AN ANCIENT SLAVIC STONE SERPENT AT THE ST. GEORGE’S CHAPEL ON GRADAC MOUNTAIN?

NOTE:  THIS PIECE IS NOT ARTHURIAN IN NATURE.  I POST IT HERE ONLY BECAUSE THE SITE IN QUESTION WAS SHOWN TO ME BY MY NEW CROATIAN FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES DURING THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON LUCIUS ARTORIUS CASTUS.  AND, BESIDES, WE ALL LOVE DRAGONS, SO I HOPE MY READERS WILL FORGIVE THIS ONE INTRUSION ON THE USUAL NARRATIVE.  

The Stone Dragon at St. George's Chapel (Photo courtesy Dr. Linda A. Malcor)

While visiting the chapel of St. George on Gradac Mountain, I discovered directly to the west of the building a long, natural rock formation.  This formation ran on an east-west line, and on the western end resembled the head of a serpent or dragon.  Given that the chapel itself was utilized only on St. George’s Day (April 23rd), there is the strong possibility that the sunrise and sunset on that particular day aligns with the tail and head of the serpent, respectively.  In this sense, the sun is “swallowed” by the jaws of the serpent at the end of the day. Nearby Puransko is the mountain of or belonging to the Slavic thunder god Perun, whose son Jarovit (Jarilo) was identified with the Christian St. George. In the village of Žrnovnica, a stone serpent once existed (since destroyed) and was said to represent Perun’s adversary, Veles (http://visitpodstrana.hr/en/turizam/old-slavic-mythological-heritage-in-podstrana/). In my opinion, this serpent on Gradac Mountain is a second such creature. 

A relief sculpture found incorporated into the wall of the church at Žrnovnica.  Some say this shows Perun slaying Veles, while others insist it must be St. George and the Dragon.

An article on Perun in the region can be found here at http://iza.zrc-sazu.si/pdf/Pleterski/Pleterski_Perun_SP_42_2015.pdf.  Although not in English, this piece discusses several geographical and seasonal alignments involving the St. George's Chapel.  Here are a few of the maps displayed:

Although in several ancient religions the thunder god’s dragon or serpent-like opponent is the sea (e.g. Leviathan vs. Yahweh or Thor vs. Jormungandr), in the case of the Slavic Veles we may be talking about a serpentine-shaped mountain range.   If Veles was a mountain range, upon which Perun inflicted seasonal wounds with his lightning weapon, then stone serpents such as the one in Žrnovnica may be symbolic of the mountain-range dragon. It is interesting that the stone serpent’s orientation is parallel with that of the mountain range itself.  That water gushed forth from the broken head of the Žrnovnica stone serpent strongly suggests that the serpent as mountain range was considered the source of rivers. 

I should add, however, that the Greek Hydra was a water snake, whose many heads represented the springs of rivers.  The cutting off of the heads stood for the dry season, when water no longer flowed, while the growing back of the heads told of the rebirth of the streams.  As thunderstorms could cause the flooding of streams, it is possible Veles was the subterranean waters.  But if so, the symbolizing of the enemy of Perun as a stone serpent is difficult to account for.

The Greek serpent monster Typhon appears to have represented volcanic forces erupting from the underworld, and lava flows often wander sinuously across the land like giant snakes. When they cool, these flows turn to stone. However, there is no known recent volcanic period in Croatia.  The latest appears to have occurred in the Permian age. 

Satellite Image of St. George's Chapel

The Head of the Stone Serpent

Stone Serpent's Body

Stone Serpent's Body

The St. George Chapel site at Gradac was the scene of the unusual election ritual of a chief for the Poljica.  Poljica was divided into 12 districts, and 12 sub-chiefs vied for votes, cast with stones, to determine the head-chief.  The election occurred on St. George's Day.  Twelve is, of course, a common sacred number.  The 12 disciples of Christ represent the sun in each of its 12 Zodiac houses/months.  Thus at Gradac Mountain there was not only a stone serpent ‘mountain range’, and a Spring festival stemming from the pagan period and co-opted by the Christian religion, but a ritual involving a sacred sun chieftain. 

     

I would very tentatively propose that the St. George's Chapel was erected in this location precisely because of the presence there of a Veles serpent.  This would be in keeping with the Christian practice of erecting churches and shrines atop earlier pagan edifices.