PERUN, A POWERFUL FORCE.

Perun, in Slavic mythology, is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were fire, wind, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament (in Indo-European languages, Perun was joined with the notion of "the sky of stone") horses and carts, weapons (the hammer, axe [Perun's axe], and arrow), and war.
Of all historic records describing Slavic gods, those mentioning Perun are the most numerous. In their mytho;ogy, much like in Norse and baltic mythologies, the World is represented by a sacred tree, usually an oak, whose branches and trunk represented the living World of Heavens and Mortals, while its roots represented the Underworld, the realm of the dead. Perun was the ruler of the living world, sky and earth, and his power was often symbolized by an eagle sitting on the top of the tallest branch of the sacred tree, from which he kept watch over the entire world.
Procopious of Caesarea (500-554CE), a prominent scholar from the Byzantine province Palaestina Prima (from 390 to 7th century), wrote about Perun in his Secret History writings. A note describing the beliefs of a certain South Slavic tribes states they "acknowledged that one god of the sky, creator of lightning, and the only lord of all; to him do they sacrifice an ox and all sacrificial animals." While the god is not mentioned explicitly by name, 20th century researchers established beyond their doubt that the name of the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology was Perun. Procopius received a conventional elite education in Greek classical at the famous School of Gaza, and became a barrister or advocate in his late years. He knew Latin, as was natural for a man with legal training. In 527 CE, the 1st year of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian's reign, he became the legal advisor for Belisarius, Justinian's chief military commander who was then beginning a brilliant career.  Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front until the military chief was defeated at the Battle of Callinicum in 531CE that took place on Easter Saturday, between the armies of the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Persians under Azarethes, the commander of the Persian army in Mesopotamia. Procopious called him an "exceptionally able warrior."In the ensuing battle, the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat, but the Persian losses too were so high that the Persian king Kavadh (488-531CE) was so displeased with the chief and relieved him of his command.
Procopious, in his history of Kievan Rus, a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th CE, relates that in the year 6,415 (907CE) prince Oleg made a peace treaty with the Bizantine Empire and by taking his men to the shrines and swearing by their weapons and by their god Perun, and by Volos, the god of cattle, they confirmed the treaty. The Byzantines attempted to poison Oleg, but the leader demonstrated his supernatural powers by refusing to drink the cup of poisoned wine. Having fixed his shield to the Gate of the Byzantine capital city, Constantinople, because of its great wealth, he won the favorable treaty, which eventually worked as of great benefit to both nations. The text of the treaty survived in the Chronicle. Oleg then is known as the Prophet, an epithet alluded to the sacred meaning of his name. It was prophesied by the mystical powers of the priest-soothsayer that Oleg would take death from his stallion. To defy the prophecies, Oleg sent the horse away. Many years later Oleg asked where his horse was, and was told it had died. Oleg asked to see the remains and was taken to the place where the bones lay. When he touched the horse's skull with his boot a snake slithered from the skull and bit him. Oleg died, thus fulfilling the prophecy. The same form of confirmation of a peace treaty was made by prince Igor in 945CE.
In 980CE, when prince Vladimir the Great came to the throne in Kiev, he erected statues of 5 of his gods, in front of his palace, being Perun the chief among them and the god was represented with a silver head and a golden moustache, which he thereafter discarded after his Christianization in 988CE.
The Greeks and East Slavs named the Vikings, who between the 9th and 11th CE ruled Kievan Rus, Varangians. They settled among many Rivers in territories of present Ukraine, Bielarus, and Russia, forming the Byzantine Varangian Guard. A group of Varangians known as the Rus then settled in Novgorod in 862CE under the leadership of Rurik. Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882CE and established the Kievan Rus, which was later ruled by Rurik's descendants. Engaging in trade, piracy, and mercenary activities, the Vikings roamed the River systems and controlled the Volga trade route between them and the Arabs, connecting the Baltic to the Caspian Sea, and the Dnieper and Dniester trade route between the Vikings and the Greeks, leading to the Black Sea and Constantinople. Those were the important trade links in everything, starting with religion, connecting Medieval Europe with wealthy and developed Arab Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire. Most of the silver coinage in the West came from the East via those routes.
Vladimir's uncle Dobrinja also had a shrine of Perun established in his city of Novgorod. Yaroslav the Wise was the city vice-regent at the time of his father's death in 1015CE. Subsequently, his eldest brother killed 3 of his other brothers for the sake of power. Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of the Viking mercenaries, defeated his brother and became the Grand prince of Kiev in 1019CE. Under Yaroslav (1010-1019) the codification of legal customs and princely enactments was begun, and this work served as the basis for a law code called "Rus Truth Law," among the Eastern Slavs and granted the city a number of freedoms or priviledges in relation with other princes. During his lengthy reign, Kievan Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural flowering and military power. Novgorod's size as well as its political, economical, and cultural influence made it the 2nd most important city in Kievan Rus.' His son, Vladimir, sponsored the construction of the great Sophia Cathedral, translated more accurately as the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, which stands to this day. According to a custom, the elder son and heir of the ruling Kievan monarch was sent to rule Novgorod even as a minor. It now connects Moscow and St. Peterborough, and is one of Europe's largest cities.
The name Perun is also commonly found in Sothern Slavic toponomy. The Bulgarian and Macedonian people believe that the name of the Bulgarian mountain Pirin, one of the highest mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, was named after Perun. In medieval times, large oaks (because they attracted the lightning bolts), sacred groves, and entire villages and citadels were named after the power of Perun.
The plant Iris germanica is known as Perun's plant and was believed to grow from the ground that had been struck by lightning. Also the Serbian name Perunicic and the Macedonian name Perunovski are derived from Perun. The Bulgarian people believe that the city name "Pernik" is derived from Perun in his Slavic name form with the Slavic place name suffix -nik, or ik added, and was first mentioned in the 9th century, when it was governed by a local noble named Krakra of Pernik, withstanding Byzantine sieges a number of times.
The same type of prophecy about death of a conqueror who was invested by the power of the sky, was proclaimed about Alexander the Great to his mother at the time of his birth, he would die as soon as he accomplished his mission and return the power to its source to be used by the next conqueror or conquerors, achieving it and then returning it to the source. This cycle was broken when Christianity was born, since Christ came to the World invested with the power by which the World was made and broke the power of the sky, making to all mortals an access to the living power of Heavens that is immortal. The vessels in which our mortal existence is trap need to win the battle from the inside out in order to sustain a new type of living bodies that are able to sustain our eternal existence.