CELTIC gods: names and meanings

The huge amount of polytheistic religions Throughout history they have formed hundreds of interesting pantheons whose analysis and study has been treated over decades. To talk about the deities of one of the most important cultures and of those that are kept the most mysteries in this lesson from a PROFESSOR, let's talk about the Celtic gods: names and meanings.

The celtic mythology is a set of stories belonging to the celtic peoplesThese being a group of tribes that inhabited Europe during the Iron Age and whose language was the Celtic languages.

We must bear in mind that the great antiquity of this culture means that we do not have too much data on mythology, not being many sources that have survived to this day and therefore we must work with a series of imprecise elements that we cannot be sure of.

Characteristics of Celtic mythology

To better understand what Celtic mythology is, we must talk about its main characteristics, to better understand its key elements. Therefore the main characteristics of the Celtic gods are the following:

• The Celtic cult was in charge of the so-called druids, being a kind of priests, occupying a very important part of Celtic society.
• Celtic gods are often related to natural elements like mountains or rivers.
• It was one polytheistic mythology, that is to say, its pantheon was made up of numerous gods.
• It was a very broad mythology, since Celtic culture had a great expansion on the part of Europe, existing in each of these areas different deities with greater or lesser importance.
• Disappeared with the arrival of Rome, although it is thanks to their texts that we currently have data on the existence of Celtic culture.

To talk about the Celtic gods we must bear in mind that there are certain places where the importance of religion was greater and where we have more sources, so it is necessary that we talk about the gods of the most relevant places such as in Ireland.

Dagda

He considered as the supreme god of the Irish Celts in considered the god of the Druids, of the elements and of knowledge. His name comes from the word Dagodeiwos and means good god, since his presence as the supreme god of the Celts and his relationship with the Druids make him a key deity of the Celts.

Bleat

Balar was a Celtic god who was considered to be part of the giants of Celtic mythology, being a very powerful group and related to the Celtic gods. Considered as the king of Celtic demons he possessed an eye that when opened it was said that he could destroy all, which is thought to have been located in the back of the head to hide it from enemies.

Morrigan

Morrigan was the Celtic goddess who incited men to fight wars, she being the goddess of death and destruction. Her name means "the queen of ghosts" being a name very consistent with the abilities of the deity, since he ruled over the ghosts arising from the deaths of soldiers in the wars that she herself created.

Brigid

The great Celtic goddess of fire and poetry is the daughter of the god Dagda. Her name Brigid can mean both height, eminence and exalted. She is also considered as the goddess of improvisation, being she important to all facets of life that need this.

Epona

She is the Celtic goddess of horses and nature, being at the same time the goddess of healing and death. She is one of the Celtic deities that has had the greatest representation over the years, her name being especially known by characters of modern narrative.

To finish this lesson on the names and meanings of Celtic gods, we must talk about the main deities that make up the pantheon in other areas.

Cernunnos

He is a Celtic god characterized by having deer horns, being the main attributions of him the fertility, the protection of wild animals, and everything that is related to the abundance. It is important in Spain since representations of him have been found in the Soria area.

Belenus

The name of Belenus means in the language of the Celts brilliant, being closely related to the aptitudes of this god, since among his Attributions were the Sun, light and fire, all these elements being key for the Celts due to their importance and renewal capacity.

Teutates

Also known as Tutatis and being a very important deity also for the Gauls, being especially related to the Gallic tribes, since his unity was its main attribute. She was worshiped by many Gallic tribes as her main god, this being especially known from the stories of Asterix in which she is one of the most named gods by Gallic characters.

Taranis

With a great presence in Wales, Gaul and Hispania, this Gallic deity has among its main attributions thunder, the light, the sky, everything that causes a noise and also works as the roulette wheel that changes the day and the night. Its main presence takes place in the north of Hispania, being the Asturians who gave it the most importance.