Celtic deities
The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheo ...
are known from a variety of sources such as written Celtic mythology, ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, religious objects, as well as place and personal names.
Celtic deities can belong to two categories: general and local. General deities were known by the
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
throughout large regions, and are the gods and goddesses called upon for protection, healing, luck, and honour. The local deities from
Celtic nature worship According to classical sources, the ancient Celts were animists. They honoured the forces of nature, saw the world as inhabited by many spirits, and saw the Divine manifesting in aspects of the natural world.
The Sacred Land
The Celts of the ancie ...
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.
After Celtic lands became Christianised, there were attempts by Christian writers to
euhemerize
Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...
or even demonize most of the pre-Christian deities, while a few others became Saints in the church. The
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...
of
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...
, who were commonly interpreted as divinities or deified ancestors, were downgraded in Christian writings to, at best "fallen angels", or mere mortals, or even portrayed as demons.
Ancient Gaulish and Brittonic deities
The
Gauls
The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...
inhabited the region corresponding to modern-day France, Belgium, Switzerland, southern and western Germany, Luxembourg and northern Italy. They spoke
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...
Abnoba
Abnoba is a name with theological and geographical meanings: It is the name of a Gaulish goddess who was worshiped in the Black Forest and surrounding areas. It is also the name of a mountain or mountain range.
Etymology
The etymology of the t ...
- Gaulish goddess worshipped in the Black Forest
* Acionna - Gallic goddess of the river
Essonne
Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Larzac tablet
* Adsullata - goddess of the River Sava
* Agronā - hypothetical Brittonic goddess of the
River Ayr
The River Ayr (pronounced like ''air'', ''Uisge Àir'' in Gaelic) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. At it is the longest river in the county.
The river was held as sacred by pre-Christian cultures. The remains of several prehistoric sacrificial ...
* Alantedoba - a goddess in
Val Camonica
Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard dialect, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to ...
*
Ancamna
In Gallo-Roman religion, Ancamna was a goddess worshipped particularly in the valley of the river Moselle. She was commemorated at Trier and Ripsdorf as the consort of Lenus Mars, and at Möhn as the consort of Mars Smertulitanus.Nicole Jufer & ...
Cenomani The Gaulish name Cenomani can refer to:
* Aulerci Cenomani, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Le Mans
* Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul)
The Cenomani (Greek: , Strabo, Ptol.; , Polyb.), was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who ...
* Apadeva - a water goddess
*
Arduinna
In Gallo-Roman religion, Arduinna (also Arduina, Arduinnae or Arduinne) was the eponymous tutelary goddess of the Ardennes Forest and region, thought to be represented as a huntress riding a boar (primarily in the present-day regions of Belgium an ...
- Gallic goddess of the
Ardennes Forest
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
*
Arnemetia
Arnemetia was a goddess in Romano-British religion. Her shrine was at Aquae Arnemetiae ("waters of Arnemetia"), which is now Buxton in Derbyshire, England.Miranda J. Green. ''Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend.'' Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, ...
- Brittonic goddess of
nemeton
A nemeton (plural: nemeta) was a sacred space of ancient Celtic religion. Nemeta appear to have been primarily situated in natural areas, and, as they often utilized trees, they are often interpreted as sacred groves.Koch, p. 1350. However, othe ...
s
*
Artio
Artio (''Dea Artio'' in the Gallo-Roman religion) is a Celts, Celtic bear worship, bear goddess. Evidence of her worship has notably been found at Bern in Switzerland. Her name is derived from the Gaulish language, Gaulish word for 'bear', ''artos' ...
- Gallic goddess of the bear
* Axona - Gallic goddess of the river Aisne
* Belisama - Gallic and Brittonic goddess
*
Bergusia
Bergusia is a Celtic goddess, consort of the god Ucuetis, and worshipped with him at Alesia in Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former Regions of France, administrative region and province o ...
Ucuetis Ucuetis is a Gaulish deity who was venerated at Alesia in Burgundy.
History
Ucuetis was a Gaulish deity who was venerated by the Celtic people in the area of Alesia in the Burgundy region of France. Along with his consort Bergusia, he was portr ...
* Bormana - Gallic goddess of mineral springs, companion of Bormanos
* Bricta (Brixta) - Gallic goddess of
Luxeuil
Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
History
Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Luxeu in older texts) was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings ...
mineral springs, companion of Luxovios
* Brigantia - Brittonic goddess of the Brigantes
* Carpundia - a river goddess
* Carvonia - a goddess in
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
*
Cathubodua
Cathubodua ( cel-x-proto, Katu-bodwā, "battle crow") is the name of a Gaulish battle goddess.
Etymology
Cathubodua is the name of a Gaulish goddess derived from a single inscription at Mieussy in Haute Savoie, eastern France, which actually rea ...
- Gallic war goddess
* Caticatona - a Gallic water goddess in Rauranum
* Cissonia - a Gallic goddess of trade, companion of
Cissonius
Cissonius (also ''Cisonius'', ''Cesonius'') was an ancient Gaulish/Celtic god. After Visucius, Cissonius was the most common name of the Gaulish/Celtic Mercury; around seventeen inscriptions dedicated to him extend from France and Southern Germ ...
