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 deityLurker, 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 f ...

(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 after Saulė and Mēness, but is almost exclusively mentioned in folk songs.

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 ("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'' (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". Deta ...

). 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, ''lie ...

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 crem ...

). 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 arou ...

, 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.

References

Bibliography

External links

Latvian gods Stellar gods Venusian deities Religious symbols Baltic gods