the horse. Tugarin is referred to as a pagan and he has been given overlays of a Tatar tyrant around the folkloric dragon. Some support the conjecture that Tugarin's name derives from "Tugar-Khan", or Tugor-Khan, of the Turkic Polovets, but this etymology has been discounted by later commentators. Milk of Wild Beasts The zmei also transforms into a handsome youth to seduce women (folktale , #204, 205). In one version, Zmei Gorynych seduces the sister of Ivan Tsarevich. She feigns illnesses and asks Ivan to perform the precarious task of retrieving the milk of the wolf, bear, and lioness. This plan fails. Later however, when Ivan is separated from his trusty pack of animals, zmei reveals his true nature and poises to devour him with his gaping mouth. In another version, Zmei Zmeyevich ("Serpent, Son of Serpent") and Ivan's adulterous wife play out a similar plot. Other examples Zmei Gorynych or Tugarin Zmeyevich, in "Dobrynya and Marinka", play fleeting roles as the lover of Marinka the sorceress, and are instantly killed. In some tales, this Zmei Zmeyevich is a tsar. Other folktale literature Eruslan Lazarevich There is also the three-headed zmei defeated by Eruslan Lazarevich, hero of the story material found in popular print (lubki). Saint George It was a zmei, and not a drakon () that was defeated by Saint George, or St. Egorii, as he was popularly known in Russia. The saint appears as "Egorii the brave" (, with the epithet "chrabryii") in religious verses. This can be seen in popular lubok prints of Saint George and the Dragon in Russia. The scene is also often depicted in Russian icons. See also Gorynychus, a genus named after Zmey Gorynych Explanatory notes References Citations Bibliography texts studies zmei (Russian) Russian mythology European dragons Magic (supernatural) Characters in Bylina Legendary serpents