VELES-VOLOS. The alternative names Veles and Volos denote different aspects of a deity of the pre-Christian Slavs, the god of death and of cattle. The bifurcation in meaning must have taken place in the East Slavic area, since Volos is confined to East Slavic; in South and West Slavic, the only known form is Veles. Volos very likely derives from the older *Velsu. Some scholars (e.g., Michael Shapiro) consider Veles-Volos not as a composite figure but as distinct twin gods. It is true that the names Veles and Volos never occur together; however, both are associated with death and evil and with pastureland and cattle, as linguistic analysis suggests. Furthermore, the two aspects of Veles-Volos have close parallels in individual gods of other Indo-European pantheons, such as the Baltic Vels and Velinas, the Germanic Odin, the Indic Varuna, and the Iranian Ahura Mazdā.

Downgraded to a demon...