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Celtic Gods and Goddesses

By , About.com Guide

The Druid priests of the Celts did not write down the stories of their gods and goddesses, but instead transmitted them orally, so our knowledge of the early Celtic deities is limited. Romans of the first century B.C. recorded the Celtic myths and then later, after the introduction of Christianity to the British Isles, the Irish monks of the 6th century and Welsh writers later wrote down their traditional stories.

1. Alator

The Celtic god Alator was associated with Mars, the Roman war god. His name is said to mean "he who nourishes the people".

2. Albiorix

The Celtic god Albiorix was associated with Mars as Mars Albiorix. Albiorix is the "king of the world."

3. Belenus

Belenus is a Celtic god of healing worshiped from Italy to Britain. The worship of Belenus was linked with the healing aspect of Apollo. The etymology of Beltaine may be connected with Belenus. Belenus is also written: Bel, Belenos, Belinos, Belinu, Bellinus, and Belus.

4. Borvo

Borvo (Bormanus, Bormo) was a Gallic god of healing springs whom the Romans associated with Apollo. He is depicted with helmet and shield.

5. Bres

Bres was a Celtic fertility god, the son of the Fomorian prince Elatha and the goddess Eriu. Bres married the goddess Brigid. Bres was a tyrannical ruler, which proved his undoing. In exchange for his life, Bres taught agriculture and made Ireland fertile.

6. Brigantia

British goddess connected with river and water cults, equated with Minerva, by the Romans and possibly linked with the goddess Brigit.

7. Brigit

Brigit is the Celtic goddess of fire, healing, fertility, poetry, cattle, and patroness of smiths. Brigit is also known as Brighid or Brigantia and in Christianity is known as St. Brigit or Brigid. She is compared with the Roman goddesses Minerva and Vesta.

8. Ceridwen

Ceridwen is a Celtic shape-shifting goddess of poetic inspiration. She keeps a cauldron of wisdom. She is the mother of Taliesin.

9. Cernunnos

Cernunnos is a horned god associated with fertility, nature, fruit, grain, the underworld, and wealth, and especially associated with horned animals like the bull, stag, and a ram-headed serpent. Cernunnos is born at the winter solstice and dies at the summer solstice. Julius Caesar associated Cernunnos with the Roman Underworld god Dis Pater.

Source: "Cernunnos" A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. James McKillop. Oxford University Press, 1998.

10. Epona

Epona is a Celtic horse goddess associated with fertility, a cornucopia, horses, asses, mules, and oxen who accompanied the soul on its final journey. Uniquely for the Celtic goddesses, the Romans adopted her and erected a temple to her in Rome.
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