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 ...

, Ethniu (), or Eithne (

Modern Irish Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

pronunciation: ) in modern spelling, is the daughter of the Fomorian leader Balor, and the mother of

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 ...

. She is also referred to as Ethliu (modern Eithle), Eithlionn (genitive; modern Eithleann), and Ethlinn (dative; modern Eithlinn).

Name

Ethniu is a fine example of the difficulty of conducting research into Irish mythology. Her oldest version of her name is probably Ethliu or Ethniu, giving rise to the modern Irish name

Eithne Eithne is a female personal name of Irish origin, meaning "kernel" or "grain". Other spellings and earlier forms include Ethnea, Ethlend, Ethnen, Ethlenn, Ethnenn, Eithene, Ethne, Aithne, Enya, Ena, Edna, Etney, Eithnenn, Eithlenn, Eithna, Ethni ...

. However thanks to changes in the

Irish language Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...

, the lack of standardised spelling for many centuries, and attempts to anglicise the name, variations have arisen. Linguistic ignorance has further confused the issue: the

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

form of ''Ethniu'' is ''Ethnenn'' (modern ''Eithneann'') and the genitive of ''Ethliu'' is ''Ethlenn/Ethlinn'' (modern ''Eithleann/Eithlinn''), as in ''mac Ethlenn'' ("Ethliu's son"). This genitive has often been taken for a

nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of ...

, or a mistaken nominative has been inferred. Variations and anglicizations include: Ethnea, Eithliu, Ethlend, Ethnen, Ethlenn, Ethnenn, Ethne, Aithne, Enya, Lily, Aine, Ena, Etney, Eithnenn, Eithlenn, Eithna, Ethni, Edlend, and Edlenn. In the "Wooing of

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 fig ...

", we are told that Eithne's other name is Boand and in the

Banshenchas ''An Banshenchas'' (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent women in Irish legend and history into a poetic narrative. Unlike much of early Irish literature, ''An Banshenchas'' may be attrib ...

Ethniu's "true name" is revealed to be Feada.

Relationships

Eithne is the daughter of Balor and mother of

. In some traditions Eithne is the daughter of

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 ...

, the mother of 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' ...

and

Ogma OGMA – Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal S.A. is a Portuguese aerospace company focused on aircraft maintenance and manufacturing. History OGMA was founded as part of the reorganisation of the Portuguese Army's Aeronautic Service on June ...

, and the wife of

Nuada Airgetlám In Irish mythology, Nuada or Nuadu (modern spelling: Nuadha), known by the epithet Airgetlám (Airgeadlámh, meaning "silver hand/arm"), was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is also called Nechtan, Nuadu Necht and Elcmar, and is t ...

. In a variant version of the birth of

Aengus In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...

, she is the wife of

Elcmar In Irish mythology, Elcmar or Ecmar (modern spelling: Ealcmhar) is the husband of Boann and belongs to the divine Tuatha Dé Danann. It has been suggested that he is Nuada under another name, and he is sometimes confused with Nechtan, Boann's usu ...

who is seduced by the Dagda: as such she may be a double, and is explicitly named as such, of

Boann Boann or Boand (modern Irish spelling: Bónn) is the Irish goddess of the River Boyne (the river-name now always in the nominalised dative/prepositional case, Bóinn), a river in Ireland's historical fifth province, Meath (from Middle Irish '' ...

, who plays that role in the best-known version of the tale. Although in most texts she is a female figure, there are some in which Ethniu is a male name. In the ancient text ''Baile in Scáil'' ("The Phantom's Ecstatic Vision"), Lugh is said to the son of "Ethliu son of

Tigernmas Tigernmas, son of Follach, son of Ethriel, a descendant of Érimón, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical traditions, an early High King of Ireland. According to the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' he became king when he overthrew his ...

", or the son of "Ethniu son of Smretha son of Tigernmas". James Bonwick identifies Tigernmas, the king who introduced the worship of

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'', '' ...

, with Balor. R. A. Stewart Macalister also suggests that

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 ...

is originally a variant of Ethlenn arising from the frequent identification of Lugh as Lugh Mac Ethlenn (thus ''Mac Ethlenn'' → ''Mac Cethlenn'').

Mythology

Her union with Lugh's father, Cian (Cían) of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu (Irish 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 deity, ...

, is presented in early texts as a simple dynastic marriage, but later folklore preserves a more involved tale, similar to the birth of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

. A

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

recorded John O'Donovan in 1835 tells how Balor, in an attempt to avoid a druid's prophecy that he will be killed by his own grandson, imprisons Ethniu in a tower on

Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory (officially known by its Irish name ''Toraigh''),Toraigh/Tory Island
Mac Cinnfhaelaidh (Cían), whose magical cow Balor stole, gains access to Ethniu's tower, with the magical help of the ''

leanan sídhe The ' (; gd, leannan sìth, gv, lhiannan shee; ) is a figure from Irish Folklore. She is depicted as a beautiful woman of the ''Aos Sí'' ("people of the barrows") who takes a human lover. Lovers of the ''leannán sídhe'' are said to live brief ...

'' Biróg and seduces her. Ethniu gives birth to triplets, but Balor gathers them up in a sheet and sends a messenger to drown them in a whirlpool. The messenger drowns two of the babies, but unwittingly drops one in the harbour, where he is rescued by Biróg. She takes the child back to his father, who gives him to his brother, Gavida the smith, in

fosterage Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by ...

. The boy grows up to kill Balor. By comparison with texts like ''

Cath Maige Tuired ''Cath Maige Tuired'' (modern spelling: ''Cath Maighe Tuireadh''; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile T ...

'' and the ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'', the unnamed boy is evidently Lugh, and his father, Mac Cinnfhaelaidh, is a stand-in for Cian. The

states that her real name was Feada- "Feada was the real name of noble Ethne who was wife of strong stout Cain, and mother of Lug the impetuous superman, and daughter of swift smiting Balor son of Dod son of mighty Net a greater man than pleasant Hector. From him is famed the cairn at Ath Feindead because he fought a duel." The ''Fosterage of the Houses of the Two Methers'' has St. Patrick saying of Eithne:

I shall leave these virtues for the story of Eithne from the fair Maigue. Success in children, success in foster-sister or brother, to those it may find sleeping with fair women. If you tell of the fosterage before going in a ship or vessel, you will come safe and prosperous without danger from waves and billows. If you tell of the fosterage (before going to a) judgment or a hunting, your case will be (prosperous), all will be submissive before you. To tell the story of Eithne when bringing home a stately wife, good the step you have decided on, it will be a success of spouse and children. Tell the story of noble Ethne before going into a new banqueting house, (you will be) without bitter fight or folly, without the drawing of valiant, pointed weapons. Tell to a king of many followers the story of Ethne to a musical instrument, he gets no cause to repent it, provided he listen without conversation. If you tell this story to the captives of Ireland, it will be the same as if were opened their locks and their bonds.

Popular culture

* Ethniu is the primary antagonist of ''

Peace Talks A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or i ...

'' and '' Battle Ground'' (2020) by

Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary fantasy '' The Dresden Files'', '' Codex Alera'', and '' Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971 ...

, where she spearheads a Fomor invasion of Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethniu Mythological cycle Fomorians Irish goddesses