Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



enough ; for he and his brother Aruna were 

 born of an egg, like Castor, Pollux and 

 Helena ; but Aruna was the charioteer of the 

 sun god. 



It has already been noted how Kalev the god 

 who gave his name to the land of Kalevala, the 

 reputed father, also, of the cuckoo hero Kale- 

 vipoeg, came on the eagle's back to his own 

 land and married Linda the swan. Kalev is 

 the eagle himself, but in the Kalevala the more 

 universal godVaino or Pan is the chief; Kalev 

 has become a mysterious giant seen in sheet 

 lightning and certain constellations, who gives 

 his name to the hero land. 



Kalev has various analogues in Greek mytho- 

 logy, i^etes of Colchis, for instance, son of the 

 sun and ocean, who robbed the golden fleece 

 and was robbed of it in turn by the Argonauts. 

 His daughter Medea represents Louhi the 

 Hag of Pohjola, who also takes on eagle's 

 shape at will, while Medea used a chariot drawn 

 by dragons. The characters in the Argonaut 



215 



