ABSTRACT
The role of water in symbolizing the world has been extensively studied by scholars throughout history – from Thales, the progenitor of Greek philosophy, who believed that the entire variety of nature is a manifestation of a single and eternal water principle; to Carl Jung, whose theory of archetypes points to such fundamental meanings of water as that of a symbol of fertility, abundance, and the life force of the soul (Iung [Jung] 72). The ancient Athenian belief that water is a first principle, and that it was specifically from water that all being emerged, has over time evolved so that water may be variously endowed with conceptual properties, or laden with elements of a world view, philosophy, aesthetic system or religion (Kostin 24). The water mythologem and the important symbolic role water plays across different cultures has been studied through its representation in ancient philosophical and biblical texts (Romanenko 67-77), as well as in film, photography, the language of advertising, and literature (Obrazy moria). Water’s significance in Slavic cultures and the variety of ways it is used in rituals to purify, protect, or promote wellbeing has been studied in detail by L.N. Vinogradova, who has observed that for Slavs, water space is most strongly associated with the idea of a border between this world and the world beyond (386-390). A.A. Panchenko has described Russia’s highly developed cult of water and water sources. He demonstrates that in the Russian northwest there are many sources and bodies of water that are still used in ceremonies to promote contact with the sacral world, ceremonies rooted in both pre-Christian beliefs and Russian Orthodoxy. In a variety of world cultures, water can represent human fate, the fate of the world, or various existential and psychological states; the medium of water is associated with the space of human thought and emotion, and knowledge of the world of things and ideas, as well as humans’ self-knowledge, their spiritual transformation, are described using images of cleansing with water, immersion in water, drinking water, and proximity to a water source.
