The Legend of Kiev, Ukraine

Kiev (or Kyiv) is the capital of Ukraine, located on the Dnieper River. At the banks of the river, stands a monument dedicated to the founders of Kiev. The monument depicts a boat with the three brothers armed with spears and a bow standing at the stern and their sister standing on the prow with her arms stretched as opening for a new beginning and this leads us to a legend.

A long time ago, there were three brothers: Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv and their sister, Lybid. They lived in a settlement by the river, which as any river was a good way of transporting goods. But it also brought some trouble as well. As more people learned about the location of the settlement, it brought more plunders.  It was becoming more and more obvious that either a strong fortification had to be built or a better strategically positioned place had to be found.

After one of those attacks, the three brothers sat outside under a thatched roof hiding their faces from the sun and wondered what they should do about it.

“Brothers how many more plunders can we tolerate? We survived them all, but we may not be so lucky next time,” said Kyi.

“Yes, brother I agree, but what should we do?” asked Shchek.

“Maybe we should think about moving deeper into the woods,” replied Khoryv, who silently was listening to his older brothers so far.

The two older brothers looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement at the same time. “Yes, brother it’s time to consider finding another place,” they replied.

All three brothers raised their cups filled with wine and agreed to pack their belongings or whatever was left of them after the recent plunder and move as soon as possible before the snow blanketed the lands.

The following days were not the happiest days for them as leaving their homes and wandering into the unknown didn’t make them feel secure. With their hearts sinking, they prepared for their uncertain journey.

When the day came to leave their old settlement, the retinue was led by three brothers and guarding men. A few guarding men were also at the very end to protect the middle, which was filled with women, children and elders.

They travelled through the woods and rocky terrain filled with winding creeks. It wasn’t an easy road to travel. The low growing bushes and snapped branches laying on the ground cracked under their feet making them watchful of their next step. Moist moss and grass made them slip. Strange noises and whispering leaves put them on alert. Big bears and scary wolves made them fight for their lives. All those obstacles slowed them down adding to their exhaustion. 

Nevertheless, there were some pleasant encounters with little frogs croaking and hiding under large leaves or red squirrels running up and down the trunk of the trees and its branches accidently dropping the nuts, which made the middle of the retinue laugh, especially kids.  

After many weeks of traveling through the woody hills and crossing deep ravines filled with small rocky rivers, they arrived at the top to an open view. In front of them was another hill separated by a big river. They realized that they met with the same river, which they left behind, because it bended to the left. So when they thought they were moving away from the river, they actually walked towards it. But what they also realized was that the side of the mount going down the river was sharp. The brothers recognized that the sharp slope by the river was a good protection from plundering tribes.

Three brothers looked at each other and declared in unison, “We should build our settlement here.”

The men started the fire for the women to prepare food. While the women got busy with preparation of the evening meal, the men unpacked their belongings and prepared the place for a good night sleep. It was going to be their first night at the new place.

In the evening, after a filling dinner, content brothers sat around the fire and the youngest one asked, “What should we call our new settlement?”

The middle brother suggested, “Since it was Kyi, who initiated to do something about our previous situation, maybe we should name it after him.”

The youngest brother raised his cup filled with wine and said, “Then let's call it Kyiv.”

The other two brothers raised their cups and saluted, “To Kyiv.”

With time, the settlement on a hill was decorated with a fortress, which gave a better protection for the inhabitants. So this was the beginning of one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe.

 

The Story of Arachne from Greek Mythology

Greece is home to the first advanced civilizations in Europe and is considered the birthplace of Western civilization. It is also home to Greek Mythology, which is a collection of myths (an important feature of many cultures). Greek Mythology is characterized by many gods, who ruled over the world as was believed in ancient Greece. Here is one story that involves goddess Athena and a weaver girl.

There was a young girl in Greece whose name was Arachne. Her face was pale but fair, and her hair was long and dark. All that she cared to do from morn till noon was to sit in the sun and spin; and all that she cared to do from noon till night was to sit in the shade and weave.

And oh, how fine and fair were the things which she wove on her loom! Flax, wool, silk—she worked with them all; and when they came from her hands, the cloth which she had made of them was so thin and soft and bright that people came from all parts of the world to see it. And they said that cloth so rare could not be made of flax, or wool, or silk, but that the warp was of rays of sunlight and the woof was of threads of gold.

