v_public_underworld_entities: 5
This data as json
| rowid | entity_id | canonical_name | tradition | category | earth_association_score | chthonic_flag | primary_domains | short_note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | ENT_BALT_VELNIAS | Velnias | Baltic | Underworld Deity | underworld; cattle; magic; wealth; the dead; shapeshifting | Chthonic deity of the Baltic tradition; Lithuanian Velnias (later folk form: Vėlinas), Latvian Vels. Lord of the realm of the dead (vėlės), 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 Perkūnas in the great Baltic cosmic myth: he steals cattle, gold, or a solar being and hides below the earth, in trees, in water; Perkūnas pursues him with lightning. Despite his adversarial role, Velnias is not simply evil — 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. |