The deepest part of the underworld, that is, and Mictlntcutli was in charge. [3] [4] [5] Camasb gets stuck in a cave after he tries to steal honey with a few friends, his friends leave him alone in the cave. He sets a riddle for any suitors: whoever guesses the right material of both mantles, shall marry the princess. Like many beautiful demi goddesses in Greek mythology, she became the object of Zeus's affections. [118], Indian scholar Suniti Kumar Chatterji summarized the Lithuanian tale and stated that it "reminded" him of the Kashmiri story about Princess Himal and Nagrai (Ngaray), the Prince of Snakes. It is also a noun meaning tree species spruce (Latin: Picea) and fir,[4] with cognates in other Baltic languages: Latvian egle 'spruce, fir', and Old Prussian addle 'spruce, fir'.[5]. .. When the snake's human wife returns to the shore, she sees a cut off snake head floating in the lake. [65][66], In a Latvian tale from Ansis Lerhis-Pukaitis's (lv) collection, from Jelgava, translated into Hungarian with the title Hogyan lett a kakukk? She explains she lives underwater and to return she only has to call on her husband's name: Ahmet. Legends have it that she was rejected by her father Shiva and husband Jagatkru, and hated by her stepmother, Chandi, who scooped out one of Manasa's eyes. Herecles notes mythology herecles notes the greatest and most popular greek heroes. Hundreds of different wings were grafted onto his body. [40] Another line of scholarship states that the tale refers to an ancient "Balto-Slavic totemic myth". The maiden "saw she had manifest death before her" and, by her command, orders her children to become birds: the boy a nightingale and the girl a cuckoo, and it is implied that a dead nettle is what remained of her. [112], Folklorist Terrence Hansen, in his catalogue of Latin American folktales, identified two tale types wherein a girl meets an enchanted fish and is taught magic to summon fish (in one type) or to bring fresh water (in the other). The girl begins to cry, but a voice tells her it will return the clothes if she becomes the voice's wife. Meanwhile, the girls are bathing in the lake. The girl, dismissing the snake's fanciful notion, agreed to anyway. The snake promises to give it back if she marries it. Nagas and Lamias Back to the castle, she spends some time with her brothers, who insist to know how their sister can return to the snake's home. , [Ryzhakova, Svetlana Igorevna] (2009). Past the gate, the snake uncoils itself, hits a golden staircase and becomes a human man. Later, an old woman pays a visit to Jegle in search of her, and she turns into a woman, saying she brings news from Jegle's bridegroom, Zaltis, and bids the girl meets him by the edge of the lake the following day. [41], A quantitative study, published by folklorist Sara Graa da Silva and anthropologist Jamshid J. Tehrani in 2016, seemed to indicate that the tale type shows a certain antiquity: based on a phylogenetic model, both researchers estimated that the ATU 425M type belongs to an "ancestral tale corpora" of the Balto-Slavic languages. Its mythological background has been an interest of Lithuanian and foreign researchers of Indo-European mythology; Gintaras Beresneviius considered it being a Lithuanian theogonic myth. At the end of the tale, when she discovers the dead husband, she commands the elder son to become an oak, the middle child, a girl, to be a linden tree; the youngest into another tree; and herself into a cuckoo, to ever sigh over her lost love. [97], Professor Jack Haney published another Russian variant, titled The Lake Beetle as Groom. 63). () Tai naratyvas, kuris reprezentuoja senj lietuvi pasaulir ir kiekvienas jo tyrimas yra savaip vertingas." Jrv, Risto; Kaasik, Mairi; Toomeos-Orglaan, Krri. The elder two leave the lake and, take their garments and go home. The sea prince takes her to his kingdom, marries her and she gives birth to two boys. Lamia was a beautiful Libyan queen loved by Zeus. , no. [111], In a Kazakh variant, " " ("Beautiful Mirzhan and the Ruler of the Underwater Khanate"), Mirzhan, the beautiful only daughter of an old woman, is bathing in the water with some friends. During the wedding festivities, the snake climbs onto her lap, but the girl shoos him away. [3], gl is a popular female name in Lithuania. She was a daughter of Poseidon and a queen of Libya. She is later taken to the lake. The Nagas ( Sanskrit: , romanized : Nga) [1] are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half- serpent beings that reside in the netherworld ( Patala ), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. [13] These tales are closely connected to type ATU 425 ("Search for the Lost Husband"), ATU 425A ("Animal as Bridegroom"), ATU 425B ("Cupid and Psyche" or "Son of the Witch")[14] and ATU 425C ("Beauty and the Beast"). Thus, through no fault of her own, she incurred the wrath of Hera upon herself. One day, their daughters wish to visit their grandparents. [124][125], According to researcher Svetlana Ryzhakova, professor V. Kazakeviius stated that in the Polish region of Suwaki, a legend is told of a girl named Egle or Egla who married a snake being that lived in an underwater crystal palace.