* Clota - hypothetical Brittonic goddess of the River Clyde
* Coventina - Brittonic goddess of wells and springs
* Damona - Gallic goddess of mineral springs, consort of Apollo Borvo and of Apollo Moritasgus
* Dea Latis - Brittonic goddess of bogs and pools, companion of Deus Latis
* Dea Matrona - "divine mother goddess" and goddess of the River Marne in Gaul
*
Divona
Divona (Gaulish language, Gaulish: ''Deuona'', ''Diuona'', 'Divine') is a Gallo-Roman religion, Gallo-Roman goddess of springs and rivers.
The cult of the fresh waters appears to have been particularly important among Gauls, and Celts in general, ...
- Gallic goddess of sacred springs and rivers
* Epona - fertility goddess, protector of horses
*
Erecura
Erecura or Aerecura (also found as ''Herecura'' or ''Eracura'') was a goddess worshipped in ancient times, often thought to be Celtic in origin, mostly represented with the attributes of Proserpina and associated with the Roman underworld god D ...
Dīs Pater
Dīs Pater (; ; genitive ''Dītis Patris''), otherwise known as Rex Infernus or Pluto, is a Roman god of the underworld. Dis was originally associated with fertile agricultural land and mineral wealth, and since those minerals came from undergro ...
Yonne
Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is l ...
Inciona Inciona is a little-known Celtic goddess of the Treveran region. Her name is recorded as one of a pair of deities on two votive inscriptions from Luxembourg.
On the large stone slab from Mensdorf on the Widdebierg, pictured at right, she is inv ...
- a Gallic goddess of the
Treveri
The Trēverī ( Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fri ...
Litavis
Litavis (Gaulish: ''Litauī'' 'Earth', lit. 'the Broad One') is a Gallic deity whose cult is primarily attested in east-central Gaul during the Roman period. She was probably originally an earth-goddess.' In medieval Celtic languages, various term ...
- a Gallic earth goddess
* Maiabus - a Gallic goddess in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
Alpes Maritimae
The Alpes Maritimae (; English: 'Maritime Alps') were a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poeninae a ...
Nehalennia
Nehalennia (spelled variously) is a goddess of unclear origin, perhaps Germanic or Celtic. She is attested on and depicted upon numerous votive altars discovered around what is now the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands, where the Schelde Riv ...
- a sea goddess in
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
Ritona
Ritona (also known as Pritona) is a Celtic goddess chiefly venerated in the land of the Treveri in what is now Germany. Her cult is attested at Pachten and at Trier, where she "had a carefully built little temple" in the Altbachtal complex.Edith ...
(Pritona) - Gallic goddess of the
Treveri
The Trēverī ( Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fri ...
*
Rosmerta
In Gallo-Roman religion, Rosmerta was a goddess of fertility and abundance, her attributes being those of plenty such as the cornucopia. Rosmerta is attested by statues and by inscriptions. In Gaul she was often depicted with the Roman god Merc ...
- Gallic goddess of fertility and abundance
* Sabrina - Brittonic goddess of the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
* Seixomniai Leuciticai - a Celtic goddess, equated with Diana
* Senuna - a Brittonic goddess
*
Sequana In Gallo-Roman religion, Sequana is the goddess of the river Seine, particularly the springs at the source of the Seine, and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani. The springs, called the ''Fontes Sequanae'' ("The Springs of Sequana"), are located in a va ...
- Gallic goddess of the
River Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
*
Sirona
In Celtic polytheism, Sirona was a goddess worshipped predominantly in East Central Gaul and along the Danubian limes. A healing deity, she was associated with healing springs; her attributes were snakes and eggs. She was sometimes depicted with A ...
- Gallic goddess of healing
* Suleviae - a triune mother goddess
*
Sulis
In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath (now in Somerset). She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tabl ...
- Brittonic goddess of the healing spring at
Aquae Sulis
Aquae Sulis (Latin for ''Waters of Sulis'') was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is the English city of Bath, Somerset. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as ''Aquis Sulis.'' Ptolemy records t ...
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
* Veica Noriceia - a goddess attested in
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
Vesunna
Vesunna is a Celtic goddess worshipped in Roman Gaul. She was likely considered a giver of prosperity, abundance and good fortune, as evidenced by the cornucopia she is depicted carrying in her images.
Vesunna was also once the name of a town jus ...
- Gallic goddess of the Petrocorii
* Vibēs - a goddess in
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
Male
*
Abandinus Abandinus was a theonym used to refer to a Celtic god or male spirit worshipped in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire during the Romano-Celtic period.
Epigraphic evidence
Abandinus is represented in Britain on a single altarstone. He is unknown thr ...
- a Brittonic god of Durovigutum
* Alaunus (Alaunos) - a Gallic god of healing and prophecy
* Alisanos - a Gallic god
* Alus - an agricultural god of Cisalpine GaulMurley 90.
