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.