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List of Lithuanian gods and mythological figures
List of Lithuanian gods and mythological figures
List of Lithuanian gods and mythological figures
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The list of Lithuanian gods is based on scarce written sources and late folklore. Many of them were outright invented. Lithuania converted to Christianity in 1387, but elements of Lithuanian mythology survived into the 19th century. The earliest written sources, authored by foreigners and Christians, only briefly mention the Lithuanian gods. Beginning in the 16th century, the pagan religion received more attention from authors, but often their accounts were confused, contradictory, and heavily influenced by various religious agendas. Collection and recording of folklore began in the 19th century, by which time the pagan mythology had become fragmented and mixed with Christian traditions. The cults of old deities transformed into folklore (individual tales, myths, songs, etc.) without associated rituals. Because of such difficulties in obtaining data, there is no accepted list of Lithuanian gods. Different authors present wildly contradictory reconstructions of the Lithuanian pantheon.

Names from folklore myths and legends

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This section includes the names of gods, divine or demonic beings, and other personages from Lithuanian myths, legends, folklore, and fairy-tales.

Gods and goddesses

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  • Ašvieniai, the divine twins who pulled the chariot of the Sun (the Vedic Hindu Ashwins).
  • Aušrinė, the Morning Star, a goddess, a daughter of the God ("dievaitė"). She was the goddess of the morning. Alternatively her name is given as Aušra ("dawn"). Ushas in Vedic hinduism.
  • Auštaras (Auštra), the god of the northeast wind, who stands at the gates of paradise and lights the way for those going to paradise. His function of shining this beacon makes him similar to Aušrinė; some consider him to be her cousin.
  • Bangpūtys, the god of the seas and storms ––he is two-faced like the Roman god Janus.
  • Dalia, goddess of fate and weaving.
  • Deivės Valdytojos (Lithuanian: Governing Goddesses), were the goddesses who made garments from human's lives. They were seven sisters: Verpiančioji (who spun the threads of life), Metančioji (who threw rims of life), Audėja (the weaver), Gadintoja (who broke the thread), Sergėtoja (who scolded Gadintoja, and instigated war between people), Nukirpėja (who cut the cloth of life), and Išskalbėja (the laundress). They have similarities with the Greek Fates and the Norse Norns. Deivės Valdytojos were associated with Dalia and Laima.
  • Dievas ("God"), the supreme deity
  • Dievas Senelis ("God Old Man"), a teacher of people and judge of their morality. He looks like an old traveling beggar. Dievas Senelis is proficient at magic and medicine. Epithet of Dievas.
  • Gabija, the foster of the Holy Fire, a goddess, a daughter of Dievas ("dievaitė").
  • Laima, goddess of Fate and pregnant women.
  • Mėnuo, the Moon, a son of Dievas ("dievaitis").
  • Perkūnas, the Thunder, the main god. ("dievaitis") (Parjanya/Indra in Vedic hinduism).
  • Praamžius, Praamžis, Pramšans, Pramžimas, Praamžimas, an epithet of Dievas (the chief god); probably of later literary origin.[1]
  • Saulė, the Sun Goddess (Surya in Vedic hinduism)
  • Vakarinė, goddess of the Evening Star.
  • Vėjopatis, god of the wind and master of Dausos (paradise)
  • Žemyna, goddess, the deified soil (Thracian Zemele; Zamin in Persian and Hindi for "land").
  • Žvaigždės (singular: žvaigždė), stars. Saulė (the sun) is their mother and sometimes[when defined as?] with the Moon as their father. One of the most important stars is Aušrinė. Other stars, Aušrinė's sisters, are less important, but they sometimes appear in mythic stories too. Especially notable ones are Vakarinė or Vakarė (the evening Venus, who makes the bed for Saulė), Indraja (indra, the hindu devta) (Jupiter), Sėlija (shani, the hindu devta) (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), and Vaivora (Mercury).

Heroes and heroines

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  • Pajauta, the legendary princess of Kernavė
  • Jūratė and Kastytis are heroes of a Lithuanian legend, which subsequently became popular, mostly because of its modern poetic interpretation by Maironis. The queen of the amber palace Jūratė may be considered a manifestation of the goddess of Sea in this legend.

Local and nature spirits

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  • Ežerinis, a spirit of lakes
  • Javinė, a household goddess who protects grain in barns.
  • Jievaras, a household spirit who protects grain. Sacrifices to Jievaras are made after the rye harvest. While cutting grain, women would leave a few grain tufts uncut, which would later be braided into plaits. They would also leave some bread and salt under the plait, and would say: Davei manei, Žemele, duodame ir tau ([You] gave for us, Mother Earth, we are giving for you too), a request for the land to continue to be fruitful.
  • Kupolė, the spirit of springtime vegetation and flowers. The Festival of Kupolė (Kupolinės) was associated with Feast of St. John the Baptist (Joninės). In this festival, women picked sacral herbs, danced and sang songs. Kupolinės is also known as Rasos. Compare this with Ziedu māte in Latvian mythology, Kupala in Polish mythology and Ivan Kupala in Russian mythology
  • Laukų dvasios (spirits of fields), spirits, who were running through the fields. When crops in the fields waved in the wind, people saw them as being the actions of spirits. Laukų dvasios include Nuogalis, Kiškis (hare), Meška (bear), Lapė (fox), Katinas (tomcat), Bubis, Bubas, Bubė, Baubas, Babaužis, Bobas, Maumas (bugaboo), Raudongalvis (red-headed), Raudongerklis (red-throated), Žaliaakis (green-eyed), Paplėštakis, Guda, Dizikas, Smauglys (boa), Ruginis (spirit of rye), Papiokė, Pypalas, Žebris, Arklys (horse), Vilkas (wolf).
  • Upinis, a spirit of rivers

Various lower beings

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  • Kaukas, spirits similar to leprechauns.
  • Laumė, a fairy-like female creature (pixies). Described as white and blue as the sky itself. Good spirit, very friendly with the Earth and Nature gods. However, if anyone tried to use them for personal gain, their punishment would be severe.
  • Nykštukas, gnomes.
  • Vėlės, spirits of dead human beings.

"Demonic" beings

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  • Aitvaras, a household spirit bringing both good and bad luck
  • Baubas [lt], an evil spirit with long lean arms, wrinkly fingers and red eyes. He harasses people and tears their hair or stifles them. To children, he is the equivalent of the boogeyman of the English-speaking countries. A misbehaving child could be told by the parents: "Behave, or baubas will come and get you". Also it could be described as a black and dark creature living under the carpet or in some dark spot of the house.
  • Giltinė [lt] – goddess of death, also The Reaper. Other names include Kaulinyčia, Maras (black death or the Plague), Maro mergos, Kolera, Pavietrė, Kapinių žmogus.[2] Her sacred bird is the owl. Sometimes she was considered to be a sister of Laima (luck).
  • Ragana [lt; lv], Lithuanian and Latvian word for witch.
  • Slogutis means pain, misery or nightmare. Also can mean fear or bad feelings.
  • Pinčiukas or Pinčukas; the word literally means "inhabitant of Pinsk" in Lithuanian (cf. "Pinchuk"). Bronislava Kerbelytė, in her work on classification of "devilish" beings in Lithuanian folklore remarks that often a stranger was seen as an evil being; on particular, "pinchuks" from Belarus were seen as strangers. She writes that in one East Lithuanian legend a pinčiukas was doing mischiefs.[3] The devil Pinčiukas was popularized by the novel Baltaragis's Mill by Kazys Boruta, especially when it was turned into the first Soviet rock opera and musical film Devil's Bride. There Pinčiukas is a comic character: lazy, easily deceived, vengeful.[4]
  • Žiburinis [lt], a scary forest spirit that appears as a phosphorescent skeleton.

