LIST OF LITHUANIAN GODS
- + Add to Faves
- + Translate
- + Share
العربية
ä¸å›½
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€
Italiano
日本語
Português
РуÑÑкий
Español
'Lithuanian mythology' had many different gods and deities. It is hard to reconstruct the full list of names because the sources are scant and contradictory.
This section includes the names of gods, divine or demonic beings, and other personages from Lithuanian myths, legends, folklore, and fairy-tales.
★ 'Dievas', the Chief God.
★ 'Dievas Senelis' ('God Old Man'), a manifestation of God. According some reconstructions, that do not recognize manifestations of God in the primary Lithuanian mythology, he was a separate deity, a teacher of people and judge of their morality. He looks like an old traveling beggar. Dievas Senelis is proficient at magic and medicine.
★ 'Praamžius', an epithet of God.
★ 'AuÅ¡rinÄ—', the Morning Star, a goddess, a daughter of the God ("dievaitÄ—"). She was the goddess of the morning. AuÅ¡rinÄ— has many similarities with the Greek goddess Eos, and the Roman goddess Aurora. Alternative her name is 'AuÅ¡ra' (sunrise).
★ 'Dalia', goddess of fate and weaving
★ 'Gabija', the foster of the Holy Fire, a goddess, a daughter of the God ("dievaitÄ—").
★ 'Laima', goddess of Fate and Luck
★ 'MÄ—nuo', the Moon, a son of God ("dievaitis")
★ 'PerkÅ«nas', the Thunder, a son of God ("dievaitis")
★ 'SaulÄ—', the Sun
★ 'AÅ¡vieniai', horses who pulled the chariot of the Sun
★ 'VakarinÄ—'
★ 'Vytautus', god of good grooming
★ 'Žemyna', goddess, the deified soil.
★ 'DeivÄ—s Valdytojos' (Lithuanian: ''managing goddesses''), were the goddesses who made garments from human's lives. They were seven sisters: VerpianÄioji (who spun the threads of life), MetanÄioji (who threw rims of life), AudÄ—ja (the weaver), Gadintoja (who broke the thread), SergÄ—toja (who scolded Gadintoja, and instigated war between people), NukirpÄ—ja (who cut the cloth of life), and IÅ¡skalbÄ—ja (the laundress). They have similarities with the Greek Fates and the Norse Norns. DeivÄ—s Valdytojos were associated with Dalia and Laima.
★ 'ŽvaigždÄ—s' (žvaigždÄ—, in singular), stars, having the Sun as their mother and, sometimes, the Moon as their father. One of the most important stars is AuÅ¡rinÄ—. Other stars, AuÅ¡rinÄ—'s sisters, are less important, but they, like 'VakarinÄ—' or 'VakarÄ—' (the evening Venus, who makes the bed for the Sun (SaulÄ—), ''Indraja'' (Jupiter), ''SÄ—lija'' (Saturn), ''ŽiezdrÄ—'' (Mars) and ''Vaivora'' (Mercury), sometimes appear in mythic stories too.
★ 'Pajauta', the legendary princess of KernavÄ—
★ 'JÅ«ratÄ— 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 JÅ«ratÄ— may be considered a manifestation of the goddess of Sea in this legend.
★ 'Ežerinis', a spirit of lakes
★ 'Upinis', a spirit of rivers
★ 'AuÅ¡taras' (AuÅ¡tra), 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 AuÅ¡rinÄ—; some consider him to be her cousin.
★ 'BangpÅ«tys', the god of the seas and storms
★ 'JavinÄ—', a household god 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.
★ 'KupolÄ—', the spirit of springtime vegetation and flowers. The Festival of KupolÄ— (KupolinÄ—s) was associated with Feast of St. John the Baptist (JoninÄ—s). In this festival, women picked sacral herbs, danced and sang songs. KupolinÄ—s is also known as Rasos. Compare this with Ziedu mate 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, KiÅ¡kis (hare), MeÅ¡ka (bear), LapÄ— (fox), Katinas (tomcat), Bubis, Bubas, BubÄ—, Baubas, Babaužis, Bobas, Maumas (bugaboo), Raudongalvis (red-headed), Raudongerklis (red-throated), Žaliaakis (green-eyed), PaplÄ—Å¡takis, Guda, Dizikas, Smauglys (boa), Ruginis (spirit of rye), PapiokÄ—, Pypalas, Žebris, Arklys (horse), Vilkas (wolf).
★ 'Kaukas', spirits similar to trolls.
★ 'LaumÄ—', feminine fairies (pixies).
★ 'NykÅ¡tukas', gnomes.
★ 'VÄ—lÄ—', spirits of dead human beings.
★ 'Aitvaras', a household spirit bringing both good and bad luck
★ 'Baubas', an evil spirit with long sear arms, wrinkly fingers, and red eyes. He harasses people and tears their hair or stifles.
★ 'GiltinÄ—', the goddess of death. Her sacral bird is the owl. GiltinÄ— proclaims disaster. She goes with the goddesses of black death (Maro deivÄ—s). Sometimes she was considered to be a sister of Laima.
★ 'Ragana', a witch, bad woman, usually a wizard known from folk tales.
★ 'Slogutis'
★ 'Velnias', devil
★ 'Žiburinis', a scary forest spirit that appears as a phosphorescent skeleton.
★ 'Maro deivÄ—s', the goddesses of black death. Some sources depict them as women with white clothes and white horses. Maro deivÄ—s stoke fire on the hills, and where the smoke spreads, the black death begins. DiedievaitÄ— is one of the Maro deivÄ—s.
★ 'Dausos' or 'Dangus', 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 VÄ—jopatis (Lord of the wind) or VÄ—jas (Wind) who is also one of the oldest gods in Lithuanian mythology. VÄ—jas is identical to Vayu of Hinduism. AuÅ¡taras and VÄ—jopatis are keepers of Dausos’s gates (Dausų Vartai). While AuÅ¡taras shows the way for good souls, VÄ—jas (VÄ—jopatis) blows bad souls into oblivion.