*
Ambisagrus
In Gallo-Roman religion, Ambisagrus was a Gaulish god worshipped at Aquileia in Cisalpine Gaul, where he was identified with Jupiter Optimus Maximus.''L'Arbre Celtique'' entry foAmbisagrus
The name may be composed of the Proto-Celtic prefix *''amb ...
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
* Atepomarus - a Gallic horse god
* Bedaius - a lake god in
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
Tabbernee.
*
Belatucadros
Belatucadros or Belatucadrus, was a deity worshipped in Celtic northern Britain, particularly in Cumberland and Westmorland. In the Roman period he was identified with Mars and appears to have been worshipped by lower-ranked Roman soldiers as ...
(Bitucadros) - a Brittonic god
* Belenus (Belenos) - a god of healing
* Bergimus - a mountain god of Cisalpine GaulMurley v.
*
Borvo
Borvo or Bormo (Gaulish: *''Borwō'', ''Bormō'') was an ancient Celtic god of healing springs worshipped in Gauls and Gallaecia., s.v. ''Borvo''. He was sometimes identified with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo, although his cult had preserved a high ...
(Bormanos) - god of healing springs
* Brasennus - a god known from a lone inscription in Cisalpine Gaul
* Caletos
*
Caturix
Caturix (Gaulish for "battle king") was the war god of the Helvetii.
Names
Caturix became known as ''Mars Caturix'' in Gallo-Roman religion by interpretation as Mars. There was a temple dedicated to Mars Caturix in Aventicum, the capital of Ro ...
Cernunnos
In ancient Celtic and Gallo-Roman religion, Cernunnos or Carnonos was a god depicted with antlers, seated cross-legged, and is associated with stags, horned serpents, dogs and bulls. He is usually shown holding or wearing a torc and somet ...
(Carnonos) - an antlered god
*
Cissonius
Cissonius (also ''Cisonius'', ''Cesonius'') was an ancient Gaulish/Celtic god. After Visucius, Cissonius was the most common name of the Gaulish/Celtic Mercury; around seventeen inscriptions dedicated to him extend from France and Southern Germ ...
- a Gallic god of tradeAdkins and Adkins, 283.
* Mars Cnabetius - a Gallic god of war
* Condatis - a Gallic and Brittonic god of the confluences of rivers
*
Cunomaglus Cunomaglus ("Hound Lord") is the epithet of a Celtic god identified with Apollo.
A temple at Nettleton Shrub in Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landl ...
- a Brittonic hunter godFreeman 4.
* Cuslanus - a god in Cisalpine Gaul associated with
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
* Deus Latis - a Brittonic god
* Deus Ducavavius - a god known from a lone inscription in Cisalpine Gaul
* Deus Orevaius - a god known from a lone inscription at Cemenelum
* Dorminus - god of the hot springs at Aquae Statiellae
* Intarabus - a Gallic god of the
Treveri
The Trēverī ( Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fri ...
*
Esus
Esus, Hesus, or Aisus was a Brittonic and Gaulish god known from two monumental statues and a line in Lucan's '' Bellum civile''.
Name
T. F. O'Rahilly derives the theonym ''Esus'', as well as ''Aoibheall'', ''Éibhleann'', ''Aoife'', and ...
Gobannus
Gobannus (or Gobannos, the Gaulish form, sometimes Cobannus) was a Gallo-Roman smithing god.
A number of statues dedicated to him are preserved, found together with a bronze cauldron dedicated to ''Deus Cobannos'', in the late 1980s and illegally ...
(Gobannos) - a Gallic and Brittonic smith god
*
Grannus
Grannus (also ''Granus'', '' Mogounus,'' and ''Amarcolitanus'') was a Celtic deity of classical antiquity. He was regularly identified with Apollo as Apollo Grannus and frequently worshipped in conjunction with Sirona, and sometimes with Mars and ...
- a healing god
*
Ialonus Contrebis
In ancient Celtic religion, Ialonus Contrebis or Ialonus or Gontrebis was a god (or perhaps two related gods) worshipped in what are now Lancashire and Provence. Ialonus is thought to be the god of clearings and/or meadows.
Name
The name ''Ialon ...
- a Brittonic and Gallic god
* Latobius - a god in
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
*
Lero
Lero is an obscure Celtic god, invoked alongside the goddess Lerina as the eponymous spirit of Lérins in Provence.''L'Arbre Celtique.'Lérins/ref> Nothing is known about these gods apart from these epigraphic dedications.
References
Furth ...
Loucetios
In Gallo-Roman religion, Loucetios (Latinized as Leucetius) was a Gallic god known from the Rhine-Moselle region, where he was identified with the Roman Mars. Scholars have interpreted his name to mean ‘lightning’. Mars Loucetius was worship ...
- a Gallic god of thunder
*
Maponos
In ancient Celtic religion, Maponos or Maponus ("Great Son") is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul. In Roman Britain, he was equated with Apollo.
The Welsh mythological figure Mabon ap Modron is apparently derived ...
