V. A. Gorodtsov's opinion on the pagan semantics of the image of a goddess with two horsemen in Russian embroidery is firmly established in Russian science But his thesis about the Scythian-Sarmatian roots of this image is not entirely convincing. The image of the goddess with animals is universal, and with horses or riders - common Indo 2 . Academician B. A. Rybakov identified two types of horse "pribogov" in embroidery: female orants carrying plows or harrows, and men with solar features In Iranian mythology, there are no correspondences to these pairs, but the image of two solar or astral twin horsemen is common Indo-European. I will try, however, to identify more specific Slavo-Iranian (or Slavo-Aryan) convergences in the image of paired horseman gods. To do this, I will try to find out: what binary oppositions did the Slavs and Iranians associate with this mythological pair, what place did it occupy in their mythological model of the world?

On embroidery, "pribogi", as a rule, are the same. Another thing is the Russian icons of paired equestrian saints (Boris and Gleb, Flor and Lavr, Dmitry Solunsky and George). The plot of the icon "Miracle of Flora and Lavra" (Archangel Michael and two saints with horses) has nothing to do with their life and was even condemned by the church; the patrons of the horses of Flora and Lavra were already on Russian soil 5 . And the rare icons "Flor and Laurel on horses", "Dmitry Solunsky and George" are imitations of similar Borisoglebsky. It is noteworthy that the horses of saints are almost always of different colors, and the clothes are of different colors (the color of the cloak of one usually coincides with the color of the robe of another), one saint is bearded, and the other is beardless. Is there any pattern behind this? Did not the icon painters focus on images of pagan gods that have not come down to us?

I have taken into account 14 icons of the XIV-XVIII centuries (Table 1). Some icons published only in the form of drawings or black-and-white photographs are not taken into account. 6 In all cases (except icons 2, 3, 6, where both riders are bearded, and icons 14, where both are beardless), the left rider is bearded, and the right 7 is beardless. As for the color of the cloak and the suit of the horse, here it is easier to trace color oppositions than the connection of a certain color with one of the riders. So, if one rider has a cloak 8 red, then the other-green or dark color (dark green, brown, black). A white or red horse is opposed by a dark horse (black, blue, blue-black, dark bay) or green; sometimes a white horse is opposed by a red horse. Only occasionally does the color of the cloaks (red) or the suit of the horses (white) match.

You can still notice that the white horse is found in both riders (in 7 cases in the left, in 6 - in the right), but red - only in the right, green or dark-more often in the left than in the right (7 cases against 4). The left rider's cloak is usually red (8 cases out of 12), while a dark or green cloak is more typical for the right rider.

page 5

Table 1

Ancient Russian icons of paired holy horsemen

N items

Icon name (type)

Flor (Boris, Dmitry)

Michael

Lavr (Gleb, George)

Date

Location

Publication

raincoat

horse

raincoat

raincoat

horse

1

The Miracle of Flora and Laurel

?

white

?

?

red

?

?

[6, pp. 101-102, fig. 5]

2

"

brown

white

red

red

black

XV century.

TIMING BELT

[1, fig. 143]

3

"

red

black

dark green

dark green

white

XV century.

TIMING BELT

[9, fig. 44]

4

"

green

black

red

red

white

late 15th century

GTG

[2, vol. 1, N 124]

5

"

dark green

white

red

red

black

late 15th century

GTG

[12, fig. 64]

6

"

red

white

red

brown-green

black

XVI century

TIMING BELT

[13, fig. 17]

7

"

red

white

red

black

white

2nd floor. XVI century

GIAMZ

[12, fig. 105]

8

"

red

blue

red

red

white

XVII century.

SMIPI

[1, fig. 60]

9

"

red

white

red

black and green

black

XVIII century.

Kizhi

[13, fig. 60]

10

Boris and Gleb on horseback

?

white

-

?

red

XIV century

?

[14, p. 220-221]

11

"

red

blue-black

-

green

red

ser. XIV century

GTG

[2, vol. 1, N 213]

12

"

red

green

-

green

red

ca. 1377

NIAMZ

[9, fig. 21]

13

Flor and Laurel on horseback

red

dark bay

-

red

white

late 15th century

GTG

[2, vol. 1, N 108]

14

Dmitry Solunsky and George

yellow

black and green

red

white

ca. 1670

GTG

[3, fig. 28]

Note: The current location of icons 1 and 10, which were located in churches in Novgorod in the 19th century, is unknown.

(6 cases out of 12) than for the left (3 cases). With a red horse, a green cloak is combined, and vice versa.

So, the original (pagan) prototype of these icons probably looked like this: the left rider is bearded, in a red cloak, on a dark or green horse; the right rider is beardless, in a dark or green cloak, on a white or red horse. As for the central character (Mikhail), he often wears a red cloak than a dark one, and in this sense is closer to the left rider.

Similar oppositions can be traced on the icons representing Boris and Gleb, Flora and Lavra standing side by side, without horses. Sometimes there is a third character between them (Nicholas the Saint, James the Just, Vladimir) (Table 2). Here I have taken into account 20 icons and one fresco of the XIII-XVI centuries. (mostly those images in which the color of the saints ' clothing is different). Some icons are not counted due to the lack of color reproductions 9 . On icons with two saints, the left one is most often in green or red.

page 6

Table 2

Old Russian icons of paired saints (without horses)

Np/n

Icon name (type)

Boris (Flor)

Vladimir (Nikola, Jacob)

Gleb (Lavr)

Date

Location

Publication

raincoat

raincoat (omophorion)

raincoat

1

Boris and Gleb

dark blue

-

red

XIII century.

TIMING BELT

[4, p. 164]

2

"

green

-

red

late 13th century.

KMRI

[8, fig.]

3

"

blue

-

red

late 13th century.

TIMING BELT

[11, p. 126]

4

"

blue

-

red

XIV century

parts, call.

[14, N1]

5

"

dark green

-

red

starting point: XIV century

TIMING BELT

[1, fig. 4]

6

"

dark green

-

red

ca. 1335

GIM

[16, fig. 37]

7

"

green

red

XV century.