Holy places and things

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  • Dausos [lt] or Dangus ("heaven"), the home of good souls. Dausos is on a high mountain (Latvian Debeskalns, or Norse Valhalla), between two rivers. There are golden apple-trees in the Dausos garden. Day in the garden is perpetual but outside its confines is perpetual night. Master of Dausos is Vėjopatis (Lord of the wind) or Vėjas (Wind) who is also one of the oldest gods in Lithuanian mythology. Vėjas is identical to Vayu of Hinduism. Auštaras and Vėjopatis are keepers of Dausos's gates (Dausų Vartai). While Auštaras shows the way for good souls, Vėjas (Vėjopatis) blows bad souls into oblivion.[citation needed]

Names by written sources

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Earliest Rus' chronicles

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Some names from Lithuanian mythology are also found in Kievan Rus' chronicles of the 13th century. These deities were secretly worshiped by King of Lithuania Mindaugas after his baptism. Rus' chronicles are considered the best source of information about the ancient Lithuanian pantheon worshiped by nobles and the military.

  • Sovijus in 13th-century Rus' chronicles was a person who introduced the pagan custom of burning bodies after death, according to studies by Gintaras Beresnevičius.
  • Žvoruna (Zvoruna) was a euphemism for the hunting and forest goddess like Roman Diana. Her name is connected with wild animals. There was mentioned in chronicle that she is a bitch, it means that her zoomorphic shape is female dog.
  • Medeina (Medeinė) is another euphemism of the hunting and forest goddess. Medeina also was mentioned in the 16th century by J. Lasicki. She was worshiped by King Mindaugas and represented military interest of warriors.
  • Teliavelis (Televelis) was a powerful smith who made the sun and threw it to the sky. This myth survived in folk tales in the beginning of the 20th century. Some scholars, like K. Būga, tried to prove that Televelis is incorrectly written Kalvelis (smith diminutive in Lithuanian). Teliavelis has connections with Finnish Ilmarinen.
  • Andajus (Andajas, Andojas, etc.) was mentioned in medieval chronicles as the supreme deity. It may be euphemism for Dievas. It is mentioned in chronicle that warriors invoke Andajus in battle.
  • Nonadievis (Nunadievis; etimologized by some scholars as Numadievis) is an incorrectly written name of the supreme god or just another euphemism.
  • Perkūnas was the god of thunder, one of the most powerful deities. Perkūnas survived in popular belief and folk tales until the 20th century.
  • Diviriks is thought to be one of Perkūnas' euphemisms, meaning "leader of gods".

Martynas Mažvydas

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Martynas Mažvydas in his Latin introduction to Catechismusa Prasty Szadei (1547) urged the people to abandon their pagan ways and mentioned the following gods:[5][6]

  • Perkūnas (Percuno) – god of thunder
  • Laukosargas (Laucosargus) – god of grains and other agricultural plants
  • Žemėpatis (Semepates) – god of cattle and other farm animals
  • Aitvaras and kaukas (Eithuaros and Caucos) – evil spirits

Maciej Stryjkowski

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Maciej Stryjkowski (1547–1593) – Polish–Lithuanian historian and author of Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all Russia. In this work, Stryjkowski provided two lists of gods, one Old Prussian and another Lithuanian. He listed 16 Lithuanian gods:[7]

  1. Prakorimas (Prokorimos) – the supreme deity. Stryjkowski elaborated that people used to sacrifice white cocks to Prakorimas. Their flesh was divided into three pieces: one for peasants, another for pagan priests (Lithuanian: žynys), and a third for burning. Stryjkowski pointed out that Prakorimas was similar to the Prussian supreme god Okopirmas.
  2. Rūgutis (Ruguczis) – god of fermentation and fermented foods
  3. Žemininkas (Ziemennik) – god of land and agriculture. The cult of the žaltys (grass snake) is associated with the cult of Žemininkas.
  4. Krūminė (Kruminie Pradziu Warpu) – deity of ears, provider of crops
  5. Lietuvonis (Lituwanis) – god of rain
  6. Kauriraris (Chaurirari) – deity of war and warhorses. The name etymology is unclear. Vladimir Toporov suggested that it is derived from the Lithuanian word kaurai (fur), while Wilhelm Mannhardt argued it stems from karas (war).[8]
  7. Sutvaras (Sotwaros) – god of all cattle
  8. Šeimos dievas (Seimi Dewos) – god of family
  9. Upinis dievas (Upinis Dewos) – god of rivers
  10. Bubilas – god of honey and bees
  11. Didis Lado (Dzidzis Lado) – the great god. Festivities, songs, and dances in his honor lasted from May 25 to June 25. There are doubts whether this represents an actual god.[9]
  12. Gulbis (Gulbi Dzievos) – the good spirit of every human, guardian angel
  13. Ganiklis (Goniglis Dziewos) – god of herds and shepherds
  14. Šventpaukštinis (Swieczpunscynis) – god of all domesticated and wild birds. People did not offer sacrifices to him as he was a free spirit.
  15. Kelių dievas (Kielu Dziewos) – god of roads, trade and travel
  16. Pušaitis or Puškaitis (Puszajtis) – deity of land, dwelling in elder bushes and commanding chthonic dwarfs (barstukas)

Jan Łasicki

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Jan Łasicki (Lasicius) was a Polish Protestant activist. He wrote a treatise on idolatry About the gods of Samogitians, other Sarmatians, and false Christians (De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum, written ca. 1582 and published in 1615). This 18-page treatise contained a lists of 76 Lithuanian gods with brief description of their functions. Łasicki obtained most of his information from Łaszkowski, a Polish lesser noble who worked as a royal land surveyor. The list contained very minor deities, representing everyday household items. Łasicki was also not intimately familiar with Lithuanian culture or language. Therefore, the academic opinion on the list ranges from a valuable resource to a practical joke designed to poke fun of Christian saints through an inverted mirror. Deities mentioned by Jan Łasicki were:[10]