[126]. "Romeo Moses and Psyche Brunhild? They come to claim Egl as their master's bride and their future queen, but are tricked by her relatives each time. In another myth, Hera sent two snakes to kill Heracles when he was still an infant. She likes to spend her days dipping her feet in water, and a large green fish plays between her feet. In: Bleckwenn, Helga (Hg.). [71], In an Estonian tale translated into Hungarian as A kirlylny bocskora, a king prepares two mantles, one made from louseskin, the other from flea skin. When evening falls the mother forbids her daughter to go even when the bells are ringing. German scholar Rainer Eckert also described both stories as having a "surprising correspondence". Their sister goes to the lake shore and summons her husband. . Her old mother seizes a sickle and "rushed into the country". [110], The tale is also said to be "very popular" in the Pomeranian region. She often had a serpent's tale even when the rest of her form was that of a beautiful woman. In: Sauka, Leonardas. Years pass, the fisherman's wife dies and Jegle runs the house while her father and brothers are away. For the next week, her mother forbids her to set foot outside their yurt. Her brothers want to kill the underwater husband, so they leave early and wait by the lake with wooden bats. At first, she is hesitant and afraid, but relents and, after seeing that the snake can change into a handsome man, accepts him wholeheartedly. FACTS ABOUT HERA. [104], In a tale from the Mari people titled " " ("Blind Love"), some sisters go to bathe in the water. A domesticated goose, a sheep and then a cow are given instead of the bride to the legion of the grass snakes, but once they start a journey back home, the cuckoo, who is sitting in the birch tree, warns them about the deceit. [49] The tale is also said to be known in Germany, Finland and among the "Cheremis" (Mari people). A bronze sculpture displaying Egl and the Serpent by Robertas Antinis has been constructed in Palanga Botanical Garden, Lithuania in 1960. [20], The story has also been considered an oikotype, i.e., a form of the tale that is specific to a certain region (in this case, the Baltic geographical area). She was associated with witchcraft, magic, the Moon, doorways, and creatures of the night like hell-hounds and ghosts. Human suitors test their skills. The snake-like head is a symbol of her cunning, a perversion of the matrifocal ancient goddess who the Greeks must destroy. 1998. " ( 425) ". In: lekonyt, Jrat. The two elders leave, while the youngest, named Lilla, tries to find her dress and sees a snake on it. Egl the Queen of Serpents is one of the best-known Lithuanian fairy tales with many references to the Baltic mythology. The snakes escorted her out of the house and into her fiance's underwater palace. High quality Queen Of Snakes-inspired gifts and merchandise. Lithuania - Egl the Queen of Serpents In another time, long ago lived an old man and his wife. Zuhra runs back home and tells her mother everything, and they fence the house, hoping it will keep the snake out. Riga: , 1969. pp. Lvena, Ivonne. The priests of Heliopolis, followers of the sun god Re, developed the myth of Isis. While Iphicles screamed in fear, Heracles grabbed one snake in . The feast is going on for three weeks, and thereafter the couple lives happily together. [29] It is also said that the ancient Lithuanians revered the grass snake (altys). Hera was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses believed to reside on Mount Olympus. ". She takes her sons to visit her brothers, and the brothers pry the children for anything. When Egl hears her dead husband's voice and discovers how her beloved has died, as a punishment for betrayal she whispers an enchantment, which turns her fragile fearful daughter into a quaking aspen. Eckert, Rainer. : . . A group of boys overhears the incantation and summons Papa-Water to kill him. The narrative tells that the human maiden marries another "kidnapped" person that was living with the "lake people", named Osip Tsarevich. 