The number three is the number of harmony and perfection that is used in all world cultures. The Russians are especially fond of the trinity, as can be seen from the numerous Russian fairy tales.
The number three in Russian fairy tales
The Russian land was guarded in fairy tales by the three main heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alexey Popovich. In the epic about Ilya Muromets, three elders came to him. The serpent Gorynych had three heads, the old man had three sons - two smart ones, one fool. Even the kingdom, which the fairytale hero is forced to look for, is called the thirtieth, which also lies beyond the distant lands.
The stone at the crossroads offers the hero three ways, two of which are destructive. The hero usually passes the test safely only on the third attempt.
Ivan Tsarevich seeks happiness in three kingdoms - Copper, Silver and Gold. We can say that the number three appears in almost all Russian folk tales, even with animal motives, as in the famous fairy tale "Three Bears". The founder of Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin, did not pass by his love with his love, Alexander Pushkin, who, with the stories of his nanny Arina Rodionova, absorbed the spirit of Russian fairy tales.
The poet's three maidens are spinning under the window, Guidon visits Saltan's kingdom three times, the old man and the old woman lived by the blue sea for thirty years and three years, the goldfish agrees to fulfill three wishes for the old man. Employee Balda agrees to work for the priest in just three clicks.
Nikolai Gogol, the author of Viy and Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, creates his famous image of Troika-Rus. Pyotr Ershov wrote the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse", where the fabulous number is also not ignored. In the fairy tale, the main character Ivan must complete three tasks of the king, and then go through three cauldrons.
Why Trinity
The number three is popular in all countries and cultures because it expresses the idea of time and space. Time is divided into past, present and future, three-dimensional space is in length, height and width. Human age differs into youth, maturity and old age.
The three is a person, like body, soul and spirit, as well as his birth, life and death, which in turn symbolizes the beginning, middle and end of any thing and any phenomenon.
Even the Earth itself is the third planet from the sun. The Christian religion, adopted by Russia, expresses God through the trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some researchers believe that the popularity of the Trinity came to us precisely from Christianity, these are the three days spent by Christ in hell before his resurrection, and the Trinity itself.
However, Christian numerology is similar to the ancient Slavic faith in Triglav. Three heads of the ancient deity ruled over the heavenly world (Iriy), earthly and underground (Nav).