B. kol. by I. S. Ostroukhov

[5, p. 162-1]

8

"

blue

-

red

ser. XV century.

GTG

[2, vol. I, N 180]

9

"

green

-

red

ser. XV century.

GTG

[12, fig.]

10

"

green

-

red

1508

Mosk. Kremlin

[15]

11

Flora and Laurel

red

-

green

rubles of the XIV-XV centuries.

GTG

[2, vol. I, N 34]

12

"

red

-

green

1st floor. XIV century

GTG

[2, vol. II, N 357]

13

Boris, Vladimir and Gleb

red

green

dark green

XV century.

PIAM

7

14

"

green

red

red

rubles of the XV-XVI centuries.

NIAMZ

10, fig. XXII

15

"

red

green

red

starting point: XVI century

GTG

2, vol. II, N 410

16a

Boris, Nikola and Gleb

red (?)

white

red-brown

XIII century.

GTG

16, fig. 12-13

166

Flor, Nikola and Lavr

green

white

red

2, vol. 1, No. 9

17a

Boris, Nikola and Gleb

red

white

black and green

1294

NIAMZ

16, fig. 18-20

176

Flor, Nikola and Lavr

red

white

green

18

Boris, Nikola and Gleb

red

white

black

1st floor. XVI century

GIAMZ

12, fig. 106

19

Flor, James and Laurus

red

white

blue

rub. XIV-XV centuries.

TIMING BELT

1, fig. 110

Note: Icon 10 is a fresco of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

blue raincoat, right-in red. Almost always the first one is bearded, the second one is beardless. Where there are three saints, the left, on the contrary, is more often in a red cloak, and the right - in a dark (green, black, red-brown) or blue, i.e. the opposition of clothing colors here is the same as on icons with horsemen. And on icons with two saints, this opposition corresponds to the opposition of the suit of horses on icons with riders. The central character is either a gray-haired old man in a white robe (Jacob, Nikolai), or Prince Vladimir (the father of Boris and Gleb) in a green or red cloak. In the " Reading about Boris and

page 7

Boris, Gleb and Nikolai appear in the form of horsemen, and the first two call the third their father10 .

In one case, on icon 13, (see Table. 7) in the left rider's hand (Flora) - a spear, in the right (Lavra) - a cross, i.e. a clear contrast of "warrior-priest". Iconographic "original" of the XVII century. he also ordered Boris to be portrayed armed, and Gleb-unarmed 11 .

What pagan characters are hidden behind the holy brothers? In Russian spiritual poems, Saints Ilya and George ride on white horses, in the Belarusian rite - Yarila; in Polish, Serbian and Slovenian folklore, white horses of the Sun appear; among the Western Slavs, the white horse belonged to Svyatovich, the black one-to Triglav 12 . For greater reliability of conclusions, I will refer to texts in which horses of different suits form a certain mythological system.

In Kashubians, Belbog and Chernobog appear as black and white horses 13 . However, these deities are compared with the highest rulers of the world-God and Satan, and not with the saints. But the oppositions associated with this divine pair (light - darkness, good - evil) could also be reflected in any pair of "minor" gods. In the Russian fairy tale, Day, Night, and Sun appear as white, black, and red riders on horses of the same colors .14 In a fairy tale of the "Hunchback Horse" type, three horses appear - white, red and black (brown); as E. O. Berzin established, Indo - European social symbolism was reflected here (white color - priests, red or gold - warriors, black or blue-producers) .15

We can therefore assume that the left rider is associated with darkness, as well as with the functions of a warrior and producer (red clothing, dark horse), and the right rider is associated with light, the sun, and the functions of a priest, warrior, and producer (white or red horse, dark clothing). Indeed, on icon 13 (see tab. 1) the left rider is a warrior, the right is a priest.

A German traveler of the 16th century, I. Wunderer, reports about pagan idols standing near Pskov: "In front of the city we saw two idols..., namely Uslada, a stone statue of which has a cross in its hand, [and] Horsa, who stands on a serpent with a sword in one hand and lightning (lit.: a fiery ray. - D. D.) - to another". The names of the gods here are arbitrarily taken from S. Herberstein, but the description of the idols is reliable: one of them (with a cross in his hand) was found in the XIX century .16 Obviously, "Khore" is actually a thunderer-snake-fighter (Perun), and "Uslad" is the sun god (Dazhbog - Horse; ancient Russian crosses-amulets are often marked with solar signs 17).

This pair of idols is semantically similar to Icon 13 in some respects (see Table 1). 7); Lavr, like a preserved idol, is beardless, unarmed, and holds a cross; Flor is armed. Whether the second idol had a beard is unknown, but the complex of the IV - VI century Slavic sanctuary in Ivankovtsy on the middle Dniester River included a stone bearded idol with a sword 18, apparently depicting the same Perun.

If we assume that the left rider on the icons is the former Perun, and the right one is Dazhdbog or Yarila, this will help explain many features of their appearance. Perun in Belarusian beliefs is bearded; according to K. D. Laushkin, he is represented by a figure of the IX century from Staraya Ladoga, made of mahogany (yew) and depicting a bearded elder in a helmet; as a weapon of Perun or Elijah the prophet in East Slavic folklore, a club, an axe, arrows, and a sword appear 19 . The left horseman (saint), we recall, is bearded, armed, and wearing a red cloak. The color of his horse (black, blue-black, blue) is the color of thunderclouds. But this horse can also be white, like Elijah's in spiritual verses. The connection of the red or white horse of the right rider with the sun and the white horse of George has already been mentioned. The green, black, or black-and-green cloak of the right rider, and the green or dark-brown horse of the left, probably symbolize their connection with the vegetative-chthonic forces of nature and agricultural labor.-

page 8

house. It is no coincidence that the epic Ilya Muromets, endowed with a number of features of the thunderer and even directly identified with him, 20 is a peasant's son, and his horse is brown.