- a Brittonic and Gallic god of youth
*
Matunos Matunus or Matunos was a god in Brythonic Celtic polytheism. His name may be derived from the same root as Proto-Celtic ''*matu-'' meaning bear. He was worshipped in Roman Britain and altar-stones raised to him have been recovered in the United K ...
- a Brittonic and Gallic bear god
* Moccus - a Gallic god of boars and pigs
* Moritasgus - Gallic healing god of Alesia
* Mullo - a Gallic god in
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...
*
Nemausus
Deus Nemausus is often said to have been the Celtic patron god of Nemausus (Nîmes). The god does not seem to have been worshipped outside this locality. The city certainly derives its name from Nemausus, which was perhaps the sacred wood in which ...
- Gallic god of Nîmes
* Niskus - a Brittonic river god
*
Nodens
*''Nodens'' or *''Nodons'' ( reconstructed from the dative ''Nodenti'' or ''Nodonti'') is a Celtic healing god worshipped in Ancient Britain. Although no physical depiction of him has survived, votive plaques found in a shrine at Lydney Park ...
(Nodons) - a Brittonic god of healing, dogs and hunting
*
Ogmios
Ogmios (also known as Ogmius; grc, Ὄγμιος; la, Ogmius, Ogimius) was the Celtic deity of eloquence.OG ...
- a Gallic god of eloquence
* Paronnus - a god known from a lone inscription at Brixia
* Rudiobus - a Gallic god in
Loiret
Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.< ...
* Smertrios - a Gallic god
* Souolibrogenos - a Galatian god
* Sucellus (Sucellos) - a Gallic and Brittonic god of agriculture and wine
* Tavianos - a Galatian godRoymans and Derks 134.
*
Taranis
In Celtic mythology, Taranis (Proto-Celtic: *''Toranos'', earlier ''*Tonaros''; Latin: Taranus, earlier Tanarus) is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube r ...
Ucuetis Ucuetis is a Gaulish deity who was venerated at Alesia in Burgundy.
History
Ucuetis was a Gaulish deity who was venerated by the Celtic people in the area of Alesia in the Burgundy region of France. Along with his consort Bergusia, he was portr ...
- Gallic blacksmith god of Alesia
* Vellaunus - a Brittonic and Gallic god
*
Vernostonos Verostonos (or Vernostonus) was a god in ancient Celtic polytheism, worshipped in Roman Britain.
His name links him to alder-trees. Altar-stones raised to him have been recovered in the United Kingdom, such as that at Ebchester in County Durham (R ...
- a Brittonic god
*
Vindonnus
Belenus (Gaulish: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic healing god. The cult of Belenus stretched from the Italian Peninsula to the British Isles, with a main sanctuary located at Aquileia, on the Adriatic coast. Through ''interpretati ...
Viridios
Viridios, or Viridius, is a god of ancient Roman Britain.
Centres of worship
Inscribed stones dedicated to Viridios have been recovered in the Romano-British town of Ancaster Roman Town, ''Cavsennae'' or ''Cavsennis'', now Ancaster, Lincolnshire ...
* Visucius - a Gallo-Roman god of trade
* Vosegus - Gallic god of the
Vosges Mountains
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
Gallaeci
The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; grc, Καλλαϊκοί) were a Celtic tribal complex who inhabited Gallaecia, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region roughly corresponding to what is now the Norte Region in northern Portugal, a ...
ans were ancient Celtic peoples in
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. They spoke
Hispano-Celtic languages
Hispano-Celtic is a term for all forms of Celtic spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the arrival of the Romans (c. 218 BC, during the Second Punic War). In particular, it includes:
* A northeastern inland language attested at a relative ...
.
Female
* Asidiae
* Ataegina (Ataecina)
* Besenclā (Besenclae) - a community and house protector
* Broeneiae
* Coruae
* Cosuneae
* Crougeae (Corougiae)
* Deae sanctae (Burrulobrigensi)
* Deiba
* Epane (Epona, Iccona)
* Erbina - a goddess of wild animals, hunting, and domestic securityOlivares Pedreño 610.
* Ermae
* Flauiae Conimbriga (Flauiae Conimbrigae)
* Ilurbeda
* Lacipaea (Lacibiā, Lacibea)
* Laneana (Laneanis) - a goddess of springs and floods
* LosaOlivares Pedreño 611.
* Luna Augusta
* Mirobleo
* Munidis
* Nabia (Navia) - versatile goddess
* Nymphis
* Ocrimirae
* Reva (Reua) - personification of water flows
* Toga
* Trebaruna
* Trebopala
* Tutelae
Ares Lusitani
Ares Lusitani (Latin for the ''Lusitanian Ares'') was the God of horses and knights in Lusitanian mythology, in the cultural area of Gallaecia and Lusitania (in the territory of modern Galicia (Spain) and Portugal). This deity was probably a lat ...
Endovelicus
Endovelicus ( Portuguese: ''Endouellicus'', ''Endovélico''; Spanish: ''Endovélico'', ''Enobólico'') is the best known of the pre-Roman Lusitanian and Celtiberian gods of the Iron Age. He was originally a chthonic god. He was the God/Lord of th ...
