Żmij - one of the incarnations of the god Veles

The silhouettes of Slavic deities are rarely unambiguous and transparent. On the contrary - inaccuracies often appear at the level of nomenclature, not to mention the lack of agreement as to appearance, position in the divine hierarchy or power possessed. It is no different in the case of the god Veles alias Wołos, whose various incarnations were well known to the Slavs. The most awe-inspiring and even terrifying one was probably Żmij. Żmij in Slavic folklore

Żmij, as a zoomorphic character of Weles, sat among the roots of the Cosmic Tree, acting as the guardian of the gates to the underground land. Interestingly, the echoes of faith in this dangerous deity still echo in the legends known to every Polish child. What legends are we talking about? It is not difficult to guess, knowing what appearance Żmij was characterized by. The god of the underworld took the form of a powerful, winged viper, i.e. ... a dragon. And who among us does not know the legend of the famous Wawel Dragon, the virgins kidnapped by him and cattle sacrificed to him? A dragon with similar tastes was also supposed to inhabit one of the peaks of the Sudetes - Łysiec. In Polish culture, the dragon also appears in the legends of the Tatra region. There, the body of the dead Dragon Wołoshin formed a mighty mountain of his name, which incidentally resembles the second version of the name of the god of the underworld - Volos. The dragon is also present in the legends of Mazovia, where it is said that it still guards the duke's treasure in the Czersk castle. The element that connects almost all Slavic legends about dragons is the thread of a brave hero fighting a monster embodying the forces of chaos. Some researchers interpret this motif as a reflection of Perun's fight with his antagonist - Weles. By the way, Viper wasn't just attached to his reptilian version. Apart from her, he took the form of a scaly, winged man with a viper's tail, or an eagle or a crane.