In Hesiod the Cyclopes were storm genii, as their names indicate: Brontes, thunder; Steropes, lightning; Arges, thunderbolt. As for the Hecatoncheires or Centimanes-the ‘hundred-handed’-their names are sufficient to characterise them. They, too, were three in number: Cottus, the Furious; Briareus, the Vigorous; Gyges, the Big-limbed. Titans, Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires symbolised the tumultuous forces of nature.

(Guirand et al., 1987, p.89-90)

The concept of the cyclopes as one-eyed giants, always coming in three, uncivilized and wild, builders of wall’s and of the thunderbolt of Zeus, orientated in the Semantic Colour Space.

I. Michiels, red.

In this brief text there are some important clues about these deities who did serve much the same function. They are male gods who represent a clan or country. They are moralizing lawmakers who set rules of chastity, and at the same time they are judges who pass judgement. In this role, they can write out punishments or grant forgiveness. In the son Dažbog, this kingship comes to full fruition and rises to the same height as the sun (sun king). That brings the fire aspect into the meaning. Svarog is the personification of the fire of the oven (ovin) and is worshipped as such. (Vyncke, 1969).

By focusing on a few keywords, this fire-sun god concept can be colour-coded in the Semantic Space and the connection between these words becomes clear. Under the (64-level) red-on-black colour code we find keywords such as: law, judge, justice, king, father, rule, forbidden. It is a composite of the (8-level) fire aspect, represented by the red element in the code: flame, sun, power, and the (8-level) black element: the thunder, signifying something important, represented by a stem. Another description of these kings could be: ‘important power’.

The role of this king concept is to keep evil, or the wild forces (black-on-red), in check by setting rules and issuing punishments (red-on-black). We see this function metaphorically in the operation of the stove (red-on-black): the oven must keep the destructive fire (black-on-red) in check. In these early times it consisted of a pit (black) in which the flame (red) was lit to dry the sheaves of corn. The veneration of the furnace fire was very deeply rooted in the people and has survived to the present day. Incidentally, it was believed that the guardian spirit of the family lived in the ‘ovin’ (Vyncke, 1969).

Some similarities appear in the masks of the Phi Ta Khon festival in Thailand, where residents invite protection from Phra U-pakut, their guardian spirit coming from the Mun river. The masks have devilish faces and are equipped with a giant phallus. The ghosts offer protection against evil with their dangerous appearance. The phallus is a composition of a black stem with a red ball on it, just like the king’s sceptre.

The phallus bears a striking resemblance to the king’s sceptre and to the torch. Two symbols that are also classified under the red-on-black colour code. The red aspect is the circle shape or the flame, which represents power. The black is the thunder, represented by a stick or stem. An idol with a phallus then represents a chieftain, who protects the tribesmen against destructive and demonic forces.

Originally the god Perun, also the common Slavic word for thunder, was nothing more than the Germanic Thor in a Slavic disguise. Later texts equate Perun with Zeus. In Mansikka p. 202, the ‘Conversation of the Three Church Fathers’ Perun is referred to, together with his Cypriot counterpart Chors, angel of thunder and of lightning. They are the tutelary gods of the aristocratic and political elite, who have assimilated foreign, mainly Germanic and Iranian traditions. Therefore, they appear as thunder or sun gods, which is foreign to the old Slavic clan numen.

(Vyncke, 1969)