Ilmatar

Ilmatar ( Fin. Ilmatar : cf. Fin. Ilma , air ) - in Finnish and Karelian mythology - the goddess participating in the creation of the world. In Kalevala it is called a girl ( piika ), the daughter of air ( ilman impi - virgin of heaven ^[1] ). She is characterized by a state of grief and loneliness. It precedes the appearance of the sun. After 700 years of loneliness , she calls to Ukko , after which a duck ( sotka , gogol ) flew to her and made a nest with the goddess on her knees ( polvea ). After a while, the duck laid 7 eggs ( munoa ): six gold ( kultaista ) and one iron ( rautamuna ). Ilmatar flinched in pain (the eggs were hot and very hot), and the eggs rolled out of the nest and cracked. Earth was formed from the shell, the yolks became the sun, the squirrels turned into the moon and stars. But the created land was empty and boring, and Ilmatar created islands, valleys and rivers.

Ilmatar
fin. Ilmatar
Wilhelm Ekman - Ilmatar (1860)
the maiden of heaven created the world
Mythology	Karelian-Finnish
Name interpretation	air
Floor
Occupation	precedes the appearance of the sun
Children	Väinemoinen
Mentions	Kalevala

In Kalevala, she also bears the name Luonnotar ("natural"). She became the mother of Väinemäuinen .

In honor of Ilmatar, the asteroid (385) Ilmatar , discovered in 1894, is named.