145-146. When conversing with her mother, the maiden unwittingly revealed her husband's name (Osip) and the incantation to summon him. To this plea the mother tells him to bring the child to them. Many were a mix of animal and human characteristics, but none were more prolific and older than Wadjet. They are a strong, handsome species who can assume either wholly human or wholly serpentine form and are potentially dangerous but often beneficial to humans. The story can be subdivided into a number of sections each having parallels with motifs of other folk tales, yet a combination of them is unique. She opens the door and answers to the snake's wishes: to be given food and to sleep next to her in her bed. The girl visits her family, but her brothers consult with a nearby witch, who reveals the sons know how to summon their father. One day, the princess finds a louse in her father's hair, who decides to fatten the bug and use its hide as part of a suitor riddle: whoever guesses the nature of the hide shall marry the princess. Some time later, the princess and her child come to the seashore and try to call out to the snake husband, to no avail, so the princess turns into a Maserbirke (a type of birch tree) and her son into a duck. Moskva: , 2009 [1934]. [95], According to Russian scholarship, the tale type 425M sometimes merges with ATU 703, "The Snow-Maiden" in many Russian variants. The girl becomes a weeping birch and her son a tree branch. [96], British scholar William Ralston Shedden-Ralston translated a variant collected by Erlenwein from the Tula Government. "Egl, die Knigin der Nattern. [106], In a tale from the Tatar people titled "" ("Zuhra"), an old couple try to have a child, but none of their children survive, until they have a girl they name Zuhra. The religious reception ties into this, as does the Freudian interpretation that . In: . Delighted, she made another figure, and another and another, and each came to life in the same way. She summons her husband three times, but he does not respond. Suddenly, the girl's mother asks her how she can summon her reptile husband, and the girl reveals the secret. In this tale, a beetle appears on the maiden's dress and proposes to her. Watch Extra Mythology ad-free on Nebula! The old woman places her grandchildren to bed, and, taking a saber, goes to the lake in the dead of night to summon the Black Snake (the "padishah of the jinn"). Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mythological queens. Despite her immense power, she was depicted as highly competitive with both mortals and other gods. The serpent emerges from the water and is killed by the man. Three weeks later, the snake comes to get his bride in a grand golden carriage. He is usually associated with the Tuatha D Danann. A similar assessment was made by professor Jack V. Haney, to whom the tale type appears "only around the south Baltic coast". " ". [36], Other interpretations focus on the intergroup marriage aspect of the story: Egle's family (brothers) would then represent male relatives fighting against a male from another family or clan to rescue their only sister, by torturing their nephews and niece (the fruits of this "spurious" union). In: . The fisherman is thankful for the rescue, and asks what he can offer in return; Zaltis says he wants the fisherman's most valuable thing, and promises to grant him fish for hiw whole life. [54], According to researcher Galina Kabakova, the fate of the children at the end of the tale is important to determine the origin of that particular variant (based on a geographical method): in the main Lithuanian versions, mother and children are transformed into trees, a motif that occurs in versions collected from the Belarus's border between Poland and Lithuania, and in Russian versions collected in Lithuania. She marries the reptile, which lies on the rivers, and she has two children with him when he becomes human. Bagoinas, Saulis. When she returns, a black snake (" ", in the Russian translation) is lying on them and asks the girl to marry it. His eyes were glowing red. [2], The tale was also collected by Polish writer Jzef Ignacy Kraszewski and published in his historical work Litwa. A snake slithers from beneath the well, goes to the king's court, and guesses the right answer. The princess asks which of her daughters spilled the secret song (the youngest), and curses herself to become a birch tree, and her daughters to turn into parts of the tree (foliage, tree bark and membrane). It symbolized the pharaoh's role as lawmaker and maintainer of order, protecting the Egyptian people from the forces of chaos. [19], The tale has become the object of scholarly interest of ethnologist Jonas Balys[lt]. A simplified version of the myth regards Manasa as the daughter of Lord Shiva. In: . A young maiden named Egl discovers a grass snake in the sleeve of her blouse after bathing with her two sisters. In: , . [50], Other variations lie in the secret code the wife learns from her snake husband, and in the fate of the heroine and their children (sometimes all girls; sometimes all boys): they are either transformed into trees or into birds and disappear forever. B Brunhild (11 P) C Clodhna (12 P) F Fairy Queens (9 P) G Queens in Greek mythology (4 C, 142 P) Q When they leave to get her clothes, the youngest finds a snake on her garments, which promises to return them if she becomes his wife. [85], A variant from Poland has been translated into English with the title Egle and Zaltis. Egl almost forgets about her homeland, but one day, after being questioned by her oldest son uolas about her parents, she decides to visit her home. (2020). 2015. He then announces a contest to all prospective suitors: to guess the material of his daughter's shoes. After much insistence, the brothers learn of the secret command and go to the seashore. They live together and have three sons. After the birth of their first child, the abducted wife sings it a lullaby about her past, which enrages the water goblin. 133-142. In this variant, The Water Snake or Ujak, an old woman's daughter went to bathe with other girls in the pond. [16], According to Stith Thompson's reworked folktale classification, tale type AaTh 425M involves a magical formula or incantation to summon the serpent husband. In Greek and Roman mythology, the snake symbolizes a guardian spirit and was inscribed on many altars. "Veikj ir viet vardai, j kaita Egls pasakoje" [Names of characters and places and their change in the fairy tale "The snake as bridegroom"]. In Greek mythology, the Gorgons were snake-women whose gazes would turn people to stone; they had serpents for hair, long claws, sharp teeth and scales covering their bodies. . However, when the time comes, the sky darkens and a retinue of snakes, jinns and peris come to Zuhra's house in their master's name. The youngest child reveals how they reach their house: their mother goes to the edge of a lake, sings a song and the snake father appears in a boat. In Chinese mythology, the woman-headed snake Nwa made the first humans. He mirrors only men; another forms the beasts and birds and the long sliding snakes.-Ovid, Metamorphoses 11. "Buto is the Greek name for the town where her worship centered in the Nile Delta" (Babb . The next morning, Zuhra says her goodbyes to her mother and goes back to the lake. [70], In an Estonian tale titled Ussi naine or Ussi naene ("The Snake's Wife"), the maiden bathes with her sisters by the sea, the snake refuses to return her clothes, the heroine gives birth to daughters that become different tree species at the end of the tale. The girl returns home that same evening and the reptile comes to take his bride. [30] Under this lens, the grass snake could be seen as a totemic ancestor, akin to the swan maiden, who plays the role of ancestress of many peoples. The princess is given to the snake as wife and goes with the animal to its home. Masha marries the snake and returns from the sea to her mother's house with her two children. The snake father allows them to go back to land and teaches his wife a song to open a passage back to mainland. Manasa is the daughter of Lord Shiva and is also known as the queen of serpents. THE DRAKAINA SKYTHIA (Scythian Dracaena) was the first ruler of the land of Skythia. [72], In an Estonian tale published by folklorist Oskar Loorits with the title Die Schlangenbraut ("The Snake's Bride"), a mother consults with a wise man the fate of her daughters: her two elders shall marry later, but the youngest shall soon meet her intended mate, a snake. In the first type, the girl drowns herself in the sea; in the other, she sinks to the ground after she sees the dead fish. All of Medusa's siblings were monsters by birth and, even though she was not, she had the misfortune of being turned . They served Hades, the god of the Underworld, and Persephone, the goddess of spring and queen of the Underworld. Stryczyska-Hodyl, Ewa. The uncles go to the beach, sing the song to summon the snake man and kill him. As soon as he emerges