Ilmatar

Ilmatar is a figure in Finnish mythology, the personification of the air and a deity in the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century. The name derives from ilma, meaning air, with the feminine agent suffix -tar.

In the Kalevala, Ilmatar is described as the virgin daughter of the air who descends to the sea and remains there for a long time. She becomes the mother of Väinämöinen, the epic’s central hero and wise poet, whose birth is tied to the mythic events that unfold on the waters.

Cosmogonically, the tale recounts that a seabird laid an egg on her knee; as the egg is broken by wind and wave, its fragments form the earth, sea, sky, and celestial bodies. Väinämöinen’s birth and the subsequent shaping of the world are linked to this episode, situating Ilmatar at the origin of creation within the epic’s cosmogony.

Ilmatar’s figure embodies the essential power of the air and serves as a symbolic precursor to the world’s order within Finnish myth. She appears as a primordial influence in the creation of the cosmos and in the early life of Väinämöinen, whose exploits drive much of the Kalevala’s narrative.

Culturally, Ilmatar has been a recurring reference in discussions of Finnish folklore and in works influenced by the Kalevala. She remains a symbol of the natural world, air, and creative potential within Finnish literary and artistic traditions.