Heavenly Bodies and Phenomena in the Baltic Religion
In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania pantheistic religion was preserved till the end of the 14th century which means that Lithuanians were the last pagans in Europe. Due to this fact, many Baltic gods are described in folklore, chronicles and books which allows us to reconstruct details of the religion of ancient Balts. The mythology of the ancient Balts and the pantheon of their gods are important coomparative sources for better understanding other pantheistic Indo-European religions ([39], vol. 1, p. 153 and 527 and [40]).
Historical records and folklore survivals have preserved the names and functions of about 120 Baltic gods and goddesses [41], part of them related to heavenly bodies and phenomena. The highest Lithuanian god, the creator of the world, was called Praam¸ius, Satvaras or Prakurimas, and sometimes simply Dievas (the God). The word Dievas has Indo-European connections since similar words can be found in other Indo-European languages: Dyaus in Indo-Aryan, Zeus in Greek, Deus in Latin, etc. The highest god of Old Prussians was Okopirmas. Probably, as early as in the Neolithic, the personified heavenly bodies appear: Saule (the Sun) and Menulis (the Moon) as well as the planets, the Sun's daughters: Au¨rine (the morning Venus), Vakarine (the evening Venus), Indraja (Jupiter), Selija (Saturn), Ziezdre (Mars) and Vaivora (Mercury). Interpretation of names of the last four planets has been done by Slavenas [42] on the basis of mythological materials. Moreover, several folk-tales and songs say that ´eme (the Earth) is the Sun's eldest daughter. It should be noted that, in contrast to many nations, the Lithuanians had mythical imagery of the Sun as a goddess and the Moon as a male god. The same applies to gender usage in modern Lithuanian: the Sun is feminine and the Moon masculine. For all the planets are given feminine names. In some folk-tales, Venus is called Mariu ´vaig¸de (the Sea Star) and Mercury is Au¨rines Tarnas (Morning Star's Servant). In Latvia, the morning Venus is called Auseklis and the evening Venus is Rieteklis.
Saule (the Sun) was imagined as a beautiful goddess of the sky who lived in a palace somewhere far east. Every morning she drives into the sky in a brilliant chariot of gold, copper or fire pulled by two white horses. In the evening the chariot goes down into the Baltic sea and Saule changes the chariot into a golden boat which takes her across the sea. The boat is steered by the goddess Perkunele who bathes the tired and dusty Saule and sees her off, the next morning, refreshed and shining for a new journey through the sky.
Menulis (the Moon) was a young god, dressed in silver attire, Saule's husband. He had fecund, vitality-giving functions and was the guardian of night and time. Rich mythological imagery was connected with the four phases of the Moon, being considered of vital importance to animals, plants and the weather. One interesting tale tries to explain the solar eclipses: the Sun and the Moon are kissing each other; they cover themselves with a wrap, trying not to be seen by their daughter, the Earth.
Myths speak of Vakarine (the Evening star) who made the bed for Saule, and about Au¨rine (the Morning star) who burnt the fire for Saule and made her ready for another day's journey. Au¨rine was a maiden of remarkable beauty with golden hair and an image of the Sun on her crown. She wore a starry mantle with a moon-shaped brooch on her shoulder and was often considered to be even more beautiful than the Sun herself.
One of the most important sky gods was the god of thunder and all storms Perkunas (the Thunder), fecundator and cleaner of the earth from the power of evil (Fig.15). He was imagined as a stern, bearded and powerfully-built man who traversed the sky in a fiery chariot, drawn by swift horses or as riding a fiery horse. His head was surrounded by a wreath of flames. In one hand he held lightning bolts and, in another, a heavy stone axe. Nine festivals devoted to Perkunas were celebrated throughout the year starting in the early spring. Figurines of Perkunas have been found in the Kernave settlement, in the so-called Perkunas house in Kaunas, etc.