  1. Aukštėjas (Auxtheias Vissagistis) – a euphemism for the supreme god. Derived from the Lithuanian word aukštas (high).
  2. Žemėpatis (Zemopacios)
  3. Perkūnas (Percunos) – god of thunder
  4. Audros – god of storms
  5. Algis
  6. Aušra (Ausca) – the morning star (Venus). Her other name was Aušrinė.
  7. Bežlėja (Bezlea)
  8. Brėkšta (Breksta) – goddess of twilight. Also could be a euphemism for Vakarė.
  9. Ligyčius (Ligiczus)
  10. Datanus
  11. Kirnis (Kirnus) – local god of cherries
  12. Kremata – god of hogs[11]
  13. Pyzius (Pizio) – god of spouses
  14. Medeina (Modeina et Ragaina) – goddess of forest and hunting
  15. Kerpyčius and Šilinytis (Kierpiczus and Siliniczus) – gods of forest, mosses and lichens
  16. Tavalas (Tavvals) – deity of physical strength. Gintaras Beresnevičius noted that this deity could be the same as medieval Teliavelis.
  17. Orthus
  18. Ežerinis (Ezernim) – spirit or deity of lakes. Derived from ežeras (lake).
  19. Sidžius, Simonaitis and Ventis Rekičionis (Simonaitem, Sidzium, Ventis Rekicziouum) – spirits worshiped by individual noble families
  20. Karvaitis Ėraitinis (Kurvvaiczin Eraiczin) – deity of calves and lambs[11]
  21. Gardūnytis (Gardunithis) – protector of newly born lambs[12]
  22. Prigirstytis (Prigirstitis) – can hear whispers
  23. Derintojas (Derfintos)
  24. Bentis
  25. Laukpatis (Lavukpatimo)
  26. Priparšis (Priparscis)
  27. Ratainyčia (Ratainicza) – god of horses[8]
  28. Valgina (Walgina) – god of cattle[11]
  29. Krikštas (Kriksthos) – protector of tombstones[11]
  30. Apydėmė (Apidome) – deity of changed residence. The name is also known from hand-written collection of sermons from 1573.[13]
  31. Kriukis (Krukis) – deity of pigs
  32. Lazdona (Lasdona) – goddess of hazelnuts
  33. Bubilas (Babilos) – household god of bees, husband of Austėja
  34. Žemyna (Zemina) – goddess of land and agriculture
  35. Austėja (Austheia) – household goddess of bees, often presented as wife of Bubilas
  36. Deuoitis
  37. Vetustis
  38. Guboi and Tvverticos
  39. Veliuona (Vielona) – goddess of death
  40. Warpulis
  41. Salaus – no function recorded by Łasicki.
  42. Šluotražis (Szlotrazis) – no function recorded by Łasicki. The name is derived from šluota (broom).[14]
  43. Tiklis – no function recorded by Łasicki.
  44. Beržulis (Birzulis) – no function recorded by Łasicki. Based on etymology, it could be a god of birches and birch sap.
  45. Šeryčius (Siriczus) – no function recorded by Łasicki. The name is possibly derived from šerti (feed).[14]
  46. Dvargantis (Dvvargonth) – no function recorded by Łasicki.
  47. Klamals – no function recorded by Łasicki.
  48. Atlaibas (Atlaibos) – no function recorded by Łasicki.
  49. Numeias
  50. Ublanyčia (Vblanicza) – patron of beggars[15]
  51. Dugnai – spirit of flour
  52. Pesseias
  53. Trotytojas kibirkščių (Tratitas Kirbixtu) – deity of spark, fire
  54. Alabathis
  55. Polengabia
  56. Užpelenė (Aspelenie)
  57. Budintojas (Budintaia)
  58. Matergabiae
  59. Raugo Žemėpatis (Rauguzemapati) – deity of sourdough, leaven and fermentation
  60. Luibegeldas
  61. Ziemennik
  62. Vaižgantas (Waizganthos) – a god of flax
  63. Gabija (Gabie) – goddess of household fire
  64. Smik smik per velėną (Smik Smik Perleuenu) – a phrase rather than a being
  65. Ežiagalis (Ezagulis) – god of death
  66. Aitvaras (Aitvvaros)
  67. Kaukas (Kaukie)
  68. Gyvatė (Giuoitos) – black snake (see also žaltys)
  69. Srutis and Miechutele – deities of paint and color[14]

Matthäus Prätorius

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Deities mentioned by Matthäus Prätorius (1635–1704) were:[14]

  • Žalius (Zallus) – god of disagreement
  • Žėlius (Zelus) – god of grass
  • Šulininis (Szullinnijs) – god of wells
  • Bangpūtys, Vėjopatis, Bičbirbis, Giltinė, Gota, Jaučių Baubis, Karvaitis, Ėraitis, Skalsa, Biržulis / Beržulis, Prigirstytis / Girystis, Ligyčius / Lygėjus, Kelio dievas / Kelukis
  • Drebkulis and Magyla - Prussian Lithuanian
  • Gabjauja (Gabvartas)[16]

Theodor Narbutt

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Polish-Lithuanian historian Teodor Narbutt wrote the ten-volume work History of the Lithuanian Nation (Dzieje starożytne narodu litewskiego) between 1835 and 1841. The first volume contained a description of Lithuanian mythology. However, modern historians have accused Narbutt of falsifying historical facts and reporting speculations. Thus, some gods mentioned only by Narbutt and unknown from other sources are usually treated as inventions of the author.

Male deities

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  • Praamžius (Pramżimas) – highest god, determines the fate of people, world, and other gods
  • Ukapirmas (Okkapirmas) – preceded time, his feast is celebrated on December 25
  • Viršaitis (Wirszajtos) – protected household, domestic animals. Narbutt claimed that he was equivalent to Auxtejas Wissagistis mentioned by Łasicki and to Roman Saturn
  • Perkūnas (Perkunas) – thunder god
  • Kovas (Kawas) – god of war
  • Ragutis – god of beer, vodka, mead
  • Santvaras or Sotvaras (Sotwaros) – god of daylight, poets, doctors
  • Atrimpas (Atrimpos) – god of sea and water
  • Gardaitis (Gardeoldiis) – god of wind, storm, protector of ships
  • Poklius (Poklus) – god of death and underworld
  • Kriukis (Krugis) – god of smiths
  • Žiemininkas (Ziemienikas) – god of earth, harvest, and darkness
  • Patelas (Patelo) – flying god of air, similar to an angel
  • Šneibratas (Sznejbrato) – god of birds and hunting
  • Kibirai (Kabiry) – a trinity

Female deities

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Goddess Milda by Kazimierz Alchimowicz (1910), National Museum in Warsaw
  • Praurimė (Praurime) – goddess of sacred fire, she was served by vaidilutės
  • Lada (Lado) – the great goddess, Rasos festival is dedicated to her
  • Budtė (Budte) – goddess of wisdom
  • Laima (Lajma) – goddess of fate
  • Pelenų Gabija (Polengabia) – goddess of fireplaces
  • Moterų Gabija (Matergabia) – goddess of bread and bakery
  • Perkūnaitėlė (Perkunatele) – wife of Perkūnas
  • Pilvytė (Pilwite) – goddess of money, riches, and good luck
  • Lietuva (Liethua) – goddess of freedom, pleasure, joy
  • Veliuona (Wellona) – goddess of eternity, afterlife
  • Pergrubė (Pergrubie) – goddess of spring, flowers, gardens
  • Milda – goddess of love, courtship
  • Krūminė (Krumine) – goddess of grain, agriculture
  • Nijolė (Nijola) – mistress of the underworld, wife of Poklius
  • Alabatis – goddess of flax
  • Aušra (Ausssra) – morning goddess
  • Bezelea – evening goddess
  • Brėkšta (Brekszta) – goddess of darkness and dreams
  • Kruonis (Kronis) – goddess of time
  • Užsparinė (Usparinia) – goddess of land borders
  • Verpėja (Werpeja) – weaver of the thread of life
  • Gondu – goddess of weddings
  • Upinė (Upine) – goddess of rivers, springs
  • Ratainyčia (Ratajniczu) – goddess protecting horses
  • Valginė (Walgina) – goddess protecting domestic animals
  • Luobo gelda (Lajbegelda) – goddess of knowledge and rumors
  • Mėšlų boba (Mahslu baba) – goddess of garbage
  • Budintoja – spirit that wakes sleeping people
  • Austėja (Austheja) – goddess of bees
  • Ragutiene Pati (Ragutenapati) – wife of Ragutis
  • Žemės Motina (Zemmes mahti) – goddess of underground, responsible for lost items
  • Gaila (Gajla) – spirit torturing people and animals
  • Neris – nymph of Neris River
  • Dugnė (Dugna) – nymph of rivers
  • Ragana – goddess of trees
  • Lazdona – goddess of hazelnut
  • Medziojna – goddess of forests
  • Pajauta – worshiped woman, daughter of Duke Kernius, wife of Živinbudas
  • Birutė (Biruta) – worshiped woman, wife of Kęstutis

Other written sources

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This section contains those names of Lithuanian and Prussian gods or other mythical beings that are mentioned in old treatises on history or philosophy, sometimes accompanied by brief descriptions, and which are known from a few independent sources or from their counterparts under different names in later collections of myths and tales.