Then as, day by day, the girl sat in the sun and spun, or sat in the shade and wove, she said: "In all the world there is no yarn so fine as mine, and in all the world there is no cloth so soft and smooth, nor silk so bright and rare."

One afternoon as she sat in the shade weaving and talking with passersby, someone asked of her, "Who taught you to spin and weave so well?"

"No one taught me," Arachne replied. "I learned how to do it as I sat in the sun and the shade; but no one showed me."

"But it may be that Athena, goddess of wisdom, taught you, and you did not know it."

"Athena? Bah!" said Arachne. "How could she teach me? Can she spin such skeins of yarn as these? Can she weave goods like mine? I should like to see her try. I can likely teach her a thing or two."

She looked up and saw in the doorway a tall woman wrapped in a long cloak. Her face was fair to see, but stern, oh, so stern! And her gray eyes were so sharp and bright that Arachne could not meet her gaze.

"Arachne," said the woman, "I am Athena, the goddess of craft and wisdom, and I have heard your boast. Are you certain you still mean to say that you can spin and weave as well as I?"

Arachne's cheeks grew pale, but she said: "Yes. I can weave as well as you."

"Then let me tell you what we will do," said Athena. "Three days from now we will both weave; you on your loom, and I on mine. We will ask all who wish to come and see us; and great Zeus, who sits in the clouds, shall be the judge. And if your work is best, then I will weave no more so long as the world shall last; but if my work is best, then you shall never use loom or spindle. Do you agree to this?"

"I agree," said Arachne.

"Very well," said Athena. And she was gone.

When the time came for the contest in weaving, hundreds were there to see it, and great Zeus sat among the clouds and looked on.

Arachne took her skeins of finest silk and began to weave. And she wove a web of marvelous beauty, so thin and light that it would float in the air, and yet so strong that it could hold a lion in its meshes; and the threads of warp and woof were of many colors, so beautifully arranged and mingled one with another that all who saw were filled with delight.

"No wonder that the maiden boasted of her skill," said the people and Zeus himself nodded.

Then Athena began to weave. And she took of the sunbeams that gilded the mountain top, and of the snowy fleece of the summer clouds, and of the blue ether of the summer sky, and of the bright green of the summer fields, and of the royal purple of the autumn woods,—and what do you suppose she wove?

The web which she wove was full of enchanting pictures of flowers and gardens, and of castles and towers, and of mountain heights, and of men and beasts, and of giants and dwarfs, and of the mighty beings that dwell in the clouds with Zeus. And those who looked upon it were so filled with wonder and delight that they forgot all about the beautiful web which Arachne had woven. And Arachne herself was ashamed and afraid when she saw it; and she hid her face in her hands and wept.

"Oh, how can I live," she cried, "now that I must never again use loom or spindle?"

And she kept on weeping and saying, "How can I live?"

Then, when Athena saw that the poor maiden would never have any joy unless she were allowed to spin and weave, she took pity on her and said:

"I would free you from your bargain if I could, but that is a thing which no one can do. You must hold to your agreement never to touch loom or spindle again. And yet, since you will never be happy unless you can spin and weave, I will give you a new form so that you can carry on your work with neither spindle nor loom."

Then she touched Arachne with the tip of the spear which she sometimes carried; and the maiden was changed at once into a nimble spider, which ran into a shady place in the grass and began merrily to spin and weave a beautiful web.

I have heard it said that all the spiders which have been in the world since then are the children of Arachne. Perhaps Arachne still lives and spins and weaves; and the very next spider that you see may be she herself.

Source: http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/greece/m-story-arachne-and-athena.htm

Romulus and Remus - Founders of Rome

Rome, the capital of Italy, stands along the shores of the Tiber River. The old part of the city is composed of seven hills. The one in the center is called the Palatine Hill. At the foot of the south side of the Palatine Hill, there is a cave, a natural underground space. In that cave called Lupercal lived a she-wolf and this leads us to the legend of Romulus and Remus.

Before Rome was founded, in the surrounding mountain region called Alba Longa lived two brothers. The younger brother wanted to rule the lands even though he knew it was his older brother, who was chosen by their father. In a mysterious way, the younger brother removed his sibling, who was never found and nobody knew what happened to him.

Soon after the mysterious disappearance of the older brother, his wife gave birth to twins. To make sure that the children wouldn’t take away the throne from the younger brother, he demanded from his men, “Take the twins from the mother and abandoned them to die in the flooding Tiber River.” He roared in such demand that even those men whose hearts weakened at the view of the innocent babies wouldn’t dare to protect them. 

