Template:POTD/2018-02-05
Kullervo is an ill-fated character in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. In this epic, Kullervo grows up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe only to realise that those who raised him were those who had butchered his family. As a child, he is sold into slavery. When he finally runs away from his masters, he discovers surviving members of his family, only to lose them again. He seduces a girl, who turns out to be his sister, and who commits suicide upon discovering their blood ties. Kullervo becomes mad with rage, returns to Untamo and his tribe, destroys them using his magical powers, and commits suicide.
Kullervo has been widely represented in Finnish art, including in this 1899 painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela and an 1892 opera by Jean Sibelius. The character was adapted by J. R. R. Tolkien into Túrin Turambar, a character who appears frequently in Tolkien's legendarium.Painting: Akseli Gallen-Kallela