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Saulė is the well-known Baltic deity and is also considered as a goddess in the Lithuanian and Latvian mythologies.


Origin

In Lithuanian and Latvian languages, the name Saulė/Saule refers to the conventional name of the Sun that originated from the Proto-Baltic name *Sauliā > *Saulē.


Representation

Saulė, one of the most powerful deities, is the goddess of life and fertility, warmth and health. She is also hailed as the patroness of the ill-fated and orphans.


Stories

Based on the Chronicle by John Malalas (1261), Teliavelis created the Sun and threw it into the sky. Jan Silvanus Prazsky, a missionary, retold the kidnapping of Saulė. She was imprisoned in a tower by a powerful king and was saved by the zodiac through a gigantic sledgehammer.


Family

Mėnuo/Meness is married to Saulė but Mėnuo fell in love with Aušrinė (the morning star or Venus). Because of his infidelity, Perkūnas (thunder god) punished him. Some people believed that Mėnuo was cut into pieces again and again because he did not learn from his mistakes. Other versions claimed that the couple divorced but they both wanted to see their daughter Žemyna (earth). For this reason, the Sun shines during the day and the Moon comes up at night. The third version alleged that Mėnuo’s face was disfigured by either Dievas (the supreme god) or Saulė.


References

  • Beresnevičius, Gintaras. "Lithuanian Religion and Mythology". Anthology of Lithuanian Ethnoculture. Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre.
  • Beresnevičius, Gintaras (2004). Lietuvių religija ir mitologija: sisteminė studija. Vilnius: Tyto alba. p. 19.
  • Jonas Trikūnas, ed (1999). Of Gods & Holidays: The Baltic Heritage. Tvermė. pp. 75–77.
  • Jonas Trikūnas, ed (1999). Of Gods & Holidays: The Baltic Heritage. Tvermė. pp. 120–124.