{"database": "deitydb", "table": "v_public_underworld_entities", "rows": [[5, "ENT_BALT_VELNIAS", "Velnias", "Baltic", "Underworld Deity", null, null, "underworld; cattle; magic; wealth; the dead; shapeshifting", "Chthonic deity of the Baltic tradition; Lithuanian Velnias (later folk form: V\u0117linas), Latvian Vels. Lord of the realm of the dead (v\u0117l\u0117s), protector of cattle and earthly wealth, master of magic and the arts. The name is cognate with Slavic Veles and ultimately with PIE *wel- (the dead, the realm of the dead). Velnias is the serpentine antagonist of Perk\u016bnas in the great Baltic cosmic myth: he steals cattle, gold, or a solar being and hides below the earth, in trees, in water; Perk\u016bnas pursues him with lightning. Despite his adversarial role, Velnias is not simply evil \u2014 he governs essential underworld functions including agricultural fertility and the wealth of the earth. Attested in chronicle sources and folk song. Gimbutas (1963) pp. 200-201; Greimas (1992) pp. 121-150."]], "columns": ["rowid", "entity_id", "canonical_name", "tradition", "category", "earth_association_score", "chthonic_flag", "primary_domains", "short_note"], "primary_keys": ["rowid"], "primary_key_values": ["5"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6916500001352688, "source": "jebboone/deitydb", "source_url": "https://github.com/jebboone/deitydb", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"}