Meness

by Aldis Putelis

 
The Moon. In a number of texts – protector of travelers and soldiers, probably as the source of light at night.
In Latvian tradition – masculine, opposed to many other Indo-European mythologies, although there are linguistic data (G. F. Stender. Neue vollstaendige Lettische Grammatik. – Braunschweig 1761; J. Lange. Vollstaendiger lettisch-deutsches Lexicon. – 1773.) supposedly proving the feminine aspect of Meness.

Hellhounds, Werewolves and the Germanic Underworld

Alby Stone

 
There is a curious connection between dogs and travel to the realm of the dead. It can be found particularly in Indo-European mythologies, although it also occurs in Egypt, Siberia, and north America. According to the Vedic mythology of ancient India, for instance, the deceased must pass by the four-eyed dogs of Yama, king of the dead; and Greek mythology tells of the dog Kerberos, popularly endowed with three heads, who watches the entrance to Hades. Mention must also be made of the white, red-eared hounds of Celtic myth. But the idea of the underworld watchdog appears to have reached its fullest, and most complex expression among the Germanic peoples.