Lugus
Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gall ...
Tongoenabiagus
Tongoenabiagus was the Deity, god of the ''Idol's Fountain, Fonte do Ídolo'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Fountain of the Idol''), a 1st-century shrine in Braga (the Roman ''Bracara Augusta'') with an inscribed fountain dedicated both t ...
*
Turiacus
Turiacus was a Celtic and Lusitanian god of power of the Grovii, in the cultural area of Gallaecia and Lusitania (in the territory of modern Galiza (Spain), Galicia (Spain) and Portugal). Turiacus seems to have been particularly worshiped by the G ...
Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...
inhabited Ireland and parts of western Scotland. They spoke Goidelic languages.
Female
*
Achtland
In Irish mythology, Queen Achtland married one of the Tuatha Dé Danann who were the people of the goddess Danu.
Achtland herself was a mortal woman, and as an adult she was infamous for her displeasure in what she found available to her among hu ...
*
Aibell
In Irish legend Aibell (sometimes Aoibheall (modern Irish spelling), also anglicised as Aeval) was the guardian spirit of the Dál gCais, the Dalcassians or Ó Bríen clan. She was the ruler of a ''sídhe'' in north Munster, and her dwellin ...
Áine
Áine () is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun,MacKillop, James (1998) ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' Oxford: Oxford University Press pp.10, 16, 128 and is sometimes represent ...
* Airmed - goddess of healing and herbalism
* Anu - probable goddess of the earth and fertility, called "mother of the Irish gods" in ''
Cormac's Glossary
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
Bodhmall
Bodhmall (or bodhmann, Bómall,''Dóiteoir na Samhna'', by Darach Ó Scalaí, Bodmall, or Bodbmall) is one of Fionn mac Cumhaill's childhood foster mothers in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology and the daughter of Tréanmór mac Suailt. She ...
River Boyne
The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...
, called Bouvinda by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
Williams 28.
*
Brigid
Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...
(Brigit) - called a "goddess of poets" in ''
Cormac's Glossary
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
'', with her sisters Brigid the healer and Brigid the smith
* Caillech ( Beira, Biróg) - an ancestral creator and weather goddess
*
Canola
Close-up of canola blooms
Canola flower
Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...
Cethlenn
In Irish mythology, Caitlín ( sga, Cethlenn, Cethleann, Ceithlenn, Ceithlionn, italic=no) was the wife of Balor of the Fomorians and, by him, the mother of Ethniu. She was also a prophetess and warned Balor of his impending defeat by the Tuatha D ...
- wife of Balor of the Fomorians
* Clídna
* Clothru
*
Danand
In Irish mythology, Danand or Donann is the daughter of Delbáeth, son of Ogma, (Not to be confused with the similarly named Danu)
Danand is the mother of Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba by her own father, who is occasionally given the name Tuirean ...
Deirdre
Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...
- the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend
* Duibne - attested as in
Archaic Irish
Primitive Irish or Archaic Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Ársa), also called Proto-Goidelic, is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages. It is known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone in the ogham alphabet in Ireland ...
and preserved in the name of the
Corcu Duibne
The Corcu Duibne, which means "seed or tribe of Duibhne" (the name of a goddess), was a notable kingdom in prehistoric and medieval County Kerry, Ireland which included the Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and connecting lands. The tribe ...
*
Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic (Old Norse or Ol ...
,
Banba
In Irish mythology, Banba (modern spelling: Banbha ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is a matron goddess of Ireland. She was married to Mac Cuill, a grandson of the Dagda.
She was part of an important triumvirate of ...
& Fódla - tutelary triumvirate of goddesses, sisters, eponymous for Ireland (mainly Ériu)
* Ernmas
*
Étaín
Étaín or Édaín (Modern Irish spelling: Éadaoin) is a figure of Irish mythology, best known as the heroine of ''Tochmarc Étaíne'' (''The Wooing Of Étaín''), one of the oldest and richest stories of the Mythological Cycle. She also figu ...
- the heroine of ''Tochmarc Étaíne''
* Ethniu (Ethliu) - the daughter of the Fomorian leader Balor and the mother of Lugh
* Fand
*
Finnabair
Findabair or Finnabair ( modern Irish ''Fionnabhair'' ) was a daughter of Ailill and Queen Medb of Connacht in Irish mythology. The meaning of the name is "white phantom" ( etymologically cognate with ''Gwenhwyfar'', the original Welsh form of Gu ...
*
Flidais
Flidas or Flidais (modern spelling: Fliodhas, Fliodhais) is a female figure in Irish Mythology, known by the epithet ''Foltchaín'' ("beautiful hair"). She is believed to have been a goddess of cattle and fertility.
Mythology
Flidas is mentioned ...
*
Fuamnach
Fúamnach, or Fuamnach, is Midir's first wife and a witch of the Tuatha Dé Danann in the medieval Irish text ''Tochmarc Étaíne'' ("The Wooing of Étaín"). The text describes her as being intelligent (''gáeth''), cunning (''trebar'') and "verse ...
