Aušrinė
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox deity Template:Baltic religion Aušrinė ("dawning", not to be confused with Aušra, "dawn") is a feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) in Lithuanian mythology. She is the antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star.
Her cult possibly stems from that of the Indo-European dawn goddess Hausōs and is related to the Latvian Auseklis, Greek Eos, Roman Aurora, and Vedic Ushas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Aušrinė is the goddess of beauty, love, and youth, linked with health, re-birth, and new beginnings. After the Christianization of Lithuania, the cult merged with Christian images and the symbolism of the Virgin Mary.<ref name="zinkus">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Historical attestation
Aušrinė was first mentioned by 16th-century Polish historian Jan Łasicki as Ausca. He described a "goddess of the rays of the sun that descend and rise above the horizon".<ref name=greimas>Template:Cite book</ref>
Folkloric role
According to folklore, each morning, Aušrinė and her servant Tarnaitis (possibly Mercury)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> prepare the way for Saulė (the Sun). In the evening, Vakarinė prepares the bed for Saulė.<ref name="zinkus" /> The relationship between Saulė and Aušrinė is complex. Sometimes, Saulė is described as the mother of Aušrinė, Vakarinė, and other planets – Indraja (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), Vaivora (Mercury), and even Žemyna (Earth).<ref name=wonders>Template:Cite book</ref>
In some stories, "Karaliūnė" and "Dangaus Kariūnė" ("Queen of Heaven") are used to refer to Aušrinė.
In Latvian folk-riddles, her name is the answer to a riddle about dew. In this riddle, a girl loses her keys (or spreads her pearl necklace), the Moon sees them, but the Sun takes them.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Myth of the "celestial wedding"
A popular myth describes how Mėnulis (Moon) fell in love with beautiful Aušrinė, cheated on his wife Saulė, and received punishment from Perkūnas (thunder-god).<ref name="greimas" /> Different myths also depict rivalry between Saulė and Aušrinė, as Saulė is jealous of Aušrinė's beauty and brightness (Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky after Sun and Moon).<ref name="greimas" /><ref name="wonders" /> Despite the adultery or rivalry, Aušrinė remains loyal and continues to serve Saulė in the mornings.<ref name="wonders" />
Other roles
Another myth, Saulė Ir Vėjų Motina ("The Sun and the Mother of Winds"),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> analyzed by Algirdas Julien Greimas in detail, tells a story of Joseph, who becomes fascinated with Aušrinė appearing in the sky and goes on a quest to find the "second sun".<ref name=greimas2>Template:Cite book</ref> After much adventure, he learns that it was not the second sun, but a maiden who lives on an island in the sea and has the same hair as the Sun. With advice from the Northern Wind, Joseph reaches the island, avoids a guardian bull, and becomes the maiden's servant, caring for her cattle.<ref name="greimas2" /> In the tale, Aušrinė appeared in three forms: as a star in the sky, as a maiden on land, and as a mare in the sea. After a few years, Joseph puts a single hair of the maiden into an empty nutshell and throws it into the sea. A ray from the sea becomes reflected into the sky as the biggest star. Greimas concludes that this tale is a double origin myth: the story describes the origin of Tarnaitis and the ascent of Aušrinė herself into the sky.<ref name="greimas2" />
In popular culture
According to Jonas Vaiškūnas, Aušrinė also gives its name to the morning star in Lithuanian folkly astronomy: Aušrinė žvaigždė, Aušros žvaigždė, Aušràžvaigždė, Aušrinukė.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
See also
- Aušrinė (given name), Lithuanian feminine given name.
- Hausos in reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion.
- Zorya in Slavic mythology.
- List of Lithuanian gods and mythological figures
References
Further reading
- Laurinkienė, Nijolė. "Dangiškųjų vestuvių mitas" [Myth of the celestial wedding]. In: Liaudies kultūra Nr. 5 (2018). pp. 25–33.
- Razauskas, Dainius. "Iš baltų mitinio vaizdyno juodraščių: Aušrinė (ir Vakarinė)" [From rough copies of the Baltic mythic imagery: the Morning Star]. In: Liaudies kultūra. Nr. 6 (2011), pp. 17–25.
- Tumenas, Vytautas. "SIGNS OF MORNING STAR AUŠRINĖ IN THE BALTIC TRADITION: REGIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL FEATURES". In: Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 18, No 4, 2018. pp. 367–376.