Ilmarinen

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.

[7] Ilmari(nen) is believed to have taken on the qualities of a smith through the Proto-Finnic contact with iron-working cultures, such as the Indo-European Balts[n 1] or speakers of Common Germanic.

On the first day, Ilmarinen looked down into the flames and saw that the metal had taken the form of a crossbow with a golden arch, a copper shaft and quarrel-tips of silver.

But the bow had an evil spirit, asking for a new victim each day, and so Ilmarinen broke it and cast the pieces back into the fire.

Though beautiful to behold, it too was evil at heart, being too eager to rush towards battle, and so, Ilmarinen broke the magic boat apart and cast back the pieces once more.

The winds blow for three days, until finally, the Sampo is born, taking the shape of a magic mill that produces grain, salt and gold.

Ilmarinen's portrayal as "unlucky in love" in the Kalevala is primarily due to Lönnrot's own choices while revising and compiling the original runes to form a cohesive narrative.

Dismayed, he attempts to wed her to his brother Väinämöinen instead, but the old sage rejects her, saying that the golden wife ought to be cast back into the furnace and tells Ilmarinen to "forge from her a thousand trinkets".

Speaking to all of his people, he further adds: "Never, youths, however wretched, Nor in future, upgrown heroes, Whether you have large possessions, Or are poor in your possessions, In the course of all your lifetime, While the golden moon is shining, May you woo a golden woman, Or distress yourselves for silver, For the gleam of gold is freezing, Only frost is breathed by silver.

To a contemporary reader, there is also a similarity to the hubristic nature of the Golem legend, or to Frankenstein, in that even the most skilled of mortals cannot rival divine perfection when creating life.

Rather than serving as a cautionary tale, the original runes probably expressed the widespread myth of a Golden Woman found throughout Arctic Eurasia.