Here are mentioned names of deities mentioned in various sources from 13th to 19th centuries. Some of these deities are not comfirmed by other sources (like most deities of T. Narbutt).
Some names from Lithuanian mythology are also found in Russian chronicles of the 13th century. These deities were supposedly worshiped by King of Lithuania Mindaugas secretly after baptizing. Russian chronicles are considered the best source of information about ancient Lithuanian pantheon worshiped by feodals and military.
★ 'Sovijus' in 13th century Russian chronicles was a person who introduced the pagan custom of burning bodies after death, according to studies by Gintaras BeresneviÄius.
There was a myth telling how Sovijus caught a boar. He cut out nine spleens of the boars and gave them to his sons to bake. But the sons ate the spleens. Sovijus got angry and went to the hell. He had to enter nine gates. Sovijus entered eight gates but entering the ninth ones was problematic. One of his sons helped him.
Other brothers got to know this and said him to find the father in the hell. The son came to the hell, found the father and had a dinner with him. After dinner he buried him below ground. The following morning the son asked Sovijus if he slept well. Sovijus said that worms ate him.
Then the son put the body of Sovijus to a tree (or box of tree). Following morning Sovijus said that his rest was terrible because bees ate him.
Then the son burned the body of Sovijus on the stake. Following morning father said that his rest was perfect.
The mediaeval chronicles tells that this custom is very old and was called Sovica. Sovica was practicated not only by Lithuanians but also by other pagan tribes (Livonians, Estonians and others).
★ 'Žvoruna' was an euphemism of the hunting and forest godess 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' (MedeinÄ—) is other euphemism of the hunting and forest godess. Medeina also was mentioned in 16th century by J. Lasicki. She was worshiped by peasants.
★ '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 20th century. Some scholars, like K. BÅ«ga tried to prove that Televelis is incorrectly written Kalvelis (smith diminutive in Lithuanian). Teliavelis has connections with Finnish Ilmarinen.
★ 'Andajus' (Andajas, Andojas and etc...) was mentioned in medieval chronicles as supreme deity. It may be euphemism of Dievas. There was mentioned in chronicle that warriors invoke Andajus in battle.
★ 'Nonadievis' (Nunadievis, by some scholars etimologized as Numadievis) is incorrectly written name of supreme god or jus another euphemism.
★ 'PerkÅ«nas' was the god of thunder, one of the most powerful deities. PerkÅ«nas survived in people faith and folk tales till the 20th century.
★ 'Diviriks' is thought to be one of PerkÅ«nas euphemisms, meaning leader of gods.
Maciej Stryjkowski (1547-1586/1593) was Polish-Lithuanian historian. He printed very valuable book "Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all Russia" in 1582. Paganism belief survived perfectly in ethnic Lithuania till 9th decade of 16th century. Maciej Stryjkowski long time lived in GDL and Samogitia and wrote about pagan Samogitian and Lithuanian customs.
Styjkovski's list of deities worshiped by Lithuanians could be considered as peasant pantheon. As Gintaras BeresneviÄius pointed - all deities are undoubted except 'Didis Lado' who was made by M. Stryjkowski from folk songs onomatopoeic word, refrain common in Baltic and Slavic folklore.
★ 'Prakorimas' - an euphemism of the supreme deity. In folklore he is known as Dievas and Praamžius. In other sources he is mentioned as AukÅ¡tÄ—jas, Andajus and etc... According to M. Stryjkowski people used to sacrifice white cocks to Prakorimas by beating them and dividing into three parts. First part was eaten by peasnts, second part was eaten by druids or priests (žynys in Lithuanian) and third part was burned. J. Stryjkowski points that Prakorimas was similar to Prussian supreme god Okopirmas. A. J. Greimas thinks that Prakorimas is connected with honeycombs and giants (titans) similar to Greek Kronos.
★ 'RÅ«gutis' - a god of fermentation and fermented foods. Other his names in written sources: Raugupatis, Raugo ŽemÄ—patis.
★ 'Žemininkas' - the supreme deity of fertility and agriculture. People used to sacrifice black hens. Also grass-snakes were kept in house and fed with milk for honor of Žemininkas. S. Grunau mentions that grass-snakes were kept for honor of Patrimpas in Rikojoto (Prussian pagan temple).
★ 'KrÅ«minÄ—', 'KrÅ«mine pradžių varpų' a household deity of brushes, bushes and husbandry and an inventor of agriculture. Also she was protector of new crop. People used to sacrifice hens for KrÅ«minÄ—. Functions of the goddess are similar to spirits of folk-tales 'Javų Boba' (woman of grain) and 'KurÅ¡is' (Curonian). The parallel name in Latvian mythology is 'Krumu mate'. According to Theodor Narbutt, Pykuolis, the master of the underworld, kidnapped the daughter of KrÅ«minÄ—, NijolÄ—. KrÅ«minÄ— was traveling over the earth, looking for her daughter and teaching people about agriculture. Once she found a stone, where Dievas had inscribed the wyrd of NijolÄ—. KrÅ«minÄ— visited her daughter and when she came back to the earth, she saw that the households of people were better than they were before. KrÅ«minÄ— should be identical to the Greek goddess Demetra. Logically it may also be assumed that Pykuolis and NijolÄ— parallel the Greek deities Hades and Persephone respectively.
★ 'Lietuvonis' was the rain deity. Possible euphemism of 'PerkÅ«nas' because it's strange that M. Stryjkowski doesn't mention PerkÅ«nas.
