Iku-Turso


Iku-Turso is a malevolent sea monster in Finnish mythology. Nowadays Meritursas means octopus in Finnish, named after Iku-Turso, but originally tursas is an old name for walrus while the more common term is mursu. However, it is more common to see the word mustekala, the name of its Subclass Coleoidea in Finnish, for the octopus.
The name of the monster is probably related to the Proto-Germanic *Þurisaz.

Description

His appearance remains unclear, but he is described with several epithets: partalainen, Tuonen härkä, tuhatpää, tuhatsarvi. It was sometimes said that he lived in Pohjola, but that may be because Pohjola was often perceived as the home of all evil.
In some versions of the spell The Birth of Nine Diseases Iku-Turso is mentioned as the father of diseases with Loviatar, the blind daughter of Tuoni, the god of death. The Scandinavian giants had the ability to shoot arrows which caused diseases in people. This and the fact that þurs resembles Tursas gives credence to the idea that they may be related. Some runes tell that Meritursas partalainen makes pregnant the Maiden of Air. She later gave birth to Väinämöinen, which would make him a truly primeval creature. On the other hand, he is also mentioned as the son of Äijö.

As a god of war

In the list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola, he is mentioned as the god of war: Turisas voiton antoi sodast. It has been suggested that the god in the list is same as the Scandinavian god of war Tyr; however, this theory is not widely supported today.

Iku-Turso in Kalevala

He is mentioned several times in the Finnish national epic, Kalevala. In the second cantos he rises from the sea and burns a stack of hay. Later, a giant oak grows from the ashes. The tree grows so large that it hides the sun and the moon and is cut down.
Later, Iku-Turso is summoned by Louhi, the Lady of the North, to stop the theft of the magical artifact Sampo. Väinämöinen, the leader of the plunderers, grabs Iku-Turso from his ears and using magical words makes him promise to never return from the bottom of the sea.
, also known as mursunsydän'', an ancient Scandinavian symbol believed to bring good luck and protect from curses.

Legacy

One of the three Vetehinen class submarines used by Finland in the Second World War was named after Iku-Turso. After the war the Soviet Union denied Finland the use of submarines, and she was sold to Belgium for scrapping. Other things named after the mythical being are the Asteroid 2828 Iku-Turso and a Finnish metal band Turisas. In popular culture, Iku-Turso wreaks havoc in Helsinki in the Donald Duck comic book story The Quest for Kalevala by Don Rosa.

In popular culture