Slavic mythology or Slavic paganism is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century.
A priest of Svantevit depicted on a stone from Arkona, now in the church of Altenkirchen, Rügen.
"The Celebration of Svantovit in Rujana: When Gods Are at War, Art is the Salvation" (Slavnost Svantovítova: Když jsou bohové ve válce, pak je umění spásou)—Alphonse Mucha, 1912. Pagan-themed painting part of The Slav Epic.
The Zbruch Idol on display at the Krakow Archaeological Museum
Slavs serving their Gods, a 19th-century woodcut
Christianization of the Slavs
The Slavs were Christianized in waves from the 7th to 12th century, though the process of replacing old Slavic religious practices began as early as the 6th century. Generally speaking, the monarchs of the South Slavs adopted Christianity in the 9th century, the East Slavs in the 10th, and the West Slavs between the 9th and 12th century. Saints Cyril and Methodius are attributed as "Apostles to the Slavs", having introduced the Byzantine-Slavic rite and Glagolitic alphabet, the oldest known Slavic alphabet and basis for the Early Cyrillic alphabet.
Pan-Slavic postcard depicting Saints Cyril and Methodius, the "Apostles to the Slavs"
