Old gods of eastern Europe
Long before the modern age, the Slavic peoples told tales of powerful gods, and this word search gathers them. You'll be finding the thunder god PERUN, his great rival VELES, the sky-and-fire god SVAROG, the sun god DAZHBOG, the earth goddess MOKOSH, and the dark CHERNOBOG.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the legends change every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
Witches, spirits and the Firebird
Slavic folklore is full of magical creatures, and the words are here. There's the famous witch Baba YAGA, the glowing FIREBIRD of fairy tales, the deathless villain KOSCHEI, and the dragon ZMEY. The world is alive with spirits: the forest LESHY, the water RUSALKA and VODYANOY, the house spirits DOMOVOI and KIKIMORA. You'll also meet the wind god STRIBOG, the goddesses LADA and MORANA, the three-headed TRIGLAV, the bird ALKONOST, the guardian BEREGINYA and the winged SIMARGL.
Folklore that survived in fairy tales
Slavic mythology is a bit of a puzzle for historians, because the old Slavic peoples of eastern Europe — across what is now Russia, Poland, Ukraine and beyond — left almost no writings of their own. The chief god was PERUN, the thunderer, locked in an eternal struggle with his serpent-rival VELES, an idea found in many myths. When the old beliefs faded, much of the mythology survived instead inside folk tales passed down by storytellers for generations.
That's why the most famous figures are from fairy tales. Baba YAGA, the fearsome witch who lives in a hut that walks on giant chicken legs, still appears in books, films and games today; the glowing FIREBIRD is a magical prize heroes quest for; and KOSCHEI the Deathless hides his soul away so he can't be killed. The world also teems with nature spirits — the forest LESHY, the water RUSALKA, the house-guarding DOMOVOI — showing how the Slavs saw spirit in everything around them. All of which makes Slavic myth a brilliant folklore topic.
Great for a folklore topic
It's a great fit for a mythology or folklore lesson — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own Slavic myth words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Slavic mythology word search?
Gods and folk creatures of the Slavic world — the thunder god Perun, Veles, Svarog and Mokosh, the witch Baba Yaga and the Firebird, the dragon Zmey, and spirits like the leshy, rusalka and domovoi. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Which Slavic figures can you find?
Gods like the thunderer PERUN, VELES, SVAROG, DAZHBOG and MOKOSH, the witch Baba YAGA, the glowing FIREBIRD, the deathless KOSCHEI and dragon ZMEY, plus spirits like the LESHY, RUSALKA and DOMOVOI.
Is it good for a folklore topic?
Great fit for a mythology or folklore lesson. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.