In Lithuanian mythology, Žemyna stands as one of the most fundamental deities, embodying the earth itself and all living things that depend upon it. Her name derives from the Lithuanian word Žemy (earth), emphasising her direct connection to the land that sustained Baltic agricultural communities. As the goddess of Earth and fertility, Žemyna represents the generative and nurturing aspects of nature that enable human survival and prosperity.

Revered as a maternal figure who blesses the land with abundance, Žemyna played a crucial role in agricultural rituals and practices. Farmers would invoke her protection for their fields and crops, seeking her blessing for a bountiful harvest and fertility for their livestock. This relationship between the deity and agricultural success reflected the fundamental importance of sustainable land management in pre-industrial Lithuanian society.

However, Žemyna's benevolence was conditional upon proper respect and stewardship. Farmers who neglected their duties or acted lazily were believed to incur her wrath, resulting in crop failure and misfortune. This aspect of her mythology reinforced cultural values of diligence and respect for the land, embedding ecological ethics within religious practice.

Rituals honouring Žemyna were integrated into daily life and seasonal celebrations. These included pouring beer on the ground as a libation to nourish her, and offering bread and meat at funerals to request her protection for the deceased's soul in the afterlife. People would also kiss the ground as a sign of respect when beginning important tasks, rising in the morning, retiring at night, or bidding farewell to their homes—gestures that acknowledged human dependence on the earth's generosity.

Žemyna's central position in Lithuanian mythology highlights the reverence for nature and cyclical processes of life and death that characterised traditional Baltic worldviews, offering a direct link between human actions and the health of the land that supported them.