*
Gráinne
Gráinne (), sometimes anglicised Grania, is the daughter of king Cormac mac Airt in the Fianna Cycle of Irish mythology. She is one of the central figures in the Middle Irish text ''Finn and Gráinne'', as well as the 17th-century tale '' The ...
*
Grian
Grian or ''Greaney'' is the name of a river, a lake, and region in the portion of the Sliabh Aughty mountains in County Clare. It formed part of the boundary of the kingdom of Síol Anmchadha.
Áine#Related goddesses, Grian (literally, "Sun") is ...
Archaic Irish
Primitive Irish or Archaic Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Ársa), also called Proto-Goidelic, is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages. It is known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone in the ogham alphabet in Ireland ...
Macha
Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A H ...
Medb Lethderg
In Irish mythology Medb Lethderg (; "red-side") was a goddess of sovereignty associated with Tara. She was the wife or lover of nine successive kings, including Fedlimid Rechtmar, Art mac Cuinn and Cormac mac Airt.
She is probably identical wi ...
)
*
Mongfind
Mongfind (or Mongfhionn in modern Irish)—meaning "fair hair" or "white hair"—is a figure from Irish legend. She is said to have been the wife, of apparent Munster origins, of the legendary High King Eochaid Mugmedón and mother of his eldes ...
*
The Morrígan
The Morrígan or Mórrígan, also known as Morrígu, is a figure from Irish mythology. The name is Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, and it has been translated as "great queen" or "phantom queen".
The Morrígan is mainly associated with war and ...
Nemain
In Irish mythology, Neman or Nemain (modern spelling: Neamhan, Neamhain) is the spirit-woman or goddess who personifies the frenzied havoc of war. In the ancient texts where The Morrígan appears as a trio of goddesses — the three sisters wh ...
- also known as "The Thee Morrígna"
*
Mór Muman
Mór Muman or Mór Mumain (modern spelling: Mór Mhumhan) is a figure from early Irish literature who is said to have been a queen of Munster and daughter of king Áed Bennán. Her name means "the Great Mother" and the province of Munster (''An ...
(
Mugain
Mugain, daughter of Eochaid Feidlech, ( ga, Mugain Etanchaitrech ingen Echach Feidlig) (sugg. pron. /Moógen Ait-en-hai-rech/ (Leahy)Leahy, Courtship of Ferb, pronunciation guide, p.xxvi; mod. pron. /MOO-in/{{Citation needed, date=January 2012), i ...
Tailtiu
Tailtiu or Tailltiu (; modern spelling: Tailte) (also known as Talti) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. The goddess's name is linked to Teltown (< OI ''Óenach Tailten'') in Co. Meath, site of the
< ...
*
Tlachtga
Tlachtga ( Modern Irish: ''Tlachta'') was a powerful druidess in Irish mythology and the red-haired daughter of the arch-druid Mug Ruith. She accompanied him on his world travels, learning his magical secrets and discovering sacred stones in Ita ...
Abcán
In Irish mythology, Abcán (modern spelling: Abhcán) was the dwarf poet and musician of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the early Celtic divinities of Ireland. He was said to have a bronze boat with a tin sail.
In the story of the death of the goddess Ru ...
*
Abhean
In Irish mythology, Abhean (), son of Bec-Felmas, was a poet of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and in particular of Lugh. He was killed by Óengus in front of Midir, according to a poem by Fland Mainistreach in ''Lebor Gabála Érenn''.
Etymology
The ...
Aillen
Aillen or Áillen is an incendiary being in Irish mythology. He played the harp and was known to sing beautiful songs.
Character
Called "the burner", he is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann who resides in Mag Mell, the underworld.
Deeds
Accord ...
Bodb Dearg
In Irish mythology, Bodb Derg (Old Irish, ) or Bodhbh Dearg (Middle Irish and Modern Irish, ) was a son of Eochaid Garb or the Dagda,"The Children of Lir". P.W. Joyce (translator). 1879. ''Old Irish Romances.'' C. Kegan Paul & Co. and the Dagda' ...
*
Bres
In Irish mythology, Bres (or Bress) was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is often referred to by the name Eochaid / Eochu Bres. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin.
Name
''Eochu Bres'' has been translated as "beautiful ho ...
*
Builg
Builg is the name given to an ancient people who may have lived in southern Ireland, around the modern city of Cork.
According to the historical scheme proposed by T. F. O'Rahilly the Builg are identical with or a sub-group of the Érainn or I ...
- a god of the Fir Bholg
*
Cermait
In Irish mythology, Cermait (modern spelling: Cearmaid), also anglicized as or Kermit, of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of the Dagda and brother of Aed and Aengus.
Crom Cruach
Crom Cruach ( sga, Cromm Crúaich ) was a pagan god of pre-Christian Ireland. According to Christian writers, he was propitiated with human sacrifice and his worship was ended by Saint Patrick.
He is also referred to as ''Crom Cróich'', ''C ...
*
The Dagda
The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia ...
(
Dáire
Dáire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Da ...
