page_title: Ukko
hierarchical_section_title: Ukko
caption_attribution_description: Suomi: Robert Wilhelm Ekmanin luonnos Kalevala-aiheiseen maalaukseen Lemminkäinen tulisella järvellä. Lemminkäinen pyytää Ukko ylijumalalta apua tulisen järven ylittämiseen matkalla Pohjolan häihin.
context_page_description: Ukko, or Äijä or Äijö, parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology.
  Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder is the diminutive form of the name Ukko. Some researchers believe that Ilmarinen, another Finnic sky god, is the origin of Ukko, while some others believe that Ukko's original name was Baltic Perkele. Ukko is held the most significant god of Finnish mythology, although it is disputed by scholars whether this is accountable to later Christian influence. In the folk poems and prayers he is also given the epithet Ylijumala, probably in reference to his status as the most highly regarded god and on the other hand his traditional domain in the heavens. Other names for Ukko include Pitkänen, Isäinen, Isoinen. Although portrayed active in myth, Ukko makes all his appearances in legend solely by natural phenomena when appealed to. According to Martti Haavio, the name Ukko was sometimes used as a common noun or generalised epithet for multiple deities instead of denoting a specific god.
context_section_description: Ukko, or Äijä or Äijö (Finnish: male grandparent, grandfather, old man), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology.
  Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder is the diminutive form of the name Ukko. Some researchers believe that Ilmarinen, another Finnic sky god, is the origin of Ukko, while some others believe that Ukko's original name was Baltic Perkele. Ukko is held the most significant god of Finnish mythology, although it is disputed by scholars whether this is accountable to later Christian influence. In the folk poems and prayers he is also given the epithet Ylijumala (English: Supreme God), probably in reference to his status as the most highly regarded god and on the other hand his traditional domain in the heavens. Other names for Ukko include Pitkänen (pitkä, "long"), Isäinen (isä, "father"), Isoinen (iso, archaic form of the above, modern meaning "great", "big" or "large"). Although portrayed active in myth, Ukko makes all his appearances in legend solely by natural phenomena when appealed to. According to Martti Haavio, the name Ukko was sometimes used as a common noun or generalised epithet for multiple deities instead of denoting a specific god.
caption: Painting by Robert Ekman in 1867 called Lemminkäinen tulisella järvellä where Lemminkäinen asks help from Ukko ylijumala with crossing the lake in fire on his route to the wedding at Pohjola.
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