Simargl (also Sěmargl, Semargl) or Sěm and Rgel is an East Slavic god or gods often depicted as a winged dog, mentioned in two sources. The origin and etymology of this/these figure(s) is the subject of considerable debate. The dominant view is to interpret Simargl as a single deity who was borrowed from the Iranian Simurgh. However, this view is criticized, and some researchers propose that the existence of two deities, Sěm and Rgel, should be recognized.
Sources
The first source that mentions Simargl is Primary Chronicle, which describes how Vladimir the Great erected statues to Slavic gods in 980: And Vladimir began to reign alone in Kyiv. And he placed idols on the hill outside the palace: a Perun in wood with a silver head and a gold moustache, and Khors and Dazhbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh. And they offered sacrifices and called them gods, and they took their sons and daughters to them and sacrificed them to the devils. And they profaned the earth with their sacrifices, and Rus’ and that hill were profaned by blood. But God the merciful, who does not wish the death of sinners, on that hill stands today the church of Saint Vasilij, as we will relate later.
In a later text from the second half of the 12th century, Sermon by One Who Loves Christ, Simargl is mentioned as two separate deities, Sěm and Rgel: [...] being unable to bear Christians who live a double faith and believe in Perun and Khors, Mokosh, Sim and Rgl and in the Vily [...]
The Sermon further states: „Therefore, Christians must not hold demonic festivities, meaning dancing, music and profane songs, and offerings to the idols, who with fire under the fields of sheaves pray to the Vily, to Mokosh, and Sim and Rgl, to Perun, Rod, the Rozhanitsy and all the like.”
Etymology and interpretations
In copies of Primary Chronicle, the theonym is written (in the genitive) as (Laurentian Codex), (Hypatian Codex) and (Radziwiłł Chronicle). In the Sermon as two separate theonyms: , (genitive) and , (dative).
In 1841, proposed that Sim and Rgel be considered characters corresponding, respectively, to the Old Testament Asima and Nergal. This view was supported by Viljo Mansikka. Alexander Famitsin, on the other hand, concluded that Simargl was a corrupted notation that was originally intended to read Sim Yaryl. Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov originally concluded that the theonym originally sounded *Sedmor(o)-golvъ and meant "seven-headed".
Since 1933, Simargl has been considered an Iranian loanword. It was first proposed by Kamilla Trever, a Russian historian and orientalist, according to whom the source word for Simargl was supposed to be Simurgh – a winged creature with a dog's head that was a protector of plants. The derivation of Simargl from Simurgh is now the dominant view in scholarship. The source of the borrowing was to be Persian , Middle Persian , Avestan saēna-marga or Scythian-Sarmatian Sēnmary.
Boris Rybakov was an ardent supporter of the Trever theory; he rejected the division of Simargl into two deities or the possibility of typos. Based on the relationship between Simargl and Simgur, he concluded that Simargl was the god of seeds, sprouts and roots of plants, the protector of shoots and greens, the intermediary between the highest gods of heaven and earth. Simargl was supposed to be a deity of a lower order. He was depicted as a winged dog with fangs and claws, and his images were to be found on various objects, such as bracelets. According to Rybakov, Simargl was identical to Pereplut (often referring to them as Simargl-Pereplut) and was later replaced by him. The view is supported by a number of scholars including Alexander Gieysztor eventually also Ivanov and Toporov and many others.