from the lake, the brothers jump out of the hiding spot and beat the husband to death. In Thailand, the Naga is a Pluto-analogue, an underworld deity associated with wealth. After Sira leaves, Cumba returns home to tell her mother everything. [42], Although its ultimate time and place of origin cannot be settled with certainty, the Lithuanian myth has been compared with similar stories found among Native American peoples (Wayampi, Yahgan and Coos), which could be the result of an inherited Ancient North Eurasian motif featuring a woman marrying an aquatic animal, violating human laws on exogamy and connecting the terrestrial and aquatic worlds. There are several Aztec gods and goddesses of the underworld, but Mictlntcutli is the most prominent one. After she put her daughter and grandchildren to bed, the old woman uttered the incantation, drew forth the snake husband, in human form, out of the palace and decapitated him with an axe. She tries to calm him down and pleads to be allowed ashore to visit her mother once. While some elements of the original mythology remained, the character's evolution did not . [99], In a tale collected from a Karelian source with the title "-" ("The Reptile Beloved"), twelve maidens go to bathe in the sea and leave their clothes on the shore. "TENDENCIES OF THE FORMATION AND USAGE OF BALTIC NOUNS WITH SUFFIX -UT- IN LITHUANIA". (2016). "Apuleius' Cupid Considered as a Lamia (Metamorphoses 5.17-18).". [114], Scholar Hasan El-Shamy lists 2 variants of the tale type found in Algeria, under the previous name of the type. Subcategories This category has the following 7 subcategories, out of 7 total. Years pass, and the girl is missing life on the land. Zobarskas, Stepas. Before she was cursed with her terrible new form, she was a powerful but relatively innocent woman. However, the princess's younger brother mimics her voice and tricks the snake into coming out of the water, only to be beheaded by the princess's brothers. Zaltis takes Jegle back to their palace, and explains her brothers will be restored to normal after a while. The girl agrees to come with him to the lake. In: This page was last edited on 17 April 2023, at 14:40. 261-264. Leningrad: , 1970. pp. Before they enter her parents' house, the girl warns her daughters to keep quiet about their life. A woman appears from the lake, becomes an old man and enters the court. In: . From the theodical foundation myth of Pandora, the first human woman to be created by Hephaestus, beautiful women prove disastrous for the men they seduce . Thor battling the Midgard Serpent by Emil Doepler. She becomes the mother of twins (a girl and a boy). ""Egl ali karalien": pasakos topografijos paiekos" ["Egl - the Queen of Serpents": in search of the tale's topography]. .. [107], Tale type ATU 425M is reported in the Bulgarian Folktale Catalogue with the name " "[108] or "Die Frau des Drachen verflucht ihre Kinder"[109] ("The Wife of the Dragon curses her children"): a dragon sits on the girl's garments in exchange for marrying her; they wed and move to his palace at the bottom of the sea, where she gives birth to two children; the girl visits her family with her children and her daughter betrays the dragon's secret, which leads to him being killed by his brothers-in-law; the girl then curses her children to become trees. 8 Tu Er ShenChinese Mythology. The snake wraps itself around Zuhra, they both dive into the lake and swim until they reach a large gate. Finally, they take the non-fake bride, Egl, to the bottom of the sea lagoon to their king. Dragons also represent the dark reaches of where we have come from - the sources of humanity's allegorical river, for which the snake has often been used as a metaphor. The man explains he was taken by the genie race when he was little, but eventually became their leader, and the girl has nothing to fear. In Greek mythology, a Gorgon (derived from "gorgos", meaning terrible) was a monster that was known to have the ability to turn onlookers into stone.It was said that there were three Gorgons, two immortal (Euryale and Stheno) and one mortal, Medusa, they had hair made of living, venomous snakes that they received as punishment from Athena, Medusa's image has become famous. Snakes were associated with death and thunder which link with Ryujin's role as a bringer of rain and storms. They transfer to the nearby island, and from there to the underground underneath the sea, where a nicely decorated palace is located - Egl's new home for eternity. Moscow: , 2009. p. 49. 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