Tapio (spirit)


Tapio is an Finnish forest spirit or god in Finnish mythology, who figures prominently in the Kalevala. Hunters prayed to him before a hunt and prayed to the nut god after the hunt. His wife is the goddess of the forest, Mielikki. He is the father of Annikki, Tellervo, Nyyrikki, and Tuulikki. Fitting the Green Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of lichen and eyebrows of moss.
Mikael Agricola mentions Tapio as a Tavastian god in the prologue to his finnish translation of the Book of Psalms, Dauidin Psalttari.
He lends his name, in the form of Tapiola, to:
He also appears in the Nightwish song, Elvenpath, as Tapio, bear king, ruler of the forest.
Jean Sibelius' tone poem Tapiola is a depiction of the forest Tapio inhabits.