  • Dimstipatis (mentioned by Jokūbas Lavinskis), is a masculine deity (genius loci). It is a household god, the guardian of houses and caretaker of the hearth. People sacrificed roosters and black hens to the deity. The birds were boiled; later people would gather around the kettle and eat the birds. The bones were burned. Sometimes Dimstipatis is reconstructed as a god of housewives, to whom pigs were sacrificed. Dimstipatis was also seen as a power protecting from fires.[5]
  • Dirvolika, Nosolus (Jesuit reports from 1605)[17]
  • Pagirnis (Jesuit reports from 1605)[5]
  • Baukuris (Kraziu kolegijos)[18]
  • Velinas (mentioned by Konstantinas Sirvydas)[2]
  • Javinė (Jawinne by Jacob Brodowski)[17]
  • Laima (Daniel Klein in 1666)[19]

Other names

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Names of figures that were more marginal in Lithuanian mythology or less known from existing sources are put here. In fact they denote some spirits or local deities that do not play a main role in the mythology of Lithuanians.

  • Blizgulis, a god of snow. His name means "He who sparkles."
  • Junda, Goddess of War
  • Baubis, a household god of meat and cattle.
  • Divytis, a god-like hero of fishermen legends. Fishermen at sea sang songs about Divytis.
  • Gardaitis, a god (a spirit?) of ships and sailors.
  • Jagaubis, a household spirit of fire and the furnace.
  • Rasa, Kupolė's and Kaupolis' daughter. She is the goddess of summer's greenage and flowers.
  • Mokas, a stone with an ability to teach people, sometimes they are found in families - with wife Mokienė and children Mokiukas

See also

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References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

List of Lithuanian gods and mythological figures

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Lithuanian gods and mythological figures constitute a diverse pantheon and array of beings central to the pre-Christian of the , particularly the , preserved through fragmentary historical chronicles from the 13th to 16th centuries, ethnographic recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries, and scholarly reconstructions drawing on comparative Indo-European mythology. This mythology reflects a tripartite encompassing the , earthly realm, and , with deities embodying natural forces, fertility, fate, and moral order, often in dualistic conflicts between benevolent creators and chaotic adversaries. Prominent among the gods is Dievas, the supreme sky deity and nominal ruler of the cosmos, often depicted as an elderly patriarch who initiates creation alongside antagonistic forces like the Devil in cosmogonic myths where the world emerges from primordial waters through cooperative yet contentious acts of molding earth. Perkūnas, the thunder god and central enforcer of justice, wields lightning as a weapon against chaos, riding a chariot pulled by goats or horses, and serves as a protector of order, fertility, and warriors while clashing with underworld figures; his name appears in over 125 Lithuanian toponyms and numerous euphemisms, underscoring his pervasive cultural role. Goddesses play equally vital roles, such as Žemyna, the earth mother who ensures agricultural bounty and is fecundated by Perkūnas' rains, often invoked in rituals for growth and harvest. Laima, goddess of fate, fortune, and destiny, determines human life paths from birth to death, appearing as an old woman or rainbow and linked to sisters like Giltinė (death) and Dalia (portion of prosperity). Other notable figures include Velnias, the chthonic devil and Perkūnas' primary antagonist, associated with the underworld, harmful creatures, and chaotic creation; Medeina (or Žvorūna), the forest and hunt goddess patronizing wild animals; and celestial beings like Aušrinė (dawn goddess of youth and beauty) and Saulė (sun goddess). Mythological entities extend to spirits like Laumė (fairy-like beings, sometimes Perkūnas' wife), Aitvaras (fiery household sprites bringing wealth or mischief), and Kaukai (chthonic providers of abundance), illustrating a cosmology intertwined with agrarian life, seasonal cycles, and moral dualism.

Historical Sources and Scholarship

Oral Folklore and Legends

Lithuanian oral folklore and legends form a rich repository of mythological figures, preserved through generations of , songs (dainos), and rituals that emphasize the interplay between humans, , and the divine. These traditions, often transmitted by women in rural communities, depict a where gods and spirits influence daily life, , weather, and fate, blending reverence with cautionary tales. Central deities like , , and appear as anthropomorphic beings embodying cosmic order, while lesser entities such as Laumė and reflect the dual forces of benevolence and mischief in the natural and domestic spheres. Scholars reconstruct these narratives from 19th- and 20th-century collections, highlighting their role in maintaining amid historical upheavals. Dievas, the supreme sky father and creator god, presides over the universe as a wise sovereign who allots fate and maintains cosmic balance, often invoked in prayers for abundance such as "skalsink Dieve" to ensure plentiful harvests. In oral tales, he appears as Senelis Dievas, an elderly figure distributing life's portions—like a lamb to mortals—symbolizing divine equity and intervention in human affairs. More powerful than other deities, Dievas can alter destinies and is linked to eternal fire and water, underscoring his role as the ultimate overseer beyond earthly conflicts. Perkūnas, the thunder god, wields an axe or hammer to battle evil forces, shaping the landscape by hurling lightning bolts that create hills and lakes during confrontations with chaotic entities like Aitvaras or the wind spirit Vėjas. As protector of fields, he brings spring rain for fertility while averting hail and storms, and folklore prayers like "Percune deuaite niemuski vnd mana" invoke him for safeguarding homes and enforcing moral order, including punishing taboo acts such as knife use in sacred spaces. Saulė, the sun goddess, travels her daily path across the sky in a chariot drawn by fiery horses, embodying warmth, light, and renewal as a life-giving mother figure central to agricultural cycles. Legends portray her as radiant and vengeful, refusing to rise for nine mornings after exclusion from a christening, highlighting themes of hospitality and cosmic retribution. Among supernatural entities, Laumė emerges as a fairy-like forest spirit tied to fate, , and , often depicted as eternal maidens weaving endless dowries or long-nosed women aiding (or punishing) humans through rituals involving linden trees and sheep. In tales, she bestows wedding gifts on the deserving but exchanges human newborns with changelings or spreads plague as a wrathful old woman, reflecting her ambivalent role in weaving human destinies alongside the lunar sphere. Aitvaras, a shape-shifting household dragon or fiery bird born from a rooster's egg, serves as a domestic spirit that delivers fortune—such as grain or wealth—to compliant families but ignites fires or inflicts illnesses like kaltūnas on the greedy, often clashing with in sky battles. Folklore describes it consuming offerings like omelets or , embodying the precarious balance between prosperity and peril in rural life. Prominent legends illustrate these figures' interactions with mortals, such as the tale of , where Jūratė, the beautiful sea goddess ruling the Baltic depths, falls in love with the fisherman Kastytis, defying divine prohibitions until strikes him with lightning, shattering her palace and turning her tears into the scattered beads found on shores today. Though popularized in 19th-century literature by ethnographer Liudvikas Adomas Jucevičius, the narrative draws from Baltic mythological motifs of forbidden unions and sea creation, preserved in oral variants emphasizing themes of tragic love and natural origins. Similarly, the legend of recounts a young woman's betrothal to the king of grass snakes after he visits her as a serpent suitor; when her brothers kill him seeking her return, Eglė must perform impossible tasks involving shedding tears, ultimately transforming into a tree while her sons become an oak, an alder, and a , symbolizing the reverence for snakes in Lithuanian customs. This story, rooted in oral fairy tales classified under international motifs like serpent transformation (ATU 425C), underscores chthonic bonds, familial betrayal, and the sacredness of grass snakes as ancestral guardians. Scholars like Bronislava Kerbelytė, through her comprehensive catalog of over 85,000 Lithuanian folk narratives from 1835 to 1982, classify "devilish" beings such as Pinčiukas as mischievous child-like spirits inhabiting bogs or marshes, not purely Christian evil but tricksters who disrupt households with pranks or minor harms, often embodying pre-Christian dweller figures reinterpreted in oral tales. These entities, including variants like Velnias as a one-eyed giant or Bubilas the shaggy bee demon opposing bee goddess Austėja, highlight folklore's blend of antagonism and humor, where humans outwit them through cleverness rather than divine intervention. Kerbelytė's work reveals how such classifications preserve the fluid, narrative-driven essence of oral traditions, distinguishing them from more rigid written accounts.

