Tapio (spirit)
Tapio is an East 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 (the god of hunting), and Tuulikki. Fitting the Green Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of lichen and eyebrows of moss.
He lends his name, in the form of Tapiola, to:
- one of the major urban centres within the city of Espoo outside Helsinki; and
- an unincorporated community in the US state of Michigan.
He also appears in the Nightwish song, Elvenpath, as Tapio, bear king, ruler of the forest.
Jean Sibelius' tone poem Tapiola (1926) is a depiction of the forest Tapio inhabits.
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