Resources of Lithuanian Mythology
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Come and learn Lithuanian historical resources
This page provides the set of links to pages of ancient Lithuanian mythology
and religion. The page illustrated with images of a distaff decorated with symbols of the cosmological meaning.
A form will be provided soon to add your own links. Let's go back soon and enjoy it!
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Lithuanian Ethnic Church Romuva of the USA official home page
May God Dievas help! May Goddess Laima bless!
Romuva celebrates the Ethnic or Old Religion of the Lithuanians. This religion has very ancient roots and many international links. It was the national and state religion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1387. It is very closely kindred to Lat
vian Ethnic Religion known as Dievturi (which means "Bearing God Dievas"). It is also similarly related
to the religion of the Old Prussians, and other Baltic peoples.
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The Baltic Tradition - Romuva. Winter and Summer Solstices, The day of Dead (Velines)
The Baltic traditions took shape in a vast territory, encompassing the
southeastern shores of the Baltic sea and huge forest, lake and river
areas, which today are divided into Baltic and Slavic lands. This division
which was mainly initiated by the world,s new religions and its plundering politics,
even now is creating confusion and hampers this area,s solidarity. Many residents of this land,
not withstanding the many different nationalities, all have same world outlook , moral and esthetic
values, the richest folklore and a continuance in various forms their ancient , native religion.
Our ancestors lived long centuries in this land, struggled for their existence,
sought to understand and give meaning to the world around them. Until historical
and written times they had already created their most significant cultural objects -
language, world outlook, accumulated art and other things. Not everything survived,
many cultural and home life objects vanished, all this was due to constraining and undermining forces.
Aggressive religious and political forces tried to conquer nations and to thrust upon them their own life styles,
even their own outlook on life. Language and religion were most sensitive to these constraints and forces.
Having lost these spiritual, cultural feelings, the nation or ethnic community would loose its identity and become a
different community of impoverished people. Yet in the thirteenth century, the leader of pagan Lithuania, Gediminas,
proclaimed that every nation has rights to its own distinctive perception of the world and respect. Vilnius was a city
of diverse religions, and Lithuania was a multinational nation, everyone lived in harmony and agreement. This sensible
way of life, unfortunately was not able to hold out against fierce and aggressive conditions of that time.
The Cosmology of the Ancient Balts
Lithuania was the last European country to accept Christianity.
Lithuanians gave reverence to nature, personifying it into several deities.
Paramount to all was Dievas (God), who eventually became equated with the Christian
god. Beneath him was Perkunas (Thunderer), the god of Thunder and Justice. There was Saule (Sun),
the Sun Goddess, Menulis (the Moon) and Zemyna (the Earth's deity).
The site reviews the outlook of ancient Balts on the
structure and origin of the world as reconstructed from the
archaeological excavations, folklore, mythology, linguistics and
chronicles. Conclusion is drawn that 4-5 thousand years ago
the ancestors of the modern Baltic nations (Lithuanians and
Latvians) had developed views on the relations between man and
natural forces, on the origin of the world and its construction,
based on religious and mythological notions. Later on, this
cosmological interest developed into astronomical observations,
finding the regularity of celestial phenomena, and calendar
management.
Neopaganism in Center-Eastern Europe
History of Lithuanian Paganism, the summer solstice. Much of interesting information!
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Marija Gimutas: 1921 - 1994:
Grandmother of a Movement
Marija (pronounced "Maria") Gimbutas, who died in 1994 at the age of 73. Gimbutas literally
escaped the advancing Soviet front in her homeland in Lithuania in 1944 with, as her biographer
Joan Marler tells us, "her dissertation under one arm and Danute [her infant son] in the other."
In that dissertation were the seeds of Gimbutas's later work, synthesizing archeology, mythology,
and linguistics in a reconstruction of ancient Europe that challenges assumptions about the origins of human society.
Healing through the zodiac with the bach flower remedies
History of Baltic Gods (Dievs, Dievai). Excerpt from the "Baltic Religion" article of the Encyclopedia Britannica
The Baltic words Latvian dievs, Lithuanian
dievas, and Old Prussian deivas are etymologically related to
the Indo-European deiuos; among others, the Greek Zeus is
derived from the same root...
The summer solstice in Baltic states
Ancient Lithuanian Mythology and Religion -
Abstract from Prane Dunduliene's book Ancient Lithuanian Mythology and Religion.
The tribes of the Aestii creted their religion jointly throughout millennia.
The Lithuanian pagan faith and mythology, as well as the ritual connected
with them, are among the oldest phenomena of human spiritual creation.
Religious and mythic imagery permeated all the spheres of society life
that was based on hunting and gathering already during the period of the
early tribal system which comprised the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic.
Lithuanian page of mythology
Lithuanian culture site
Art's Lithuania, Sacral Arts in Lithuania, Lithuanian Museums
How far ago we are speaking Lithuanian?
Lithuanian myth of World creation
Lithuania (Lieteva/Lietuva) -
Brief history, male/female first names/surnames, rulers, names of Gods/Goddesses.
When deers felt from heaven - the study of old song
Egle, the Queen of Serpents - the Marija's translation of
famous Lithuanian tale "Egle, Zalciu karaliene".
In another time, long ago lived an old man and his wife. Both of them
had twelve sons and three daughters. The youngest being named Egle.
