Bangpūtys is the name of a masculine deity
[Straižys, Vytautas; Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Balts, Lietuvos Dangus (Sky of Lithuania), Vilnius, p.115, 1990.] in
Lithuanian mythology
Lithuanian mythology () is the mythology of Lithuanians, Lithuanian polytheism, the religion of pre-Christian Lithuanians. Like other Indo-European studies, Indo-Europeans, Lithuanians (tribe), ancient Lithuanians maintained a polytheistic myth ...
. Basing on very scanty sources, some mythologists have reconstructed him as a god of sea and storm. According to the reconstructions, he is austere and unrelenting. He has a beard, wings and two faces. He is commonly portrayed as having a fish in his left hand, a utensil in his right hand, and a rooster on the head.
His sons are the gods of wind:
Rytys,
Pietys,
Šiaurys and
Vakaris (easterly, southern, northern and westerly).
Bangpūtys is considered a very vindictive god, for example, one story talks of how
Auštaras (son of
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 Wiktionary:antipode, antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star.
Her cult possibly stems fr ...
and
Mėnuo, the other god of easterly wind) was swimming in the sea and made a storm. Bangpūtys wanted to drown him.
Sometimes Bangpūtys is referred to as associating with
Vėjopatis.
See also
*
Bangu māte (
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
)
*
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...
, a god with two faces in Roman mythology
*
Anpao
In Sioux mythology (Indigenous American mythological tradition that includes Lakota mythology), Anpao (Lakota: ''Aŋpáo''), or Anp, is a spirit with two faces that represents the dawn.
Anpao dances with Han, a primordial spirit of darkness, to e ...
, another god with two faces in Lakota mythology
*
Varuna
Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...
, another god of the sea and storms in Hindu mythology
*
List of Lithuanian gods and mythological figures
The list of Lithuanian gods is based on scarce written sources and late folklore. Many of them were outright invented. Lithuania converted to Christianity in 1387, but elements of Lithuanian mythology survived into the 19th century. The earlies ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangputys
Lithuanian gods
Sea and river gods