Koschei
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.3|Kashchey the Immortal by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1848–1926 Koshchei (), also Kashchei (), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore and mythology.
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Historicity and folk origins
- Origin in Khan Konchak
- Naming and etymology
- In folk tales
- "Marya Morevna"
- "Tsarevich Petr and the Wizard"
- "The Snake Princess"
- Ivan Sosnovich
- Similar folklore figures
- In works of fiction
- Opera and ballet
- Film
- Television
- Novels and comics
- Games
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|upright=1.3|Kashchey the Immortal by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1848–1926 Koshchei (), also Kashchei (), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore and mythology.
The most common feature of tales involving Koshchei is a spell which prevents him from being killed. He hides "his death" inside nested objects to protect it. For example, his death may be hidden in a needle that is hidden inside an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, the hare is in a chest, the chest is buried or chained up on the faraway mythical island of Buyan. Usually Koshchei takes the role of a malevolent rival figure, who competes for (or entraps) a male hero's love-interest.