On a warm summer evening all three girls decided to go swimming. After
splashing about with each other and bathing they climbed onto the riverbank to dress and groom their hair. But the youngest, Egle, only stared for a serpent had slithered into the sleeve of her blouse. What was she to do? The eldest girl grabbed Egle’s
blouse. She threw the blouse down and jumped on it, anything to get rid of the serpent. But the serpent turned to the youngest, Egle, and spoke to her in a man’s voice:
-Egle, promise to become my bride and I will gladly come out.
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Cthonic and Indo-European Elements
What is Lithuanian Paganism Like today?
Lithuanian paganism seeks harmony, called Darna. First, darna aspires towards inner harmony: people at peace with themselves. Second, it endeavors towards harmony at home and in community. Third, it pursues harmony with the ancestors.
Finally, it quests harmony with the universe, with life and with the divinities.
Lithuanian paganism differs from American Neo-paganism. Superficially, both dearly adhere to ages-old traditions, which are not set in stone. Lithuanian pagans adapt their traditions to their circumstances.
They learn songs, practices, and the elements of ritual.
The Old Man and the Devil:
Lithuanian Tale
Dainos
(ancient Baltic hymns) and prayers
Pagan Lithuanian Folk Beliefs
By the time the Thirteen Colonies were fighting, their war of independence from
Great Britain, Lithuania had been a considerable force in Eastern European
history and politics for over 400 years. The Grand Duke Mindaugas
established the first Lithuanian State in 1230, in response to the growing threat that
was presented by the presence of ever increasingly proselytising Germanic Teutonic
and Livonian Christian military orders. In 1252, Mindaugas accepted Christianity,
so that he could be crowned king; he was the first and only king of Lithuania.
The ethymology of word 'Dievas' (God)
Lithuania: Iron Crosses
Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea, has had a very intriguing role in European development, in various ways: militarily, economically, politically and religiously. It was the last country to accept Christianity,
in 1387, as part of the marriage
agreement between Grand Duke Jogaila and Jadwiga, Queen of Poland. The new faith lived in conjunction with the old nature-based beliefs; and well into the twentieth century in certain regions.
Modern Lithuanians are an unusual amalgam of Catholicism and a fierce pride in their pagan past. Many will proudly state that Grand Duke Jogaila and his cousin Grand Duke Vytautas
the Great defeated Crusading Teutonic Order.
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The Oak Grove
In ancient Lithuanian mythology, Perkunas was the God of Thunder.
As such, a stand of oak trees (known as a grove) was considered sacred to Perkunas. Join with us in an exploration of many things interesting to at me, at least. Take a spin on the Turntable of Doom and see what lies ahead for you today!
Mythological Stories: The page includes Lithuanian 'Myth of Lost Love and Myth of Amberella'
(Jurate ir Kastytis).
Perkunas, God of Thunder, was the father God. The fairest goddess was Jurate,
a mermaid who lived in an amber palace in the Baltic. Kastytis, a courageous
fisherman living along the coast near the mouth of the Sventoji River.
Kastytis would cast his nets to catch fish from Jurate's kingdom. The goddess
sent her mermaids to warn him to stop fishing in her domain. He did not stop.
After the mermaids failed, Jurate went to demand he stop. When she saw how
handsome and courageous he was she fell in love with him and brought him to
her amber palace.
Sacred Serpent, An E-zine of the Baltic Traditions, Romuva/Canada
Sacred Serpent is named after the zaltys or zalgtis: a revered grass snake, indigenous to the Baltic
lands of East Prussia, Latvia and Lithuania. Zaltys is
known as the sentinel or messenger of the ancient Baltic deities and plays a significant role in
the mythology and lore of the region.
Sacred Serpent serves to explore the culture of the Baltic region and its old beliefs.
This e-zine also serves as a voice for ROMUVA, the Indigenous Lithuanian Religion.
The Myths Behind The History
A Lithuanian Folk Tale
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Understanding Baltic Religion
The interpretation of the ancient Baltic religion, as well as its Prussian, Latvian, and
Lithuanian successors, presents four fundamental theoretical problems. First, as with the
ancient Germanic religion, the Indo-European tripartite division of sovereign, warrior, and agrarian functions remains in dispute. Focusing especially on the sovereign function and in part on the warrior function, scholarship has neglected other aspects o
f the comprehensive Dumezilian theory. Furthermore, scholarship has not yet reached any likeness of a consensus on the sovereign and warrior functions.
Second, Gimbutas' analysis of Old European civilization, by placing special emphasis on
Lithuanian and Latvian religion, induces the desire to distinguish Indo-European elements from
Old European ones. Such a differentiation, indeed, enables a more complete and careful analysis
of Baltic mythology. Unfortunately, few scholars have applied Gimbutas' theory in their work.
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The Legend of the Iron Wolf. How Gediminas established Vilnius city.
Around the year 1323, Gediminas, the Ruler and Grand Duke of Lithuania
was hunting with the nobles of his court. Among his retinue were servants
and beaters with large packs of hounds. The great forest was disturbed by
the uncommon activity. All the animals, great and small reacting to the
terrifying clamor invading the tranquil serenity of their province, and
in mortal fear, scurried into the thicket.
The symbol of a cross in Lithuanian poetry
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Lithuanian Charms
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