)
*
Dian Cecht
In Irish mythology, Dian Cécht (Old Irish pronunciation ; also known as ''Cainte'' or ''Canta'') was the god of healing, the healer for the Tuatha Dé Danann, and son of the Dagda according to the ''Dindsenchas''.
He was the father of Cu, Ceth ...
- called a "god of health" in ''
Cormac's Glossary
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
''
*
Donn
In Irish mythology, Donn ("the dark one", from cel-x-proto, Dhuosnos) is an ancestor of the Gaels and is believed to have been a god of the dead. Donn is said to dwell in Tech Duinn (the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one"), where the ...
*
Ecne
In Celtic mythology, Ecne (Wisdom, Old Irish ''ecna, ecne'', wise, enlightened) was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and was the god of wisdom, or knowledge.
*
Elatha
In Irish mythology, Elatha, Elotha, Elier or Elada (modern spelling: Ealadha) was a king of the Fomorians and the father of Bres by Ériu of the Tuatha Dé Danann, as well as Delbaeth, Ogma, Elloth (grandfather of Manannán mac Lir), and the ...
*
Goibniu
In Irish mythology, Goibniu (pronounced , modern spelling: Gaibhne) was the metalsmith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is believed to have been a smithing god and is also associated with hospitality. His name is related to the Welsh Gofannon and the ...
Lén
In Irish mythology, Lén was the craftsman of Síd Buidb, the ' sídhe of Bodb'.Section 18 of the Lir
*
Lugh
Lugh or Lug (; ga, label= Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The Go ...
- also attested as in
Archaic Irish
Primitive Irish or Archaic Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Ársa), also called Proto-Goidelic, is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages. It is known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone in the ogham alphabet in Ireland ...
Mac Cecht
In Irish mythology, Mac Cecht, now spelled Mac Ceacht (), of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Cecht's given name was Téthur and he was named Mac Cecht after his god, Cecht, the ploughshare. His wife was Fodla, ...
,
Mac Gréine
In Irish mythology, Mac Gréine of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Gréine's given name was Céthur. Mac Gréine is Irish for "Son of the Sun". His wife was Ériu.
Description
He and his brothers Mac Cuill and M ...
*
Manannán mac Lir
Manannán or Manann, also known as Manannán mac Lir ("son of the sea"), is a warrior and king of the Otherworld in Irish mythology who is associated with the sea and often interpreted as a sea god, usually as a member of the Tuatha Dé Dana ...
*
Miach
In Irish mythology, Miach () was a son of Dian Cecht of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He replaced the silver arm his father made for Nuada with an arm of flesh and blood; Dian Cecht killed him out of jealousy for being able to do so when he himself cou ...
*
Midir
In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, Midir (Old Irish) or Midhir (Modern Irish) was a son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann. After the Tuatha Dé were defeated by the Milesians, he lived in the sidh of Brí Léith (believed ...
*
Mug Ruith
Mug Ruith (or Mogh Roith, "slave of the wheel") is a figure in Irish mythology, a powerful blind druid of Munster who lived on Valentia Island, County Kerry. He could grow to enormous size, and his breath caused storms and turned men to stone. He ...
Cormac's Glossary
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
Delbáeth
Delbáeth or Delbáed (modern spelling: Dealbhaoth or Dealbhaodh) was one of several figures from Irish mythology who are often confused due to the repetition of the name in the mythological genealogies.
Name
According to the Dindsenchas, the nam ...
)
Brythonic deities and characters
The Brythonic peoples, descendants of the Celtic Britons, inhabited western Britain (mainly
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
,
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
and
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
) and
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
. They spoke the
Brythonic languages
The Brittonic languages (also Brythonic or British Celtic; cy, ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig; kw, yethow brythonek/predennek; br, yezhoù predenek) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic. ...
.
Female
*
Arianrhod
Arianrhod () is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi''. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr.Triad 35 ...
*
Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd (), (Welsh "Flower-Faced", a composite name from ''blodau'' "flowers" + ''gwedd'' "face"), is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology. She was made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak by the magicians Math and Gwy ...
*
Branwen
Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her.
Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun. She is married to Matholwch, King of Ireland, ...
*
Ceridwen
Ceridwen or Cerridwen ( ''Ke-RID-wen'') was an enchantress in Welsh medieval legend. She was the mother of a hideous son, Afagddu, and a beautiful daughter, Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel and they lived near Bala Lake () in north Wales. Med ...
*
Creiddylad
Creiddylad (also known as ''Creirddylad'', ''Creurdilad'', ''Creudylad'' or ''Kreiddylat''), daughter of King Lludd, is a minor character in the early medieval Welsh Arthurian tale ''Culhwch ac Olwen''.
Role in Welsh tradition
Creiddylad, dau ...
*
Creirwy
Creirwy () is a figure in the ''Mabinogion'' and the ''Hanes Taliesin'' (the story of Taliesin's life), daughter of the enchantress Ceridwen and Tegid Foel ("Tacitus the Bald"). The Welsh Triads name her one of the three most beautiful maids of the ...