A 15th-century icon from the collection of the Russian Museum shows Nikola with Ilya (left, in pink clothes) and John the Baptist (right, in green) 21 . The day of the last Christmas (Ivan Kupala), as you know, is one of the main solar holidays among the Slavs. The connection of the left saint with thunder, and the right saint with the sun, was probably still partially understood. In Serbian folklore, Saints Ilya and George are brothers; in Russian folklore, they are both horsemen .22

But who is behind the central character-Nikolai, Jacob, Vladimir, Mikhail? According to the legend preserved by Nestor, Nikola was considered the father of both holy horsemen. If one of them is a Dazhdbog, then his father is well known: this is Svarog, the god of heaven and fire, the blacksmith and plowman (in folklore, he is replaced as the first plowmen by the same Boris and Gleb) 23 . Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Bulgarian beliefs consider Nikola to be the heir of God 24 . If one of the riders is Perun, then Michael (in popular beliefs - gromovnik 25 ) in this case, apparently, replaces the other, the supreme god-gromovnik-Rod. This is confirmed by the same color of the cloaks of Flor and Mikhail-red ("rdny"," rdyany") 26 . Thus, the following genealogy of Slavic gods is outlined: Rod (God) - Svarog-Perun and Dazhdbog (or Yarila).

Earlier, I suggested that a beardless archangel in long clothes could replace the goddess oranta on the icons .27 However, the comparison of icons with the pagan "rank" of the Great Goddess on the Zbruch idol of the tenth century leads to somewhat different conclusions. On the main face of the idol, the Great Goddess herself is depicted with a horn in her hands. To her right is a god on horseback with a sword (obviously Perun). On the left is a goddess with a ring in her hand. To the left of the latter (on the back side) is an unarmed god, marked with a solar sign (Dazhdbog). B. A. Rybakov considers the goddess with the ring to be Lada 28 . More argumentative is the opinion of L. A. Zarubin, who noted that the miniature of the Khludovskaya psalter of the XIII century depicts the morning Dawn in the same way 29 . Thus, the warlike thunderer is located to the right of the Great Goddess, and the unarmed sun god and his companion Dawn are located to the left. In the same place, where in the center of the composition (reconstructed) - a male deity, the same "pribogi" are different: Perun on the left, Dazhdbog on the right.

In other words, a more honorable and sacred position - at the right hand of the central character - was occupied by a deity who was closer to him in spirit. Therefore, the terms "left rider" and "right rider" used here and later are purely technical. For the creators and fans of the compositions considered, the" right " was a character standing to the right of the central character, and not the viewer. This is how the composition of 30 icons is built, for example . In particular, on Ukrainian icons of the 17th and 18th centuries, church hierarchs stand at the right hand of the Mother of God, while tsars, hetmans, and Cossacks stand at the right hand of the Mother of God.

The composition of the icon of the beginning of the XVIII century "Our Lady of Azov"is interesting. Just like in the embroidery, in the center is the goddess Oranta (Our Lady), and above her is the supreme god (Sabaoth). Her figure is superimposed on a huge figure of a double-headed eagle (in Russian embroidery, the goddess is carried by a double-headed eagle, on a Sasanian dish from Cherdyn and Early Bulgarian vessels from Nagy-Saint-Miklos - a single-headed 32). To the left of the Mother of God is a warrior in a red cloak, on a white horse (St. George); to the right is an unarmed tsar in a dark green cloak, on a brown horse, raising his hands in prayer (Peter I). George kills a griffin with a spear, and next to Peter, lightning coming from the eagle's paw strikes a lion (these animals symbolize the Turkish fortresses of Azov and Kizikerman) .33 Thus, on the left side of the goddess is the thunderer on a dark horse, and on the right side is the sun god (Yarila - George) on a white horse. However, according to the reconstructed scheme, the priest must

page 9

he would have been standing to the right in a dark cloak, and the warrior - oshuyu in red. But, of course, in the eighteenth century an iconographer could not know the pagan canon exactly and consciously follow it.

Now I will turn to the Iranian (Indo-Iranian) mythological material and try to find out whether the ideas of paired horseman gods revealed by the Slavs can be traced in it. We are not talking, of course, about the features of these gods, which have a common Indo-European origin. Indo-European twin horsemen are characterized by the oppositions "mortal - immortal", "warrior - peasant", and possibly "solar - lunar" 34 .

I will start with the Scythian (in the broadest sense of the word) images of the goddess with a rider. In all cases (riton from Merjan, reliefs from the Trekhbratny Mound and from the ancient settlements of Maryino and Chaika, the Pazyryk carpet, the painting of the crypt of Anfesteriya in Kerch), the rider, usually armed, stands in front of the goddess 35 . A warrior with a gorit at his waist sits on the plastic of the goddess's Karakodeuashha oshuyu, and an effeminate enarei priest with a rounded vessel in his hand sits at his right .36 On the right of the goddess is a bearded warrior with an axe and a rhyton, as well as servants preparing food and drink; on the left is a beardless and unarmed character with a torch (?), two brothers (drinking wine from the same vessel), and a priest (sacrificing a ram and a man) 37 . Thus, the characters of the oshuyu goddess on the diadem are associated with military and productive functions, and the one on the right - with the priestly one in both its Indo-European aspects: magical (sacrifice) and legal (sworn brothers). On plaques from Chertomlyk, Kulob and some other mounds, a beardless and unarmed character with a rhyton stands to the right of the goddess, but in profile; where she is represented en face (next to the altar of fire), an unarmed scythian stands to her left. 38

So, the Scythians have the same familiar system as the Slavs: a bearded warrior at the goddess's left, a beardless priest at the right. This conclusion does not in any way refute D. S. Raevsky's well-founded hypothesis that the Scythian investiture scenes feature the solar primrose warrior Kolaxai39 . He mastered the golden gifts (a plow with a yoke, an axe, and a bowl) that embody all three social functions. Therefore, he can, for example, in relations with his two brothers act as a warrior, and with the goddess - then as a warrior, then as a priest. Perhaps this is why the traceable scheme was not too rigid: the character of oshuyu can be unarmed (Merdzhany, Pazyryk), bezborod (crypt of Anfesteria, Pazyryk), marked with a solar sign (Seagull).

