LITHUANIAN MYTHOLOGY

Lithuanian mythology

https://twitter.com/ValeriaKogan/status/827228215227846656?s=20

MEDEINA

Žemyna - the mother Earth and the wife of Perkūnas, the god of heaven. The legend has it that in spring, the Earth gets pregnant when the Thunder throws his axe which has got a special power of fertility. It was believed that he Earth can bear fruit only by interacting with the sky, the sun, the moon, rain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medeina

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9TS39kSWOM

Žemyna has no human shapes, her body is plowed or uncultivated fields, forests, lakes, rivers. It is her divine grace to give life or ripen fruit to everything that was planted.

Medeina - Žvorūna (goddess of forests and hunters). Medeina can be described as a goddess with both divine and demonic traits. Medeina is single, unwilling to get married, though beautiful huntress. She is depicted as a young woman and a she-wolf (vilkmergė) that is always escorted by a pack of wolves. Her duty is not to help the hunters, but to protect the forest.

Eglė- the Queen of Serpents

connecting the terrestrial and aquatic worlds

Žemyna – is not only the mother of plants and animals, but also the mother of humanity.

AITVARAS

http://www.baltai.lt/?p=22207

http://www.mitai.lt/baltu-mitologija/aitvaras/

LAUMĖS

The one who shares with Aitvaras the last crust of bread, gets from Aitvaras a bag of grass or wood chips, which brought home, turn into gold.

A greedy peasant gets a hat and pockets filled with gold, which at home turns into rubbish and dung.

Aitvaras – Baltic Home Spirit

In the old Lithuanian village homes, there used to be unusual magic creatures – spirits aitvarai. When the spirit is at the homestead, he looks like a black rooster. If he flees outside, he flies like a fire flame in the shape of a serpent.

Aitvaras usually takes care of poor, abused, ungreedy people.

Aitvaras lives in the attic of the homestead and brings his master fortunes – grain, curd, and even money. But he steals them from the neighbours. The master sometimes doesn't recognise that Aitvaras takes care of him.

Aitvaras is a capricious creature. Every day he needs to be appeased with some eggs. If he is offended, he can burn the house down.

Laumės could appear in the form of animals, as mares or as female goats, bears and dogs. Later, Laumės had birds’ claws for feet and appeared as women with the head or lower body of a female goat, half-human/half dog or half mare, similar to centaurs. Like cyclops, Laumės often had only one eye. They also had large breasts with stone nipples.

Laumės were dangerous, especially to men. They could tickle or tweak them to death and then eat their bodies. The Lithuanian myth also claimed Laumės kept huge cows which could be milked by all people.

It is said that Laumė was a beautiful goddess, who lived in clouds and had a diamond throne. Laumė was a bride of thunder god Perkūnas; however, they did not marry because Laumė fell in love with the Moon.

In other stories, the bride was stolen by the devil Velnias, named Tuolius. That's why Laumė liked moonshine.

In other myths, the bride of Perkūnas was a Laumė called Vaiva. The rainbow was called the ribbon of Vaiva. Despite her marriage, she had a beloved singer named Straublys. Straublys had stolen the ribbon of Vaiva. During the rain, Straublys stretches the ribbon of Vaiva across the sky, while Perkūnas is angry and shouts in thunder.

The other myth claimed Laumė fell in love with a beautiful young man down to earth. They both had a son named Meilius (name derived from word 'Meilė' - love). Laumė descended from the sky to feed her son. However, the highest God found out about her son and cut Laumės breasts into pieces. Now stone pieces of it can be found on Earth.

Laumės descended from the sky to Earth. They lived nearby lakes, abandoned bath-houses, on islands of lakes or dense forests. Lots of names of water pools in Lithuania are named after the word Laumė. Laumės liked to gather near rivers, lakes, swamps, in meadows, there dew fell in the night in New Moon or Full Moon. They danced and enjoyed themselves, leaving circles in the grass. Usually, Laumės were most powerful on Fridays the New Moon appeared, on the rainiest days of the month. Laumės could cause hail, storm or rain by singing, dancing or by curses.

Later on, Laumės were depicted as very beautiful women, who appeared both naked or wearing very fine clothing. The Rainbow was often called a ribbon lost by Laumės.They love children, and help those in need. They punish those wholaugh at them, and those who are lazy.