Veles (god)

Veles, also known as Volos, is a chthonic god of the underworld, described in contemporary sources as a cattle god, but according to various hypotheses, he had a much broader sphere of influence. His function as protector of cattle may be connected to both wealth and rule of the underworld, which was imagined as a pasture where human souls grazed. Through comparative methods, he can be interpreted as a deity of magic, knowledge, divination, and poetry. As the guardian of the boundary between the world of the living and the dead, he was also a god of the wilderness, hunting and animals. He was also a guarantor of oaths, punishing their violation by "turning them yellow", most likely a metaphor for a form of jaundice.