Meilés Deivés Mildos Autentiškumo Klausimu
On the Authenticity of the Love Goddess Milda

Summary/Abstract: Milda was first mentioned by Teodor Narbutt in Lietuviu tautos istorija (A History of the Lithuanian Nation) published in 1935. Milda was a goddess of love and matchmaking. Her temples were said to have been in Aleksotas (Kaunas), another on the present site of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church in Vilnius, and one more near Seda, Maþeikiai, according to P. Tarasenka. Mythologists - romanticists of the late 19th - early 20th C, such as J. I. Kraszewski, A. H. Kirkor, D. Poðka, L. A. Jucevièius, J. Totoraitis, P. Tarasenka, and P. Dundulienë, had no doubts about the authenticity of goddess Milda and continued disseminated the information presented by T. Narbutas. In the late 19th - 20th C the legends of goddess Milda were used in the works of J. I. Krazsewski, S. Moniuszko, P. Vaièiûnas, B. Sruoga, and P. Abelkis. Over the last decade, folklore literature and periodicals have increasingly featured Milda, called the Lithuanian goddess of love. Rural tourism homesteads have been erecting sculptures of Milda, and pagan communities in different places of Lithuania celebrated Milda’s festival in May.

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