- Pērkons redirects here. For the rock band, see Pērkons (band). Pērkons ( Latvian for ' Thunder ' was one of the most important and scandalous Latvian rock bands of the 1980s and is still performing
Perkūnas (Lithuanian Perkūnas, Latvian Pērkons, Prussian Perkūns, Yotvingian Perkus) was the common Baltic god of thunder, one of the most important deities in the Baltic pantheon. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. Prussian is an extinct Baltic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the area that later became East Prussia (now north-eastern Poland Sudovian (otherwise known as Jatvingian or Yotvingian) is an extinct western Baltic language in Northeastern Europe. The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Thunder is the sound made by Lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener it can range from a sharp A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον - pantheion, literally "a temple of all gods " neut In both Lithuanian and Latvian mythology, he is documented as the god of thunder, rain, mountains, oak trees and the sky. Lithuanian mythology is an example of pagan Mythology containing archaic elements developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to A mountain is a Landform that extends above the surrounding Terrain in a limited area with a peak The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin The sky is the part of the Atmosphere or of Outer space visible from the surface of any Astronomical object.
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Etymology
The name continues PIE *Perkwunos, cognate to *perkwus, a word for "oak", "fir" or "wooded mountain". The name of an Indo-European god of Thunder and/or the Oak may be reconstructed as * or *. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Firs ( Abies) are a genus of between 45-55 species of Evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. The Proto-Baltic name *Perkūnas can be reconstructed with certainty. Slavic Perun is a related god, but not an etymologically precise match. In Slavic mythology, Perun ( Cyrillic: Перун is the highest God of the pantheon and the god of Thunder and Lightning The names Fjörgynn as a name for Odin, and Fjörgyn, mother of Thor, have been proposed as cognates. In Norse mythology, Jörð ( Old Norse "earth" jɔrð Jarð jɑrð in Old East Norse --> sometimes Anglicized as Jord Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Thor ( Old Norse: Þórr) is the red-haired and bearded God of Thunder in Germanic paganism and its subset Norse paganism Finnish Perkele, a name of Ukko, is considered a loan from Baltic. Perkele is a god associated with thunder in Finnish mythology. In Finnish mythology, Ukko (Estonian spelling Uku) is a god of sky weather crops (harvest and other natural things
The name survives in Modern Baltic as Lithuanian perkūnas ("thunder"), perkūnija ("thunder-storm"), and the Latvian pērkons (both "thunder" and "thunderstorm"). Alternative names in Latvian are Pērkoniņš (diminutive), Pērkonītis (diminutive), Pērkona tēvs, Vecais tēvs.
Perkūnas in written sources
Most information about Perkūnas comes from folklore songs, legends, and fairy tales. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological Because most of them were collected rather late in the 19th century, they represent only some fragments of the whole mythology. Lithuanian Perkūnas has many alternative onomatopoeic names, like Dundulis, Dundutis, Dūdų senis, Tarškulis, Tarškutis, Blizgulis, etc. Onomatopoeia (also spelled onomatopœia, from Greek: ονοματοποιΐα is a Word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing
The earliest attestation of Perkūnas seems to be in the Russian translation of the Chronicle of John Malala (1261) where it speaks about the worship of "Перкоунови рекше громоу", and in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle (around 1290) which mentions the idol Perkūnė. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Livonia (Līvõmō Latvian and Livonija Estonian: Liivimaa; Finnish: Liivinmaa; German and Swedish: Livland
In the Constitutiones Synodales (1530) Perkūnas is mentioned in a list of gods before the god of hell Pikuls and is identified with the Roman Jove (Jupiter). Roman mythology, or more appropriately Latin mythology, refers to the mythological beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. In the Sudovian Book Perkūnas (Parkuns) is mentioned in connection with a ritual involving a goat. Sudovian (otherwise known as Jatvingian or Yotvingian) is an extinct western Baltic language in Northeastern Europe. In Christian compositions, Perkūnas is a malicious spirit, a demon, as in the Chronicle of John Malala or in the 15th century writings of Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosz. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jan Długosz ( December 1 1415 - May 19, 1480) also known as Joannes Ioannes or Johannes Longinus or Dlugossius
Representation in mythology
Perkūnas is the god of lightning and thunder and storms. In a triad of gods Perkūnas symbolizes the creative forces (including vegetative), courage, success, the top of the world, the sky, rain, thunder, heavenly fire (lightning) and celestial elements, while Patrimpas, is involved with the ground, crops, and cereals and Velnias/Patulas, with hell, and death. Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region it refers to the Ground cover provided by plants Lithuanian mythology had many different gods and deities It is hard to reconstruct the full list of names because the sources are scant and contradictory Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering As a heavenly (atmospheric) deity Perkūnas, apparently, is the assistant and executor of Dievas‘s will. Lithuanian Dievas, Latvian Dievs, Prussian Deiws, Yotvingian Deivas was the supreme god in the Baltic mythology However, Perkūnas tends to surpass Dievas, deus otiosus, because he can be actually seen and has defined mythological functions. Deus otiosus or "idle god" is a theological concept used to describe the belief in a creator god who largely retires from the world and is no longer involved in its Perkūnas is pictured as middle-aged, armed with an axe and arrows, riding a two-wheeled chariot harnessed with goats, like Thor. The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape split and cut Wood, Harvest timber, as a Weapon The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe Thor ( Old Norse: Þórr) is the red-haired and bearded God of Thunder in Germanic paganism and its subset Norse paganism [1]
Perkūnas' family relations
In songs about a "heavenly wedding" Saulė (the Sun) cheats on Perkūnas with Mėnulis (the Moon); Perkūnas splits Mėnulis in half with a sword. Stelmužė is a village in Zarasai district municipality of Lithuania. Saulė (Saulė Saule is the common Baltic Solar deity, treated as a feminine Goddess in Lithuanian and Latvian mythology According to another, more popular, version, Mėnulis cheats on the Sun with Aušrinė (the morning star) just after the wedding, and Perkūnas punishes it. Aušrinė is a Lithuanian feminine deity of the Morning Star ( Venus) in the Lithuanian mythology. However, it does not learn and repeats the adultery and is punished again every month. Adultery is the voluntary Sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not his or her Spouse, though in many places it is Other explanations say it is why the Sun shines during the day and the Moon at night. Though divorced, both want to see their daughter Žemyna (the Earth). Žemyna is the goddess of the earth in Lithuanian mythology. She personifies the fertile earth and is identical to Latvian Zemes māte.
