Dievas and Velnias are cosmic adversaries in Baltic mythology, embodying a dualistic opposition between sky and underworld, order and chaos, across numerous etiological tales and the earth-diver creation myth.
Perkunas eternally pursues Velnias with lightning and thunder, chasing the underworld god who hides in trees, stones, and animals in the central mythological conflict of Baltic tradition.
Veles and Velnias derive from the same Proto-Indo-European chthonic deity (*Welós). Both are cattle gods, tricksters, and lords of the dead who oppose the thunder god (Perun/Perkūnas) in a foundational storm myth.
The Aitvaras is acquired through a pact with Velnias in Lithuanian folk belief, with the household spirit understood as a servant of the underworld god who brings stolen wealth in exchange for the master's soul.
Dievas commanded Velnias to dive into the primordial waters to bring up earth, but Velnias hid some in his mouth, which swelled to create mountains and swamps in the Lithuanian earth-diver creation myth.
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