In Baltic mythology, the grass snake žaltys (Natrix natrix) is a sacred animal. It's invited into the home and kept as a pet and house spirit. The grass snake is central to the fairy tale Eglė, the Queen of Serpents.
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The house žaltys (Latvian: zalktis) lives under the bed of a married couple as a fertility spirit, or in a special place near the warmth of the hearth. Grass snakes are known to take live food, such as earthworms, given to them by hand. Their primary prey is frogs and toads.
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In later Baltic legend, a snake lives under every house. If the snake leaves, the house will burn down. Common Latvian folk sayings include "who kills a grass snake, kills his happiness" and "when the Saulė (Sun) sees a dead grass snake, she cries for 9 days".
Killing žaltys brings severe misfortune, fire, sickness, accidents and death. Žaltys is sacred to Saulė as well as Potrimpo, god of grain and the sea. If the snake is found in a grain field, people try to make friends and invite it to the house.
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One tradition is to put a symbolic bowl of milk near a snake's place of residence. In European myth it's also usual to leave milk or food for the resident Kobold, Lare or other helpful house spirit.
Eglė the Queen of Serpents
Popular literary works featuring žaltys include Lithuanian folk tale Eglė the Queen of Serpents (Eglė žalčių karalienė). In the fairy tale Eglė is a farm maiden who goes swimming with her sisters. Returning to shore she finds a grass snake on her clothes.
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The snake tells her she can have her clothing back if she promises to marry him. Eglė hastily agrees. The snake leaves, and she gets dressed. She doesn't think much about her promise.
Three days later, a multitude of snakes appears at the farm, transporting a wagon, They demand Eglė keep her promise. Her family tries to fool them by sending a goose, but a cuckoo in a birch tree warns them of the deception.
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The relatives send a sheep, then a cow. The cuckoo tells the snakes each time. The grass snakes get angry and threaten the people with a dry year, flood and famine. Finally, the family must give up Eglė. The snakes cart her off to the seashore.
They take her to the bottom of a freshwater lagoon by the sea (such as the Curonian coastal lagoon, west Lithuania). There she meets a strong, handsome man who says his name is Žilvinas, the Grass Snake Prince, and he will be her husband.
The Prince takes her to an island, and from there to an amazing subterranean realm underneath the sea floor. They marry with great revelry lasting several weeks, and live happily together.
Eglė has three sons: Ąžuolas (Oak), Uosis (Ash) and Beržas (Birch). Her youngest child, a daughter, is called Drebulė (Aspen).
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When the children get older they ask about the family of Eglė, their mortal relatives. Talking about her family and friends, Eglė misses them and wants to see them again.
At first Žilvinas doesn't want them to go, fearing for their safety. They plead until finally, he agrees. He gives them the secret words to summon him when they're ready to return.
"Žilvinas, dear Žilvinėlis,
If (you're) alive – may the sea foam milk
If (you're) dead – may the sea foam blood…"
Off they go, and the relatives are surprised and overjoyed to see them. They want Eglė and her children to stay with them, and decide to kill Žilvinas. Unknown to Eglė they beat and interrogate the boys to find out the secret words to call their father.
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When they refuse to answer the relatives attack the frail young daughter, who bursts into tears. She tells them the spell. They go to the shore and summon the Snake Prince. When he appears Eglė 's twelve brothers fall on him with scythes and slice him to pieces.
Eglė decides to return to her husband's realm, but when she calls, only bloody foam appears on the sea. She soon learns the horrific truth. Grief-stricken, she transforms her children in oak, ash, birch and trembling aspen. She turns herself into a silver fir.
After the Christianization of the Baltic in the 13th - 14th centuries CE, the grass snake retains a sphere of influence in mythology and daily life, even though the serpent represents evil in Christianity. In Latvia and Lithuania ancient folk beliefs prevail.
The snake is seen as a benevolent visitor and protector. Killing grass snakes brings terrible misfortune upon a person or household. It's said an injured snake will take revenge on the perpetrator.
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In aspects of Baltic mythology, grass snakes wear crowns. They're ruled by a king of snakes, who wears a golden crown. In some traditions the king of snakes changes every year.
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In spring he drops his crown and other snakes fight for it, an interpretation of the snake mating ball. It happens when the sun warms the earth. Male snakes come the the surface to bask and gain energy for the annual emergence of the females, about two weeks later.
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Legends of multi-headed snakes may derive from this annual reptilian ritual. Some frogs and toads, the primary food of many snakes, also form mating balls or clusters. Drone bees and wasps create a mating swarm around the virgin queen in flight.
Inspired by late 19th and 20th century Romantic nationalism, grass snake motifs in Latvia represent education and wisdom. Žaltys symbols are common ornaments in the military, folk dance groups and education logos and insignia.
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The grass snake is also one of the primary symbols of the Lithuanian neo-pagan movement Romuva. In modern folklore the grass snake is still a domestic blessing and sign of good luck and prosperity among many Latvians and Lithuanians.
European grass snakes (Natrix natrix) grow about a meter (3.3 ft) long. Slender and graceful, they're found by gardens, grainfields, or at the edge of forests. Often they inhabit wetlands, near ponds, shorelines or swimming near shore, seeking their favorite prey.