In other songs Perkūnas, on the way to the wedding of Aušra (dawn; the daughter of the Sun), strikes a golden oak, most likely in order to expel evil spirits - velnias or snakes - that usually hide below the roots of an oak. For the solar power company see Ausra (company Aušra or Auszra (literally dawn) was the first The oak is a tree of the thunder god in the Baltic mythology. Lithuanian Perkūno ąžuolas or Latvian Pērkona ozols ("oak of Perkūnas") is mentioned in a source dated to the first half of the 19th century. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar
Other myths say that Perkūnas and one Laumė (or Vaiva (rainbow) in some other accounts) were supposed to get married on Thursday, but the bride was kidnapped by velnias (devil) and Perkūnas hunts velnias ever since. Latvian: Lauma, Lithuanian: Laumė is a woodland fae, and guardian spirit of Orphans in Eastern Baltic mythology. A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of Light to appear in the Sky when the Sun
Some myths mention four sons of Perkūnas, who, apparently, is connected with the four seasons or with the four directions of the world (east, west, south and north). Sometimes there are seven (in connection to seven days of the week?) or nine Perkūnai referred to as brothers. It is said in Lithuanian "Perkūnų yra daug" ("there are many thunders").
In some myths Perkūnas expels his wife (and in some cases his children too) and remains in the sky by himself. Some myths offer a very different story: Dievas lifts Perkūnas from the earth into the sky. Perkūnas has stones in the sky (which rumble during storms) - the motive connected to Indo-European mythology. The existence of similarities among the deities and religious practices of the Indo-European (IE peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-European Perkūnas dwells on high hills or mountains: compare Lithuanian toponymy of Perkūnkalnis, "mountain of Perkūnas", or Griausmo kalnas, "mountain of rumble. Toponymy refers to the scientific study of place-names ( toponyms) their origins meanings use and Typology. "
Perkūnas and the Devil
An important function of Perkūnas is to fight the devil (in Latvian, jods, Lithuanian velnias). It is placed as an opponent of Perkūnas. The image of velnias is affected by Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings It is the god of hell and death. Its other names in Lithuanian include Vells, Velnias, Velinas.
Perkūnas pursues his opponent jods for picaroon or theft of fertility and cattle. Velnias hides in trees, under stones, or turns into various demonic animals: a black cat, dog, pig, goat, lamb, pike, cow (compare to the Latvian representations of jods a creature with the cow hoofs) or a person.
Perkūnas pursues an opponent in the sky on a chariot, made from stone and fire (Lithuanian ugnies ratai). Sometimes the chariot is made from red iron. It is harnessed by a pair (less often four or three) of red and white (or black and white) horses (sometimes goats). Compare the Lithuanian deity of horses and chariots Ratainyčia (Ratainicza mentioned in Lasick‘s works; from Lithuanian ratai - "wheel"). It is a mythologized image of a chariot of Didieji Grįžulo Ratai ("Grand Wheels of Grįžulas"(Ursa Major). Ursa Major ( is a Constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere It agrees with Samogitian representations, in which Perkūnas is a horseman on a fiery horse. Samogitia ( Samogitian: Žemaitėjė, Žemaitija literally lowlands) is one of the five Ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. On his heavenly chariot Perkūnas appears in the shape of a gray-haired old man with a big beard of many colors, in white and black clothes, holding a goat on a cord in one hand and a horn or an axe in the other.
Perkūnas possesses many weapons. They include an axe or sledgehammer, stones, a sword, lightning bolts, a bow and arrows, a club, and an iron or fiery knife. Perkūnas is the creator of the weapons (Akmeninis kalvis, "the stone smith") or he is helped by the heavenly smith Televelis (Kalvelis).
