On February 28, 2025 the DU IHSS senior researcher Oksana Kovzele and docent, researcher Maija Grizāne participated in the conference section “Own Idols or Foreign Gods: Syncretism in Beliefs and Religious Cults” organized by the Institute of Latvian History of the University of Latvia within the framework of the 83rd International Conference of the University of Latvia.

15 researchers from three countries – Latvia, Poland and Ukraine – presented their papers onsite and online. The papers presented by the participants of the section covered a wide range of problematic issues: witch hunts and their possible causes from the point of view of modern archaeology, specificity of the emergence and existence of the cults of saints, changing and spreading religious beliefs in society, syncretism of Christian and pagan cults, ideas about death and the most ancient funeral traditions, the culture of dievturība and periodicals published by its ideologists, as well as others.

The paper presented by the DU IHSS researchers was dedicated to the phenomenon of the Neptune Fest in the cultural space of Soviet Latvia. Based on periodicals, cinematic evidence, and archival documents, O. Kovzele and M. Grizane turned to the reception of Neptune in Western Europe and, using the example of the cultural space of Latvia in the 1940s and 1980s, showed to what extent the person of the ancient Roman naval ruler and the celebrations dedicated to him were used for ideological, didactic and entertaining purposes. With the expansion of geographical (from coastal territories to inland lands; from the sea to lakes, rivers and swimming pools) and temporal boundaries of the analyzed celebrations (not only in summer, but also in spring, autumn and winter), Neptune as a character became an extremely sought-after participant in the celebrations organized in Soviet Latvia, who eventually assumed the functions of a Baptist, judge and teacher; however in the late 1980s and nowadays Neptune is becoming more and more like an animator.

The presentation was developed as a part of the project “The Representation of Living Memory: Cultural-Historical, Literary and Economic Aspect” (Nr. 14-95/2025/6).

Additional information:
Dr. philol., senior researcher Oksana Kovzele
oksana.kovzele@du.lv
PhD, docent, researcher Maija Grizān
maija.grizane@du.lv