Auseklis is a
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n god, a
stellar deity[Lurker, Manfred (2004). ''The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons''. Routledge. p. 25. .] that represents a celestial body, but possibly not the same as
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
(Rīta zvaigzne) - the first "star" (how Latvians call it) to appear in the mornings on the east side of the sky. He is the third most popular deity in
Latvian mythology
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myth ...
after
Saulė
Saulė ( lt, Saulė, lv, Saule) is a solar goddess, the common Baltic solar deity in the Lithuanian and Latvian mythologies. The noun ''Saulė''/''Saule'' in the Lithuanian and Latvian languages is also the conventional name for the Sun and o ...
and
Mēness
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myth ...
, but is almost exclusively mentioned in
folk songs
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
.
Name
The name ''Auseklis'' stems from the root ''
aus-'' ('dawn'), attached to the derivative suffix ''-eklis'', and is etymologically related to other Indo-European deities of the dawn.
This deity is also variously known as ''Auseklenis'', ''Auseklenč'', ''Ausekleņš'', ''Auseklīts'', ''Auseklītis'', ''Ausekliņis'', ''Ausekliņš'', ''Auseklius''.
Role
Auseklis is closely associated with
Mēness
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myth ...
("moon"). They both are ''
Dieva dēli'' ("sons of God"), as is Ūsiņš, and are thus confused with each other and with other male deities. Auseklis is referred to as male in the context of the ''
dainas
A daina or tautas dziesma is a traditional form of music or poetry from Latvia. Lithuanian ''dainos'' share common traits with them, but have been more influenced by European folk song traditions. Latvian dainas often feature drone vocal styles ...
'' (folksong), and is seen as the groom of Saules meita ("daughter of the sun"), who came all the way to Germany to court her.
He is also said to be the attendant to a Sun deity and helper in the activities of the "heavenly bath house".
According to scholar Elza Kokare, Auseklis belongs to a group of heavenly deities that take part in a mythological drama about a "celestial wedding". Auseklis is seen as a groom of ''Saules meita'', a daughter of Saule, the female Baltic sun - the others being moon god ''Meness'' and twin gods ''Dieva deli''. Auseklis, in other accounts, is a guest or member of the bridal cortege at the wedding of Saules meita with another character,
or he is deprived of his bride because of Meness's quarreling.
Auseklis is often referred to as being very young. As a reflex of this, he is seen as too young to work with the other deities, is very playful, and his horse is either bought by him or for him by the Sun.
According to
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas ( lt, Marija Gimbutienė, ; January 23, 1921 – February 2, 1994) was a Lithuanian archaeologist and anthropologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of " Old Europe" and for her Kurgan hypothesis, ...
's analysis, Auseklis is a "dievaitis" ('little god') that appears with a horse the Sun gave him, and falls in love with the daughter of the (female) Sun ("Saules dukterims").
According to Lithuanian folklorist and ethnologist Nijolė Laurinkienė (
lt), Harald Biezais was of the opinion that Auseklis was a male god and a son of Dievs ("Dievo sunus"). He was also part of the "celestial marriage" drama, being the first betrothed of the Sun's Daughter (Saules meita).
[Laurinkienė, Nijolė. ''Senovės lietuvių dievas Perkūnas: kalboje, tautosakoje, istoriniuose šaltiniuose''. Vilnius: Lietuviu literaturos ir tautosakos institutas, 1996. p. 133. .]
Symbol
Auseklis is also the name of the eight-pointed star (an
isogonal octagram
In geometry, an octagram is an eight-angled star polygon.
The name ''octagram'' combine a Greek numeral prefix, '' octa-'', with the Greek suffix '' -gram''. The ''-gram'' suffix derives from γραμμή (''grammḗ'') meaning "line".
Detai ...
). It is also known as one of the crosses of
Lietuvēns
Lietuvēns or lietonis (in Latgale also can be called “lītūņš”, similar to Slavic “mara” (Russian: ''Мара'') or Lithuanian “lauma”) is a mythological creature in Latvian folklore. According to Latvian folk epics and omens, '' ...
(a
malevolent spirit
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...
). The other cross of Lietuvēns is the
pentagram
A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle aroun ...
, which symbolizes Venus in other cultures, suggesting that both signs might have originally been symbols of Auseklis. In more modern times, the pentagram is sometimes seen as a symbol of evil, however, originally both signs were used for protection from evil and are named after Lietuvēns because they were used to ward it off. Both signs had to be drawn without lifting the hand to ensure that protection was effective.
In the 1980s, the octagram became the symbol of
the third Latvian National Awakening.
See also
*
Aušrinė
Aušrinė ("dawning", not to be confused with ''Aušra'', "dawn") is a feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) in the Lithuanian mythology. She is the antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star.
Her cult possibly stems from that of the Indo-E ...
*
Triquetra
The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective ''triquetrus'' "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping '' vesicae piscis'' lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in ar ...
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*Latvijas Enciklopēdija, Rīga 2002, {{ISBN, 9984-9482-0-X
Dainuskapis.lv* Calin, Didier.
Indo-European Poetics and the Latvian Folk Songs'. Riga: 1996. Thesis (expanded version).
External links
Latvian gods
Stellar gods
Venusian deities
Religious symbols
Baltic gods