★ 'Kauriraris' - the deity of war and war-horses. The name etimology is unclear. M. Stryjkowski mentioned it as Chaurirari and scientists do not agree about its real name. Vladimir Toporov thinks that it is derived from Lithuanian word kaurai (pelage, fur) and slavic suffix -or-. W. Mannhardt think that it is derived from Lithuanian word karas (war) and real name of the deity was Karorius.
★ 'Sutvaras' was god of all cattle. Similar to Karvaitinis.
★ 'Å eimos dievas' - god of family.
★ 'Upinis', Upinis dievas was god of rivers. Possible euphemism of Baltic water and fishing deity, similar to Ežerinis, BangpÅ«tys, Gardaitis or Greek Poseidon.
★ 'Bubilas' - god of bees, he also is confirmed by J. Lasicki.
★ 'Gulbis' similar to Roman Genius or Hebraic angel, the good spirit of every human. His name is connected with "swan" or "help". Women used to sacrifice white hens to Gulbis and men white cocks.
★ 'Ganiklis' - god of herds, similar to Faunus and Pan. People used to sacrifice animal testicles to Ganiklis. This ritual means that the god had very big masculine potency. He also could be a god of prolificacy.
★ 'Å ventpaukÅ¡tinis' - god of all birds. People didn't use to sacrifice for him.
★ 'Kelių dievas' - god of roads, trade and travel, similar to Hermes. People used to sacrifice white hens for him.
★ 'PuÅ¡aitis' or 'PuÅ¡kaitis' was protector of chthonic beings (spirits) 'barstukas' ' or 'kaukas' '. The god lives in bushes of elder. Vladimir Toporov says that PuÅ¡kaitis is connected with Lithuanian word puÅ¡kuoti meaning "to bud", "germinate". It is possible that PuÅ¡kaitis came into Samogitian cult from neighboring Prussians or just M. Stryjkowski took it from Prussian sources.
A Polish Protestant activist of the 16th century, Jan Åasicki wrote a treatise on idolatry in Eastern Europe, where not only vestigial Lithuanian pagans but also contemporary Catholics are described as idolaters. This treatise, ''About gods of Samogitians, other Sarmatians, and false Christians'' (''De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum'', 1615), contains a few lists of gods (including Catholic saints), with brief descriptions of every item. Åasicki's list is a trasure for mythologists. However, Åasicki's descriptions were sometimes criticised by later scholars as being irrelevant and biased (e.g., he gave as the names of gods words that obviously mean inanimate things, and should have been described at most as sacred utensils). Here are some deities from J. Åasicki's lists.
Deities mentioned by Jan Åasicki:
★ 'AukÅ¡tÄ—jas' - an euphemism of the supreme god, connected with Lithuanian word "aukÅ¡tas" meaning high. Some scholars think that it is euphemism of the Christian God and the highest deity was PerkÅ«nas, but this is not obvious in others sources and folklore.
★ 'PerkÅ«nas' - thunder god. Jan Åasicki also mentions Audros dievas (god of storm), this is a possible euphemism of PerkÅ«nas. Read other topics about PerkÅ«nas.
★ 'Raugo ŽemÄ—patis' - an euphemism of the deity of sourdough, leaven and fermentation. The god was also mentioned by M. Stryjkovski as 'RÅ«gutis' and M. Pretorius as 'Raugupatis' (the god of fermentation). Raugo žemÄ—patis should not be confused with ŽemÄ—patis. People sacrificed to Raugo ŽemÄ—patis the first gulp of fresh beer (Nulaidimas) and the first loaf of bread (Tasviržis/Paviržis). Raugo ŽemÄ—patis is similar to Indo-Aryan god Soma as G. BeresneviÄius points.
★ 'Medeina' - an euphemism of the forest and hunting deity. Read topic about deities from Russian chronicles.
★ 'Tavalas' - the deity of physical strength. G. BeresneviÄius notices that this deity could be the same medieval 'Teliavelis'.
★ 'Gabija' - goddess of home fire, similar to Roman Vesta. J. Åasicki also mentions other fire deities like Tratitas Kibirxtu (Sparker). But it is thought that they were not very important in peasant life.
★ 'AuÅ¡ra' mentioned as Ausca. It was the goddess of the morning star Venus. Other her name was AuÅ¡rinÄ—.
★ 'Ežerinis' mentioned as Ezernim. Probably the spirit or deity of lakes. Ežeras means lake in Lithuanian.
Lists by Jan Åasicki also include names of mythical creatures that aren't mentioned in any other independent sources.
★ 'AustÄ—ja', a household goddess of bees. Later hypothetical reconstructions say that people were sanctifying grasslands for her. AustÄ—ja sometimes goes with Žemyna. They both are goddesses of fecundity, brides, and growing families. AustÄ—ja is the wife of Bubilas.
★ 'Beržulis' (Biržulis), a household (?) god, whose functions Åasicki failed to know. A god of birches and birch sap, according to reconstruction, that's based on a possible etymology.
★ 'BrÄ—kÅ¡ta', a goddess of twilight according to Åasicki. Also it could be an euphemism of 'VakarÄ—' or just possible mistake.
★ 'Bubilas', a household god of bees. Later hypothetical reconstructions say that people sacrificed honey for Bubilas (original sources that weren't reinterpreted say for God). People believed that doing so would make bees swarm better. Bubilas is the husband of AustÄ—ja (interpretation of a reconstruction).
★ 'Dvargantis', a household (?) god, whose functions Åasicki failed to know.
★ 'GardÅ«nytis'
★ 'Gondas', approximately, a (local?) god of domesticity and human sexuality.
★ 'Karvaitinis', a household god of calves.
★ 'Keliukis', a deity of paths and roads. Possible associations with ''Kelio Dievas'' 'the God in a road' or 'the god of a road', known from other sources.
★ 'KerpyÄius', a forest god, according to Åasicki. The etymology implies a spirit of lichens rather than a god.
