr stone was raised to the surface, where it began to grow and turned into the earth’s firmament. The souls of the dead often took the form of birds; the duck, for example, was strongly associated with the goddess Makosh.
Magic birds
A bird with a human face is a special character. But, besides them, the world was also inhabited by other birds. or Finist, Firebird, as well as a number of other creatures with outlandish names: Mogul, Griffin, Osprey, Kuva, Drebezda, Chireya, Nogai... Let's dwell on the most famous of them.
Phoenix. No, this is not a bird with a human face, but, nevertheless, the character is quite interesting and symbolic, however, like everything in our fairy tales and legends. She personifies immortality, eternal happiness and youth. Her plumage is fiery red, golden, she is fast, like lightning, like a ray of light. Finist symbolizes renewal and rebirth - nature, man, everything. According to legends, the Phoenix takes the form of a bird during the day and appears as a bird at night. beautiful prince. Sometimes he falls asleep and wakes up only from the tears of a girl in love. Finist is a warrior, fighter, defender, guardian of justice and traditions, messenger of the gods and their assistant. Having grown old, he burns himself in order to be reborn and become even more beautiful, even younger.
The Firebird is another character from Slavic fairy tales. She lives in Heavenly Iria, has golden plumage that sparkles throughout the entire area, and crystal eyes. This radiance blinds, but does not burn. This bird sings wonderfully, sometimes speaks in a human voice, and sometimes turns into a beautiful girl. The creature can bewitch a person with its gaze or voice, but in captivity it rarely pleases people with its singing, it can make a wish come true, and its feather brings happiness. The Firebird guards a tree with golden apples in the Garden of Eden, which it feeds on.
Prophetic Gamayun
This is with a human face. She is the messenger of the gods, the messenger of heaven, that is, she conveyed the highest will to people. Gamayun was born along with our planet, so she knows everything and can even foretell the future. People go to her for advice, but you need to be able to ask her, and you need to understand the answer. And this fabulous bird with a human face lives near the sea, near When it flies across the sky, a storm arises on the earth. Her cry promises happiness to every person.
Bird Alkonost
This is another bird of paradise with a human face. Please note: it must be light! Has the head of a beautiful woman and rainbow plumage. Symbolizes joy and happiness, treats people well, helps, warns of misfortunes. She sings so melodiously that the listener forgets about all the troubles in the world. Alkonost - a fabulous bird of paradise with a human face - spends the winter in Heavenly Iria, and in the spring returns to earth along with strange flowers. The one who sees her will find happiness, but she is very fast and flies away instantly.
Sirin
This dark bird with a human face symbolizes grief, sadness, it is the messenger of the king of the underworld. If a person meets her, it means that he is in danger of trouble in the near future. Sirin has a woman’s head, her face is beautiful, but her body is that of a bird. Her song is a consolation in grief, because it causes oblivion and can predict fate. At the same time, Sirin’s singing is dangerous for humans, although it is very melodic. This bird is similar to Alkonost, and they often travel together.
Stratim, or Strafil
Another bird with a human face is known Slavic mythology- Stratim, or Strafil. This is a kind of progenitor of all mythical birds. She is gigantic and very mysterious, lives on the sea and can obscure the whole world with her right wing. When it flaps its wings, waves cover the surface of the water, and the cry of the bird causes a storm. Straphili's flight causes a terrible flood, a deluge that is dangerous not only for ships, but also for cities.
Instead of an afterword
We looked at only the most famous miracle birds that were believed in in Rus'. As can be seen from the article, a meeting with each of them promised a person change. Whether they were kind or not, depended on fate, as well as on the ingenuity of the traveler. If he managed to understand the song correctly, he was saved; if not, well, that was his destiny.
Many birds of paradise are familiar to us from fairy tales, epics, and legends. But there are also characters who were mentioned in the chronicles. They flew into cities, sat on temples or huts, and sang their enchanting songs. They came to the rulers in dreams and warned about changes in the state. Maybe some of the readers will be able to hear the sweet singing of one of them. Just be careful not to scare away the fairy-tale creature!
V.M. Vasnetsov "Sirin and Alkonost. Bird of joy and Bird of sadness"
Shouldn't we talk about birds? Yes, not about simple ones, but about fabulous ones! The bird is at the same time a symbol of happiness, flight, dreams; sadness, sadness and reflection; gluttony and deceit. That’s probably why there are different birds in myths, legends and traditions. So, Alkonost and Gamayun, Sirin and Phoenix are the heroes of our conversation today.
Alkonost
A fabulous bird with a human face, depicted in ancient Russian popular prints. The voice is sweet and magical. The face of a beautiful woman. The body is a bird's.
Alkonost lives in the Slavic paradise (Iria).
Whoever hears Alkonost singing will forget everything with delight and joy. Alkonost can lay eggs “at the edge of the sea”, not by hatching, but by plunging into the depths of the sea. The weather has been clear and windless for seven days in a row, which means Alkonost's chicks are about to hatch.
It is interesting that the Slavic myth about Alkonost echoes the ancient Greek legend about the girl Alcyone. According to ancient Greek myth, Alcyone, having learned about the death of her husband, threw herself into the sea and was turned into a bird, named after her name alkyon (kingfisher). Apparently, this is how the word got into the Russian language: it is a distortion of the Old Russian expression “alcyon is a bird.”
Sirin
Fragment of a painting by V.M. Vasnetsov "Sirin and Alkonost. Bird of joy and Bird of sadness"
One of the birds of paradise. Its name is reminiscent of the name of the Slavic paradise - Iriy. Although, of course, this name comes from the Greek word siren.
In ancient Russian writing and oral legends - a mythical bird with a woman's face and breasts.
But the Sirin, unlike Gamayun and Alkonost, is a gloomy, dark and sad bird. Sirin is the embodiment of an unhappy soul.
Whoever hears the voice of this bird forgets everything. But soon all sorts of misfortunes and sorrows befall a person.
In Russian art, Sirin and Alkonost are a frequently encountered subject.
By the way, this is actually what they call a small owl.
Gamayun
Fragment of a painting by V.M. Vasnetsova "Gamayun"
Gamayun is also a bird, the herald of the Slavic gods. She sings divine hymns to people and tells them the future.
The bad weather has cleared up,
A menacing cloud was rising.
The oak trees made noise and bowed down,
The grass and feather grass swayed in the field.
Then Gamayun flew - the prophetic bird -
From the eastern side,
Raising a storm with wings.
From behind the mountains I flew high,
The poet Nikolai Klyuev dedicated the following lines to this bird:
I love raspberry padun
Leaf fall is burning and combustible,
That's why my poems are like clouds
With the distant thunder of warm strings.
So in a dream
That the bard forgotten by the tour is mighty.
