At the time of the baptism of Russia, the host of Slavic pagan gods was headed by Rod - the universal abolition, a single many-sided god, different from other gods that dominate the mythologies of various peoples. He embodied white and black, fire and water, feminine and masculine. At the same time, he could appear both as a god of water and as a god of war.
Slavs are one of the oldest ethnic groups that inhabit the earth to this day. And for such a long time, both the light goddess Dana and the Water One were considered patrons of the waters.
However, more ancient water deities are also known, the cult of which, according to some sources, dates back a million years.
The lizard is the Slavic god of water. His name, changing into Yasha, Fyashchura, in itself speaks of hoary antiquity, being modified into Ancestral. The god of water himself, acquiring new features, finally appeared in the form of a crocodile. Traces of worshiping him in large quantities are found throughout the territory of the Slavic tribes. For example, the village of Spas-Krokodilino, which is not far from Klin, the villages of Bolshaya and Malaya Pangolins, located in the Leningrad Region. Most often, the name of the Lizard is mentioned in the names of various rivers,rivulets and lakes (River Yashchera and Lake Yashchino). Temples dedicated to him are most often found in the northern regions, and they are located, as a rule, on the banks of water bodies. One of the discovered altars is located on a small granite island, shaped like a crocodile, of the Ros River. The main place of worship of the Sea Dragon is believed to have been located on the shores of Lake Ilmen.
Fishermen and seafarers worshiped him earnestly, composed songs ("… after all, he rules in the deep sea, the ancient guardian of the Lizard-Dragon…"), made sacrifices, because the god of water among the Slavs, along with others, demanded them. For a long time, the victim was a girl who, thrown into the water, was given to the Lizard as a wife. This custom allowed Academician Rybakov to identify the Slavic merman with the Greek Hades, the ruler of the underworld. Archeology testifies that the world of the ancient Slavs was divided into 3 parts, one of which was the underwater-underground world. Its rightful owner, responsible for the waterways and we alth, was the foot and mouth disease, and its main function was the nightly absorption of the luminary, and its release into the heavens every morning. To the ancients, this spoke of the greatness of the sea monster, the worship of which is reflected in the absolutely round shape of the temples, which spoke of the perfection attributed to the Lizard.
However, the offerings changed over time, becoming more humane. They began to throw dolls depicting a young girl into the water, somewhere nuts poured into the mouth of an idol served as a victim (according to some reports, the walnut Savior is dedicated tothis deity), somewhere they sacrificed a horse, decorated, anointed and smeared with honey. She was taken to the center of the lake, accompanied by chants, and the Lizard, the god of water, accepted this fragrant gift.
The popularity of this deity is evidenced by numerous finds in the form of various metal mantle fasteners that came from those times (the so-called brooches), various vessels for drinking and storing water, bearing the symbols of the Sea Dragon, which, in turn, served as a talisman. The famous Sadko's harp was made in the shape of a lizard.
At the same time, the Slavic god of water, along with Kashchei, Korchun and Chernobog, belonged to the hellish deities. That is, to the dark forces, was considered a marine reptile. In a word, the water god Fyodor was as diverse as life itself, combining both light and darkness in equal proportions.
