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Medeine - Lithuanian Godess
--„Medeinė“ sculpture ( link ) (made by Marius Grušas, 1988) bronze figure depicts a forest goddess sitting on a bear. (54° 40' 46.78" N 25° 17' 11.22" E )

Lithunian baltic realigion stories tells that Medeina was a young unmarried beutiful lady who lived in in the woods and was followed by a pack of wolves. Other stories tells that young goddess was often seen as a bear and could easily changes her shape to a human.

Due to a different dialect and argot, Lithuanian gods were referred by different names, depending on which place in Lithuania people were coming from. To this manner of double naming, it is possible that Medeina and Žvorūna is the same goddess. A forest goddess name Medeina is related to a word Medis (Tree) and Žvorūna associated with animals and hunting, her name originated from a word Žvėris (Animal). These two feminim divinity representants have been mentioned in ’’Gods scolls’ ’where from it is only possible to guess about that historical period of Lithuanian’s Gods Pantheon existent. About these two women’s figures, Medeina and Žvorūna is only possible to guess, about their representative places in Lithuanian’s believes and places it is not much known about, therefore their meaning is not clear. Medeina is a hunter, animal controller and wild forest goddess. She is able to change her appearance and take a shape of a bear. Until late XIX century it was popular to perform an old ritual in every new builded house. A bear was lead in to the house and if it went inside without hesitation and resistance, it meant that the building was free from evil spirits. After the ceremony the black hen was being beheaded, upside downs the water. Bird’s blood is being dribble around the house to insure that it evil spirits won’t be able to come in. Another form of the goddess is a female wolf, later, imagined as a woman. During Advent, people did not attend to forest and did not cut down the trees because an old woman with grey hair, -possibly a forest goddess, would appear and start mourn and cry. Wood chopped down on Andvent day, burns powerfully and can ignite the house. Houses builded from the wood that have been cut on Advent day is hunted by evil spirits. A coffin made out of Medeina’s forest wood after a while is found scattered and corpse lying on the grave. Lithuanians worshiped various domestic and forest –Medeina, Witches etc. They believed that people there were near living kites and goblins that could bring happiness to people or bad look. Fairies and witches, Lithuanians believed, pursued a human everywhere, sometimes helped a person and sometimes could harm one. Lithuanians tried not to annoy around living spirits, therefore sacrifices were given regularly along with sacred fired, that was guarded by Vaidilutės. Medeina’s homeplace Kražiai long time back is seen as a religios place center, therefore during all these year, many religios footsteps were left and found. Nearby, there is a wood hill (Medžiokalnis) where Medeina lived in an huge oak. During Christianity adaption years, the whild forest was cut down by a Lithuanian famous ruler, Vytautas the Great, and its place was replaces with a first Kražiai church.