Medeina

Medeina
Forest is the dominion of Medeina

Medeina or Medeinė (derived from medis (tree) and medė (forest)),[1] often treated as synonymous to Žvorūnė or Žvorūna (derived from žvėris (beast)), is a one of the main deities in the Lithuanian mythology, similar to Latvian Meža Māte.[2] She is a ruler of forests, trees and animals. Her sacred animal is a hare.[1]

A Slavic transcription of the Chronicle by John Malalas (dated 1261) mentioned Žvorūna and three other gods. The Hypatian Codex, describing events of 1252, mentioned pagan gods still worshiped by King Mindaugas.[1] The Codex mentioned Medeina and an unnamed hare goddess. There is an academic discussion whether Medeina is the name of hare goddess mentioned in the Codex or those two are independent deities.[3] As part of the official pantheon, Medeina represented military interest of warriors and later was replaced by Žemyna, goddess of earth representing agricultural interest of peasants.[4] In the 15th century, Jan Długosz compared Medeina with Roman goddess Diana. She was also mentioned by Jan Łasicki, Mikalojus Daukša, and in the Bychowiec Chronicle.[2]

According to research by Algirdas Julius Greimas, Medeina is single, unwilling to get married, though voluptuous and beautiful huntress.[5] She is depicted as a young woman and a she-wolf (cf. vilkmergė) with an escort of wolves. Her duty is not to help the hunters, but to protect the forest.[5] Vykintas Vaitkevičius identified five Hare Churches (sacred stones, hills, forests) and ten Wolf-footprints (stones with hollows that resemble a footprint) in Eastern Lithuania (former Duchy of Lithuania) that were related to the cult of Medeina.[5] After baptism of Lithuania, the cult diminished.

References

  1. ^ a b c Gimbutas, Marija; Miriam Robbins Dexter (2001). The Living Goddesses. University of California Press. p. 210. ISBN 0520229150. http://books.google.com/books?id=Xs26aFrT0YAC&pg=PA210. 
  2. ^ a b (Lithuanian) Jonas Zinkus, et al., ed (1985–1988). "Medeina". Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija. III. Vilnius, Lithuania: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 32. LCC 86232954. 
  3. ^ Bojtár, Endre (1999). Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People. CEU Press. p. 309. ISBN 963-9116-42-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=5aoId7nA4bsC&pg=PA309. 
  4. ^ Beresnevičius, Gintaras. "Lithuanian Religion and Mythology". Anthology of Lithuanian Ethnoculture. http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/mythology/relmyth.html. 
  5. ^ a b c Vaitkevičius, Vykintas (2003). "New outlook for Žvėrūna-Medeina". Lietuvos archeologija 24. ISSN 0207-8694. http://www.istorija.lt/la/vaitkevicius2003en.html. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Medeina — Medeinà dkt. Medeinà dažnai̇̃ vaizdúojama meškõs pavi̇̀dalu …   Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno antraštynas

  • Medeina —   [mədɛ na], Ortschaft in Westtunesien, 35 km südlich von Le Kef; in der Nähe befindet sich das Ruinenfeld der antiken Stadt Althibụrus: Ausgegraben wurden u. a. Reste eines gepflasterten römischen Forums, vom Portikus sind noch einige… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Medeïna — Provenance. Prénom d origine arabe. Signifie: dévote, pieuse Histoire. Depuis maintenant quatorze siècles, la plupart des musulmans, de par le monde, qu ils soient asiatiques, africains, européens ou américains, ont à coeur de choisir pour leurs… …   Dictionnaire des prénoms français, arabes et bretons

  • Villa Medeina — (Швентой,Литва) Категория отеля: Адрес: Uosto g. 21, LT 00314 Швентой, Литва …   Каталог отелей

  • List of Lithuanian gods — 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,… …   Wikipedia

  • Roy McDonald — (born June 4, 1937) is a poet and busker (street performer) in London, Ontario, Canada. He is well known for singing and reciting poetry in front of Joe Kool s Restaurant and Jim Bob Ray s Bar on Richmond Street. For many years he stood at the… …   Wikipedia

  • Медейна — или Медейне (часто смешивается с Жворуной)  богиня лесов, деревьев и животных, одно из главных божеств литовской мифологии. Самое раннее упоминание  XIII век, Ипатьевская лето …   Википедия

  • Abbah Quşūr — Infobox Settlement official name = Abbah Quşūr other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = image blank emblem = blank emblem type = blank… …   Wikipedia

  • Althiburos — 35° 52′ 24″ N 8° 47′ 13″ E / 35.87344444, 8.78686111 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gouvernorat du Kef — 36° 10′ 56″ N 8° 42′ 53″ E / 36.1822, 8.71472 …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”