The list of Lithuanian gods is reconstructed based on scarce written sources and late folklore. Lithuania converted to Christianity in 1387, but elements of the Lithuanian mythology survived into the 19th century. 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 that time the pagan mythology became 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 obtaining data, there is no accepted list of Lithuanian gods. Different authors present wildly contradictory reconstructions of Lithuanian pantheon.
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.
Dievas, God in Lithuanian.Dievas Senelis ("Good Old Man") he is 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.Praamžius, Pramšans, Pramžimas, Praamžimas, an epithet of Dievas (the chief god); probably of later literary origin.Aušrinė, the Morning Star, a goddess, a daughter of the Dievas ("dievaitė"). She was the goddess of the morning. Alternatively her name is given as Aušra ("dawn").Dalia, goddess of fate and weaving.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 religion).Saulė, the Sun Goddess (Surya in Vedic religion).Ašvieniai, the divine twins who pulled the chariot of the Sun (the Vedic Ashwins or the Greek Dioskouri).Vakarinė, goddess of the Evening Star.Žemyna, goddess, the deified soil (Zamin in Persian and Hindi for "land").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.Žvaigždės (singular: žvaigždė), stars.Saulė (the sun) is their mother and sometimes 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 (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), and Vaivora (Mercury).Heroes and heroines
Pajauta, the legendary princess of KernavėJūratė 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
Ežerinis, a spirit of lakesUpinis, a spirit of riversAuštaras (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.Javinė, 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.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 mythologyLaukų 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).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, the punishment was severe.Nykštukas, gnomes.Vėlės, spirits of dead human beings.Aitvaras, a household spirit bringing both good and bad luckBaubas, 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 – goddess of death, also The Reaper. Other names include Kaulinyčia, Maras (black death or the Plague), Maro mergos, Kolera, Pavietrė, Kapinių žmogus. Her sacral bird is the owl. Sometimes she was considered to be a sister of Laima (luck).Ragana is an old-looking female or witch. Mostly has dark intentions and powers to control forces of nature. They probably were old ladies living by the forest, having a good knowledge of plants and their use for medical and other purposes.Slogutis means pain, misery or nightmare. Also can mean fear or bad feelings.Pinčiukas, devil, not the pure evil being of Christianity, but a trickster. Earlier - dweller or even god of bogs and marshes.Žiburinis, a scary forest spirit that appears as a phosphorescent skeleton.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 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.
