Question
This historian stated the Slavs worshipped a lightning god who is “alone lord of all things.” For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this Byzantine historian, who also claimed that Justinian was a demon whose head vanished at night in his Secret History.
ANSWER: Procopius of Caesarea
[10m] Some neopagans of Rodnovery believe God manifests in three forms based on a book named for this deity, which scholars view as a forgery. This deity abducted the spring god Yarilo.
ANSWER: Veles [or the Book of Veles] (The Book of Veles divides the world into Yav, Nav and Pav, which can variously represent different levels of the world or God’s manifestations in nature, death, and wisdom.)
[10h] Helmold of Bosau described a Slavic chief god of this archetype, in which a creator withdraws from the world. This archetype is sometimes discussed alongside a distinct Christian concept on the unknowability of God’s nature developed by Luther, which you may also name.
ANSWER: deus otiosus [accept idle god; accept deus absconditus or hidden god; reject “absent god”]
<AY, Mythology>
Data
Summary
| Tournament | Edition | Exact Match? | Heard | PPB | Easy % | Medium % | Hard % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 RMP Fest Online Mirror | 05/31/25 | N | 4 | 17.50 | 100% | 50% | 25% |
| 2025 RMP Fest Carleton Mirror | 07/13/25 | Y | 3 | 16.67 | 100% | 33% | 33% |
| 2025 RMP Fest CO Mirror | 08/10/25 | Y | 6 | 10.00 | 83% | 0% | 17% |