In two cases (Karagodeuashkh, Sakhnovka), the warrior king is opposed by a priest. I do not know what the name of this Kolaxai double was, or if they were considered brothers. However, southern Iranians know the myth of the brothers Urvakhshay-the sage, the lawgiver and Keresasp-the hero, the fighter with monsters (Yasna, 9, 8-11). Thus, they embody the magico-legal and military functions, while the other southern Iranian mythological pair - Khusheng and Vegerd-are military and productive 40 . It is noteworthy that Keresaspa has a number of features of the Indo-European thunderbird (snake fighter with a club). I will also note that in the fresco in the crypt of Anfesterium, the rider is armed with a sword. The sword is the embodiment of the Scythian-Sarmatian god of war and thunder (Scythian" Ares", Ossetian Batradz) 41, the weapon of the Avestan Veretragna (Yasht XIV, 27) - the god of war and snake-fighter, related to the Indian thunderer Indra-Vritrakhan 42 . Just like in the fresco, on the Zbruch idol to the right of the goddess stands a horseman with a sword (Perun).

On the Russian print drawn by V. A. Gorodtsov 43, the "rank" of the goddess with horsemen is depicted three times. In the top row, the left rider holds two vessels in his hands, the right one-without attributes. In the middle row, the left rider has a vessel and an axe, while the right rider has a saber. In the lower row, the riders are identical (crowned, with spears, under the horses - solar signs). The rider on the right hand, therefore, has the attributes of a priest and a warrior; oshuyu -

page 10

only the warrior. The axe of the former is an attribute of Kolaksai, and the saber of the latter, apparently, replaced the sword of the Slavic and Iranian thunderer.

On the famous pectoral from Tolstoy Grave, the goddess is present as if invisibly. The central axis of the composition is the world tree, represented by symbol elements (a plant with birds on it, a suspended fire) 44 . In the Rig Veda (V, 78, 5) and Russian embroidery, the goddess and the tree are interchangeable symbols 45 . In the upper tier of the pectoral two skiffs sew clothes. The left is an old man with a bandage on his hair, the right is a younger one. The former is almost unarmed - his gorit hangs to the side, the latter has gorit lying "at hand". D. S. Rayevsky presumably brings them closer to the Scythian Kolaksai and Arpoksai and the southern Iranian Khusheng and Vegerd, personifying warriors and producers respectively .46 However, the left skiff is more like Lipoxai-Avha, the older brother of Kolaxai and Arpoxai. According to Valerius Flaccus (Argon, VI, 61), Avx is an old man with a priestly bandage on his head. The right skiff has more pronounced warrior features. The productive function on the pectoral is represented by two skiffs milking cattle.

The composition of the upper tier of the pectoral is completed by figures of two birds - a waterfowl (left) and a bird of prey (right). D. S. Rayevsky compares them with the Karshipta (waterfowl) and Saena (raptor) birds, which are associated in Zoroastrian mythology with the earthly and otherworldly worlds, respectively .47 Without rejecting this parallel, I will suggest another one. In the Ossetian epic, the Batradz nart chases the magic wheel of Balsag, turning successively into a hawk, a leopard, an eagle, and a bull; the wheel turns into a duck, a boar, and a partridge, respectively .48 How to install Zh. Dumezil, endowed with the features of the thunderer Batradz, corresponds to the Scythian-Sarmatian "Ares", and the wheel of Balsag embodies the sun 49 . In the lower tier of the pectoral zone, a wild boar is being tormented by a leopard and a lion on the right, and a deer on the left. If the leopard here embodies the thunderstorm principle, then the lion probably embodies the solar one (as in Mithraism and medieval Iran 50). M. Yankovich convincingly connected the scene of deer tormenting in Scythian art with the North Eurasian (as well as Greek and Indian) myth of heavenly hunting, in which the hunter, often having the appearance of a predator or being a thunderer, chases a deer (elk) -the embodiment of the sun (or one of the constellations) .51 I also note that Veretragna's incarnations are the bird of prey and the boar (Yasht, XIV, 15, 33). It is these animals that are located on the right side of the pectoral.

So, in the images on the pectoral, the following system of oppositions is distinguished: right (standing to the right), priest, senior, solar - left (standing to oshuyu), warrior, junior, thunderstorm. The same system can be seen above on the Zbruch idol and in the Scythian investiture scenes (except that the priest is older in the pectoral than the warrior). I will also note that in the middle tier, birds on the right hand clean their feathers, and on the left peck something. The Rig Veda (1, 164, 20) speaks of two birds on the world tree, of which only one bites. Did it not symbolize the active nature of the warrior (thunderstorm) principle and the passive, peaceful nature of the priestly (solar) one?

In one of the Nart tales of the Ossetians, gromovnik Batradz and Sozryko (a pronounced solar hero 52) are the children of the same father, Nart Khamytsa 53 , although usually Sozryko is considered the son of Uryzmag, the brother of Khamytsa. However, Uryzmag and Khamyts are most likely the result of a split image of the supreme heavenly god-gromovnik (Scythian Zeus-Papai, Slavic Family). If Uryzmag is an elder of the narts, wise and authoritative, then Khamyts is a warrior with thunderer traits (the ability to glow red-hot in battle, like Batradz) 54 . Here, again, the opposition of the first (magico - legal) and second (military) Indo-European functions is partly connected with the opposition of the solar and thunder principles. J. Dumezil compares Uryzmag and his wife Satan with the Scythian Papai and his wife-the goddess of water. 55 In the preserved ones

page 11

In the legends, Satan is not considered the mother of Sozryko and Batradz, but takes an active part in their miraculous birth .56

According to the Ossetian custom, the elder rides on horseback on the right hand of the younger, just like the holy horsemen on Russian icons.

