"Jurate and Castitis"

The myth of amber washing up in the Baltic Sea

Castitis, a human fisherman, fished in the Baltic Sea and caught many fish.

The sea goddess Jurate, who lives in an amber castle at the bottom of the sea, decides to punish Castitis, who disturbs the peace of the sea. However, as soon as he confronted him and saw his appearance, he fell in love with him, and Yurate took Castitis to an amber castle at the bottom of the sea, where he lost track of time and fell in love with him.

The god of thunder, Perkunas (equivalent to Zeus in Greek mythology and Jupiter in Roman mythology), who was enraged by his love with a human, struck Castitis with lightning, and the amber castle was shattered.

Jurate was also punished by being chained to the bottom of the sea, and her tears of grief over the loss of her beloved still turn to amber and wash up on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Lithuanian amber from the Baltic Sea. The large amber is said to be a castle fragment, and the small amber is said to be Yurate's tears.

"Juratė and Kastytis"