E Bukura e Dheut

E Bukura e Dheut (the "Beauty of the Earth" or "Earthly Beauty") is an epithet in Albanian mythology and folklore,[1] used in some traditions for a crafty fairy, and in other traditions for a chthonic/earth goddess, the counterpart of e Bukura e Detit (the Beauty of the Sea) and i Bukuri i Qiellit (the Beauty of the Sky).[2] As a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Beauty of the Earth is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of the Ancient Greek Persephone,[3] which is considered to be Prende,[4][5] the Albanian dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, health, and protector of women, also referred to as Zoja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady of Beauty".[6][7][8]

In central Albanian folklore E Bukura e Dheut appears as the sister of e Bukura e Detit and the consort of Baba Tomor.[9][10]

The quest for the e Bukura e Dheut is a very popular and frequent motif in Albanian folktales:[11][12] the princely hero must search for or rescue the Earthly Beauty, even going into her mystical underworld palace.[13]

  1. ^ Poghirc 1987, p. 179.
  2. ^ Fishta & Lambertz 1958, p. 284; Bane 2013, p. 70; Elsie 2001a, pp. 79–81; Çabej 1975, p. 120; Halimi 1972, p. 132; Ushaku 1988, p. 101; Lüthi 1987, pp. 5–6; Noygues 2008, p. 86.
  3. ^ Elsie 2001a, pp. 79–81.
  4. ^ Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235.
  5. ^ Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1.
  6. ^ Demiraj et al.
  7. ^ Elsie 2001a, p. 258.
  8. ^ Sedaj 1982, pp. 78, 457.
  9. ^ Bane 2013, p. 70.
  10. ^ Elsie 2001a, pp. 252–254.
  11. ^ Norris 1993, p. 63.
  12. ^ Lambertz 1922, pp. 40–45.
  13. ^ Pojani 2017, pp. 1–16.