Romanian mythology The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...

, apa vie (literally translated as "Living Water" but more accurately as "Water of Life") means the

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

from which

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

es drink so that they come back to life after healing their wounds. Apa moartǎ ("Dead Water" or "Water of Death") is the complement of apa vie. In the vast majority of the tales it has the power to heal wounds of dead bodies (but not to give life). Usually, reviving a dead person is done (in such tales) by putting this Dead Water on their wounds to heal them and then bring them back to life with Living Water, because the Living Water cannot heal the wounds of the dead, and even revived, the people would still bleed to death without being healed first. There is a small percent of tales in which apa moartǎ is a poisonous drink that kills any person who drinks it. Examples of the use of apa vie can be found in the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s "

Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples () is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in '' Legende sau basmele românilor''. Synopsis A king had a magnificent garden with a tree that bore golden apples, but he never ate them, beca ...

" and "

Greuceanu Greuceanu is a hero of the Romanian folklore. It is a brave young man who finds that the Sun and the Moon have been stolen by '' zmei''. After a long fight with the three ''zmei'' and their wives ''( zmeoaice)'', Greuceanu sets the Sun and the Moon ...

References

Romanian mythology {{Europe-myth-stub