The overflowing river made the banks shallow with water and in those shallow waters the basket with the newborns was let go by a man who whispered, “May the low waters take you to a safe place.” The calm river carried the basket until it got tangled in the roots of a fig tree at the Palatine Hill. The babies lulled by the still waters quietly slept until the scorching afternoon sun reached them through the tree branches and woke them up. The babies cried out of hunger until a female wolf shielding herself in the cool cave nearby heard them.

The wolf quickly appeared by the basket. As a mother of newborn wolves, she had plenty of milk in her breasts. She looked at the innocent babies with her caring eyes, smelled their skin and licked their faces as cleaning them before feeding. Then laying by the basket, she let the babies suckle the milk. The days went by and the wolf continued to nurse the twins. The birds coming to the fig tree noticed the babies, too, and brought them wild berries in their beaks.

One day, a shepherd passing by noticed the basket. Movement of something tiny inside it and babbled noises made him move closer. The older shepherd, who didn’t have children and always wanted to have a son, now found two. He happily grabbed the basket and rushed home to show the babies to his wife. “Look what I found. It’s a sign from God. We couldn’t have our own children and now we have two boys,” announced the shepherd upon entering the hut.

The wife clasped her hands as in prayer and raised her head saying, “Thank you.”

The happy boys grew to be strong and brave. They grazed the stock, hunted in the woods, trained in spear and protected the house of their parents making them very proud. They always tried to stay out of trouble even when provoked. But it wasn’t always easy to keep a peaceful atmosphere, when somebody was clearly looking for a fight and that’s what happened one summer day.

As the boys rolled their bodies down the hill against the warmth of the grass, filling the air with joyful laughter, they came to a sudden stop. Almost at the bottom of the hill, a foot of an unknown shepherd stopped them. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Asked one shepherd mocking at the brothers.

“Oh, let me guess, two brothers, who live with a mother and father,” continued mocking another shepherd.

The brothers tried to move on even when being pushed, but the trouble looking shepherds would not let go. A fight broke. The three unknown shepherds were stronger and captured Remus.

Romulus rushed with the help to free his brother. The place where he found him was filled with some faces staring at them. The appearance of two identical men at the same place led to some whispers.

“I’ve met two identical brothers only once in my life and they disappeared as babies,” murmured one man.

“Yes, I remember them as well and they would be around the age of those two boys,” muttered another man.

“Shall we approach them,” asked the first man.

“Certainly,” responded the second man.

The conversation between the two man and two brothers resulted in the discovery of the twins' true identity. After finding out about their roots and what their uncle did to them, they avenged their father by removing the uncle from the throne and reinstating the grandfather instead.

Not wanting to wait for the throne, they chose to found a city on their own. Upon arrival at the seven hills, they quarreled, which hill they should pick.

“The hill in the center is protected by the surrounding hills,” announced Romulus.

“It’s better to have it on the outside hill, so you can have a better view of anybody approaching,” argued Remus.

Not being able to reach an agreement, the quarreled brothers started building a wall separating two hills. The wall didn’t solve the problem as brothers argued even more. During one of those arguments, while on the wall, Romulus accidently pushed his brother, which turned to be fatal and now he was left alone.

The hill that Romulus picked was the hill, where the wolf had found them at the bottom as infants. This became a new settlement, which he named after himself – Rome. The city was built with his followers. He welcomed everybody announcing, “Whoever wishes to obtain new lands is welcomed within my walls, which further will protect you and your land.” This offer attracted different kinds of men, even outcasts and some troublemakers. The town grew fast, but there were no women. To solve this problem, Romulus invited women from neighboring town for a festival.

The women gladly accepted the invitation. On the day of the festival, they were warmly welcomed, given a tour around the town first. The strong new walls were shown encircling the houses and cobblestone streets. The women in awe and admiration were led to the center for some music, dance and food. After all the plates and cups were emptied and the women were ready to leave, the men held them against their wish. This led to a war with the neighboring town, where the women came from.

It wasn’t a quick battle. It lasted years until the women, who already had children asked the leaders to stop the fight stating, “We don’t want our children to be left without fathers and us without husbands. There is a reason for what had happened. Let us live in peace instead of fighting against each other.”

As a result both settlements connected as one and were ruled by both leaders, Romulus and Titus. However, five years hardly had passed, when Romulus became the sole ruler after Titus death. Romulus ruled for many years.