An early Medieval fresco from Panjikent depicts the goddess on a lion (Nanaya) with the sun in her left hand and the moon in her right; on her right is a warrior in the skin of a leopard, oshuyu - in the skin of a lion. A mural from the same time in Fundukistan (northern Afghanistan) shows two warriors: one dressed in leopard and tiger skins and carrying a crescent moon on his shoulders, the other with a staff surmounted by a solar disk .58 On Central Asian silver bowls, the goddess on the lion most often holds the sun in her right hand and the moon in her left .59 Clothing made from the skin of a leopard or tiger is a characteristic feature of Rustam, a favorite hero of the Iranian epic with the features of an Indo-European thunderer (a snake fighter with a club). As you can see, here the lunar origin is combined with the thunderstorm and opposes the solar one. The connection between these principles and the two companions of the goddess with the left and right sides is not too rigid.

L. A. Lelekov believed that the plot of the icon "The Miracle of Flora and Lavra" goes back to the images of Mithras and his companions Kaut and Kautopat 60 . But, as noted above, Michael among the Slavs is a thunderer, and not a solar character. Nevertheless, Mithraic frescoes display the same color oppositions as icons: Mithras in a red cloak, Kaut in a red robe to his left, and Kautopat in a green robe to his right. In Mithraism, Kaut embodies the solar-fiery and heavenly principle, the barren (dry or cold) season, spirit; Kautopat-the lunar-water and chthonic principle, the vegetative season, matter. Kaut is sometimes armed with an axe, Kautopath is always unarmed. More often Kaut stands on the left side of Mitra, Kautopat-on the right, less often (as in frescoes) - on the contrary. Kaut represents a more active and aggressive beginning: he and the Sun look directly at Mithras killing a bull (symbol of the Chthonic beginning), and Kautopat and the Moon turn away .61 The symbolism of the already mentioned miniature of the Khludovsky psalter is very similar: on the left is the evening Dawn (in green), on the right is the morning Dawn (in red and with a torch raised like Kaut's).

In the Avesta, Mitra's companions are his brothers Rashnu and Sraosha. If the former, who walks on the right hand of Mithras, usually acts as a just judge (Yasht XII; Yasna I, 7; 70, 3), then the latter-as a warrior, a fighter against devas and monsters (but also a priest and mentor of the prophets) (Yasht XII, 11; Yasna 57, 9, 16) and has the features of a thunderer: armed with a club (Yasht XI, 11), fights with the dragon Ajidahaka (Bundahishn 34, 23). Here, as in Central Asia, the lunar and thunderstorms are associated with a military function. The first function is divided: its magical aspect is assigned to Sraosha, and its legal aspect is assigned to Rashnu.

Closely related to Mithraism are the "Danube tablets" - monuments of the cult of soldiers of Roman garrisons in the Danube region 62 - this multiethnic environment in which various" barbarians " lived-Sarmatians, Getodaks, Germans, possibly Slavs. The central image of the tablets is a goddess with two horsemen. Usually, the Sun is depicted above the left rider, and the Moon is depicted above the right rider (less often, the opposite is true). In one case, Kaut 63 stands next to the left (sun) rider . Sometimes this rider confronts the right (lunar)one as more warlike: tramples, unlike him, the enemy 64, has armor 65 or a banner in the form of a dragon 66, which is absent from the other rider. The moon rider can, in contrast to the sun rider, have a cup (an attribute of a priest) 67 . Sometimes one rider tramples a person, another-a fish, 68 which, obviously, conveys the connection of the latter with the water element. Horsemen trampling a stylized human figure or fish are depicted next to the goddess and on Russian embroidery .69 And on icon 14 (see Table). 7) one rider (Dmitry) hits a man with a spear, the other (George) - a snake.

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The oldest example of the "rank" of the Great Goddess is represented on the seal of the Mitannian king Shausshatar (XV century BC) (In Mitani, as is known, the Indo-Aryan newcomers played a major role). The central axis of the composition is formed by the figure of the goddess - "mistress of animals" - and (above it) the symbol of the world tree - a pillar crowned with a solar wheel and surrounded by animals and birds. To the left of the tree and the goddess is a god who kills a bull; to the right is a god whose hands run down a river. Below, the goddess is flanked by two heroes in radiant headdresses, fighting lions. Next to the left hero is a star. According to the greatest expert on Mithraism, L. M. Campbell, these gods are Indo-Iranian Mithra and Varuna, and the heroes correspond to Kaut and Kautopat 70 .

The system of binary oppositions is associated with Mitra and Varuna in the Indian tradition. Thus, Mithra is associated with the earthly world, day, light, sun, priestly function, Varuna-with the other world, night, water, military function. Varuna becomes close and even identified with the thunderer Indra. In relation to people, Mitra is more kind, friendly, peaceful; Varuna is angry, punishing, aggressive 71 . Similarly, Slavic peasants treated the sun and thunder differently: they loved the sun, considered it a kind and just defender of people; they feared the thunderer, saw in him a formidable, capricious, punishing force .72 Most importantly, Mitra and Varuna are brothers, sons of the Great Goddess Aditi - the Infinite.

The material considered in the article makes it possible to outline the following history of the mythologeme "rank" of the Great Goddess. Even the ancient Indo-Iranians (II millennium BC) had a myth about two sons-the gods of this goddess, of whom one (standing at the right hand of the goddess) embodied the solar-fiery beginning, day, the earthly world and the priestly function. Other (standing oshuyu) - water (thunderstorm) beginning, night, otherworld and military function. They were matched by two younger pribogs (the future Kaut and Kautopat). Later, this scheme was preserved among the Central Asian Iranians, but the thunderstorm shelter acquired a lunar appearance. In Zoroastrianism and Mithraism, the central place in the "rank" was occupied by Mitra, and the places of companions were taken by the younger yogis (Rashnu and Sraosha, Kaut and Kautopat). At the same time, among the Mithraists, the solar pribog acquired a connection with the other world and the functions of a warrior, and the water-lunar one - a connection with the Chthonic principle, the earthly world, and the functions of a priest; their location relative to the central character often changed. The statue of Mithras with his two companions and two horses from Khair Khane in Afghanistan 73 attests to the merger of the pribogs with the Indo-European pair of twin horsemen (Ashwins-Dioscuri).

