Mankind Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Winter 2005)
pp. 165-246

Ukko, the Finnish God of Thunder: Separating Pagan Roots from Christian Accretions - Part One
Unto Salo

This is the first portion of Unto Salo's comprehensive study of the primeval Finnish god of thunder, fire and lightning which because of its length appears in The Mankind Quarterly in two consecutive parts. It seeks to trace the mythic history of Ukko from it earliest identifiable origins, investigating its relationship to the Indo-European God of Thunder, until its eventual extinction under the influence of Christianity. He achieves this through an interdisciplinary synthesis that seeks to integrate evidence from linguistic, archaeological and literary records.