In
Irish mythology, (modern spelling: , meaning 'delightful plain')
is one of the names for the
Celtic Otherworld, a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory. Unlike the
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
in some mythologies, was a pleasurable paradise, identified as either an island far to the west of Ireland or a kingdom beneath the ocean. However, was similar to the fields of
Elysium
Elysium (), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields (, ''Ēlýsion pedíon''), Elysian Plains or Elysian Realm, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cult ...
in Greek mythology, and similarly was accessible only to a select few. Furthermore, , like the numerous other mystical islands said to be off the coast of Ireland, was never explicitly stated in any surviving mythological account to be an afterlife. Rather, it is usually portrayed as a paradise populated by deities, which is occasionally visited by some adventurous mortals. In its island guise, it was visited by various legendary Irish heroes and monks, forming the basis of the adventure myth or as defined by
Myles Dillon in his book ''Early Irish Literature''. This otherworld is a place where sickness and death do not exist, a place of eternal youth and beauty. Here, music, strength, life, and all pleasurable pursuits come together in a single place. Here, happiness lasts forever, and no one wants for food or drink. It is something of an Irish equivalent to the
Valhalla of the Norse as well as the Elysium of the Greeks.
Legends say its ruler is the sea god
Manannán mac Lir, or less often the
Fomorian King
Tethra. 's allure extended from the pagan era to Christian times. In later stories, the realm is less an otherworld destination than an
earthly paradise which adventurers could reach by traveling west from Ireland, often blown off course by providential tempests while on an inspired mission. They typically explore many other fantastic islands before reaching their destination and returning home (or sailing on). Among these legendary voyagers are
St. Brendan, , and .
See also
*
*
*
*
Avalon
*
*
Fortunate Isles
*
Heaven
Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
*
Hy-Brasil
*
*
References
*
{{Irish mythology (mythological)
Conceptions of heaven
Fictional countries
Irish mythology
Places in Celtic mythology
Mythical utopias
Mythological islands