Date
Name Žvoruna
Gender Feminine
Usage Baltic Mythology
Scripts Жвороуна {the form recorded in the Russian chronicles} (Russian)
Other Forms FormsŽvorūnė
Edit Status Status
Meaning & History
This was the name of the Lithuanian goddess of the hunt and the forest as well as the protector of wild animals who was first recorded in Russian chronicles of the 13th century.
These documents mention that Žvoruna had the shape of a female dog, which is why her name was early on understood as being derived from žvėris "wild animal; game".
However, her name has also been linked to Žvėrinė "evening star".
There have been speculations that Žvoruna was in fact an epithet (or "euphemism") for the goddess of the hunt whose real name might be lost. For this reason some scholars argue that she might be identical with Medeinė, another goddess who was ascribed the exact same functions as Žvoruna.
These documents mention that Žvoruna had the shape of a female dog, which is why her name was early on understood as being derived from žvėris "wild animal; game".
However, her name has also been linked to Žvėrinė "evening star".
There have been speculations that Žvoruna was in fact an epithet (or "euphemism") for the goddess of the hunt whose real name might be lost. For this reason some scholars argue that she might be identical with Medeinė, another goddess who was ascribed the exact same functions as Žvoruna.