Early Written Accounts

The earliest recorded mentions of Lithuanian mythological figures appear in 13th-century external chronicles, primarily from Rus' and Teutonic sources, which document them amid conflicts with Christian powers and often depict them negatively to underscore pagan "barbarity." The , compiling the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle, records in its entry for 1252 that Lithuanian ruler feigned Christian baptism while secretly sacrificing to five ancestral gods: Nunadievis (likely a supreme or ), Teliavelis (possibly a smith or road god), Diviriksas (potentially linked to thunder), Zuikio dievas (the hare god), and Medeina (a forest or hunt goddess). This brief account highlights ongoing pagan practices despite political conversions but provides no details on their attributes or worship, framing them as obstacles to . The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, an anonymous Teutonic work from around 1290, offers further fragmented references during descriptions of crusader campaigns, portraying as the pagans' supreme god equated by the author to the Christian deity, though misunderstood as idolatrous. It also notes sacred oaks as central worship sites where assembled for rituals, emphasizing their role in communal devotion before destruction by invaders. appears here as a prominent idol named Perkūnė, smashed by crusaders as a symbol of false worship, underscoring the chronicle's hostile lens on Baltic thunder cults. Related Baltic traditions in Prussian sources from the same era mention Patrimpas as a youthful thunder in opposition to death gods, exhibiting clear parallels to Lithuanian and suggesting shared regional mythology despite ethnic distinctions. Scholars note potential Christian biases in these texts, where gods are demonized or dismissed as "devils" to legitimize conquests, raising questions about the accuracy of names and descriptions, though linguistic and contextual evidence supports their pre-Christian origins. These sparse records contrast with richer later folklore, such as legends involving thunder and justice, indicating survival of core motifs.

16th-19th Century Chronicles

The 16th to chronicles represent a pivotal phase in recording Lithuanian mythological figures, as authors from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and later Romantic scholars compiled pantheon-like lists amid efforts and national revival. These works, often embedded in historical or polemical texts, drew from oral traditions, personal observations, and earlier accounts, though they varied in reliability and intent, sometimes blending authentic pagan elements with interpretive biases. Key figures such as thunder gods, fate deities, and nature spirits emerge prominently, influencing later reconstructions of Baltic religion. Martynas Mažvydas, a Protestant reformer, referenced pagan holdovers in his 1547 Catechismusa prasty szadei, the first book printed in Lithuanian, urging readers to forsake idols like , the god of thunder, and an earth mother associated with fertility and the land, portraying them as diabolic survivals incompatible with . These mentions highlight Perkūnas's role in weather and protection rituals, while the earth mother aligns with chthonic veneration of the soil, reflecting persistent folk beliefs in mid-16th century and . Maciej Stryjkowski's 1582 chronicle Kronika offers one of the earliest structured Lithuanian pantheons, enumerating 16 deities in a hierarchical list that positions Prakorimas (or Prokorimas) as the supreme god overseeing creation and cosmic order. Among them, Medeina appears as a huntress goddess linked to forests and wildlife, evoking parallels in oral folklore where she protects animals and wanderers, while Svaikstikis is described as a twilight deity governing the liminal hours of dawn and dusk, possibly tied to seasonal transitions. Stryjkowski's compilation, influenced by Renaissance humanism, aimed to historicize Baltic customs but incorporated Polish-Lithuanian cultural lenses, emphasizing deities like earth guardians (Žemininkai) alongside Perkūnas. Jan Łasicki's late 16th-century treatise De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum, published in 1615, presents an extensive catalog of up to 76 named figures, primarily from Samogitian (Žemaitijan) traditions, including Bangpūtis as a sea god ruling waves and maritime perils, and as the goddess of fate who determines human destiny, births, and marriages. The list encompasses household protectors (e.g., Namiszki Diewai), nature entities like Vaižgantas ( god) with offerings, and celestial figures such as Aušrinė (morning star goddess), blending detailed prayers and sacrifices with critiques of lingering . Scholarly debate surrounds its authenticity, with some viewing the exhaustive enumeration and peculiar names (e.g., Apidēmė for relocation) as possible mocking residual rather than a faithful record, though others affirm its value for capturing diverse local cults. Matthäus Prätorius, a 17th-century Prussian ethnographer, documented Lithuanian and Prussian rituals in his 1690 Deliciae Prussicae oder Preussische Schaubühne, describing Giltinė as the bringer of death, a skeletal figure who claims souls and serves as medicine's guardian, often depicted as Laima's sister in fate-death dualities. He also portrayed Ragana as a witch-like entity, knowledgeable in herbs and prophecy, associated with forests (linked to Medeina) and malevolent acts like plaguing children or causing misfortune, drawing from firsthand accounts of folk practices in the region. Prätorius's work emphasizes supernatural interactions, such as Aitvaras's fiery conflicts with Perkūnas, providing vivid ethnographic details on offerings and taboos that shaped understandings of lower beings. In the , Theodor Narbutt's Dzieje starożytne narodu litewskiego () attempted a Romantic reconstruction of Lithuanian antiquity, introducing figures like as a love and beauty presiding over marriages and springs, but these have been criticized as inventions drawing from Slavic mythology, where similarly embodies spring and passion, rather than authentic Baltic sources. Narbutt's pantheon, including Praamžius as a destiny god, blended with speculative to foster , yet scholars like Simonas Stanevičius faulted it for overreliance on unverified traditions and cross-cultural borrowings, undermining its historical accuracy.

Modern Interpretations and Archaeology

In the 20th and 21st centuries, scholars like Gintaras Beresnevičius have contributed significantly to reconstructing Lithuanian mythological figures through analyses of revivals, emphasizing their roles in cultural continuity. Beresnevičius interpreted Sovijus, drawn from 13th-century chronicles and later , as a primordial figure who established funerary rites by discovering the path to the , thereby influencing concepts of and ancestral guidance in revived narratives. Similarly, he linked Tavalas (or Tavvals), mentioned in 17th-century sources, to domestic spheres as a spirit of physical strength and household protection, potentially overlapping with the medieval Teliavelis in neo-pagan adaptations that portray it as a guardian of the hearth and family vitality. Archaeological evidence from prehistoric sites has provided tangible support for these interpretations, revealing artifacts that align with mythological motifs of deities and spirits. At the Šventoji settlement on Lithuania's Baltic coast, dated to around 2400 BC, excavations uncovered bone staffs topped with heads and wooden sculptures interpreted as representations of sacred animals or anthropomorphic figures, possibly evoking elk-headed deities central to Baltic cosmology or symbols associated with thunder and . These findings suggest early practices involving animal intermediaries, bridging material culture with later depictions of nature spirits and high gods. Recent studies, particularly from 2024, have further illuminated ritual landscapes tied to specific deities. Research on footprint stones—natural or carved rock impressions numbering over 230 across —posits them as ancient ritual sites where devotees invoked gods like , the thunder deity, through offerings and processions, as evidenced by ethnographic correlations and spatial analysis of these monuments. Complementing this, investigations into sacred groves highlight their role as multifunctional worship areas for multiple deities, including earth and sky figures, based on tree alignments and historical toponyms indicating pre-Christian multi-deity veneration persisting into modern conservation efforts. Folklore research between 2021 and 2025 has explored the evolving contexts of amid and , documenting shifts in narrative transmission. Studies emphasize how digital platforms adapt myths for contemporary audiences, creating interactive "digital mythologies" that reimagine figures like Laumė or in virtual storytelling and projects. Parallel to this, the annual Jorė Festival, a revival of spring greenery rites honoring earth awakening, incorporates rituals blending traditional chants with modern performances to foster cultural revival, as part of ongoing ethnographic studies of the festival. Scholarly debates on Baltic mythological unity underscore regional divergences despite shared elements, such as the supreme god in Lithuanian lore paralleling Latvian Dievs as a , yet without evidence of a centralized pantheon across the . These discussions, rooted in and , argue for localized variations influenced by geography and historical interactions, cautioning against overgeneralizing a singular Baltic tradition.

