Remembrance day of the hero Svyatogor among the Slavs

On December 3, the Eastern Slavs remember the giant Svyatogor This hero is surrounded by an aura of mystery and enigma According to epics, he did not perform any outstanding feats for the sake of the Slavic people, but people revere him because of his tremendous strength and greatness Svyatogor is an ancient hero of gigantic size The earth could not bear its weight: the rivers overflowed their banks, and the forests swayed Therefore, the giant lived in the Holy Mountains One day Ilya Muromets came to him: the heroes fraternized, exchanging pectoral crosses Together they went traveling through the mountains Having seen the domino along the way, the named brothers decided to try it on Ilya Muromets occupied only a corner of the coffin Then his place was taken by Svyatogor, for whom the coffin fit He asked his friend to cover it with a lid After that, Ilya was unable to throw it away and rescue Svyatogor The giant died in an oak coffin, giving his power to Ilya Muromets with his last breath According to another version of the epic, the hero Svyatogor overstrained himself, unable to move his bag with earthly weight According to researchers, Svyatogor is the most mysterious image of epic epics Scientists cannot identify the Holy Mountains with any geographical objects, and the essence of the image of the hero remains in question Whether he was the embodiment of a natural element or a pagan deity is still unknown Some associate his image with the biblical strongman Samson, whose power lay in his hair It has already been noted that this hero does not perform feats, that is, the gigantic power of Svyatogor is not used Perhaps this is why in all versions of the epic the giant accepts death His departure was destined: a power that no one needed was replaced by selfless service to people So the ancient Svyatogor was replaced by the heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich