Finnish pantheon

Picking 12 gods from both Hämä and Karjala for the list was no accident, Agricola wanted a list of gods like Greece and Rome, with their 12 major deities. Because the list is written in rhyme, some gods do stuff just because it rhymes and not because they really do it like that. Ukko has also meant bear (as in a furry thing in the forest) in some beliefs around Finland, not only the god of thunder.

Elias Lönnrot was another writer who also wanted to create an Olympos for Finns. He was inspired by Christfrid Genander's Mythologica Fennica (a reference list of Finnish folk beliefs), among other things, and wanted to create a complete, and consistent story of Finnish mythology.

It seems to be documented, that Lönnrot had the naive idea that the knowledge of one god was always present in the subconcious of the primitive people and was refined through Christianity into its correct form.

Gods and spirits according to Agricola
The ancient finnish gods (from Hämä and Karjala) according to Mikael Agricola's Psalttari preamble, published in 1551. The spellings follow aproximately this "original" source.

Similar lists were published in other Bible translations during the 1540's and 1550's.

This list contains all the entities specifically mentioned by Agricola, except Piru which is generally considered to be the Christian devil.

The explanations could be expanded on until infinity due to many different interpretations, these are very succinct.


 * Tapio &mdash; god of the forest and the hunt
 * Achti &mdash; god of waters and fishing
 * Ã„inemöinen &mdash; creator of songs, possibly water related entity
 * Rachkoi &mdash; weird entity that was responsible for the moon's disappearance
 * Lieckiö &mdash; controls grass, roots, and trees, however, in other instances mentioned as a ghost like creature that makes noises in the forest and scares travellers.
 * Ilmarinen &mdash; a traveller's helper
 * Turisas &mdash; god of war
 * Cratti &mdash; protector of buried treasure
 * Tontu &mdash; an elf or spirit protector of small areas
 * Capeet &mdash; another eater of the moon
 * Calevanpojat &mdash; giants, never seen but existed because their works were evident
 * Rongoteus &mdash; god of growing rye
 * Pellonpecko &mdash; god of growing barley
 * Wirancannos &mdash; god of oats
 * Egres &mdash; generally helped farmed plants grow, like peas, beans, turnips, cabbage, flax (linen or cotton, most likely flax) and hemp
 * Köndös &mdash; probably god of ploughed land
 * Ukko &mdash; god of thunder
 * Rauni &mdash; possibly wife of Ukko. When they had words, the sky would quake.
 * Hiisi &mdash; god of forest, but more unpredictable than Tapio who is generally considered helpful
 * Wedhen Eme &mdash; another god of water
 * Nyrkkes &mdash; forest entity, gave squirrels
 * Hittavanin &mdash; forest entity, gave rabbits (hares)

Three other, non-specific, entities that are mentioned by Agricola are:


 * Cooludhen &mdash; the dead ancestors, were appeased with food, crying, and lamenting
 * Menninkäiset &mdash; general (or earth) spirits that were kept pleased with sacrifices
 * Kivet, Cannot, Tädhet, Cwuta &mdash; the rocks, tree stumps, stars, and moon were also worshipped

Heroes, gods and spirits
This list is originally from Wikipedia and serves as a compilation of the above along with more heroes from the Kalevala. It uses the modern spelling of names versus the older ones above. This serves as an introduction to some of the other avatars and things that exist in the Finnish pantheon. However, not all of them are necessarily magickal.


 * Ahti &mdash; (or Ahto) god of the depths, giver of fish
 * Ajattara &mdash; (sometimes Ajatar) an evil forest spirit.
 * Akka &mdash; ("old lady") female spirit, feminine counterpart of "Ukko".
 * Antero Vipunen &mdash; deceased giant, protector of deep knowledge and magic
 * Hiisi &mdash; demon, originally meaning a sacred grove. (Can sometimes mean goblin). It is possible that originally Hiisi was not a demon or a mean goblin but one of the oldest gods in Finland.
 * Ilmarinen &mdash; (also "Seppo Ilmarinen") the great artificer, maker of heaven. Originally a male spirit of air. Related to Inmar.
 * Ilmatar &mdash; female spirit of air &mdash; the daughter of primeal substance of creative spirit.
 * Jumala &mdash; a god, a word later used for the christian God.
 * Kalevan poika &mdash; (son/man of Kaleva) a giant hero who can cut down forests and mow down huge meadows, identical with Estonian national epic hero Kalevipoeg
 * Kotitonttu &mdash; tutelary of the home.
 * Kullervo &mdash; tragic loser
 * Lemminkäinen &mdash; (Ahti Saarelainen &mdash; Kaukomieli) a brash hero
 * Lempo &mdash; nasty spirit
 * Lalli &mdash; (Laurentius) Finn who slew Bishop Henry, according to legend
 * Louhi &mdash; (also "Loviatar") matriarch of Pohjola, hostess of Underworld.
 * Luonnotar &mdash; spirit of nature, feminine creator
 * Maaemo &mdash; literally "earthmother", see Akka or Louhi.
 * Menninkäinen &mdash; a halfling
 * Mielikki &mdash; wife of Tapio, the Goddess of the forest.
 * Nyyrikki &mdash; god of the hunt
 * Näkki &mdash; fearsome pool, well and bridgespirit
 * Otso &mdash; the spirit of the bear (one of many circumlocutory epithets)
 * Peikko &mdash; troll
 * Pekko &mdash; (or Pellon Pekko) the god of crops, especially barley and brewing
 * Perkele &mdash; the headpiru (later Devil) Originally Perkele was not the Devil but a god of thunder and can be seen as a earlier form of Ukko. Related to Baltic Perkunas and Germanic Thor
 * Pellervo &mdash; (also "Sampsa Pellervoinen") the god of harvest
 * Pihatonttu &mdash; tutelary of the yard
 * Piru &mdash; demon
 * P&auml;iv&auml;t&auml;r &mdash; the goddess of day
 * Saunatonttu &mdash; tutelary of the Sauna
 * Tapio &mdash; the god of the forest
 * Tellervo &mdash;
 * Tonttu &mdash; generally benign tutelary. Originally, a patron of cultivated land, keeper of lot. A phallic totem.
 * Tuonetar, (Tuonen tytti) Daughter of god of Underworld
 * Ukko &mdash; the god of the sky and thunder, related to Thor (Estonian Taara)
 * Vellamo &mdash; wife of Ahti, goddess of the sea
 * Väinämöinen &mdash; the wise man and magic musician