★ 'Kirnis', the word means 'cherry-tree' in Lithuanian; Åasicki considered ''Kirnis'' a local god of cherries, but that could be a mistake.
★ 'Kriukis' (Krukis), a household god of pigs (Lasicki).
★ 'Lazdona', a goddess of hazelnuts (Åasicki); the etymology shows real connection with hazels.
★ 'Pagirnis', a sacred being connected with a cult of grass-snakes. The name literally means "underquerner". See also: Žaltys
★ 'Pyzius'
★ 'Å ilinytis', a forest god, according to Åasicki. The etymology implies a spirit of a forest rather than a god.
★ 'Srutis', a god of paint (Åasicki, doubted).
★ 'Vaižgantas', a god of flax, according to Åasicki; perhaps it was a real name of the spirit of flax.
★ 'Veliuona', a goddess of death, according to Åasicki; it's a possible name of the goddess of death (or of the personalized Death), if not a mistaken ''velionis'' ('the deceased').
The historian Theodor Narbutt (Lith.: ''Teodoras Narbutas'') between 1835 and 1841 wrote the ten volume work ''History of the Lithuanian Nation'' (''Dzieje starożytne narodu litewskiego''), of which the first volume contained a description of Lithuanian mythology. However Narbutt was accused by later historians not only of adopting too speculative an approach, but also of some falsifications. Thus, statements by this author not confirmed by other sources are considered by many scholars to be dubious. On the other hand, there are admirers of Narbutt's ideas who argue that he could have had his own sources, unknown to us.
The following list comprises those names of gods that are known only from Narbutt:
★ 'ButÄ—', goddess of wisdom. She has similarities with Athena, the Greek goddess.
★ 'DiedievaitÄ—', one of Maro deivÄ—s, a deity of the black death.
★ 'Dirvolira', a goddess of households and fields, for whom people sacrificed pigs.
★ 'Gaila', a spirit of night, which obsessed people and animals in dreams.
★ 'Kovas', a god of war, identical to the Prussian god Pikuls. Worshippers of Kovas would sacrifice black horses to him. The sacred bird of Kovas is the rook or crow. The word ''kovas'' or ''kovarnis'' also means 'a rook.'
★ 'Milda', goddess of love.
★ 'NijolÄ—', wife of 'Pykuolis', God of the Underworld.
★ 'PraurimÄ—'
★ 'Ragutis', god of beer and alcohol.
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.
★ 'AuÅ¡autas' (an Old Prussian name) was a Prussian god of health and medicine.
★ 'AuÅ¡lavis' (an Old Prussian name), the opposing deity of AuÅ¡autas in Prussian and Western Lithuanian mythology. He is the god of feeble and valetudinarian people. Sometimes he takes the shape of a snake.
★ 'Patrimpas' (an Old Prussian name), the god of spring. Along with PerkÅ«nas and Patulas, Patrimpas is part of Prussian trinity of gods. The care of fields, crops and farm animals, as well as the gifts of maturity, peace, happiness and plenty are attributed to Patrimpas.
★ 'Patulas' (an Old Prussian name) was Prussian deity of underworld. Alternative his names are Poklius and Pikulas.
★ 'Pergrubrijus' (an Old Prussian name) was Prussian god of agriculture.
★ 'Žvaigždikis' (Swaistix) (an Old Prussian name) the god of stars and/or of the light.
★ 'Dimstipatis' (probably euphemism of ŽemÄ—patis or Žemininkas), 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.
★ 'Laukpatis', is one of the harvest deities, worshipped by people before tilling and sowing.
★ 'Lauksargis', likely alternative name for Laukpatis.
★ 'Raugupatis', read topics about Raugo žemÄ—patis and RÅ«gutis.
★ 'ŽemÄ—patis', household god, protector of the family. Worshiped together with Žemyna. Three times a year people sacrificed flour to him; in some locales, roosters, piglets, and oxen were sacrificed.
★ 'VÄ—jopatis', Lithuanian and Prussian spirit (perhaps anthropomorphic) of wind. He is the father of the winds, usually described as a wrathful, inexorable, evil spirit with a beard, wings and two faces. He is portrayed with a fish in his left hand and a dish in the right hand and a rooster on his head. He had sons: 'Rytys', 'Pietys', 'Å iaurys' and 'Vakaris' - correspondingly gods of eastern, southern, northern and western winds. Also he is master of Dausos. VÄ—jopatis is associated with 'BangpÅ«tys', 'Audrupatis', 'Gardaitis', 'Divytis'.
The names, 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 don't play a main role in the mythology of Lithuanians.
★ 'Blizgulis', a god of snow. His name means "that who glitters."
★ 'Junda', a god-like hero for the rejects of a society, it was a god that many considered a cult or demonic religion that was feared to grow.
★ 'Baubis', a household god of meat and cattle.
★ 'Divytis', a god-like hero of fishermen legends. Fishermen at sea sang songs about Divytis.
★ 'Gabjauja', a household feminine spirit of stack-yards and grain. Women made beer and bread for Gabjauja's feast, which only kin would attend. The head of the family would pour a scoop of beer on the ground and say a prayer. Gabjauja is often associated with Gabija.
★ 'Gardaitis', a god (a spirit?) of ships and sailors.
★ 'Jagaubis', a household spirit of fire and the furnace.
★ Reconstructed Lithuanian pantheon
★ Lithuanian mythology
★ Romuva
★ Latvian mythology
★ Slavic mythology
★ Germanic mythology
★ Indo-European religion
★ Lithuania
http://www.tekstai.lt/metai/20060809/lietdiev.htm
http://viduramziu.lietuvos.net/socium/pagonybe.htm
Names from folklore myths and legends
This section includes the names of gods, divine or demonic beings, and other personages from Lithuanian myths, legends, folklore, and fairy-tales.
