SEMARGL
East Slavic Grain God
Also known as Simargl
Family-friendly Griffin God of Barley
He is a deity who protects seeds and grain, particularly barley. Or is he? There appears to be a little confusion, perhaps due to over-zealous attempts to extract his personality from translations of his name. (It appears that ‘Semargl’ may mean ‘family’, ‘barley’, ‘harvest’ or ‘seven-headed purple aardvark’.)
We prefer our own eminently feasible theory that he was really two gods, Sem and Argl, who became inseparable drinking buddies after a night of hard gargling.
Other, more sensible, sources claim he is a dog with wings, or even a griffin. Which leads us to inquire why on earth such a griffin would spend its time protecting barley. What does barley needs protecting from? The world needs to be told.
Semargl Facts and Figures
Name: Semargl
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names: Simargl
Gender: Male
Type: God
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present
Role:
In charge of: Grain
Area of expertise: Grain
Good/Evil Rating: Unknown at present
Popularity index: 4862
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Article last revised on July 21, 2019 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders
References: Coming soon.