Major Deities

Supreme Sky and Thunder Gods

In , , often referred to as Dangaus Dievas or the Heavenly God, holds the position of the supreme deity, functioning as the creator of the world and the ultimate moral overseer. He is typically depicted as an elderly residing in a celestial palace, where he distributes individual fates (dalis) and ensures the maintenance of cosmic and , reflecting human systems of and . As a guarantor of and , mediates between the natural and cultural realms, associating with elements like eternal fire, water, and the moon to bless cycles such as the , and he lacks a specified spouse in traditional accounts. Perkūnas embodies the thunder god of justice and natural forces, central to Lithuanian cosmology as the enforcer of moral and agrarian order. Portrayed as a powerful anthropomorphic figure—sometimes a middle-aged man with fiery attributes or a giant wielding an iron hammer and axe—he protects sacred oaks, fecundates the earth, and safeguards fields from destructive hail through his storms. His role extends to sacred fire rituals, where offerings like bacon were made during festivals to invoke his protective and punitive powers, positioning him as a subordinate yet vital agent under in upholding world harmony. In one brief cosmological motif, maintains ties to earth goddesses like through symbolic matrimonial bonds that ensure fertility. Prakorimas, documented in the 16th-century chronicle of Maciej Stryjkowski, emerges as a primordial supreme being or the "primordial word" (pra-korimas), potentially equated with the origins of thunder and foundational creation in early Lithuanian pantheon lists. As the foremost in Stryjkowski's enumeration of 16 gods, he received sacrifices of white cocks, whose flesh was divided among participants, underscoring his role in initiating divine will and cosmic destiny. Scholarly analysis links Prakorimas to ancient narratives of sovereignty and the ruling of giants, marking him as a precursor figure in Baltic mythological traditions.

Earth, Sun, and Nature Goddesses

In , the goddesses associated with earth, sun, and nature embody nurturing and regenerative forces essential to life cycles, , and the natural world. These deities, often depicted as maternal figures, oversee , seasonal changes, and the sustenance of both human and wild domains, forming a complementary counterpart to the authoritative sky gods such as , who interact with them to maintain cosmic balance through thunder and rain. Žemyna, the , personifies the fertile soil and governs , , and the realm of the dead. She nourishes all life—human, plant, and animal—by providing growth and regeneration, with everything born from the earth destined to return to it. Her domains extend to graves, where she controls the souls of the deceased and facilitates their into plants or new forms, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence. In myths, Žemyna is fecundated by Perkūnas's thunder, which brings beneficial rain and greenery after his battles against malevolent forces like the , ensuring bountiful crops. Rituals honoring her include burying offerings such as , salt, eggs, or pig bones at field boundaries before plowing to invoke and protect against or destructive storms; during , food like and milk is scattered on the soil. rites involve libations of and placements of or in graves to appease her and safeguard the soul's journey. These practices, rooted in archives and historical accounts like Matthäus Prätorius's Deliciae Prussicae, underscore her role in agrarian and chthonic life. Saulė, the sun goddess, traverses the daily, symbolizing light, warmth, and the vital energy that sustains life and seasonal renewal. She is portrayed as a hardworking maternal figure, daughter of the supreme god , whose path across the heavens marks the annual cycle and influences weather, including the mixing of sun and rain interpreted as her "laughter." In mythological narratives, Saulė is the mother of celestial children, including twin figures associated with dawn and stars, reflecting her generative role in the cosmos; her marriage to the moon god Mėnuo is strained by his infidelity with their daughter Aušrinė, prompting to punish Mėnuo by splitting him, thus explaining the phases of the moon. Saulė rides a across the sky, drawn by tireless , embodying her dynamic journey from dawn to . Her symbols include solar wheels, circles, sun discs, and golden rays, often carved on crosses and roofed poles to invoke protection and healing; dew is seen as her scattered beads, used in rituals like rolling in it for health. Festivals celebrate her movements with bonfires on St. John's Eve and invocations in christening songs, drawing from Lithuanian folklore archives. Medeina (also Medeinė), the forest huntress goddess, rules over woodlands, , and wildlife, serving as a fierce protector rather than an aid to hunters. Derived from terms meaning "" or "forest," she embodies the untamed aspects of nature, guarding animals and sacred groves from harm. Often compared to , Medeina is depicted as a virgin accompanied by wolves and hares, which are considered her sacred animals and hounds, symbolizing her dominion over forest creatures. In myths, she dwells in dense woods, linked to wild forces and sometimes demonic traits, ensuring the balance of primeval nature against human intrusion. Her worship, documented in 13th–14th-century sources and later , involved offerings under elder trees in sacred groves, which served as centers of pre-Christian rituals from the 12th to 18th centuries. These practices, preserved in ethnographic records, highlight her role in preserving the vitality of forests and their inhabitants. Austėja, the of bees and fertility, serves as a guardian of family, marriage, and the natural processes of reproduction and abundance. Often depicted as a nurturing figure associated with , , and christening rituals, she promotes moderation and prosperity in agrarian life, contrasting with more excessive bee spirits. Her domain ties into household fertility and seasonal cycles, with invocations during weddings and births to ensure fruitful unions and healthy offspring. Gabija, the goddess of fire, protects the hearth and household, embodying the sacred flame that sustains warmth, cooking, and rituals. As a major fire deity, she is linked to fate through the symbolism of firewood and contrasts with wilder fire spirits, ensuring domestic harmony and warding off misfortune. Offerings and careful tending of the home fire honored her in daily agrarian practices.