Gods and god-like beings
★ 'Dievas', the Chief God.
★ 'Dievas Senelis' ('God Old Man'), a manifestation of God. According some reconstructions, that do not recognize manifestations of God in the primary Lithuanian mythology, he was a separate deity, a teacher of people and judge of their morality. He looks like an old traveling beggar. Dievas Senelis is proficient at magic and medicine.
★ 'Praamžius', an epithet of God.
★ 'AuÅ¡rinÄ—', the Morning Star, a goddess, a daughter of the God ("dievaitÄ—"). She was the goddess of the morning. AuÅ¡rinÄ— has many similarities with the Greek goddess Eos, and the Roman goddess Aurora. Alternative her name is 'AuÅ¡ra' (sunrise).
★ 'Dalia', goddess of fate and weaving
★ 'Gabija', the foster of the Holy Fire, a goddess, a daughter of the God ("dievaitÄ—").
★ 'Laima', goddess of Fate and Luck
★ 'MÄ—nuo', the Moon, a son of God ("dievaitis")
★ 'PerkÅ«nas', the Thunder, a son of God ("dievaitis")
★ 'SaulÄ—', the Sun
★ 'AÅ¡vieniai', horses who pulled the chariot of the Sun
★ 'VakarinÄ—'
★ 'Vytautus', god of good grooming
★ 'Žemyna', goddess, the deified soil.
★ 'DeivÄ—s Valdytojos' (Lithuanian: ''managing goddesses''), were the goddesses who made garments from human's lives. They were seven sisters: VerpianÄioji (who spun the threads of life), MetanÄioji (who threw rims of life), AudÄ—ja (the weaver), Gadintoja (who broke the thread), SergÄ—toja (who scolded Gadintoja, and instigated war between people), NukirpÄ—ja (who cut the cloth of life), and IÅ¡skalbÄ—ja (the laundress). They have similarities with the Greek Fates and the Norse Norns. DeivÄ—s Valdytojos were associated with Dalia and Laima.
★ 'ŽvaigždÄ—s' (žvaigždÄ—, in singular), stars, having the Sun as their mother and, sometimes, the Moon as their father. One of the most important stars is AuÅ¡rinÄ—. Other stars, AuÅ¡rinÄ—'s sisters, are less important, but they, like 'VakarinÄ—' or 'VakarÄ—' (the evening Venus, who makes the bed for the Sun (SaulÄ—), ''Indraja'' (Jupiter), ''SÄ—lija'' (Saturn), ''ŽiezdrÄ—'' (Mars) and ''Vaivora'' (Mercury), sometimes appear in mythic stories too.
Heroes and Heroines
★ 'Pajauta', the legendary princess of KernavÄ—
★ 'JÅ«ratÄ— 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 JÅ«ratÄ— may be considered a manifestation of the goddess of Sea in this legend.
Local and nature spirits
★ 'Ežerinis', a spirit of lakes
★ 'Upinis', a spirit of rivers
★ 'AuÅ¡taras' (AuÅ¡tra), 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 AuÅ¡rinÄ—; some consider him to be her cousin.
★ 'BangpÅ«tys', the god of the seas and storms
★ 'JavinÄ—', a household god 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.
★ 'KupolÄ—', the spirit of springtime vegetation and flowers. The Festival of KupolÄ— (KupolinÄ—s) was associated with Feast of St. John the Baptist (JoninÄ—s). In this festival, women picked sacral herbs, danced and sang songs. KupolinÄ—s is also known as Rasos. Compare this with Ziedu mate 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, KiÅ¡kis (hare), MeÅ¡ka (bear), LapÄ— (fox), Katinas (tomcat), Bubis, Bubas, BubÄ—, Baubas, Babaužis, Bobas, Maumas (bugaboo), Raudongalvis (red-headed), Raudongerklis (red-throated), Žaliaakis (green-eyed), PaplÄ—Å¡takis, Guda, Dizikas, Smauglys (boa), Ruginis (spirit of rye), PapiokÄ—, Pypalas, Žebris, Arklys (horse), Vilkas (wolf).
Various lower beings
★ 'Kaukas', spirits similar to trolls.
★ 'LaumÄ—', feminine fairies (pixies).
★ 'NykÅ¡tukas', gnomes.
★ 'VÄ—lÄ—', spirits of dead human beings.
Demonic beings
★ 'Aitvaras', a household spirit bringing both good and bad luck
★ 'Baubas', an evil spirit with long sear arms, wrinkly fingers, and red eyes. He harasses people and tears their hair or stifles.
★ 'GiltinÄ—', the goddess of death. Her sacral bird is the owl. GiltinÄ— proclaims disaster. She goes with the goddesses of black death (Maro deivÄ—s). Sometimes she was considered to be a sister of Laima.
★ 'Ragana', a witch, bad woman, usually a wizard known from folk tales.
★ 'Slogutis'
★ 'Velnias', devil
★ 'Žiburinis', a scary forest spirit that appears as a phosphorescent skeleton.
★ 'Maro deivÄ—s', the goddesses of black death. Some sources depict them as women with white clothes and white horses. Maro deivÄ—s stoke fire on the hills, and where the smoke spreads, the black death begins. DiedievaitÄ— is one of the Maro deivÄ—s.
Holy places and things
★ 'Dausos' or 'Dangus', 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 VÄ—jopatis (Lord of the wind) or VÄ—jas (Wind) who is also one of the oldest gods in Lithuanian mythology. VÄ—jas is identical to Vayu of Hinduism. AuÅ¡taras and VÄ—jopatis are keepers of Dausos’s gates (Dausų Vartai). While AuÅ¡taras shows the way for good souls, VÄ—jas (VÄ—jopatis) blows bad souls into oblivion.
