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Medeina or Medeinė (from – "tree" or ''medė'' – "forest"), often treated as synonymous to Žvorūnė or Žvorūna (derived from ''žvėris'' – "beast"), is one of the main deities in the
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 ...
, and is similar to Latvian Meža māte (Forest Mother). She is a ruler of forests, trees and animals. Her sacred animal is a
hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...
. A Slavic transcription of John Malalas' Chronicle (dated 1261) mentioned Žvorūna and three other gods. The
Hypatian Codex The ''Hypatian Codex'', also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis, is a compendium of three Rus' chronicle, Rus' chronicles: the ''Primary Chronicle'', ''Kievan Chronicle'' and ''Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''. It is the most important sou ...
, describing events of 1252, mentioned
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
gods still worshiped by King
Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...
. The Codex mentioned Medeina and an unnamed hare goddess. It is unclear whether Medeina is the name of hare goddess mentioned in the Codex or whether the two are independent deities. 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. In the 15th century,
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
compared Medeina with Roman goddess
Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
. She was also mentioned by
Jan Łasicki Jan Łasicki (; 1534–1602) was a Polish historian and theologian. He was well-educated and traveled extensively in Western Europe from 1556 to 1581. Around 1557 he converted to Calvinism, becoming a follower of the Unity of the brethren in 1567 ...
,
Mikalojus Daukša Mikalojus Daukša (other possible spellings include ''Mikalojus Daugsza'', and ''Mikolay Dowksza''; after 1527 – 16 February 1613 in Varniai, Medininkai) was a Lithuanian language, Lithuanian and Latin language, Latin religious writer, transla ...
, and in the
Bychowiec Chronicle The ''Bychowiec Chronicle'' (; ; also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most ...
. According to research by
Algirdas Julius Greimas Algirdas Julien Greimas (; born ; 9 March 1917 – 27 February 1992) was a Lithuanian literary scientist who wrote most of his body of work in French while living in France. Greimas is known among other things for the Greimas Square (). He is, ...
, Medeina is single, unwilling to get married, though voluptuous and beautiful huntress. She is depicted as a young woman and a she-wolf (
cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...
''vilkmergė'') with an escort of wolves. According to the author, Medeina can be described as a goddess with both divine and demonic traits. Her duty is not to help the hunters, but to protect the forest.
Vykintas Vaitkevičius Vykintas Vaitkevičius is a Lithuanian archaeologist. Vaitkevičius graduated from the Vilnius University (1996: B.S. history, specialty archaeology; 1998: M.S. history, specialty archaeology; 2000: doctorate in humanities)
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 The Duchy of Lithuania (; ) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other alternative ...
) that were related to the cult of Medeina. After
baptism of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania () occurred in 1387, initiated by the Lithuanian royals Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Catholic Christianity by Lithu ...
, the cult diminished. Medeina was related and similar to Greek
Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
and Roman
Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
and in fact was sometimes called Diana.


References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/mythology/relmyth.html , title=Lithuanian Religion and Mythology , first=Gintaras , last=Beresnevičius , work=Anthology of Lithuanian Ethnoculture , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203101230/http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/mythology/relmyth.html , archive-date=2010-12-03 {{cite book , first=Endre , last=Bojtár , title=Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People , publisher=CEU Press , year=1999 , page=309 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5aoId7nA4bsC&pg=PA309 , isbn=963-9116-42-4 {{cite book , title=The Living Goddesses , first=Marija , last=Gimbutas , author-link=Marija Gimbutas , author2=Miriam Robbins Dexter , page=210 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xs26aFrT0YAC&pg=PA210 , publisher=University of California Press , year=2001 , isbn=0-520-22915-0 {{cite journal , url=http://www.istorija.lt/la/vaitkevicius2003en.html , title=New outlook for Žvėrūna-Medeina , first=Vykintas , last=Vaitkevičius , journal=Lietuvos archeologija , issn=0207-8694 , year=2003 , volume=24 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313034322/http://www.istorija.lt/la/vaitkevicius2003en.html , archive-date=2011-03-13 {{cite encyclopedia , editor-first=Jonas , editor-last=Zinkus , display-editors=et al. , encyclopedia=Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija , language=lt , title=Medeina , year=1985–1988 , publisher=Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija , volume=III , location=Vilnius , page=32, lccn=86232954 Lithuanian goddesses Nature goddesses Animal goddesses Baltic goddesses Hunting goddesses Virgin goddesses