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Finland
The SampoThe Sampo is a magical artifact in Finnish Mythology and is depicted in the epic of Finland the Kalevela. It is thought to bring good fortune to its user. Ilmarinen constructed it and when it came to the Earth nobody knew what it was supposed to be. But, it brought good times to his land. When it was eventually stolen all of the lands came under the worst times in the lives of the people. Ilmarinen sent an expedition to retreive the Sampo. After a couple of months, there is a battle that ensued and the Sampo was smashed and lost in the sea. In many works in the mythology, there is many ways that the Sampo has been interpreted. In some of the works it has been depicted as a world tree or a world pillar. More of the depictions were a compass, an astrolabe, and a chest containing treasure. It has been said that it makes flour, salt, and gold out of thin air. The Greek discovered a similar artifact that bears description to the Sampo, the Antikythera Mechanism. Text & Drawing: John T., Santan JHS Citation: "Sampo." Wikipedia . 3 Jan. 2007. 29 Jan. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampo>.
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