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Medeina orMedeinė (fromLithuanian:medis – "tree" ormedė – "forest"),[1] often treated as synonymous toŽvorūnė orŽvorūna (derived fromžvėris – "beast"), is one of the main deities in theLithuanian mythology, and is similar toLatvianMeža māte (Forest Mother).[2] She is a ruler of forests, trees and animals. Her sacred animal is ahare.[1]
A Slavic transcription ofJohn Malalas' Chronicle (dated 1261) mentioned Žvorūna and three other gods. TheHypatian Codex, describing events of 1252, mentionedpagan gods still worshiped by KingMindaugas.[1] The Codex mentioned Medeina and an unnamed hare goddess. It is unclear whether Medeina is the name of hare goddess mentioned in the Codex or whether the two are independent deities.[3] As part of the officialpantheon, Medeina represented military interest of warriors and later was replaced byŽemyna, goddess of earth representing agricultural interest of peasants.[4] In the 15th century,Jan Długosz compared Medeina with Roman goddessDiana. She was also mentioned byJan Łasicki,Mikalojus Daukša, and in theBychowiec Chronicle.[2]
According to research byAlgirdas Julius Greimas, Medeina is single, unwilling to get married, though voluptuous and beautiful huntress.[5] She is depicted as a young woman and a she-wolf (cf.vilkmergė) with an escort of wolves. According to the author, Medeina can be described as a goddess with both divine and demonic traits. Her duty is not to help the hunters, but to protect the forest.[5]Vykintas Vaitkevičius identified five Hare Churches (sacred stones, hills, forests) and ten Wolf-footprints (stones with hollows that resemble a footprint) in Eastern Lithuania (formerDuchy of Lithuania) that were related to the cult of Medeina.[5] Afterbaptism of Lithuania, the cult diminished.
Medeina was related and similar to GreekArtemis and RomanDiana and in fact was sometimes called Diana.[1]
