Perun in Slavic tradition
Perun is the Slavic thunderer who pursues enemies from the sky with thunder and lightning. When Veles steals his cattle and hides below the world, Perun’s victory brings rain and drives him into earthly waters; he likewise strikes a serpent, dragon, monster or devil with thunderbolts. He is associated with storms, war, oaths and justice, and with the oak, axe, hammer, lightning bolt and eagle.
The quick answers
Who is Perun?
Perun is a Slavic deity associated with thunder and lightning, storms and rain, war and warriors, oaths and justice.Source
Source
- Greek Mythology and Poetics
- test
What is Perun the god of?
thunder and lightning, storms and rain, war and warriors, oaths and justiceSource
Source
- Greek Mythology and Poetics
- test
The names Perun answers to
Perunъ
Old East Slavic form of the name
Sourcetest
Piorun
Polish form and thunderbolt-associated name
SourceGreek Mythology and Poetics
Gromovnik
The Thunderer
SourceGreek Mythology and Poetics
The myths of Perun
2 myths, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources.
Veles Steals Perun’s Herds
Veles took Perun’s cattle and withdrew below. He was the serpent Volos, an earthly, underworld, or dark god. Perun remained above, in the sky, on top of the world tree, or on a hill. Veles hid at the base of the tree, under a stone, or in the earthly waters. The two struggled for control of the herds, with Perun above and Veles below.
Perun pursued Veles through the upper and lower regions. He struck him in a tree or under a stone with thunder and lightning. In one telling, he burned Veles. In another, he split him. Related stories told how Elijah, or in some versions God, pursued an unclean force and struck it under a rock, under a tree, or within a person. He then drove the force into the waters. Stories of St George and the serpent followed a similar pattern.
When Perun defeated Veles, heavenly water appeared as rain. Veles escaped or hid in the earthly waters. Later Christian traditions connected him with St Vlas and with the devil. In Byelorussian folklore, Piarun lived on mountaintops and struck the Serpent. He also made the first fire by accident when he struck a tree in which the Demon hid.
In the modern world
No modern rework confirmed yet.
2 sources· checked 2026-08-19
- 1testT1
- 2the ancient sourcesT1
Quote
“Perun pursues the serpent Veles through the regions above and below, strikes him with storm force, and causes rain to appear when he is defeated.”
the ancient sources
Perun Strikes the Dragon
Perun pursued the creature as it moved across the land. He struck the serpent, dragon, monster, or devil with thunderbolts. The creature fled from him, while Perun followed from one place to another. Each blow brought thunder and lightning. The storm marked the course of the hunt and carried the struggle across the earth.
Perun struck the creature in trees and stones. His bolts burned it, split it, or struck the place where it hid. Lightning damaged the trees and stones, leaving marks from the god’s weapon. Thunder sounded with the violence of the blows, while lightning showed where the attack had fallen. In one telling, the demon hid inside a tree, and Perun’s strike made the first fire. In another, the serpent hid beneath a stone or in the earthly waters as Perun pursued it.
Perun continued the attack until he defeated the creature. The struggle had been fought over control of cattle. After Perun won, heavenly water appeared and rain returned. The serpent or devil hid in the earthly waters, while the storm that had accompanied the hunt gave way to renewed rainfall. The defeat ended the pursuit and restored the water that had been withheld.
In the modern world
No modern rework confirmed yet.
3 sources· checked 2026-08-19
- 1testT1
- 2the ancient sourcesT1
Quote
“Perun pursues and strikes a dragon or devil with thunderbolts, while thunder and lightning mark the attack and rain returns after the monster is destroyed.”
the ancient sources
- 3Greek Mythology and PoeticsT1
The wider mythology
Works that draw on more of the mythology than any single story: full retellings of the saga, and worlds built out of the material.
Hammered
book
Perun kept as a proud thunder god who joins a cross-pantheon alliance against a rogue Thor.
Perun
comics
Perun's status as Slavic thunder/storm god, reworked as a divine avatar inhabiting a human superhero.
Also appears in
The myths across MythSource where Perun features, each on that figure’s page.
- Perun Defeats Veles and Recovers the Cattle · on Veles
- Veles Flees Perun’s Lightning · on Veles
- Veles Returns from the Underworld · on Veles
- Veles Steals Perun’s Cattle · on Veles
10 works catalogued
This is the candidate catalogue for Perun: candidate reworks first, then references, then names used as atmosphere. Nothing here has been checked against a source yet. Only reviewed myth-to-work links are promoted in Overview.
Showing 10 of 10 works.
Film1
- Legend of KascheiRework
Game3
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2Rework
- Project PerunName only
- Son of Perun KharkivName only
Book4
- HammeredRework
- BesiegedRework
- Staked ProtagonistRework
- Book of the Wisdom of PerunName only
Comics2
- PerunRework
- Perun (comics)Rework
These are catalogue candidates, not proof that every work retells this figure. Reviewed myth-to-work links appear in Overview.
What this page is built from
About this page
Written and maintained by MythSource. Last reviewed not yet recorded. How a page gets built.
3 sources are cited on this page, primary texts and corpus scholarship, listed below.
Cite this page
MythSource. (n.d.). Perun. https://www.mythsource.com/figures/perun
"Perun." MythSource, n.d., www.mythsource.com/figures/perun.
"Perun." MythSource. n.d. https://www.mythsource.com/figures/perun.
The mythology summaries and identity fields on this page are grounded in the primary texts and scholarship above. The appearance table records candidates separately; only reviewed joins are presented as modern reworks in Overview.
The film
The Underdrawing video on Perun embeds here once it publishes.