Prussian mythology ("krivė krivaitis") and female "waidelinns" (similar to Roman vestales). Various later authors simply copied information from Grunau and the "Sudovian Book" adding no or very little new information. The 1249 Treaty of Christburg mentioned Curche, an idol worshiped during harvest festivals. Scholars were unable to positively determine its gender, function, or etymology. Various suggested functions include god of food (Simon Grunau), smithing god (similar to Slavic Svarog and Greek Hephaestus), god creator (derived from related Lithuanian word "kurti" – to create), god of harvest and grain, evil spirit, god of fire. Some even doubted whether it was a god at
Hephaestus are the oldest of all his representations. Hephaestus was sometimes portrayed as a vigorous man with a beard and was characterized by his hammer or some other crafting tool, his oval cap, and the chiton. Hephaestus is described in mythological sources as "lame" (), and "halting" (). He was depicted with crippled feet and as misshapen, either from birth or as a result of his fall from Olympus. In vase paintings, Hephaestus is usually shown lame and bent over his anvil, hard at work on a metal creation, and sometimes with his feet back-to-front: "Hephaistos amphigyēeis". He walked with the