*
Dôn
Dôn () is an ancestor figure in Welsh legend and literature. She is typically given as the mother of a group known as the "Children of Dôn", including Gwydion, Arianrhod, and Gilfaethwy, among many others. However, antiquarians of the early mod ...
*
Gwenhwyfar
Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
*
Modron
Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le ...
Olwen
In Welsh mythology, Olwen (or Olwyn) is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion. Her father is fated to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch (sometimes ...
*
Rhiannon
Rhiannon is a major figure in the Mabinogi, the medieval Welsh story collection. She appears mainly in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. She is a strong-minded Otherworld woman, who chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfe ...
Arawn
In Welsh mythology, Arawn (; ) was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of the king of Annwn was largely attributed to ...
- king of the
otherworld
The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...
realm of
Annwn
Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (in Middle Welsh, ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it was essentially a world of de ...
*
Beli Mawr Beli Mawr ("Beli the Great") was an ancestor figure in Middle Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Cassivellaunus, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies he is listed as the son or h ...
Culhwch
Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story '' Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the medie ...
*
Dylan ail Don Dylan ail Don () (in Middle Welsh) is a character in the Welsh mythic Mabinogion tales, particularly in the fourth tale, "'' Math fab Mathonwy''". The story of Dylan reflects ancient Celtic myths that were handed down orally for some generations b ...
*
Efnysien Efnisien fab Euroswydd (also spelled Efnissien or Efnysien) is a sadistic anti-hero in Welsh mythology, appearing prominently in the tale of ''Branwen ferch Llŷr'', the second branch of the Mabinogi. Described by Will Parker as "a study in the psy ...
*
Euroswydd Euroswydd is a figure in Welsh mythology, the father of Nisien and Efnysien by Penarddun, daughter of Beli Mawr. In the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'' Penarddun is the wife of Llŷr, by whom her children are Brân, Branwen, and Manawydan. The ...
*
Gilfaethwy
In Welsh mythology, Gilfaethwy () was a son of the goddess Dôn and brother of Gwydion and Arianrhod in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.
His uncle Math fab Mathonwy, king of Gwynedd, must keep his feet in the lap of a young virgin at all time ...
*
Gofannon
Gofannon () is a Middle Welsh reflex of Gobannus, one of the deities worshipped by the ancient Celts. He features in Middle Welsh literature as a great metal worker and as the son of Dôn. His name can be compared with the Old Irish ''gobae'' ( ...
(Govannon) - a smith god
* Gwern
*
Gwydion
Gwydion fab Dôn () is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He also appears ...
*
Gwyddno Garanhir
Gwyddno Garanhir was the supposed ruler of a sunken land off the coast of Wales, known as Cantre'r Gwaelod. He was the father of Elffin ap Gwyddno, the foster-father of the famous Welsh poet Taliesin in the legendary account given in the late medi ...
Hafgan Hafgan is one of the kings of Annwn, the otherworld in Welsh mythology. He appears in the First Branch of the ''Mabinogi'' as the main rival of Arawn, the other king of Annwn. The dominions of the two kings sit side by side, and Hafgan is constantl ...
*
Lludd Llaw Eraint Lludd Llaw Ereint, "Lludd of the Silver Hand", son of Beli Mawr, is a legendary hero from Welsh mythology. As Nudd Llaw Ereint (the earlier form of his name, cognate of the Irish Nuada Airgetlám, derived from the pre-Roman Celtic god Nodens) he ...
(Nudd)
*
Llŷr
Llŷr ( cy, Llŷr Llediaith (); ''Lleddiaith'' meaning "half-speech" or "half-language") is a figure in Welsh mythology, probably originally a deity, probably derived from Irish Ler ("the Sea"), father of '' Manannán mac Lir''.
Other than his p ...
Matholwch
Matholwch, King of Ireland, is a character in the Second Branch of the '' Mabinogi'', the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr.
The story opens with Bendigeidfran (Bran the Blessed), giant and king of Britain, sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech an ...
*
Manawydan
Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Welsh mythology, the son of Llŷr and the brother of Brân the Blessed and Brânwen. The first element in his name is cognate with the stem of the name of the Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, and likely origina ...
*
Nisien
Nisien is a figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Penarddun and Euroswydd and twin brother of Efnysien. He appears in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which names Brân the Blessed, Branwen, and Manawydan
Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Wels ...
(Nissien, Nissyen)
*
Pryderi
Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed after his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies ...
*
Pwyll
Pwyll Pen Annwn () is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology and literature, the lord of Dyfed, husband of Rhiannon and father of the hero Pryderi. Meaning ''wisdom" he is the eponymous hero of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, the first branch of the Four ...
*
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
*
Ysbaddaden
; "Ysbaddaden, Chief of Giants," is the primary antagonist of the Welsh romance '' Culhwch ac Olwen''.Helmut Birkhan: Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1997, , S. ...
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*"Greek & Roman Mythology - Tools". ''http://www.classics.upenn.edu/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php?regexp=RHEA&method=standard.''
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{List of mythological figures by region
2Celtic