Ilmarinen

For other uses, see Ilmarinen (disambiguation).
Statue of Ilmarinen at the Old Student House, Helsinki by Robert Stigell [fi], 1888

Ilmarinen (pronounced [ˈilmɑrinen], also known as Ilmari and takoja iänikuinen or "the eternal hammerer"), a blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology.[1] He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love.[2] He is described as working the known metals of the time, including brass, copper, iron, gold, and silver. The great works of Ilmarinen include the crafting of the dome of the sky and the forging of the Sampo. His usual epithet in the Kalevala is seppä or seppo ("smith"),[3] which is the source of the given name Seppo.[4]

  1. ^ Siikala, Anna-Leena (2013). Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia. Finnish Literature Society. ISBN 978-952-222-393-7.
  2. ^ Lönnrot 1999.
  3. ^ "seppo". Kielitoimiston sanakirja (in Finnish). Kotimaisten kielten keskus. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Kalevala ja suomen kieli". Kalevalan kulttuurihistoria (in Finnish). Kalevalaseura. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2015.