Lithuanian Dievas, Latvian Dievs, Prussian Deiws was the supreme god in the Baltic mythology and one of the most important deities together with Perkūnas. Dievas is a direct successor of the Proto-Indo-European supreme god *Dyēus. Its Proto-Baltic form was *Deivas. Old Prussian is an extinct Baltic language spoken by the inhabitants of the area that later became East Prussia (now in north-eastern Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia) prior to German colonization of the area beginning in the 13th century. ... For Baltic mythology, see Estonian mythology, related to Finnish mythology Latvian mythology Lithuanian mythology Categories: Mythology by culture ... Lithuanian PerkÅ«nas, Latvian PÄ“rkons, Prussian Percuns was the common Baltic god of thunder, one of the most important deities in the Baltic pantheon. ... Proto-Indo-European (PIE) may refer to: Proto-Indo-European language the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language Proto-Indo-European roots, A list of reconstructed Proto-Indo-European roots Categories: | ... *DyÄ“us is the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. ... The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. ...

In English, Dievas may be used as a word to describe the God (or, the supreme god) in the pre-Christian religion of Balts, where Dievas was understood to be the supreme being of the world. In Lithuanian and Latvian, it is also used to describe God as it is understood by the major World Religions today. For other uses, see World (disambiguation). ...

Lithuanian conception of divinity

However the conception of divinity in the old Lithuanian religion still is not always clear to modern scholars. A number of them suggest, that Lithuanians applied a pantheistic concept for their religion. This concept, according to the ideas of modern researchers, had to include the following: Lithuanian mythology is an example of pagan mythology containing archaic elements. ... Pantheism (Greek: πάν ( pan ) = all and θεός ( theos ) = God) literally means God is All and All is God. It is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God; or that the universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. ...

• recognition of a single Divine Being, that is the core entity of the Universe.
• recognition of multiple divine beings, that are on a different level of the main God or, in other words, hypostases of the single God.
• recognition of direct participating of the single God in lower levels in shape of lower beings (of manifestations of the God). The known later sources give exclusively human shape of God, but it may be a limitation added by Christianity. The told manifestations of the God have features of modesty, fairness, chastity, delicacy etc., that show some moral priorities of ancient Lithuanians.
• However this understanding excludes conception of a pantheon or of some other possible council of gods in the old pagan Lithuanian religion.

Many well established sources concerning Lithuanian mythology do not contradict this conception, although there is not much data available. The lack of data leaves a wide gap for interpretations, and as a consequence, many scholars do not agree on all of the points above. In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ... Manifestation refers to a concept of either recurring or transitive phenomena, as instances which become manifest or realised. ...

For example, a historian of the early 19th century, Theodor Narbutt, took the presence of the pantheon in Lithuanian mythology as an axiom. And, in spite of being subsequently criticized that his sources were unreliable, and that his interpretations not always concur with evident data from Lithuanian folklore, Narbutt's mythology, that was presented in pictorial and detailed way. His works had certain influence on thinking and ideas of some scholars.^{[citation needed]} Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Teodor Narbutt (November 8, 1784, Szawrach, Hrodna Province, Belarus – November 27, 1864, Vilnius, Lithuania) was a lithuanian historian, best known for his multi-volume work, History of Lithuania. ...

Concerning the God (Dievas) in the old Lithuanian religion, modern interpretations lack sources too. Regardless, that the conception of the single Chief God was acknowledged by Lithuanians is well documented and is not in doubt. The word Dievas itself seems to be omitted respectfully or changed to its epithets like Aukščiausiasis ('the Highest'), Visagalis ('the Omnipotent') or Praamžis ('the Eternal one'). An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ...

Manifestations

Dievas manifestations are known from mythical stories from the times of Christianity in Lithuania, so they not always were considered to be a reliable source for the earlier periods. No earlier sources that describe the picture of Dievas in detail have been found. The mythic stories tell us about Dievas manifestations in the shape of man only, particularly the shape of an old male sage or an old male beggar. But the linguistic data, e. g. the name for the Southernwood in Lithuanian, Diemedis, literally the God-tree, as well as some hints in historical legends suggest, that the manifestations might be believed to take other forms besides the human, like forms of animals, birds or plants. Binomial name Artemisia abrotanum L. Southernwood, southern wormwood, or lemon plant, is a flowering plant, Artemisia abrotanum. ...