Slavs in the Ancient World

Date: 2000 b.c.e.-700 c.e.

Locale: Eastern and southeastern Europe

Slavs in the Ancient World

Modern scholars define the Slavs as those whose native languages belong to the Slavic branch of the Indo-European family. Although definite historical references appear only in the first century c.e., linguistic and archaeological sources trace them back two or three millennia earlier.

History

The Slavic people coalesced in the area of central Europe around the Bug, Dnieper, and Vistula Rivers toward the end of the third millennium b.c.e. They were descendants of the Neolithic peoples who had earlier inhabited the region and groups of migrants who moved from all directions into the western part of the vast Eurasian plain. The latter included Indo-European speakers from the southeast who passed their tongue on to this proto-Slavic population. Around 2000 b.c.e., the Slavic language separated from the Baltic group; this can be designated as the historical starting point of the Slavs. Few records dealing with the ancient Slavs exist because they left no written documents. Their recorded history begins in the medieval period, when the various Slavic nations had already separated and adopted Christianity. There are a few scattered references in the ancient texts and a wealth of archaeological evidence through which, together with folklore and linguistic studies, researchers can piece together some of their history.

Some historians claim that a few of the peoples of the region mentioned by Herodotus—for example, the Budiani—were Slavs. More certainly the Venedi cited in the writings of the Romans were Slavs. Byzantine authors refer to the Sclavenes (from which their modern name comes) and the Anti. The former occupied the lands from the Danube to the Vistula, and the Anti lived in southern Ukraine.

Throughout the ancient period, the lands they inhabited were ruled by Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths, and others. After the great migrations of the fourth and fifth centuries c.e. that upset the Roman Empire, the Slavs began to spread throughout central and eastern Europe and the Balkans. By that time, they had divided into three distinct groups: East, West, and South Slavs.

The Slavs occasionally invaded the Balkans during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527-565 c.e.), often along with other tribes. By the end of Justinian’s reign, they had become allies (foederati) of the Byzantine Empire. However in 566 c.e., the Avars, a Turkish tribe, conquered the South Slavs and attacked the Byzantines south of the Danube. In the Avars’ wake, the Slavs moved into the Balkans. They unsuccessfully besieged Thessalonica (modern Thessaloníki) but penetrated as far south as the Peloponnese while the Avars attacked Constantinople. By 640 c.e., they inhabited the whole peninsula except the coasts, western mountains, and Thrace. Heraclius (r. 610-641 c.e.) forced the Slavs to recognize his suzerainty, but the emperor’s attention in the latter part of the seventh century c.e. turned to the Muslims, and in 681 c.e. (by tradition), the Turkic Bulgars, led by Asperuh, organized the Slavs north of Thrace on both sides of the Danube into the First Bulgarian Empire.

Law, social structure, and customs

The Slavs lived in blood-related clans, although marriage took place outside the clan. Their chiefs, whom they chose only as leaders in battle, did not have executive power. The Slavs believed that their ancient laws could not be changed, and the clan assemblies of all men old enough to bear arms decided what course corresponded to this law. Although members of the clan were more or less equal and even widows sometimes enjoyed the rights of their late husbands, they also kept slaves, usually prisoners of war, whom they often released after a period of time. Slavs also had a tradition of hospitality that obligated the clan to protect strangers who came into their midst as guests.

Settlements

Slavic houses were made from bushes and branches caked in mud, straw, reeds, and leaves. They usually lived along rivers and lakes. They stored their food in wooden containers that they buried in the ground with their other goods when under attack. Some of their villages had defensive walls.

Agriculture, animal husbandry, and trade

Slavs engaged in forest activities and rude agriculture. They hunted, fished, kept bees, and grew wheat, millet, flax, hemp, and other produce. They kept sheep, goats, swine, oxen, horses, and domestic fowl. They also were accomplished wood carvers and smelted iron and even gold. Trade with others was meager, although when the South Slavs moved into the Balkans, they maintained relations with the Byzantines.

Religion and ritual

Slavic religion was polytheistic without a hierarchy of deities. Slavic gods and goddesses represented different functions and natural spirits. The two common to all clans were Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, and Svarog. Other deities among the East Slavs according to the medieval Povest Vremennykh Let (c. 1112 c.e.; The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text, 1953, also known as Kievan Chronicle of Nestor, Russian Primary Chronicle, Chronicle of Nestor, Kiev Chronicle) were Volos, Khors, Dazhbog, the father of Svarog, Stribogs, Simargl, and Mokosh. The leshy, or spirits of the forests, inhabited trees and entered into the temples and secular buildings made of the wood from those trees. Field spirits, or polevoy, were in charge of plants and were placated for harvests. Spirits of animals inhabited both wild beasts in hunts and domesticated animals on farms. The Slavs also believed in water demons.

The Slavs’ wooden temples were divided into altars for the various gods. Slavic idols often exhibited supernumerary appendages, including multiple arms, legs, and heads. Slavs practiced animal sacrifice and distributed the burnt offerings to all clan members at communal feasts, a major rite in the religious celebrations of the Slavs. At these feasts, they honored and worshiped the founders of the clans and deceased ancestors by performing religious dances and plays. Wives attended their ancestral clans without their husbands, who belonged to other kinship groups. The Slavs practiced human sacrifice and various forms of mutilation, including decapitations, the tearing of limbs, and trepanation. Sometimes sacrificial victims were buried alive.

Slavic cosmology held that the earth was covered with water, and a god or spirit brought up sand from the depths to form the land. In various folk traditions, the spirit was either good or evil. The Slavs believed that both good and evil spirits who must be placated existed all around them. Especially they needed to heed the spirits of the dead. In particular, those who died young or without fulfilling their destiny roamed the earth causing mischief. For example, they believed that if a maiden died before marriage, her spirit could kidnap children. Some Slavic myths also maintained the existence of two equal gods—good and evil.

Death and burial

Slavs engaged in the practice of second interment, disinterring bodies after a period of time and redressing them in new funerary wrapping. Slavs also worshiped the Moon. During eclipses, they engaged in rituals to kill the demons swallowing the Moon. The Sun’s significance was relegated to a minor role as a nondivine bride of the Moon.

War and weapons

In war, the Slavs fought on foot in scattered arrays. A foot soldier’s weapons included two small pikes, a heavy shield, a wooden bow, and arrows dipped in poison. For ease of movement, some Slavs went into battle barechested. They relied on surprise attacks and ambushes. Therefore, they preferred fighting in forests and inaccessible locales, avoiding open fields and fortresses. One tactic they used was to hide under water, breathing through reeds and then rising en masse to attack the foe.

Current views

In the past, scholars believed the Slavs were all descendants of the original Indo-European speakers. Currently the theories hold that they descended from a variety of earlier peoples, including the original Neolithic inhabitants. Some modern Slavs believe that the contemporary Slavic nations originated in ancient times, but most scholars maintain that the Slavs were originally one people and divided at the end of the ancient period into the three groups: East, West, and South Slavs.

Bibliography

Conte, Francis. The Slavs. Boulder, Colo.: East European Monographs, 1995.

Dolukhanov, Pavel M. The Early Slavs: Eastern Europe from the Initial Settlement to the Kievan Rus. New York: Longman, 1996.

Godja, Martin. The Ancient Slavs: Settlement and Society. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University, 1991.

Golab, Zbigniew. The Origins of the Slavs: A Linguist’s View. Columbus, Ohio: Slavica, 1992.

Slupecki, Leszek P. Slavonic Pagan Sanctuaries. Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, 1994.