One day, the blue sky suddenly was covered with grey clouds, the wind picked its speed, thunder lighted the sky a few times and fog filled the air. Fear covered people’s faces. After a short time, the sky rapidly became blue again and the sun lighted people’s faces. However, there was one person missing. Romulus mysteriously disappeared.

Devoted followers of Romulus and his soldiers were ready to grab weapons and fight for him. Just in time, some witnesses swore, “We saw Romulus to be taken to heaven.”

It is said that now as a god he watches over Rome.

The Legend of Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. Its Old Town is known for beautiful architecture with pastel color buildings covered in red-tile roofs, contrasting with the white Cathedral and its tower at one of the main squares, the Cathedral Square. But there is something else standing next to the Cathedral. It is a monument to the Grand Duke Gediminas, who was one of the first rulers of Lithuania and who found the capital city, taking us to a legend.

 A very long time ago, where two rivers of Vilnia and Neris met, there was a densely forested valley. It was so thick covered with trees that the crowns of the trees wouldn’t allow any sunrays to get through making a day look like a night. Wild animals roamed around freely unafraid of human beings. Both, the chirping birds and rocky streams filled the quiet forest with constant melody.

It didn’t take long, when the first human beings appeared in this corner of the world, hunting for boar, bear, bison, deer and other wild animals. Many hunters rambled here; some even had the courage to do it on their own; most of them did it in large groups, especially those led by a prince. Those who got lost used a horn to give a sign to their companion that they were looking for them to reunite.

It happened that this forest became the favorite one of Grand Duke Gediminas. On one of his hunting trips, he and his men spent hours looking for their hunt. The animals knew the forests well and hid deep in tall shrubs, ground openings, and behind the rocks. They jumped swiftly over the streams and swamps to avoid arrows. But the hunters were smart and experienced, settled on quick horses. None of them was giving up. So the chase of the hunters and hiding of the animals continued for hours. By the time the hunters reached the forest’s edge, which gave them a better view of the hiding animals, it was already getting dark. But not dark enough for some exposed animals to be caught and make it a successful hunt at the end.

It was decided that they would spend the night at the edge of the forest, camping under the twinkling stars. The Duke fell into a sleep in a blink of an eye, lulled by the calming murmur of the tree leaves and the stream water. While asleep, he dreamed of a wolf, who stood on a rock, where two rivers merged. The wolf was of iron and with his head raised toward the moon howled in such odd manner that it woke up the Duke. He tried to close the eyes and continue his sleep, but the loud howl of the wolf was ringing in his ears. And what bothered him even more was the fact that the wolf stood exactly where he had killed a bison that day.

Upon hearing the clatter of the first meal being prepared, the Duke didn’t force himself into the sleep anymore. He raised his face towards the rays of the first sun and continued to ponder on his strange dream.

“Is everything fine, my lord?” Asked a servant seeing the Duke’s puzzled face.

“Yes, we’d better continue with our return before they start thinking that we went missing.” The Duke responded evasively. 

Nevertheless, the dream wouldn’t leave his thoughts. Upon arrival at the castle, he consulted with a pagan priest about it.

The priest removed the hood covering his head, looked intently at the Duke and spoke, “The iron wolf was showing you exactly where to found a city.” He stopped for a moment as waiting for Duke’s reaction, and then explained further, “The howling of the wolf represents fame of a glorious city, a capital of the Lithuanian lands.”

The Duke, who was a smart ruler and whose vast territory at its highest time spanned between two seas, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, had no doubt what to do next. He gathered his councilmen and announced his vision. Shortly, a fortification was built giving a birth to a city that was named Vilnius from the River Vilnia.

The Legend of Bucharest, Romania

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is located on the banks of the Dambovita River. It is a city of many lakes, parks, gardens and seven hills upon which it is said the city was built. Both names of the city and river bring a legend…

A long time ago, when the lands were mostly covered with forests, there were no cities or villages, only small settlements. The lands were filled with woods almost impassable, full of wild animals. The shrubs, herbs and moss covered the grounds. Whoever tried to pass the lands, the crackling of the vegetation under the footsteps made a noise as announcing a visitor. It was easy to get lost in those woods and hard to find the way out of them.

