UKKO. Finnish incantations dating from the Middle Ages call upon Ukko, the supreme god or the god in heaven. Typical is the following such invocation: "O Ukko, god supreme, old man in heaven, god of the skies." His name, which means "old man," and other of his epithets, Isä ("father") or Vaari ("old man, grandfather"), reveal the dominant character of this deity. On the other hand, ukko and its diminutive form, ukkonen, also mean "thunder." Ukko is in fact most often connected with thunder; like Jupiter, he was thought to drive a chariot that caused the sound of thunder during storms. Above all, Ukko is described in incantations as ruler of the weather and giver of rain. His protection was also sought in healing and at births, on behalf of cattle or humans against evil spirits, and in hunting. It seems that Ukko, originally the god of thunder...