An opponent of Perkūnas hides itself in the hollow of a tree or a stone (attributes of Perkūnas). The culmination of Perkūnas' hunt for his opponent is a thunder-storm; it not only clears the ground of evil spirits, but returns the stolen cattle or weapons. In astronomy the culmination, at a given point of a Planet, Star, Constellation, etc
Perkūnas is also connected to Thursday. Thursday is the day of the Thunderer in many traditions: compare Polabian Peräune-dǻn ("day of Perun"), Lithuanian Perkūno diena. Perkūnas is associated with the Roman god Jupiter in early sources. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. Thursday is a day of thunder-storms and rains, and also of weddings.
Prussian Perkūns
The Chronicle of Simon Grunau (around 1520) describes a Prussian banner with Perkūns on it. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state A banner is a Flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol logo slogan or other message The god is represented as an angry middle aged man with a twisted black beard, topped with a flame. It stands between young Patrimpas and old Patulas. Lithuanian mythology had many different gods and deities It is hard to reconstruct the full list of names because the sources are scant and contradictory Perkūns maintains the same central position in the description of the sacred oak in Romowe sanctuary. Romuva or Romowe (known as Rickoyoto in writings of Simon Grunau) This early account was further enhanced by Simon Grunau in the 16th century In front of the oak, the eternal fire (symbol of Perkūns) was burned. Special priests served at the sanctuary. Old Prussians would try to appeal to the god by prayers. "Prussians" redirects here "Prussians" may also refer to citizens of the former German state of Prussia. Perkunatete was the mother of Perkūns.
Latvian Pērkons
Pērkons was strongly associated with Dievs, though the two were clearly different. Lithuanian Dievas, Latvian Dievs, Prussian Deiws, Yotvingian Deivas was the supreme god in the Baltic mythology The people sacrificed black calfs, goats, and roosters to Pērkons, especially during droughts. Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning "to make sacred" from Old French, from Latin sacrificium: sacr, "sacred" Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe A rooster (also called a cock or chanticleer) is a male Chicken ( Gallus gallus) the female being called a Hen. A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply The surrounding peoples came to these sacrifices to eat and drink together, after pouring beer onto the ground or into the fire for him. Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea The Latvians also sacrificed cooked food before meals to Pērkons, in order to prevent thunderstorms, during which honeycombs were placed into fires to disperse the clouds. A honeycomb is a mass of Hexagonal Wax cells built by Honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of Honey and
Pērkons' family included sons that symbolized various aspects of thunderstorms (such as thunder, lightning, lightning strikes) and daughters that symbolized various kinds of rain. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of Electricity, which typically occurs during Thunderstorms and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or
Pērkons appeared on a golden horse, wielding a sword, iron club, golden whip and a knife. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 A club (also known as cudgel, baton, truncheon, night stick, and bludgeon) is among the simplest of all weapons The word whip describes two basic types of tools A long stick-like device usually slightly flexible with a small bit of leather or cord called a "popper" on the A knife is a handheld sharp-edged instrument consisting of handle attached to a Blade used for cutting Ancient Latvians wore tiny axes on their clothing in his honor. The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape split and cut Wood, Harvest timber, as a Weapon
In modern fiction
Harry Turtledove's The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump presents an alternate history where magic works and where the gods of various pagan pantheons actually exist and interact with each other. Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14 1949) is an American historian and novelist who has written Historical fiction, Fantasy, and Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction Magic in Fiction is the endowing of Fictional characters or objects with magical powers. Perkūnas has a major role in the book. In this history the Lithuanians were never Christianised and continued to worship Perkūnas and their other gods into the equivalent of the 20th century. The Christianization of Lithuania (Lietuvos krikštas was the event that took place in 1387 initiated by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland At the climax of the story Perkūnas comes to America at the call of a Lithuianian-American devotee and enagages in an epic battle with blood-thirsty Mesoamerican gods. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Perkūnas is also mentioned in the same author's Crosstime Traffic series, in the book Gunpowder Empire, as still being one of the principal gods of the Lithuanian-dominated northern portion of Europe in that book's alternate-history present day period. Crosstime Traffic is a series of books by Harry Turtledove. The central premise of the stories is an Earth that has discovered access to alternate universes where history
Günter Grass, in his second novel Dog Years (1965), alludes to Perkūnas ("Perkunos") as a symbol of the dark human energies unleashed by the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s. Günter Wilhelm Grass (born 16 October 1927 is a Nobel Prize -winning German Author and Playwright.
See also
References
External links
- http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/perkons.html
- http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/mythology/sbp.html
- http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/lt-hist.html
- http://www.lituanus.org/1975/75_1_01.htm
- http://www.druidry.org/obod/deities/lithuanian_paganism.html
- http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/3503/lecture.html
- http://www.kresy.co.uk/lithuania.html
- http://www1.omnitel.net/sakmes/perkunas.html
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