Such were the times, when a woodcutter lived in one of those forests with his daughter Dambovita. She was a girl of great beauty known for her caring and kindness. Her chestnut color eyes and hair were of those matching the real chestnuts falling from the trees and her rosy cheeks and red lips were of those matching the ripe raspberries. However, her beauty was shining from inside out. Dambovita was a very smart girl. She knew her way around the forest well. When she needed to fetch a bucket of water, she knew the quickest possible way to the stream. When she needed to pick a basket of mushrooms for dinner, she knew where to find the edible mushrooms. She learned from her father, which to pick and which to leave behind. She knew where to find the readiest berries, which sunrays made them ripe sooner than the rest or how to direct those who got lost in the woods.

And on one of those days, while picking the berries and humming familiar notes; her ears caught a noise, “Do I hear snorting of a horse?” While she whispered the words, she turned around and saw a prince on a white horse. Surprised by seeing a prince in those unknown woods, she stood quietly for a moment with her round eyes staring at the prince and her hands clasped behind her back to hide the stained fingers from blueberries.

The prince was so charmed by Dambovita’s prettiness and shyness, that he couldn’t find words for a moment himself. After recovering, he asked the girl, “Do you know the way out of the woods?” Adding after a pause, “I was hunting with my companions and when I rushed after a bear, I got separated and now I can’t find my way out.”

“Yes, of course,” The girl spoke softly, her words hardly reaching the prince’s ears. He smiled at her, which encouraged her to speak up, “I can lead you to the nearest path, which is hidden under the bushes. Some of the trees were cut there by my father. You’ll be able to follow the path as you’ll see more space between the trees.”

Now, the prince was even more enchanted with the smart girl. He helped her up on the horse to lead the way. As they approached the hidden path, the girl pointed in the direction, where more sun was visible through the openings, where the trees were cut. “If you’re not sure about the way, then look up for the sun rays to lead you home.”

After a moment of hesitation, the charmed prince asked, “Will you marry me?”

“Thank you for your kind offer, but I can’t.” The girl responded and lowered her head, but after not hearing another word from the prince, she thought it might be rude not to explain why. Therefore, she raised her head up and added, “I’m already promised to a shepherd named Bucur.”

“If you can’t marry me, then at least accept my gift.” He handed her a penknife and a spinning top. “Make a wish before spinning the top. It will make your wish come true.”

Dambovita was so captivated by the spinning top that by the time she raised her eyes to say thank you, the prince was already gone. For a moment she wasn’t sure if she truly met the prince. Once she looked down at the items in her hands, she knew that it really did happen.

At home, she showed the penknife and spinning top to her fiancé Bucur. The quiet shepherd not understanding why the prince would give a penknife to a girl, without a word he hunched his shoulders and looked down at his grey sucks through the whole of his tattered shoes.

Dambovita wanting to prove her love for Bucur shoved the penknife to the ground to show that it meant nothing to her. The knife hit the stone and from there water sprang out. First, the water created a stream. Then with more water, it became a river. A river, which Dambovita later named after herself.

With the flow of the river, folks on the boats started passing by the forest, where Dambovita lived with Bucur and her father. Some of the folks upon seeing fertile lands and upon meeting the first settlers, decided to stay there and make it their home. Some continued with the current of the river looking for something more.

With the passing days, which turned into months, then years, the small settlement of three people became a small village and now a big city. The shy shepherd, who married Dambovita, named the settlement after his name calling it Bucuresti, known as Bucharest.

Big Christopher Legend

Riga is the capital and the largest city of Latvia and of the Baltic states. It lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava.

Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga’s historic center is UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the heart of the Old Riga, there is a Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation. At the museum, you can find a statue of Big Christopher, which holds a legend.

A long time ago a very strong ferryman lived on the banks of the Daugava. Once in the dark a little boy came to him and asked to be carried across the river. Though a thunderstorm raged, the man could not refuse the little boy, took him on his shoulder and carried him over the turbulent waves. Half way across, the weight became so heavy that the man could only continue with great effort. However, he pulled himself together and with the last of his powers put the boy safely on the riverside. This boy turned out to be a child-Christ and so the carrier received the name of Kristaps (Christopher).

In about 1510 a wooden sculpture appeared in Riga on the Daugava banks, called Big Christopher. The people of Riga loved it greatly. They often visited Big Christopher, decorated him with ribbons and floral wreaths, lit candles and begged for his protection against evil. The people honored this statue irrespective of their specific faith, which enabled it to be preserved until the present time.
 

Source: https://www.riga.lv/EN/Channels/About_Riga/History_of_Riga/Stories/Legendas/LielaisKristaps.htm