Names from various written sources
Here are mentioned names of deities mentioned in various sources from 13th to 19th centuries. Some of these deities are not comfirmed by other sources (like most deities of T. Narbutt).
Russian chronicles
Some names from Lithuanian mythology are also found in Russian chronicles of the 13th century. These deities were supposedly worshiped by King of Lithuania Mindaugas secretly after baptizing. Russian chronicles are considered the best source of information about ancient Lithuanian pantheon worshiped by feodals and military.
★ 'Sovijus' in 13th century Russian chronicles was a person who introduced the pagan custom of burning bodies after death, according to studies by Gintaras BeresneviÄius.
There was a myth telling how Sovijus caught a boar. He cut out nine spleens of the boars and gave them to his sons to bake. But the sons ate the spleens. Sovijus got angry and went to the hell. He had to enter nine gates. Sovijus entered eight gates but entering the ninth ones was problematic. One of his sons helped him.
Other brothers got to know this and said him to find the father in the hell. The son came to the hell, found the father and had a dinner with him. After dinner he buried him below ground. The following morning the son asked Sovijus if he slept well. Sovijus said that worms ate him.
Then the son put the body of Sovijus to a tree (or box of tree). Following morning Sovijus said that his rest was terrible because bees ate him.
Then the son burned the body of Sovijus on the stake. Following morning father said that his rest was perfect.
The mediaeval chronicles tells that this custom is very old and was called Sovica. Sovica was practicated not only by Lithuanians but also by other pagan tribes (Livonians, Estonians and others).
★ 'Žvoruna' was an euphemism of the hunting and forest godess 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' (MedeinÄ—) is other euphemism of the hunting and forest godess. Medeina also was mentioned in 16th century by J. Lasicki. She was worshiped by peasants.
★ '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 20th century. Some scholars, like K. BÅ«ga tried to prove that Televelis is incorrectly written Kalvelis (smith diminutive in Lithuanian). Teliavelis has connections with Finnish Ilmarinen.
★ 'Andajus' (Andajas, Andojas and etc...) was mentioned in medieval chronicles as supreme deity. It may be euphemism of Dievas. There was mentioned in chronicle that warriors invoke Andajus in battle.
★ 'Nonadievis' (Nunadievis, by some scholars etimologized as Numadievis) is incorrectly written name of supreme god or jus another euphemism.
★ 'PerkÅ«nas' was the god of thunder, one of the most powerful deities. PerkÅ«nas survived in people faith and folk tales till the 20th century.
★ 'Diviriks' is thought to be one of PerkÅ«nas euphemisms, meaning leader of gods.
Maciej Stryjkowski's list
Maciej Stryjkowski (1547-1586/1593) was Polish-Lithuanian historian. He printed very valuable book "Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all Russia" in 1582. Paganism belief survived perfectly in ethnic Lithuania till 9th decade of 16th century. Maciej Stryjkowski long time lived in GDL and Samogitia and wrote about pagan Samogitian and Lithuanian customs.
Styjkovski's list of deities worshiped by Lithuanians could be considered as peasant pantheon. As Gintaras BeresneviÄius pointed - all deities are undoubted except 'Didis Lado' who was made by M. Stryjkowski from folk songs onomatopoeic word, refrain common in Baltic and Slavic folklore.
★ 'Prakorimas' - an euphemism of the supreme deity. In folklore he is known as Dievas and Praamžius. In other sources he is mentioned as AukÅ¡tÄ—jas, Andajus and etc... According to M. Stryjkowski people used to sacrifice white cocks to Prakorimas by beating them and dividing into three parts. First part was eaten by peasnts, second part was eaten by druids or priests (žynys in Lithuanian) and third part was burned. J. Stryjkowski points that Prakorimas was similar to Prussian supreme god Okopirmas. A. J. Greimas thinks that Prakorimas is connected with honeycombs and giants (titans) similar to Greek Kronos.
★ 'RÅ«gutis' - a god of fermentation and fermented foods. Other his names in written sources: Raugupatis, Raugo ŽemÄ—patis.
★ 'Žemininkas' - the supreme deity of fertility and agriculture. People used to sacrifice black hens. Also grass-snakes were kept in house and fed with milk for honor of Žemininkas. S. Grunau mentions that grass-snakes were kept for honor of Patrimpas in Rikojoto (Prussian pagan temple).
★ 'KrÅ«minÄ—', 'KrÅ«mine pradžių varpų' a household deity of brushes, bushes and husbandry and an inventor of agriculture. Also she was protector of new crop. People used to sacrifice hens for KrÅ«minÄ—. Functions of the goddess are similar to spirits of folk-tales 'Javų Boba' (woman of grain) and 'KurÅ¡is' (Curonian). The parallel name in Latvian mythology is 'Krumu mate'. According to Theodor Narbutt, Pykuolis, the master of the underworld, kidnapped the daughter of KrÅ«minÄ—, NijolÄ—. KrÅ«minÄ— was traveling over the earth, looking for her daughter and teaching people about agriculture. Once she found a stone, where Dievas had inscribed the wyrd of NijolÄ—. KrÅ«minÄ— visited her daughter and when she came back to the earth, she saw that the households of people were better than they were before. KrÅ«minÄ— should be identical to the Greek goddess Demetra. Logically it may also be assumed that Pykuolis and NijolÄ— parallel the Greek deities Hades and Persephone respectively.
★ 'Lietuvonis' was the rain deity. Possible euphemism of 'PerkÅ«nas' because it's strange that M. Stryjkowski doesn't mention PerkÅ«nas.
★ 'Kauriraris' - the deity of war and war-horses. The name etimology is unclear. M. Stryjkowski mentioned it as Chaurirari and scientists do not agree about its real name. Vladimir Toporov thinks that it is derived from Lithuanian word kaurai (pelage, fur) and slavic suffix -or-. W. Mannhardt think that it is derived from Lithuanian word karas (war) and real name of the deity was Karorius.
