Ilya Muromets

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Ilya Muromets or Murometz, also known as Ilya of Murom, is a bogatyr (hero) in a type of Russian oral epic poem called bylina set during the time of the Kievan Rus'. He is often featured alongside fellow bogatyrs Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, the three collectively known in Russian culture as "the three bogatyrs". Attempts have been made to identify a possible historical nucleus for the character. The main candidate is Ilya Pechersky, a 12th-century monk in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra who was canonized in 1643. His relics are preserved in the monastery.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain