List of Celtic deities

List of Celtic deities

The Celtic deities are known from a variety of sources such as written Celtic mythology, ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, religious objects, as well as place and personal names.

Celtic deities can belong to two categories: general and local. General deities were known by the Celts throughout large regions, and are the gods and goddesses called upon for protection, healing, luck, and honour. The local deities from Celtic nature worship were the spirits of a particular feature of the landscape, such as mountains, trees, or rivers, and thus were generally only known by the locals in the surrounding areas.

After Celtic lands became Christianised, there were attempts by Christian writers to euhemerize most of the pre-Christian deities. Some scholars have suggested that a few others, such as Brigit, may have become Saints in the Church. The Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology, who were commonly interpreted as divinities or deified ancestors, were downgraded in Christian writing to fallen or ‘half-fallen’ angels, historical men, or demons; the latter has been the most common Christian view on most pagan deities. In many cases, traditions or practices, such as the reverence of holy wells, which often became baptismals, and most of which predate the coming of Christianity, that were considered redeemable were co-opted or reinterpreted as Christian.

Ancient Gallic deities

List of Celtic deities

The Gauls inhabited the region corresponding to modern-day France, Belgium, Switzerland, southern and western Germany, Luxembourg and northern Italy. They spoke Gallic. The Celtic Britons inhabited most of the island of Great Britain and spoke Common Brittonic or British.

Iberian Celtic deities

List of Celtic deities

The Celtiberians and Gallaecians were ancient Celtic peoples in Iberia. They spoke Hispano-Celtic languages.

Gaelic deities and characters

List of Celtic deities

The Gaels inhabit Ireland, the Isle of Man and most of western and northern Scotland. They speak the Goidelic languages.

Brythonic deities and characters

List of Celtic deities

The Brythonic peoples, descendants of the Celtic Britons, inhabit western Britain (mainly Strathclyde, Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall) and Brittany. They speak the Brythonic languages.

Works cited

List of Celtic deities

• Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A. (2004). Handbook to life in ancient Rome (Updated ed.). New York: Facts on file. p. 283. ISBN 0-8160-5026-0. • Anwyl, Edward (1906). Celtic Religion in Pre-Christian Times. Andover-Harvard Theological Library. • Arenas-Esteban, J. Alberto (2010). Celtic religion across space and time: fontes epigraphici religionvm celticarvm antiqvarvm. Toledo: Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha. ISBN 978-84-7788-589-4. • de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (2003). "Die sprachliche Analyse keltischer Theonyme". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 53 (1): 41–69. doi:10.1515/ZCPH.2003.41. S2CID 201278751. • Coulter, Charles Russell; Turner, Patricia (2000). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1-57958-270-2. • Dimitz, August. History of Carniola. Vol. I. • Dorcey, Peter F. (1992). The cult of Silvanus: a study in Roman folk religion. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-09601-9. • Freeman, Philip (2017). Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes. Oxford UP. ISBN 978-0-19-046047-1. • "Greek & Roman Mythology - Tools". http://www.classics.upenn.edu/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php?regexp=RHEA&method=standard. • Green, Miranda Jane (1993). Celtic myths. Austin: U of Texas P. ISBN 0-292-72754-2. • Keating, Geoffrey (1857). The History of Ireland from the Earliest Period to the English Invasion. P. M. Haverty. • Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-440-7. • Kos, Marjeta Šašel (2008). "Dedicanti e Cultores nelle Reliogione Celtiche: A cura di Antonio Sartori" [Celtic divinities from Celeia and its territory: who were the dedicators?]. Quaderni di Acme. 104. CISALPINO: Istituto Editoriale Universitario. Milano: 284–86. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) • Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods, goddesses, devils and demons (2 ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-34018-7. • MacCulloch, J. A. (1911). The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Edinburgh: Clark. ISBN 9780524009307. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) • Mees, Bernard (2009). Celtic Curses. Boydell. ISBN 9781843834571. • Murley, Joseph Clyde (1922). The Cults of Cisalpine Gaul as Seen in the Inscriptions. The Collegiate Press. • Nicholson, Edward Williams Byron (1904). Keltic researches: Studies in the History and Distribution of the Ancient Goidelic Language and Peoples. Oxford UP. • Olivares Olivares Pedreño, Juan Carlos (2005). "Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula". E-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies. 6: 607–649. • Rankin, David (1998). Celts and the classical world. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15090-6. • Roymans, Nico; Derks, Ton, eds. (2009). Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition. Amsterdam: Amsterdam UP. ISBN 978-90-8964-078-9. • Williams, Mark Andrew (2016). Ireland's Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth. Princeton UP. ISBN 9780691157313.