Other High Deities and Twins

In Lithuanian mythology, Aušrinė and Vakarinė represent the dual aspects of the planet Venus as celestial deities embodying the morning and evening stars, respectively. Aušrinė, the goddess of dawn, is depicted as a beautiful maiden associated with sunrise, love, marriage, and weaving, often symbolizing youth, health, and good fortune through motifs like combing her golden hair in a boat to evoke sunrays or raking hay as a metaphor for gathering light. She is regarded as the daughter of the Sun goddess Saulė, with ties to the Moon god Mėnulis as a parental figure in folklore narratives where she emerges from the sea or aids in cosmic cycles. Vakarinė, her counterpart, governs the evening sky and matchmaking, inviting other stars to appear while paralleling bridal symbolism in wedding rites, contrasting Aušrinė's dawn role with sunset and twilight transitions. Together, they form a balanced pair in the astral pantheon, linking terrestrial beauty rituals to heavenly order, as seen in textile patterns and songs where their actions mirror daily celestial movements. The stand as divine twin horse brothers in the Lithuanian pantheon, serving as celestial charioteers who pull the Sun Saulė's copper-wheeled across the , ensuring the daily journey of and embodying symbols of dawn, fertility, and protection. Characterized as white horses with golden manes, they parallel Indo-European twin motifs like the Vedic , functioning as guardians of solar passage and healers in broader mythic comparisons, with their equine form tying into rituals honoring horses as sacred mediators between earth and heavens. Their role underscores the twins' high status in cosmic mechanics, bridging the supreme thunder god's familial cosmology through shared protective duties over luminous deities. Mėnulis, the god, governs the night sky, health, fortune, and youth, often depicted as a sovereign figure central to celestial narratives and festivals like Krikštai. As the husband of , he provides light and fertility but faces punishment from for his affair with Aušrinė, explaining the moon's phases; his role ties into broader themes of fate and cosmic order. Laima holds prominence as the goddess of fate and fortune in Lithuanian belief, often portrayed as a spinner who weaves the threads of human destiny at birth, determining life paths, prosperity, and material well-being while mediating between natural cycles and cultural prosperity. She appears in triad form as three laimės—elder women or manifestations—who collectively prophesy outcomes, with Laima overseeing birth and , one sister governing adult life's fortunes, and another, akin to Giltinė, managing and prolongation of existence. Bound to the linden tree and agrarian fields named laimykas for her blessings, Laima's decisions reflect a binary structure of fortune versus misfortune, influencing cosmic events like floods or plagues as a messenger of higher divine will.

Spirits and Supernatural Entities

Local and Nature Spirits

In , local and nature spirits were integral to the pre-Christian , embodying the vitality and perils of specific natural environments. These entities were often invoked for protection and harmony with the landscape, reflecting the agrarian and aquatic lifestyles of ancient Baltic peoples. Among them, water-related spirits held particular significance in regions abundant with lakes and rivers, where human activities like fishing and travel depended on favorable conditions. Ežerinis, the spirit of lakes, and Upinis, the spirit of rivers, served as guardians of these waterways, ensuring safe passage and bountiful resources for those who respected them. Fishermen, boatmen, and travelers crossing frozen rivers in winter invoked these spirits to avert dangers such as accidents or turbulent waters. preserved their names as distinct deities tied to aquatic realms, with Ežerinis derived from the Lithuanian word for lake (ežeras) and Upinis from river (upė).,%20OCR.pdf) Offerings were made to such water spirits, as lakes were believed to demand sacrifices to maintain balance and prevent calamities like overflows or drownings. Kupolė embodied the essence of springtime vegetation and floral growth, overseeing the blooming of plants from May through July, a period of peak natural renewal. Celebrated in midsummer rituals known as Kupolinės, her festival involved communal gatherings with garlands, dances, and songs honoring the flourishing of nature, later syncretized with the Christian Feast of St. (Joninės). These rites emphasized and the life-giving force of , with participants adorning poles and wreaths to symbolize her domain. Laukų dvasios, or field spirits, were perceived as dynamic protectors of agricultural lands, manifesting in the rustling winds and undulating crops that signaled their presence. Believed to run through meadows and fields, they safeguarded harvests by animating the landscape, often appearing as animals such as hares (Kiškis), bears (Meška), foxes (Lapė), or cats (Katinas) to embody natural forces. Farmers attributed the waving of to these spirits' benevolent actions, viewing them as essential allies in ensuring vitality and abundance. While broader forest guardians like Medeina provided overarching woodland protection, Laukų dvasios focused on the cultivated earth.

Household and Lower Beings

In , household and lower beings represent a class of diminutive, often ambivalent spirits tied to domestic and farm life, functioning as guardians whose benevolence depended on human offerings and . These entities, rooted in and early written accounts, inhabited homes, hearths, and barns, influencing prosperity through aid or mischief. Unlike higher deities, they embodied everyday concerns like , sustenance, and from scarcity, with their roles preserved in oral traditions and 17th-century ethnographies. The kaukas exemplifies these lower beings as a gnome-like guardian, typically depicted as a small, dwarfish figure residing in the or barn. It ensured agricultural abundance by bringing grain, hay, or food to dutiful owners who provided it with milk or , but turned malevolent if neglected, shape-shifting into animals like a cat, hare, toad, or snake to steal milk, butter, or other provisions from neighbors. This dual nature reflects the precarious balance of rural life, where the kaukas could enhance wealth for the pious or sow discord through theft, as documented in western Lithuanian variants where it is closely linked to the . In eastern regions, the kaukas more overtly steals dairy to benefit its host, underscoring its role as a ally bound by appeasement. Tavalas, identified in 17th-century sources as Tavvals, serves as a and spirit promoting warmth, cohesion, and prosperity within the home. According to Gintaras Beresnevičius, this figure—possibly a remnant of the medieval chthonic Teliavelis—embodied physical strength and domestic stability, ensuring the hearth's fire sustained familial bonds and warded off hardship through rituals like offerings of food or libations. Its association with the home's central fire symbolized the vital energy of the household, linking it to prosperity in daily routines rather than grand cosmic forces. Baubis functions as a protector of and stores, a lower being invoked in rituals to safeguard from disease and preserve provisions against spoilage. Drawn from Samogitian lists of minor deities, Baubis received offerings such as salted or blood during slaughter to ensure herd health and successful preservation, reflecting its role in averting in . This spirit's domain extended to the barn and , where neglect could invite loss, emphasizing human reciprocity in maintaining domestic abundance.

Demonic and Malevolent Figures

In Lithuanian mythology, demonic and malevolent figures represent forces of chaos, death, and misfortune, often embodying the darker aspects of the natural and worlds. These beings, preserved in and ethnographic records, frequently oppose benevolent deities and disrupt human life through trickery, inevitability, or malice. Influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and later , they highlight the precarious balance between order and disorder in Baltic cosmology. Velnias, also known as Velinas in ancient contexts, serves as a prominent and rival to the thunder god , embodying death, cattle, and subterranean forces. As a shape-shifter, he assumes forms such as animals, humans, or objects to sow mischief, steal wealth, or lure souls to the , often appearing at thresholds like weddings and funerals to distort divine harmony. In cosmic narratives, Velnias contests in battles symbolizing sky versus earth, creating harmful creatures or guiding the dead to hellish realms post-Christianization. His association with low-lying wetlands, forests, and magic underscores his role as a guardian of hidden economies and the undead. Giltinė personifies death as an inescapable , wielding an iron staff or to claim lives with fatal precision. Depicted as a monstrous shrouded in a white cloak, she possesses a long, stinging tongue capable of strangling or piercing victims, deriving her name from the Lithuanian verb "gelti," meaning "to sting." She prowls near the homes of the ill, heralded by omens like hoots, barks, or creaking sounds, entering to deliver inevitable fate without mercy or negotiation. tales portray her emerging from graveyards to confront the dying, emphasizing mortality's inexorable grip in Lithuanian worldview. Ragana functions as a malevolent witch spirit, capable of cursing communities with adverse , illness, or crop failure through her malice. Often transforming into animals such as cats, pigs, birds, or fish, she haunts festivals like and , disrupting and while linked to improper funerals and soul unrest. Etymologically tied to Baltic roots meaning "to rise" or "haunt," Ragana embodies a resurrected or ghostly entity that preys on human vulnerabilities, blending pagan myth with later demonological traits. Her actions, including manipulation and infliction, position her as a chaotic force in tales of magic and retribution.

