The Abduction of Monsters. Antiquity in Rus

Olga Kuznetsova, Candidate of Philology, a research associate at the Faculty of Philology of MSU, a teacher at the L. M. Bash School of Young Philologists.
About the audiobook “The Abduction of Monsters: Antiquity on Rus”: This is a story of how ancient monsters and legendary creatures from Greek myths ended up in Russian medieval manuscripts; how a Russian person perceived and was able to adapt mythological plots from classical antiquity and create unique images and storylines that enriched Russian medieval art. In the Middle Ages, these creatures were mostly villains, and readers’ interest in them arose largely from a craving for the frightening and the unheard-of. But today, watching the metamorphoses of foreign monsters is a true pleasure! Nowadays, “reversed” stories are popular, where a brave knight goes on an exploit—only to end up saving not a princess, but a dragon. Or about how a princess prefers a colorful monster to all those ordinary princes. A few hundred years ago people were just as fascinated by monsters: they drew them and described them in detail. Many monsters were “borrowed” from foreign sources; the texts were reworked, and as a result, Russian “swinxes” (sphinxes) and kitovrasas (centaurs) appeared—along with centaur-like jellyfish and more.

From the audiobook “The Abduction of Monsters: Antiquity on Rus” you will learn:
• About the life of dragons on Rus;
• About how the jellyfish got legs—and echidnas;
• About attractive beasts with features of beautiful girls;
• About how—between Scylla and Charybdis—there were placed a three-headed dog, a hydra, a whale, and an entire host of monsters!

For whom this audiobook:
• For everyone who loves history and folklore, myths and legends;
• For specialists in cultural history.