Tradition / Region: Albanian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Bird, Nymph
The Myth
The Eagle Maidens are beings who take the form of eagles and transform into maidens by bathing in water. They are encountered by a traveler during his search for Gjizar the nightingale and possess knowledge of its location.
A youth traveling through a wilderness came upon a house where an old woman lived. She warned him that her daughters would return and devour him, then hid him in a closet with a hole through which he could see. After some time, three eagles arrived, each one wounded. They entered through the window, bathed in a bowl of water, and became maidens. They spoke with their mother and then ate.
The old woman asked what they would do if a man were present, and each maiden swore not to harm the one who had wounded her. The youth was then revealed, and he told them he was the one who had injured them. The maidens did him no harm and asked his purpose. He told them he was searching for Gjizar the nightingale. They said they knew where it was and that he could not reach it on foot.
They told him to remain with them for three months. After this time, they took him to the place where the nightingale was and left him there.
Sources
Albanian Literature contributors. (n.d.). Folktale 14. In Albanian Literature, from http://www.albanianliterature.net/folktales/tale_14.html
Pedersen, H. (1895). Albanesische Texte mit Glossar. In Abhandlungen der philologisch-historischen Classe der Königl. Sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Vol. 15 (reprinted in Folklor shqiptar 1, Proza popullore, 1963). Translated by Elsie, R.