Lithuanian Mythology

The Gods and Spirits of Lithuania

JURATE

Lithuanian Sea Goddess

Also known as Jurata, Jūratė

Mermaid Goddess of the Baltic Sea

A famous folktale favorite across the Baltic and beyond. She is Queen of the Lithuanian mermaids — a rare and unusual mythological species. She is also a deity of healing who fell in love with a mortal called Kastysis.

He was fishing near her amber palace and must have been breaking several environmental regulations as she tried to get rid of him. But he was so handsome that she couldn’t resist and invited him back to her place.

Unfortunately, her lover was killed by Perkunas, who felt that such a mortal impurity who could not be allowed to sully the sacred waters. According to eyewitness reports, the amber palace was smashed into little bits and Kastysis smashed with it. Her healing efforts were in vain as he died.

Now Jūratė weeps all the time — and her tears are solid drops of amber. Which is great for tourism as amber is the national gem of Lithuania.

In Latvia she is the Ocean Mother Juras Mate.

Jurate Facts and Figures

Name: Jurate
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names: Jurata, Jūratė

Gender: Female
Type: Goddess
Area or people: Lithuania
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role:
In charge of: the Ocean
Area of expertise: Sea, Seas, Ocean, Oceans

Good/Evil Rating: Unknown at present
Popularity index: 8071

Copy this link to share with anyone:



Share this page on social media:


Link to this page:

HTML: To link to this page, just copy and paste the link below into your blog, web page or email.

BBCODE: To link to this page in a forum post or comment box, just copy and paste the link code below:

Cite this article

Here's the info you need to cite this page. Just copy the text in the box below.


Article last revised on May 10, 2019 by the Godchecker data dwarves.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

Permissions page


Oh woe. Javascript is switched off in your browser.
Some bits of this website may not work unless you switch it on.