Pseudo-mythology

There is a scarcity of reliable sources for the Slavic religion. A large number of questionable Slavic deities have been described since the 16th century and through the present days. Poland Polish chroniclers of the 16th and 17th centuries such as Jan Długosz, Maciej Miechowita, and Maciej Stryjkowski invented many pseudo-deities based on models from antiquity, Kyi, Lada, Belarus A good deal of nonexistent deities and spirits were invented by (also alias P. Drevlyansky) in his writings about Belarusian mythology; in particular, in his work '''' (1st part: 1846, 2nd and 3rd: 1852), where he described 52 alleged Belarusian mythological characters, most of them are questioned by modern academia. Despite the fact that his writings were heavily criticized by his contemporaries (e.g., by Alexander Potebnja), they have been treated as a trusted reference work by several generations of researchers. While Shpilevsky did collect Belarusian folklore, he liberally added his own interpretations without drawing distinction from authentic folklore. ==Baltic states==

Lithuania Jan Łasicki in his Concerning the gods of Samagitians, and other Sarmatians and false Christians (De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum, written and published in 1615) provides a a list of 78 deities and spirits. However he was criticized already in 19th century, e.g., by , who also questioned the authenticity of the mythology of Teodor Narbutt, who was popular during the national awakening of Lithuania. Only a few of Łasicki's deities are considered authentic now. Anapilis is a fictional mountain, allegedly the place of the afterlife in the pagan mythology of ancient Lithuanians. It is independently sourced only to Teodor Narbutt, known to invent hosts of pseudo-pagan deities. Therefore Anapilis/Anafielas is considered pseudo-mythological as well. Still, it is part of the modern Lithuanian culture. Bronys Savukynas wrote: "one of the most frequently used Narbutas’s false names is the name of ancient Lithuanian paradise – Anapilis." Latvia After the abolition of serfdom in Latvia, a new national identity was forming and authors sought to prove that Baltic cultural traditions were as deep as those of other nations. It was hoped that a grand epic could be constructed using pieces preserved in folklore. It was also thought that the ancient religion, forgotten during 700 years of oppression, could be reconstructed. However, folklore sources proved insufficient for the task. Some attempted to reconstruct pantheons to be as impressive as in Greek mythology, which led to some deities being simply invented. In particular, it is traceable how the Estonian god Vanemuine was reconstructed by Estonian intellectuals from Finnish Väinämöinen, whose authenticity (at least the whole mythology around him) has also been questioned. ==See also==