Ilya Muromets

Who is Ilya Muromets?

Ilya Muromets is a Kievan Rus' epic hero. He is celebrated in numerous byliny. Along with Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich he is regarded as the greatest of all the legendary bogatyrs.

Although Ilya's adventures are mostly a matter of epic fiction, he is believed to have been an historical person: a 12th-century warrior, and in later life a monk, named Ilya Pechorsky. Ilya is beatified as a minor Saint of the Orthodox Church. His relics are preserved in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.