An interesting folk-song involves the Sun, the Moon, their daughter Au¨rine (the Morning Star) and the god Perkunas. We present it as written by Balys [43]. Today the Sun and the Moon, the heavenly couple, are divorced and they never rise and set together. The cause of their enmity is explained in the following myth. The Moon married the Sun in the primeval spring. Because the Sun rose early, the Moon separated and walked alone. He met the Morning Star and fell in love with her. Then Thundergod Perkunas became angry and punished the Moon by striking him with his sword. The Moon's face, therefore, often appears as cut in two pieces. The Perkunas's word probably is a comet.
Among the most important Prussian gods is Swayxtix or in Lithuanian Zvaig¸dikas, the god of light. In Lithuanian mythology, he is imagined as a horseman with a sword.
Other deities related to celestial phenomena were the sunrise goddess Au¨ra (sometimes Auska or Brek¨ta) and the evening dusk goddess ´eja. Atmospheric phenomena were portrayed as a family of wind gods: Vejopatis, Audrupatis, Bangputys, Gardaitis and Divytis. They lived in a cave on the bottom of the sea.
To the present day Lithuanians and Latvians have preserved names denoting winds of eight (or even more) directions:
In Lithuanian In Latvian
N ¦iaurys, ´iemys, ´iemelis Ziemelis, Sivenis
NE Au¨trinis, Audenis Austrenis, Tuk¨ais
E Rytys, Saulinis, ´eminis Zemenis, Makars, Krasta vej¨
SE O¸inis Azenis, Launadzis, Sausenis
S Pietys, Launagis, Peitvis Vasaris, Jedals, Tarpenis
SW Aulaukis, ¦ak¨inis, Pilvinis Saksenis, Lenits, Udens vej¨
W Vakaris, Jurinis, Marinis Jurenis, Ve¸geris, Pludenis
NW Suominis, Vakarinis Samenis, Luodis, Pumenis
Other high Baltic gods should be mentioned: the great mother ´emyna (or in Latvian Zemes Mate), the goddess of the earth and fertility; Patrimpas, the god of spring and fertility, the guardian of rivers and springs; Autrimpas and Andojas, the sea gods; and Pykuolis and Velinas, the underground gods. In Latvia, other gods, related with the sky objects, are known: the highest god Dievu Dievs or Vecais Tevs, the god of the Sun and the morning light Usin¨, Dieva Deli (God's Sons) and Saules Meitas (Sun's Daughters).
For worship of gods and goddesses, the Balts erected temples or sanctuaries the remains of which were excavated in the mounds of Tushemlia and Gorodok on the Sozh River, now in Russia (3rd - 4th centuries) [44], on the Blagoveshchensk hill on the Desna River near Briansk, now in Russia (5th - 6th centuries) [34], on the Backininkeliai mound near Prienai, Lithuania (1st - 5th centuries) [45], etc. Of later times, well-known are the Romove temple in Prussia, the Perkunas temple in Vilnius, the supposed goddess of love Milda temple near Kaunas, etc.
An analogy is easily drawn between the Baltic mythology and the mythology of Indo-Aryans, Greeks, Romans and other ancient peoples. Even the names of certain gods are similar. No doubt, the northern and southern nations communicated as early as 2000 B.C., as evidenced by finds of Baltic amber in Crete, Troy, Egypt and other countries of the Mediterranian. Evidence of a direct contact has been fixed by Hecataeus of Miletus and Pindar (5th century B.C.) and Herodotus (4th century B.C.) who mention the Hyperboreans who lived north of the Scithian tribes. The Hyperboreans were said to have the same religion as the Greeks. Their land was considered the birth-place of titaness Letona (Leto), mother of the twin-gods Artemis and Apollo. Apollo visited his motherland every year and spent the winter months there. Rybakov [7] after analyzing existing historical sources, concludes that the Hyperboreans of the 6th - 5th centuries
B.C. were Baltic tribes.
excerpt from:
COSMOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT BALTS
Vytautas Strai¸ys and Libertas Klimka
Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Gostauto 12, Vilnius 2600, Lithuania
Vilnius Pedagogical University Studentu 39, Vilnius 2600, Lithuania
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