Jurata is named after the Lithuanian goddess of the seas Jūratė, the oldest of mermaids and the most beautiful of all goddesses. Legend (which, according to researchers of Lithuanian folklore, is more the product of romantic literature) says that she fell in love, against her father's wishes, with a poor fisherman named Kastytis. She met her punishment for this - her underwater amber palace by the chief god Perkun was smashed to pieces, and its crumbs - the dried tears of a mermaid after her slain beloved - can still be found on the seashore today.