★ 'Sutvaras' was god of all cattle. Similar to Karvaitinis.
★ 'Å eimos dievas' - god of family.
★ 'Upinis', Upinis dievas was god of rivers. Possible euphemism of Baltic water and fishing deity, similar to Ežerinis, BangpÅ«tys, Gardaitis or Greek Poseidon.
★ 'Bubilas' - god of bees, he also is confirmed by J. Lasicki.
★ 'Gulbis' similar to Roman Genius or Hebraic angel, the good spirit of every human. His name is connected with "swan" or "help". Women used to sacrifice white hens to Gulbis and men white cocks.
★ 'Ganiklis' - god of herds, similar to Faunus and Pan. People used to sacrifice animal testicles to Ganiklis. This ritual means that the god had very big masculine potency. He also could be a god of prolificacy.
★ 'Å ventpaukÅ¡tinis' - god of all birds. People didn't use to sacrifice for him.
★ 'Kelių dievas' - god of roads, trade and travel, similar to Hermes. People used to sacrifice white hens for him.
★ 'PuÅ¡aitis' or 'PuÅ¡kaitis' was protector of chthonic beings (spirits) 'barstukas' ' or 'kaukas' '. The god lives in bushes of elder. Vladimir Toporov says that PuÅ¡kaitis is connected with Lithuanian word puÅ¡kuoti meaning "to bud", "germinate". It is possible that PuÅ¡kaitis came into Samogitian cult from neighboring Prussians or just M. Stryjkowski took it from Prussian sources.
Jan Åasicki's lists
A Polish Protestant activist of the 16th century, Jan Åasicki wrote a treatise on idolatry in Eastern Europe, where not only vestigial Lithuanian pagans but also contemporary Catholics are described as idolaters. This treatise, ''About gods of Samogitians, other Sarmatians, and false Christians'' (''De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum'', 1615), contains a few lists of gods (including Catholic saints), with brief descriptions of every item. Åasicki's list is a trasure for mythologists. However, Åasicki's descriptions were sometimes criticised by later scholars as being irrelevant and biased (e.g., he gave as the names of gods words that obviously mean inanimate things, and should have been described at most as sacred utensils). Here are some deities from J. Åasicki's lists.
Deities mentioned by Jan Åasicki:
★ 'AukÅ¡tÄ—jas' - an euphemism of the supreme god, connected with Lithuanian word "aukÅ¡tas" meaning high. Some scholars think that it is euphemism of the Christian God and the highest deity was PerkÅ«nas, but this is not obvious in others sources and folklore.
★ 'PerkÅ«nas' - thunder god. Jan Åasicki also mentions Audros dievas (god of storm), this is a possible euphemism of PerkÅ«nas. Read other topics about PerkÅ«nas.
★ 'Raugo ŽemÄ—patis' - an euphemism of the deity of sourdough, leaven and fermentation. The god was also mentioned by M. Stryjkovski as 'RÅ«gutis' and M. Pretorius as 'Raugupatis' (the god of fermentation). Raugo žemÄ—patis should not be confused with ŽemÄ—patis. People sacrificed to Raugo ŽemÄ—patis the first gulp of fresh beer (Nulaidimas) and the first loaf of bread (Tasviržis/Paviržis). Raugo ŽemÄ—patis is similar to Indo-Aryan god Soma as G. BeresneviÄius points.
Medeina, a mosaic from Vilnius University
★ 'Medeina' - an euphemism of the forest and hunting deity. Read topic about deities from Russian chronicles.
★ 'Tavalas' - the deity of physical strength. G. BeresneviÄius notices that this deity could be the same medieval 'Teliavelis'.
★ 'Gabija' - goddess of home fire, similar to Roman Vesta. J. Åasicki also mentions other fire deities like Tratitas Kibirxtu (Sparker). But it is thought that they were not very important in peasant life.
★ 'AuÅ¡ra' mentioned as Ausca. It was the goddess of the morning star Venus. Other her name was AuÅ¡rinÄ—.
★ 'Ežerinis' mentioned as Ezernim. Probably the spirit or deity of lakes. Ežeras means lake in Lithuanian.
Lists by Jan Åasicki also include names of mythical creatures that aren't mentioned in any other independent sources.
★ 'AustÄ—ja', a household goddess of bees. Later hypothetical reconstructions say that people were sanctifying grasslands for her. AustÄ—ja sometimes goes with Žemyna. They both are goddesses of fecundity, brides, and growing families. AustÄ—ja is the wife of Bubilas.
★ 'Beržulis' (Biržulis), a household (?) god, whose functions Åasicki failed to know. A god of birches and birch sap, according to reconstruction, that's based on a possible etymology.
★ 'BrÄ—kÅ¡ta', a goddess of twilight according to Åasicki. Also it could be an euphemism of 'VakarÄ—' or just possible mistake.
★ 'Bubilas', a household god of bees. Later hypothetical reconstructions say that people sacrificed honey for Bubilas (original sources that weren't reinterpreted say for God). People believed that doing so would make bees swarm better. Bubilas is the husband of AustÄ—ja (interpretation of a reconstruction).
★ 'Dvargantis', a household (?) god, whose functions Åasicki failed to know.
★ 'GardÅ«nytis'
★ 'Gondas', approximately, a (local?) god of domesticity and human sexuality.
★ 'Karvaitinis', a household god of calves.
★ 'Keliukis', a deity of paths and roads. Possible associations with ''Kelio Dievas'' 'the God in a road' or 'the god of a road', known from other sources.
★ 'KerpyÄius', a forest god, according to Åasicki. The etymology implies a spirit of lichens rather than a god.
★ 'Kirnis', the word means 'cherry-tree' in Lithuanian; Åasicki considered ''Kirnis'' a local god of cherries, but that could be a mistake.
