List of Celtic deities
The Celtic pantheon is known from a variety of sources such as written Celtic mythology, ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects, and place or personal names. Celtic deities can fall under two categories: general deities and local deities. "General deities" were known by Celts throughout large regions, and are the gods and goddesses invoked for protection, healing, luck, and honour. The "local deities" that embodied Celtic nature worship were the spirits of a particular feature of the landscape, such as mountains, trees, or rivers, and thus were generally only known by the locals in the surrounding areas.[citation needed] Gaulish and Brythonic deities[edit] Male[edit] Female[edit] Welsh deities/characters[edit] The Welsh were the Britons that inhabited modern-day Wales (Welsh: Cymru). Male[edit] Female[edit] Gaelic deities[edit] Note: Modern spellings are shown in brackets. Male[edit] Female[edit] Celtiberian deities[edit] Male[edit] Female[edit] References[edit]
Ceridwen
In Welsh medieval legend, Ceridwen was an enchantress. She is the mother of a hideous son, Morfran, and a beautiful daughter, Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel, and they lived near Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid) in north Wales. Medieval Welsh poetry refers to her as possessing the cauldron of Poetic Inspiration (Awen) and the Tale of Taliesin recounts her swallowing her servant Gwion Bach who is then reborn through her as the poet Taliesin. Ceridwen is regarded by many modern Pagans as the Celtic goddess of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration. In 19th century literature and etymology the name Ket, Ked and variants were assumed to relate to the goddess Ceridwen.[1] Etymology[edit] Legend[edit] According to the late medieval[6] Tale of Taliesin, included in some modern editions of the Mabinogion, Ceridwen's son, Morfran (also called Afagddu), was hideously ugly, so Ceridwen sought to make him wise in compensation. The mixture had to be boiled for a year and a day. Later interpretations[edit]
Epona
Epona, third century AD, from Freyming (Moselle), France (Musée Lorrain, Nancy) In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona (pronounced /ɨˈpoʊnə/) was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures.[1] She and her horses might also have been leaders of the soul in the after-life ride, with parallels in Rhiannon of the Mabinogion.[2] Unusual for a Celtic deity, most of whom were associated with specific localities, the worship of Epona, "the sole Celtic divinity ultimately worshipped in Rome itself,"[3] was widespread in the Roman Empire between the first and third centuries AD. Etymology of the name[edit] Evidence for Epona[edit] Epona and her horses, from Köngen, Germany, About 200 AD. Although the name is Gaulish, dedicatory inscriptions to Epona are in Latin or, rarely, Greek. Iconography[edit] In Latin literature[edit] In Great Britain[edit] Today[edit]
Cernunnos
Cernunnos is the conventional name given in Celtic studies to depictions of the "horned god" of Celtic polytheism. The name itself is only attested once, on the 1st-century Pillar of the Boatmen, but depictions of a horned or antlered figure, often seated cross-legged and often associated with animals and holding or wearing torcs, are known from other instances. Nothing is known about the god from literary sources, and details about his name, his cult or his significance in Celtic religion are unknown. Name[edit] The theonym [C]ernunnos appears on the Pillar of the Boatmen, a Gallo-Roman monument dating to the early 1st century CE, to label a god depicted with stag's antlers in their early stage of annual growth.[2] Both antlers have torcs hanging from them.[3] The Proto-Celtic form of the theonym is reconstructed as either *Cerno-on-os[dubious ] or *Carno-on-os. Epigraphic evidence[edit] Iconography[edit] God of Etang-sur-Arroux, a possible depiction of Cernunnos. Neopaganism[edit]
Grannus
Name[edit] Etymology[edit] In the early twentieth century, the name was connected with the Irish grian, ‘sun’.[1] Along these lines, the god was often linked to the Deò-ghrèine and the character Mac Gréine of Irish mythology. However, the Irish grian, ‘sun’ is thought to be derived from Proto-Celtic *greinā ‘sun’ and the Proto-Celtic *greinā is unlikely to have developed into Grannos in Gaulish and other Continental Celtic languages. Derivation from a Proto-Celtic root *granno- ‘beard’ (cf. Epithets[edit] At Monthelon[disambiguation needed], Grannus is also called Amarcolitanus ("The one with a piercing or far-reaching look"[4]) and at Horbourg-Wihr Mogounus.[5] In all of his centres of worship where he is assimilated to a Roman god, Grannus was equated with Apollo,[5] presumably in Apollo’s role as a healing or solar deity. Centres of worship[edit] Hot springs such as those at Aquae Granni (today's Aachen) are thought to have been dedicated to Grannus. Festival[edit] Divine entourage[edit]
Áine
Áine (Irish pronunciation: [ˈaːnʲə]) is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun,[1] and is sometimes represented by a red mare.[1] She is the daughter of Egobail,[2] the sister of Aillen and/or Fennen, and is claimed as an ancestor by multiple Irish families. As the goddess of love and fertility, she had command over crops and animals and is also associated with agriculture.[2] Áine is strongly associated with County Limerick. In Irish mythology[edit] In early tales she is associated with the semi-mythological King of Munster, Ailill Aulom, who is said to have raped her, an affair ending in Áine biting off his ear, hence the name Aulom "one-eared". In other tales Áine is the wife of Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond, known popularly as "Iarl Gearóid". In yet other versions of her myth, she is the wife or daughter of the sea god, Manannán mac Lir. Related goddesses[edit] References[edit] Bibliography[edit] External links[edit]
