Alkonost
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about Russian myth. For other uses, see Alkonost (disambiguation).
The Alkonost is the bird of paradise in Slavic mythology. It has the body of a bird with the face of a woman. The name Alkonost came from the name of Greek demi-goddess Alcyone transformed by gods into a kingfisher. The Alkonost reproduces by laying eggs on the sea-shore then putting them into the water. The sea is then calm for six or seven days at which point the eggs hatch, bringing a storm. For the Russian Orthodox Church Alkonost personifies God's will. She lives in paradise but goes into our world to deliver a message. Her voice is so sweet that anybody hearing it can forget everything. Unlike Sirin, another similar creature, she is not evil.
[edit] Gallery
Lubok picture |
Postcard, 1908 |
Viktor Vasnetsov's Sirin (right) and Alkonost (left) Birds of Joy and Sorrow (1896) |
[edit] See also
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
[edit] Sources
- http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/alkonost.html
- http://bestiary.us/alkonost.php
- http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/Lubok/lubrelig.html
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