Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv
Kyi (also Kiy, Kij or Kyj), Shchek and Khoryv (Ukrainian: Кий, Щек, Хорив) are the three legendary brothers, sometimes mentioned along with their sister Lybid (Ukrainian: Либідь), who, according to the Primary Chronicle,[1] were the founders of medieval Kiev city - now the capital of Ukraine. The legend is widely recognized as a source of Kiev's mythology and urban naming.
Historical background for the legend[edit]
Archaeological excavations have shown there indeed was an ancient settlement from the 6th century. Some speculate that Kyi was a real person, a knyaz (prince) from the tribe of eastern Polans.[2] But the majority of scholars consider them as purely mythological.[citation needed]
The legend of Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv, and their sister Lybid, can be interpreted as an example of a common mythological process whereby geographical names are personified and incorporated into the foundation myths of a place or people, often as eponymous ancestors.
There are numerous different theories concerning the origin of the names; among the most popular is that legend of three brothers and their sister is an attempt to explain the local names. Kyi appears to be derived from a Turkic word meaning "high river-bank", and denotes the hilly right (western) bank of the Dnieper River on which the earliest settlement was located. Shchek and Khoryv, according to this theory, represent the actual Shchekavytsia and Khorevytsia mountains in the center of Kiev, while Lybid is the actual river, a right tributary of the Dnieper and an important landscape factor in the city.
Modern tributes[edit]
In addition to the respective hills and the river, there are Shchekavytska and Khoryva Streets in Kiev's ancient neighborhood of Podil.
In 1982, Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and Lybid were depicted (standing on ancient riverboat) in sculpture at the river-side Navodnytsky Park. The monument, created by Vasyl Borodai, soon became iconic for the city and has been massively re-used since as Kiev's unofficial emblem. In the 2000s another statue was installed at central Maidan Nezalezhnosti square.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "An Armenian historian of the seventh century, Zenob Glak, knew of a similar legend concerning the founding of the city of Kuar (Kiev) in the land of Poluni (Polianians) by three brothers Kuar, Mentery, and Kherean." [in:] Medieval Russia's epics, chronicles, and tales. 1974; "Similarly to Nestor's story about Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv, the Armenian legend of Kuar and his brothers says (in the 6th or in the 7th century). [in:] Киев, анциент анд модерн киты. 1983
- ^ ".. attributed kiev's founding to three brothers— Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv— and described Kiev as a Khazar tributary taken later by the Varangians (Rus') after the death of the brothers. While at one point the Khlebnikov copy of the Hypatian edition of the Chronicle made it seem as if the three brothers were Polianians, " Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2006. p. 26
- (in Russian) G.V.Vernadsky Ancient Rus'. online
it:Kij, Šček e Choriv ka:კიი, შჩეკი და ხორივი pl:Kij (postać legendarna) sk:Kij
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