The Kalevala is a Finnish epic poem that was first published in 1835 by Elias Lönnrot, a physician, and philologist. The poem is based on Finnish oral folklore and mythology, and it consists of 50 stories and poems that were collected and compiled by Lönnrot during his travels around Finland.
The Kalevala has been translated into over 60 languages, making it one of the most widely translated works in Finnish literature. It has been particularly popular in countries such as Germany, Russia, and Estonia. The first English translation was published in 1888 by John Martin Crawford, and since then, there have been several other translations.
J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, was a fan of the Kalevala, and he drew inspiration from it for his own works. For example, the character of Gandalf is said to be based on Väinämöinen, one of the main characters in the Kalevala.
The Kalevala has been illustrated by several artists over the years, including Akseli Gallen-Kallela, who created a series of paintings based on the poem. The first edition of the Kalevala was published with illustrations by Robert Wilhelm Ekman, a Finnish painter.
