page_title: Zbruch Idol
hierarchical_section_title: Zbruch Idol
caption_attribution_description: The Zbruch Idol (sometimes identified as Światowid) found in Ukraine propably represents four old Slavic deities and other symbolism
context_page_description: The Zbruch Idol, Sviatovid is a 9th-century sculpture, more precisely an example of a bałwan, and one of the few monuments of pre-Christian Slavic beliefs. The pillar was commonly incorrectly associated with the Slavic deity Svetovid, although current opinions on the exact meaning of all the bas-reliefs and their symbols differ. It is thought that the three tiers of bas-relief represent the three levels of the world, from the bottom underworld, to the middle mortal world and the uppermost, largest, world of heavenly gods.
  It is suggested that the sculpture was disposed of or was buried in a pit some time after the baptism of Kievan Rus, and acceptance of Christianity in Poland in 966, like various buried idols in Kiev and Novgorod. In the 19th century, when the Zbruch River changed its bed, the area where the pillar was buried became submerged. It was discovered during a drought near the village of Lychkivtsi, just north of Husiatyn, in 1848. The statue is now on display in the Archaeological Museum of Kraków in Poland, with exact copies located in a number of museums, including the State Historical Museum in Moscow.
context_section_description: The Zbruch Idol, Sviatovid (Worldseeker, Polish: Światowid ze Zbrucza, Ukrainian: Збручанський ідол, Russian: Збручский идол) is a 9th-century sculpture, more precisely an example of a bałwan, and one of the few monuments of pre-Christian Slavic beliefs. The pillar was commonly incorrectly associated with the Slavic deity Svetovid, although current opinions on the exact meaning of all the bas-reliefs and their symbols differ. It is thought that the three tiers of bas-relief represent the three levels of the world, from the bottom underworld, to the middle mortal world and the uppermost, largest, world of heavenly gods.
  It is suggested that the sculpture was disposed of or was buried in a pit some time after the baptism of Kievan Rus, and acceptance of Christianity in Poland in 966, like various buried idols in Kiev and Novgorod. In the 19th century, when the Zbruch River (a left tributary of the Dniester) changed its bed, the area where the pillar was buried became submerged. It was discovered during a drought near the village of Lychkivtsi, just north of Husiatyn, in 1848. The statue is now on display in the Archaeological Museum of Kraków in Poland, with exact copies located in a number of museums, including the State Historical Museum in Moscow.
caption: Zbruch Idol, an example of a bałwan
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