Among the Scythians, the "rank" was preserved mainly in its original form, only the warrior god acquired the appearance of a horseman. Among the Sarmatians and Ossetians, the main elements of the" rank " also remained, although (due to the disappearance of the priestly class) the solar pribog (Sozryko) lost the features of a priest. However, even in Central Asia, both dukes were depicted as warriors. Here, as in the composition from Khair Khaneh, the influence of northern, nomadic Iranians could have affected. In the" Danube tablets", the North Iranian (Sarmatian) tradition was contaminated with the South Iranian (Mithraic) one. As a result, pribogi received some features of Kaut and Kautopath: the solar and lunar riders are sometimes contrasted as a warrior and a priest (contrary to the original scheme). At the same time, both of them here are horsemen, and most often - warriors. This is obviously a Sarmatian element, alien to Mithraism.

The Slavs probably borrowed the "rank" from the Scythians. This is evidenced by the composition of the Zbruch idol, where the rider is only one pribog, and it is the warrior - thunderer oshuyu. Subsequently, the Scythian influence was superimposed on the influence of the Sarmatians and the multi-ethnic environment in which the "Danube tablets" existed and Mithraism spread. Apparently, under the Sarmatian influence, both pribogs among the Slavs became horsemen, the eldest of whom rides at the right hand of the younger. From the Danube region, however, such elements penetrated (partly noted by V. A. Gorodtsov 74) as trampled horsemen-

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the main enemies (humans and aquatic animals), the walking companions of pribogov-men and women, the opposition of red and green colors as symbols of the fiery and wet (vegetative) principles. A new phenomenon among the Slavs is the replacement of the goddess by the supreme god of heaven (Svarog or Rod-gromovnik), in connection with which gromovnik often turns out to be at his right hand, and oshuyu - the solar god. At the same time, the more ancient Indo-European "rank" with the same syllables 75 was preserved (in embroidery), and its purely Slavic modification - the goddess with two horsewomen. I note that the Frako-Bosporan scheme-a galloping horseman-warrior at the right hand of the goddess 76 - is not traced among the Slavs.

Is not the "rank" under study, however, an Indo-European heritage? Apparently not. The common Indo-European element in the images of Mitra and Varuna is their connection with the legal and magical aspects of the first social function. In this respect, they correspond to the Germanic Odin (Vodan) and Tyr (Tsiu); the Iranian Mithra and Ahuramazda, Vohuman and Asha; the Roman Dius Phidius and Jupiter, Numa and Romulus. 77 But these mythological pairs are not characterized by the oppositions "solar - thunderstorm" and "priest-warrior". Only the Greeks have such a pair: Apollo and Hercules. They are brothers (sons of Zeus): The first is associated with light, the sun, and the priestly function (divination); the second is a warrior with the features of a thunderer (a snake fighter with a club). The former was usually depicted as a beardless youth; the latter as a mature, bearded husband. Therefore, it is possible that the mythologeme under study dates back either to the time of the Greco-Aryan language community, or was borrowed by the Greeks from the Indo-Iranians in the middle of the second millennium BC .78

There were, of course, myths about the struggle of pribogov among themselves. Such are the stories of Pausanias (III, 21,8; VIII, 37, 1; X, 13, 7) about the battle of Hercules with Apollo for the Delphic tripod and the stories of the Ipatiev chronicle under N 6669 (1161) about the battle on the Moon of two soldiers - with red and green blood. However, the Greek-Aryan-Slavic yogis are not the embodiment of good and evil in the spirit of Zoroastrianism or world religions, and their relations are not a struggle for destruction.

notes

Gorodtsov V. A. 1 Dako-Sarmatian religious elements in Russian folk art / / Proceedings of the State Historical Museum. 1926. Issue 1.

Ambroz A. K. O 2 simvolike russkoi krestyanskoi vyshyvki arkhaicheskogo tipa [On the 2 symbols of Russian peasant embroidery of archaic type]. 1966. N 1; E. E. Kuzmina. Distribution of horse breeding and the cult of the horse among the Iranian-speaking tribes of Central Asia and other peoples of the Old World / / Central Asia in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Moscow, 1977. p. 39. Note. 18. Koshelenko G. A. Serebryannaya vaza s Dioskury [Silver vase with Dioscuri]. 1968. N 2.

Rybakov B. A. 3 Paganism of the ancient Slavs, Moscow, 1981, pp. 511-526.

Ward D. 4 The Divine Twins. Berkeley-Los Angeles, 1968.

Malitsky N. V. 5 Drevnerusskiye kulty sel'skikh svyatykh po pamyatnikam iskusstva [Ancient Russian cults of agricultural saints on art monuments]. Moscow, 1932, pp. 21-23; Gusev P. Ikonografiya svv. Flora and Lavra in Novgorod art //Bulletin of Archeology and History. 1911. Vol. XXI. Vol. 1. Miller V. F. Ocherki aryiskoi mifologii [Essays on Aryan Mythology]. Issue 1. Ashvins-Dioskurs, Moscow, 1876, p. 268.

Gusev P. 6 Decree. op. P. 89. Fig. 1; Antonova V. I., Mneva N. E. Catalog of Old Russian painting, Moscow, 1969. Vol. 1. N 271; Proceedings of the All-Russian Congress of Artists, Pg., 1912 (1915). Vol. III. Tables XVI, XXV; Painting of the Vologda lands of the XIV-XVIII centuries. Moscow, 1976. Fig. 50.

7 "Left" and" right " here are the horsemen depicted respectively closer to the left and right (for the viewer) edges of the icon. On the icons" Miracle of Flora and Lavra", the holy horsemen flank Michael, on the rest-go to the right: "left" (Boris, Flor) on the right hand of the "right" (Gleb, Lavr) and slightly behind him.

8 The choice of raincoat color for analysis is due to the fact that this part of clothing on icons is most noticeable and always present (there may not be a hat, and the chasuble is sometimes completely hidden by the raincoat).