Heroes, Legends, and Sacred Elements

Mythical Heroes and Heroines

In Lithuanian , Pajauta emerges as a legendary princess and priestess, often depicted as the daughter of the pagan high priest Lizdeika (Krivių Krivaitis), who played a pivotal role in the mythic founding of . As a heroine embodying spiritual wisdom and cultural continuity, she is associated with the sacred valley near , known as Pajauta Valley, where ancient rituals were believed to occur. Her narrative intertwines with Grand Duke ' dream of an iron howling atop a hill, which Lizdeika interpreted as a divine omen to establish a fortified capital at that site, thus founding around 1323. Pajauta's presence in the underscores themes of and divine guidance, portraying her as a bridge between the pagan priesthood and the emerging Lithuanian state, with her beauty and devotion highlighted in 19th-century romantic retellings that blend history and myth. The tale of represents a semi-divine romantic legend that explains natural phenomena of the , featuring Jūratė as a mermaid-like sea goddess and Kastytis as her heroic human lover. Originating as a 19th-century literary creation by Lithuanian-Polish writer Liudvikas Adomas Jucevičius in his 1846 work "Queen of the ," the story gained folkloric status through subsequent adaptations, including Maironis' 1920 ballad. In the narrative, Jūratė resides in an opulent palace beneath the waves, ruling marine life until she falls in love with the bold fisherman Kastytis, who defies sea taboos by casting nets in her domain. Their forbidden union provokes the thunder god , who strikes Kastytis dead with lightning and shatters the palace; the floating fragments wash ashore as "Jūratė's tears," while ongoing storms symbolize Perkūnas' enduring wrath. This legend embodies cultural values of passionate defiance against divine authority and human resilience, while etymologically linking 's abundance and the sea's tempests to Lithuanian coastal identity. Eglė, the protagonist of one of Lithuania's most prominent folk tales, "Eglė the Queen of Serpents" (Eglė žalčių karalienė), serves as a tragic heroine whose story illuminates ancient taboos surrounding snakes and the perils of familial betrayal. First documented in the late 19th century but rooted in pre-Christian oral traditions, the tale recounts how young Eglė discovers a grass snake in her clothing while bathing and promises marriage if it departs peacefully; the serpent, revealed as the king of grass snakes in human form named Žilvinas, returns with an entourage to claim her. After a lavish underwater wedding and the birth of three sons and a daughter, Eglė's brothers, driven by greed, extract the secret summoning word "pshile" from her youngest son and use it to murder Žilvinas during a family visit. In retribution, the serpents curse the brothers to transform into oaks, and Eglė, refusing to return, becomes a spruce tree (eglé meaning "spruce" in Lithuanian), her sons various trees, and her daughter a danhora plant, perpetuating a generational taboo. This narrative enforces cultural reverence for grass snakes as sacred guardians of the earth, prohibiting their harm and explaining why families bearing snake-related surnames (žalčiai) traditionally avoid killing them to evade curses of misfortune or transformation. Scholarly analysis traces its Indo-European motifs to themes of human-supernatural unions and regenerative symbolism, with the snake representing fertility and the underworld in pagan Lithuanian cosmology.

Holy Places, Symbols, and Artifacts

In Lithuanian mythology, sacred groves served as primary holy places for worship, particularly as altars dedicated to , the thunder god. Romowe, a renowned Prussian Baltic sanctuary near the Rominta River, featured a central eternal symbolizing 's power, tended alongside idols of major deities under an ancient . Other sacred groves across Baltic regions functioned similarly as natural ritual sites, where communal offerings and rituals invoked divine protection and fertility, often incorporating hill shrines for earth goddesses like . Footprint stones represent another category of revered holy places, interpreted as divine imprints left by Baltic chthonic gods or beings. A 2024 study identifies 231 such sites in , typically autonomous natural formations with impressions resembling human or animal footprints, used in pre-Christian rituals for oath-taking to bind agreements under divine witness and healing rites to cure ailments through contact or . These stones were seen as portals to the sacred, where participants performed ceremonies to harness the gods' authority, ensuring truth in vows or restoration of health. Among artifacts and symbols, thunder axe amulets embodied Perkūnas's weapon, crafted as small pendants to ward off strikes, evil spirits, and misfortune in daily life. Solar crosses, often carved on wooden structures or worn as talismans, drew from ancient sun motifs to symbolize light, renewal, and protection against malevolent forces, integrating circular designs evoking the sun's rays with cross forms for broader safeguarding. These items, rooted in traditions, were employed in rituals to invoke celestial and thunderous powers for security and prosperity.

References

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  8. https://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Baltic/perkunas.htm
  9. https://www.academia.edu/43993627/Livonian_Hospitality_The_Livonian_Rhymed_Chronicle_and_the_Formation_of_Identities_on_the_Thirteenth_Century_Baltic_Frontier
  10. https://tautosmenta.lt/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Tumenas_Vytautas/Tumenas_MAA_16_4_2016.pdf
  11. https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1997JHAS...28...57S
  12. https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JSRNC/article/view/23402
  13. https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol42/vaitkevicius.pdf
  14. https://www.vda.lt/en/study_programs/graduate-ma/visual-communication-design-lt-en/news/digital-mythologies-mythological-digitalities-rituals-a-dive-into-lithuanian-mythology
  15. https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/75200
  16. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baltic-religion/Mythology
  17. https://tautosmenta.lt/wp-content/uploads/brms/%25C5%25A0alt_1996_BRM%25C5%25A0_1.pdf
  18. https://www.llti.lt/failai/Nijole%20Laurinkiene%2C%20Zemyna%20and%20her%20mythical%20world.pdf
  19. https://prussia.online/Data/Book/an/ancient-symbolism-in-lithuanian-folk-art/Gimbutas%20M.%20Ancient%20Symbolism%20in%20Lithuanian%20Folk%20Art%20%281958%29%20archive.org%2C%20OCR.pdf
  20. https://www.silene.ong/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Sacred_groves_Balts.pdf
  21. https://tautosmenta.lt/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Tumenas_Vytautas/Tumenas_MAA_18_4_2018.pdf
  22. https://www.academia.edu/38170941/SIGNS_OF_MORNING_STAR_AU%C5%A0RIN%C4%96_IN_THE_BALTIC_TRADITION_REGIONAL_AND_INTERCULTURAL_FEATURES
  23. https://www.academia.edu/41382644/Defenders_of_the_Sun_The_Divine_Twins_in_Irish_Mythology
  24. http://www.draugas.org/key_dnlh/lh/issues/2008-05-15-LHERITAGE.pdf
  25. https://www.academia.edu/693355/Studies_into_the_Balts_Sacred_Places
  26. http://medcraveonline.com/IJCAM/IJCAM-09-00306.pdf
  27. https://www.academia.edu/75227762/Romuva_Looks_East_Indian_Inspiration_in_Lithuanian_Paganism
  28. https://e-journals.ku.lt/journal/AB/article/1699
  29. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365394425_Following_the_Pathways_of_Greimas%27_Mythology
  30. https://www.folklorefellows.fi/wp-content/uploads/FFC-327-Laurinkiene-Introduction.pdf
  31. https://old.lituanus.org/1995_2/95_2_03.htm
  32. https://www1.ku.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/gliwa1031.pdf
  33. https://www.sovijus.lt/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SOVIJUS-T.-10-Nr.-2_55_Racenaite-summary.pdf
  34. http://www.mab.lt/aleph/pdf/46661.pdf
  35. https://www.ldkistorija.lt/tales-and-legends/
  36. https://cils.openjournals.ge/index.php/cils/article/view/7553
  37. https://www.academia.edu/128789450/Paganism_of_the_Balts_Sacred_Sites_Temples_and_Sacrifice_Sites
  38. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.23402
  39. https://www.academia.edu/127569219/Ancient_Symbolism_in_Lithuanian_Folk_Art
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