★ 'Kriukis' (Krukis), a household god of pigs (Lasicki).
★ 'Lazdona', a goddess of hazelnuts (Åasicki); the etymology shows real connection with hazels.
★ 'Pagirnis', a sacred being connected with a cult of grass-snakes. The name literally means "underquerner". See also: Žaltys
★ 'Pyzius'
★ 'Å ilinytis', a forest god, according to Åasicki. The etymology implies a spirit of a forest rather than a god.
★ 'Srutis', a god of paint (Åasicki, doubted).
★ 'Vaižgantas', a god of flax, according to Åasicki; perhaps it was a real name of the spirit of flax.
★ 'Veliuona', a goddess of death, according to Åasicki; it's a possible name of the goddess of death (or of the personalized Death), if not a mistaken ''velionis'' ('the deceased').
Theodor Narbutt's reconstruction
The historian Theodor Narbutt (Lith.: ''Teodoras Narbutas'') between 1835 and 1841 wrote the ten volume work ''History of the Lithuanian Nation'' (''Dzieje starożytne narodu litewskiego''), of which the first volume contained a description of Lithuanian mythology. However Narbutt was accused by later historians not only of adopting too speculative an approach, but also of some falsifications. Thus, statements by this author not confirmed by other sources are considered by many scholars to be dubious. On the other hand, there are admirers of Narbutt's ideas who argue that he could have had his own sources, unknown to us.
The following list comprises those names of gods that are known only from Narbutt:
★ 'ButÄ—', goddess of wisdom. She has similarities with Athena, the Greek goddess.
★ 'DiedievaitÄ—', one of Maro deivÄ—s, a deity of the black death.
★ 'Dirvolira', a goddess of households and fields, for whom people sacrificed pigs.
★ 'Gaila', a spirit of night, which obsessed people and animals in dreams.
★ 'Kovas', a god of war, identical to the Prussian god Pikuls. Worshippers of Kovas would sacrifice black horses to him. The sacred bird of Kovas is the rook or crow. The word ''kovas'' or ''kovarnis'' also means 'a rook.'
★ 'Milda', goddess of love.
★ 'NijolÄ—', wife of 'Pykuolis', God of the Underworld.
★ 'PraurimÄ—'
★ 'Ragutis', god of beer and alcohol.
Other names mentioned in written sources
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.
Gods and god-like beings
★ 'AuÅ¡autas' (an Old Prussian name) was a Prussian god of health and medicine.
★ 'AuÅ¡lavis' (an Old Prussian name), the opposing deity of AuÅ¡autas in Prussian and Western Lithuanian mythology. He is the god of feeble and valetudinarian people. Sometimes he takes the shape of a snake.
★ 'Patrimpas' (an Old Prussian name), the god of spring. Along with PerkÅ«nas and Patulas, Patrimpas is part of Prussian trinity of gods. The care of fields, crops and farm animals, as well as the gifts of maturity, peace, happiness and plenty are attributed to Patrimpas.
★ 'Patulas' (an Old Prussian name) was Prussian deity of underworld. Alternative his names are Poklius and Pikulas.
★ 'Pergrubrijus' (an Old Prussian name) was Prussian god of agriculture.
★ 'Žvaigždikis' (Swaistix) (an Old Prussian name) the god of stars and/or of the light.
Local and nature spirits
★ 'Dimstipatis' (probably euphemism of ŽemÄ—patis or Žemininkas), 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.
★ 'Laukpatis', is one of the harvest deities, worshipped by people before tilling and sowing.
★ 'Lauksargis', likely alternative name for Laukpatis.
★ 'Raugupatis', read topics about Raugo žemÄ—patis and RÅ«gutis.
★ 'ŽemÄ—patis', household god, protector of the family. Worshiped together with Žemyna. Three times a year people sacrificed flour to him; in some locales, roosters, piglets, and oxen were sacrificed.
★ 'VÄ—jopatis', Lithuanian and Prussian spirit (perhaps anthropomorphic) of wind. He is the father of the winds, usually described as a wrathful, inexorable, evil spirit with a beard, wings and two faces. He is portrayed with a fish in his left hand and a dish in the right hand and a rooster on his head. He had sons: 'Rytys', 'Pietys', 'Å iaurys' and 'Vakaris' - correspondingly gods of eastern, southern, northern and western winds. Also he is master of Dausos. VÄ—jopatis is associated with 'BangpÅ«tys', 'Audrupatis', 'Gardaitis', 'Divytis'.
Other names
The names, 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 don't play a main role in the mythology of Lithuanians.
★ 'Blizgulis', a god of snow. His name means "that who glitters."
★ 'Junda', a god-like hero for the rejects of a society, it was a god that many considered a cult or demonic religion that was feared to grow.
★ 'Baubis', a household god of meat and cattle.
★ 'Divytis', a god-like hero of fishermen legends. Fishermen at sea sang songs about Divytis.
★ 'Gabjauja', a household feminine spirit of stack-yards and grain. Women made beer and bread for Gabjauja's feast, which only kin would attend. The head of the family would pour a scoop of beer on the ground and say a prayer. Gabjauja is often associated with Gabija.
★ 'Gardaitis', a god (a spirit?) of ships and sailors.
★ 'Jagaubis', a household spirit of fire and the furnace.
External links
★ Reconstructed Lithuanian pantheon
★ Lithuanian mythology
★ Romuva
★ Latvian mythology
★ Slavic mythology
★ Germanic mythology
★ Indo-European religion
★ Lithuania
References
http://www.tekstai.lt/metai/20060809/lietdiev.htm
http://viduramziu.lietuvos.net/socium/pagonybe.htm
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
| Vacation By V | |
| Optimum 1 Travel | |
| Golf Holidays International |
Newest Companies
List of Lithuanian gods Travel Deals