Antonova V. I., Mneva N. E. 9 Edict. op. N 108; Novgorod Icons: 12th-17th Century. L., 1980. 111. 189-190.

Miller V. F. 10 Edict. soch. P. 285.

Buslaev F. 11 Historical sketches of Russian folk literature and art. St. Petersburg, 1861, vol. II, p. 347.

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Afanasyev A. N. 12 Narodnye russkie legendy [Folk Russian Legends], Moscow, 1859, p. 137; Ivanov V. V., Toporov V. N. Issledovaniya v oblasti slavyanskikh drevnostey, Moscow, 1974, p. 181-186; Chajkanovich V. Mit i reliptsa u Srba. Beograd, 1973. p. 378, 512; Afanasyev A. N. Poeticheskie vozvzreniya slavyan na prirodu [Poetic views of the Slavs on nature]. Moscow, 1865. Vol. I. p. 605; Gilferding A. Istoriya baltiiskikh slavyan [History of the Baltic Slavs] // Collected Works, St. Petersburg, 1874, vol. 4, pp. 166, 169.

Lorentz F. 13 Belbog und Cernobog // Mitteilungen des Vereins fur kaschubische Volkshunde. 1908. H. 1.

Afanasyev A. N. 14 Narodnye russkie skazki [Folk Russian Fairy Tales], Moscow, 1957, vol. 1, No. 105.

Berzin E. O. 15 Sivka-Burka, veshchaya Kaurka, ili Drevnyaya Evropa v zerkale mifov i skazok [Sivka - Burka, prophetic Kaurka, or Ancient Europe in the mirror of myths and fairy tales]. 1986. N 11.

16 See: Kirpichnikov A. N. Ancient Russian sanctuary near Pskov // Antiquities of the Slavs and Russia, Moscow, 1988.

Darkevich V. P. 17 Symbols of heavenly bodies in the ornament of ancient Russia // Soviet archeology. 1960. N 4. P. 57. Fig. I, 2,4-6, 9.

Braichevsky M. Yu., Dovzhenok V. I. 18 Drevneslavyanskoe svyatylishche v s. Ivankovtsy na Podnistrovie [The Ancient Slavic sanctuary in the village of Ivankovtsy in the Transnistrian region]. 2. p. 123.

Afanas'ev A. N. 19 Poeticheskie vozzreniya... pp. 247-264; Laushkin K. D. Derevennaya figurka antropomorfnogo chistva iz Staroi Ladoga [A wooden figure of an anthropomorphic creature from Staraya Ladoga].

Ivanov V. V., Toporov V. N. 20 Decree. soch. P. 156-168.

Smirnova E., Yamshchikov S. 21 Old Russian Painting: Obonezhya painting of the XIV-XVIII centuries, L., 1974. Fig. 6.

Ivanov V. V., Toporov V. N. 22 Decree. soch. P. 191, 199.

Rybakov B. A. 23 Edict. op. s. 538-548.

Uspenskiy B. A. 24 Philologicheskie raziskaniya v oblasti slavyanskikh drevnostey [Philological research in the field of Slavic antiquities]. Moscow, 1982, pp. 38-39.

Ivanov V. V., Toporov V. N. 25 Decree. soch. P. 87.

Rybakov B. A. 26 Decree. soch. P. 452.

Dudko D. M. 27 Iranskie elementy v slavyanskom yazychestve (istoriya izucheniya) [Iranian elements in Slavic Paganism (history of study)]. Voronezh, 1991, p. 6.

Rybakov B. A., 28 Paganism of Ancient Russia, Moscow, 1987, Pp. 236-247.

Zarubin L. A. 29 Similar images of the sun and dawns among Indo-Aryans and Slavs // Soviet Slavic studies. 1971. N 6. P. 70.

Uspenskiy B. A. 30 "Pravoe" i "levoe" v ikonopisnom izobrazhenii [The concept of "Right" and "left" in the iconographic image]. Tartu, 1973.

Жолтовський П. М. 31 Украiнський живопис XVII - XVIII ст. Киiв, 1978. С. 231 - 234.

Durasova G. P. 32 An attempt to interpret the meaning of some images of Russian folk embroidery of archaic type / / Soviet Ethnography. 1980. N 6. pp. 89-91; Zaporozhchenko A.V., Cheremisin D. V. Mythological plot on a vessel from Nagy Saint-Miklos / / Semantics of ancient images. Primitive art. Novosibirsk, 1990.

Bryusova V. G. 33 Russian painting of the XVII century Moscow, 1984. Fig. 39.

Miller V. F. 34 Decree, Op.; Ward D. Op. cit.

Bessonova S. S. 35 Religious representations of the Scythians. Kiev, 1983. p. 112,113. Fig. 31,32; Rostovtsev M. I. Antique decorative painting in the south of Russia. SPb., 1913. Tables 1, 6; Archeology of the USSR. Steppes of the European part of the USSR in the Scythian-Sarmatian time. Moscow, 1989. Tables 53, 6, 12.

Rostovtsev M. I. 36 Representations of monarchical power in Scythia and the Bosporus / / Izvestiya imp. Archaeological Commission. Pbg., 1914, issue 49, p. 10.

Bessonova S. S. 37 Edict. op. P. 101. Fig. 25.

38 Ibid., p. 99. Fig. 23,1-3.

Raevsky D. S. 39 Ocherki ideologii skifo-sakskikh plemen [Essays on the ideology of Scythian-Saka tribes]. Moscow, 1977.

Raevsky D. S. 40 Modeli mira skifskoy kul'tury [Model of the world of Scythian culture]. Moscow, 1985, p. 198.

Osetinsky epos i mifologiya [Ossetian Epic and Mythology], Moscow, 1976, pp. 63-64.

Lelekov L. A. 42 Rannie formy iranskogo eposa [42 Early forms of the Iranian epic]. 1979. N 3. P. 176.

Gorodtsov V. A. 43 Edict. op. P. 32. Fig. 26.

Rayevsky D. S. 44 Model of the world ... pp. 200-202.

Gorodtsov V. A. 45 Edict. soch. P. 12.

