Ilya the invincible - Russian myth - great epics, heroic tales of man and superman

UNESCO Courier, Sept, 1989 by Helene Yvert-Jalu

Ilya the invincible

IN a famous painting by Viktor Vasnetsov, three valiant knights, breastplated and helmeted, mounted on powerful chargers, are shown guarding Russian soil against the enemy. Their names are Ilya of Murom, Dobrynia Nikitich and Aliosha Popovich, and they are the heroes of Russian byliny or epic poems.

The byliny tradition may go back to the end of the tenth century. In the large, bright hall of Prince Vladimir's palace at Kiev, minstrels accompanying themselves on the gusli, a kind of zither, sang of the extraordinary exploits of bogatyrs (gallant warriors), while cup-bearers filled the boyars' and other noblemen's glasses with "a blend of herbal wine and unchanging honey".

Heroes that live on

Since those times, byliny have been transmitted orally from generation to generation, an uninterrupted river of poetry in which many historical, social and geographical currents are mingled.

At the beginning of the twentieth century in the Arkhangelsk and Lake Onega regions of northern Russia, rustic bards known as skaziteli still related these heroic deeds. Usually men of a ripe old age, they used a special technique to recount their stories, keeping up a slow rhythm of three or four beats to the bar, which brought a majestic grandeur to the old songs. Woodcutters, fishermen and hunters would gather round, listening attentively.

Lovers of folk traditions have collected examples of this national treasure of historic songs. In the eighteenth century an Englishman, Richard James, was the first to transcribe some of them. Fuller collections which appeared in the following century met with tremendous success, and influenced literature (Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol), music (Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin), painting (Vasnetsov, Repin, Vrubel) and films such as Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky. The popularity of these gallant warriors of legend has even influenced the spoken language. In Russian today, the word bogatyr designates a man of powerful stature or someone of exceptional vigour. These epic heroes, mythical figures in the national consciousness, have scarcely changed down the ages. Above all, they have kept the prodigious strength which enables them "to crush ten adversaries with one blow". Let us follow the exploits of Ilya of Murom, perhaps the most popular hero of the Kiev byliny cycle.

Ilya, a peasant's son, has been paralysed for thirty years (thirty-three in some versions), when one day three pilgrims pay him a visit. Twice they ask him to rise and offer them food and drink. "Alas," the cripple replies, "I can move neither arms nor legs." At the third demand, Ilya miraculously manages to stand up and walk. He offers a cup of wine to his guests, who ask him to drink of it too. He has barely tasted it when he feels within himself a Herculean strength. The three men then predict that Ilya will be a great warrior and that he will not die in combat, and they disappear. Thus the crippled Ilya suddenly becomes an invincible titan.

Like any Russian peasant of the Middle Ages, Ilya first uses his power to clear the surrounding forest. In the twinkling of an eye, he uproots all the oaks and hurls so many of them into the Dnieper that the course of the powerful river is dammed. He then heads for Kiev to defend Holy Russia, which is constantly under threat.

In order to procure a mount for himself, Ilya follows the instructions of the mysterious pilgrims. When he meets up with a peasant leading a small, shaggy stallion by the bridle, he immediately buys it. Then he walks the animal three times through the morning dew. It turns into a marvellous steed which "with each stride covers a full verst (1.06 kilometres), leaping from hill to hill, over rivers, lakes and forests". Even better, it can speak and warn its master of imminent danger.

Before he reaches Kiev, Ilya engages in several combats, including a confrontation with Solovei the Brigand. This "nightingale" (solovei) is a strange and terrifying bird which has built himself a nest in the branches of seven oak trees at a cross-roads in the forest. The bird's song bends the largest trees to the ground and strikes humans stone dead. Not a whit dismayed by this terrible sound, Ilya draws his bow and pierces Solovei's right eye with an arrow. Solovei falls from the nest and Ilya chains him to his stirrup. The monster's three daughters, perched in their father's nest, send their mates to attack Ilya. Solovei asks them to negotiate a ransom for him instead. But their efforts are in vain, as Ilya disinterestedly refuses the precious gifts offered to him.

With his prisoner in tow he arrives at the prince's palace in Kiev, where Vladimir questions him. The bogatyr introduces himself and displays his captive. Vladimir invites Solovei the Brigand to sing, but the monster will only obey Ilya. Thereupon Ilya repeats the request, with the proviso that the bird must sing only half as loudly as usual, in order to spare the prince and his courtiers. Solovei mischievously sings as loudly as he can, sowing death and destruction. Vladimir is saved by the sable-lined coat with which he has covered his head. As a punishment for this act of disobedience Ilya cuts off the Brigand's head: "Thus Solovei will no longer fill mothers' and fathers' eyes with tears or make widows of young women, and will cease to turn little children into orphans."