Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, Elatha, Elotha, Elier or Elada (modern spelling: Ealadha) was a king of the

Fomorians The Fomorians or Fomori (, Modern ) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally they were said to come from under the sea or the earth. Later, they were portrayed as sea raider ...

and the father of

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 Fomorians, Fomorian kin. Name ''Eochu Bres'' has been translated as " ...

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), 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 languages, Germanic (Old Norse or ...

of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha 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 Gaelic ...

, as well as Delbaeth,

Ogma Ogma () is a god from Irish mythology, Irish and Scottish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he is often considered a deity and may be related to the Gauls, Gallic god Ogmios. According to the In Lebor Ogaim, Ogam Tract, he is the i ...

, Elloth (another name for Lir the father of

Manannán mac Lir or , also known as ('son of the Sea'), is a Water deity, sea god, warrior, and king of the Tír na nÓg, otherworld in Irish mythology, Gaelic (Irish, Manx, and Scottish) mythology who is one of the . He is seen as a ruler and guardian of t ...

), and the

Dagda The Dagda ( , ) is considered the great god of Irish mythology. He is the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Dagda portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO ...

by an unnamed mother. The imagery surrounding him suggests he may be associated with sources of light and illumination, such as

the sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

Overview

Elatha is described as being the "beautiful Miltonic prince of darkness with golden hair". He was the son of Delbaeth and a king of the Fomor, and he was the father of

by Eriu, a woman of the

. He came to her over the sea in a vessel of silver, himself having the appearance of a young man with yellow hair, wearing clothes of gold and five gold

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

s. He was one of the Fomor who took part in the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh. During the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh, Elatha watched over his son

the Dagda The Dagda ( , ) is considered the great god of Irish mythology. He is the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Dagda portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, ...

's magic harp, Uaithne, sometimes called Dur-da-Bla, "the Oak of Two Blossoms," and sometimes Coir-cethar-chuin, "the Four-Angled Music." He is said to have a sense of humor and a sense of nobility. Though considered to be the Fomorian father of Eochu Bres, Elatha (Elada) was also the father of

, a son named Delbaeth, and Elloth, elsewhere known as

Lir Lir or Ler (meaning "Sea" in Old Irish; ''Ler'' and ''Lir'' are the nominative and genitive forms, respectively) is a sea god in Irish mythology. His name suggests that he is a personification of the sea, rather than a distinct deity. He is na ...

(the father of Manannan mac Lir) according to the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...

.'' The mother of these

chiefs may have been Ethne, the mother of Lug, based on Ogma' often cited matronymic "mac Ethliu." Since Ethne was Fomorian, this means they are all Fomorians. This is rather confusing, but may portray the battle between the two groups as actually being about the new generation of gods displacing the older generation.

Elatha and Bres

''She told him that his father was Elatha, one of the Kings of the Fomorians; that he had come to her one time over a level sea in a great vessel that seemed to be of silver; that he himself had the appearance of a young man with yellow hair, his clothes decked with gold and five rings of gold around his neck. She had refused the love of all the young men of her own people, had given him her love and cried when he had left her.'' Before he left he had given her a ring from his own hand and had bade her give it only to the man whose finger it would fit.

Eri Eri may refer to: People * Eri (biblical figure) * Eri (given name), a Japanese feminine given name, including lists of people and fictional characters * Eri (king), the progenitor of the Umu-Eri and Umu-Nri-Igbo ancient Nigerian city-states * ...

brought out the ring and put it on the finger of

and it fit him well. She and

and some of their followers then set out of the land of the

. At long last they came to that faraway land. Elatha the local King saw the ring on

’ hand and asked him the whole story and said that

was his own son. Elatha then asked

what it was that drove him out of his own country and his own kingship.

answered truthfully: “Nothing drove me out but my own injustice and my own hardness; I took away their treasures from the people and their jewels and their food itself. And there were never taxes put on them before I was their King. And still I am come to look for fighting men that I may take Ireland by force”. Elatha listened and then bade him go to the chief King of the

, Balar of the Evil Eye.'

Names

These are the names that Elatha has gone by and where that name stems from. * Elatha - T. W. Rolleston: ''Myths and Legends of Celtic Race'' * Elathan - Charles Squire: ''Mythology of the Celtic People'' * Elathan -

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Anglo-Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrot ...

: ''Gods and Fighting Men'' ''Elathan'' is used incorrectly by Squire and Lady Gregory, as ''Elathan'' is the genitive case of Elatha and means 'of Elatha'. According to Lady Gregory the etymology of ''Elatha'' is "art" or "knowledge" in the bardic sense. The name Elathan could also mean "(he) of the art" the ''n'' is justified in this case. This could explain why Ogma (inventor of the ogham script) is son of Elatha(n) (bardic knowledge). Elatha is called "glory of weapons" and "a wolf of division against men of plunder" in the

.''

'
§64

References

External links

'Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha de Danann and of the Fianna of Ireland' by Lady Gregory, 1905

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological) Fomorians Irish gods