Auseklis
Auseklis, in Baltic religion, the morning star and deity of the dawn. The Latvian Auseklis was a male god, the Lithuanian Aušrinė a female.
Related in name to the Vedic Uṣas and the Greek Eos, goddesses of dawn, Auseklis is associated in Latvian solar mythology with Mēness (Moon) and Saule (Sun), being subordinate to the former and along with him a rival suitor of Saule’s daughter, Saules meita.
According to Lithuanian traditions Aušrinė had an adulterous relationship with the moon god, Mėnuo, for which Mėnuo was punished by the god Perkūnas (Latvian: Pērkons).
Citation Information
Article Title:
Auseklis
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
16 February 2018
Access Date:
April 20, 2025