46 Raevsky D. S. Model mira ... pp. 198-200.

Raevsky D. S. 47 Ocherki ideologii ... Essays on ideology ... pp. 59-61. Model of the world ... p. 199.

48 Sleds. Epos osetinskogo naroda [The Epic of the Ossetian People], Moscow, 1957, pp. 348-349.

Dumezil J. 49 Edict. op. s. 58-66, 74-76.

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Romaskevich A. A. 50 Izvayaniya i izobrazheniya lvov v Irane [50 Statues and images of lions in Iran]. III Mezhdunarodnyj kongress po iranskomu iskusstvu i arkheologii [III International Congress on Iranian Art and Archeology], Moscow-L., 1939.

Yankovich M. 51 Mythical animals in the starry sky / / Scythian-Siberian cultural and historical unity. Kemerovo, 1980.

Dumezil J. 52 Edict. op. p. 68-76.

53 Sleds. Epos... pp. 138-139.

54 Ibid., pp. 97, 137.

Dumezil J. 55 Edict. op. p. 55-57.

56 Sleds. Epos... p. 159-160.

57 Ibid., p. 91.

Belenitsky A.M., Marshak B. I. 58 Features of the worldview of the Sogdians of the VII-VIII centuries. in the art of Panjikent // The history and culture of the peoples of Central Asia (antiquity and the middle ages). M., 1976. P. 82.

Darkevich V. P. 59 Khudozhestvenny metall Vostoka [Art Metal of the East], Moscow, 1976, P. 107. Fig. 14, 1. Tab. 26, 1, 4, 5.

Lelekov L. A. 60 O nekotorykh iranskikh elementakh v iskusstve Drevnoi Rus ' [Information about some Iranian elements in the Art of Ancient Russia]. Iskusstvo i arkheologiya Irana [Art and Archeology of Iran], Moscow, 1971.

Campbell L. M. 61 Mithraic Iconography and Ideology. Leiden, 1968. P. 29 - 56, 77 - 89.

Tudor F. 62 Corpus monumentorium religionis eguitum danuvinorum. Leiden, 1969; Abramic M. Novi votivi relijefi okojenih bozanstva iz Dalmacije // Serta Hoffileriana. Zagreb, 1940.

Tudor F. 63 Op. cit. No. 189.

64 Ibid. N 47, 173; Abramic M. Op. cit. Tabl. XII, 1.

65 Tudor F. Op. cit. N34.

66 Ibid. N 42, 72.

67 Ibid. N83.

68 Ibid. N 94. Bessonova S. S. Edict. op. p. 111. Fig. 30.

Gorodtsov V. A. 69 Edict. soch. P. 12.

Campbell L. M. 70 Op. cit. P. 131 - 141. Fig. 10.

Supreme gods of Indo-Europeans, Moscow, 1986, pp. 44-58.

Moszynski K. 72 Kultura Ludowa Slowian. Cz. II. Kultura duchowa. Zesz. 1. Krakow, 1934. S. 435- 442.

Lelekov L. A. 73 On some Iranian elements in the art of Ancient Russia. Table XXIV.

Gorodtsov V. A. 74 Edict. soch. P. 33-34.

75 For the twin horsemen as companions of the goddess, see Ward D. Op. cit.

Britova N. N. 76 Obraz vsadnika na relefakh Thracii i Bospora [The image of a horseman on the reliefs of Thrace and Bosporus]. 1948. Issue XXII.

Dumezil J. 77 High gods...

78 On the influence of Indo-Iranians on Mycenaean Greece and, in particular, on the mythology of Apollo, see: Kuzmina E. E. The origin of Indo-Iranians in the light of the latest archaeological data / / Ethnic problems of the history of Central Asia in antiquity. Moscow, 1981; Kothe H. Apollons ethnokulturelle Herkunft // Klio. 1970. Bd. 52.

References to Tables 1 and 2

1. Alpatov M. V. Drevnerusskaya ikonopis ' [Ancient Russian Icon painting], Moscow, 1984.

2. Antonova V. I., Mneva N. E. Catalog of Old Russian painting, Moscow, 1969, vol. 1-I.

3. Bryusova V. G. Russian painting of the XVII century Moscow, 1984.

4. Proceedings of the All-Russian Congress of Artists, Pg., 1912 (1915), vol. III.

5. A. Grishchenko Questions of Painting, Moscow, 1917, Issue 3.

6. Gusev P. Iconography of Sts. Flora i Lavra v novgorodskom iskusstve [Flora and Lavra in Novgorod art]. 1911. Vol. XXI. Issue 1.

7. Painting of ancient Pskov. Exhibition Catalog, Moscow, 1970.

8. Painting of ancient Tver, Moscow, 1974.

9. Lazarev V. N. Novgorodskaya ikonopis ' [Novgorod Icon Painting], Moscow, 1969.

10. Lazarev V. N. Pages of the history of Novgorod painting: Two-sided tablets from the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod. Moscow, 1977.

11. Nekrasov I. Drevnerusskoe izobrazitel'noe iskusstvo [Old Russian Fine Art], Moscow, 1937.

12. Rozanova N. V. Rostov-Suzdal painting. XII-XVI centuries. Moscow, 1970.

13. Smirnova E., Yamshchikov S. Old Russian Painting: Obonezhya painting of the XIV-XVIII centuries, Moscow, 1974.

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14. Smirnova E. S. Painting of Veliky Novgorod. Mid-13th-early 15th centuries Moscow, 1976.

15. Sokolova G. Painting of the Annunciation Cathedral, Leningrad, 1970.

16. Novgorod Icons: 12 th -17 th Century, L., 1980.

List of abbreviations to Tables 1 and 2

GIAMZ-Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve.

GIM - State Historical Museum.

GRM - State Russian Museum.

Tretyakov Gallery - State Tretyakov Gallery.

KMRI-Kiev Museum of Russian Art.

NIAMZ-Novgorod Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve.

PIAM-Pskov Historical and Architectural Museum.

SMIPI-Smolensk Museum of Fine and Applied Arts.

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