Perkunas was the Baltic god of the thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon following Dievas. His worship was common among the people of Lithuania, Latvia and Prussia. Perkunas in his chariot would be identified with the constellation of Ursa Major.
Overview[]
Perkunas was a warrior-god of the sky, who was originally married to Saulė, the solar goddess, who cheated on his with Mėnulis, the moon god. In anger, Perkunas strikes at Mėnulis, causing the other to spilt in half. The moon god regenres, but does still not learn from this and continues to have affairs with other deities, such as Aušrinė, the morning star, and thus Perkunas continues to strike the moon every month explaining the lunar cycle.
In some other myths he is married to the goddess Lauma, who is kidnapped by Velnias, a Baltic demon, which causes a rivalry between the two, though his most common consort is the Earth-goddess Žemyna. He is also said to have four sons, who are the cardinal directions of east, west, south and north.
Perkunas has also a rivalry with the before mentioned Velnias, who either a demon or god of the underworld, which either stems from the kidnapping of Lauma or the theft of cattle. The thunder-god is often described in chasing his enemy, who hides among the trees and the rocks of the Earth, in a fiery chariot or riding a fiery horse. This rivalry always ends in a battle in the form of a thunderstorm.
Links[]
- Perkunas - Wikipedia
- Perkunas - Mythology Wiki