Veles (god)
[2]: 211–214 As such he probably has been imagined as a dragon, which in the belief of the pagan Slavs is a chimeric being resembling a cross between a bear and a snake that devours livestock.
Other examples are Veles in Western Serbia, Velesnica on the Danube and Velestovo in Montenegro and also the township of Velestino (Βελεστίνο, today Φέρες), apparently bearing testimony to a Slavic layer in the settlement of Thessaly.
Another debatable if not improbable example[2]: 178 is the town of Volosko in Croatia, situated on the seashore under the peak of Mount Učka, nicknamed Perun.
[13] An ancient Russian word, Vlasezhelische, probably refers to the place where Veles dwells, "the underground kingdom or an entrance to it".
[14] The Russian philologists Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov reconstructed the mythical battle of Perun and Veles through comparative study of various Indo-European mythologies and a large number of Slavic folk stories and songs.
It is also an act of challenge: Veles, in the form of a huge serpent, slithers from the caves of the underworld and coils up the Slavic world tree towards Perun's heavenly domain.
In the end, he is killed by Perun and in this ritual death, whatever Veles stole is released from his battered body in the form of rain falling from the skies.
This "storm myth", or "divine battle", as it is generally called by scholars today, explained to ancient Slavs the changing of seasons through the year.
Perun achieves this in a fierce battle, smiting his adversary with lightning and driving him back down into his proper place, the watery realm lying beneath the roots of the cosmic tree (axis mundi).
In fact, in many of the Russian folk tales, Veles, appearing under the Christian guise of Saint Nicholas, saves the poor farmer and his cattle from the furious and destructive Elias the Thunderer, who represents Perun.
According to Ivanov and Toporov, Veles' portrayal as having a penchant for mischief is evident both from his role in the storm myth and in carnival customs of Koledari shamans.
The word volhov, obviously derived from his name, in some Slavic languages still means sorcerer while in the 12th century Ruthenian epic The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the character of Boyan the wizard is called Veles' grandson.
For instance, in some wedding ceremonies of northern Croatia (which continued up to the 20th century), the music would not start playing unless the bridegroom, when making a toast, spilled some of the wine on the ground, preferably over the roots of the nearest tree.
The symbolism of this is clear, even though forgotten long ago by those still performing it: the musicians will not sing until a toast is made to their patron deity.
[17] As mentioned already, in many Eastern Slavic folk tales, he was replaced by St. Nicholas, probably because the popular stories of the saint describe him as a giver of wealth and a sort of trickster.
