Ilya Muromets is the most
famous of the mighty warriors, known as Bogatyrs, of
the Russian "Bilyny" legends. This famed
hero was unable to move during the first 33 years of his life. Then one day he
was visited in his house by the three Holy Old Men, who asked Ilya for some water. Ilya became
furious, as he thought the Old Men were playing a joke on him when they
commanded Ilya to get up. Much to his own surprise, Ilya rose. From that moment on he became a warrior of
extraordinary powers and the defender of Holy Russia.
Among his most famous deeds are the single handed destruction of the Tatar
army, the sleight of the town of Chernigov, and the
capture of the Evil Bandit the Nightingale Whistler, (also known as "Solovey Razboynik" ), who
had the power of killing people with the sound of his whistle. Ilya captured the evil whistler after many heroic feats
that challenged Ilya's strength and wisdom.
Ilya of Murom, a defender
of the Lands of Russia, is portrayed as a friend of the simple folk, a symbol
of liberty and fairness, and sometimes as a raging rebel who dared to quarrel
with the Duke of Kiev, and who almost destroyed the city of
Kiev
. In the end he returned to his senses,
and Ilya Muromets became
the best warrior and the wisest adviser to Duke Vladimir of
Kiev
.
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