Aatxe

The Aatxe or Aataxe are cave spirits from the mythology of the Basque Country who leave their cave Leze (near Sara) on stormy nights and drive the inhabitants of the villages and towns into their homes.

The Aatxe could appear both in human form and in the form of a (predominantly red) bull - as the name Aatxe also means “young bull” in Basque (“Aatxe” means “young bull” and Aatxegorri means “red young bull”). As Etsai ('devil') he teaches his followers in his arts.

literature

• Manfred Lurker : Lexicon of gods and demons. Names, functions, symbols / attributes (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 463). 2nd, expanded edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-520-46302-4 .
• Gerhard J. Bellinger : Knaurs Lexikon der Mythologie , Droemer Knaur Verlag, Munich, 1989, ISBN 3-8289-4155-9
• Patxi Xabier Lezama Perier : Euskal Mitologia Royal Academy of the Basque Language Euskaltzaindia / Public Reading Network by Euskadi, 2018