Section 1 LORE
Part 1~Gods and Goddesses
Celtic~
Celtic gods and goddesses vary considerably because the Celts were not one unified body but a large conglomeration of culturally similar tribes that inhabited a large part of Europe and the British Isles. Among the variations between the tribes was the selection of Dieties that they worshipped. As the Celts were christianized a large number of the local tribal gods and goddesses were "transformed" into Catholic saints. While I won't go into it here, a study of the Catholic saints can prove very interesting when you keep in mind their true origins.
What I am naming here are those Celtic gods and goddesses that I am personally familiar with, and as someone will probably point out, there are many more, but the Celtic dieties are not my particular speciality and I am covering them as a starting point for further study.
Cernunnos~
God of the hunt, hunters and wild nature. He is often pictured as a large dark man with stags antlers sprouting from his head. Often called the the "God of the Witches" though other dieties wear that title as well. He represents wild, passionate animal emotions and is a lusty figure. The wild places are his and all animals heed his call. He is the god of the forest, far removed from the haunts of man.
Epona~
Goddess of mothers and horses.
Brigid or Brighid~
Goddess of poetry, fire and smiths. Imbolc or Candlemas is typically the day when Brigid is honored.
the Dagda~
God of the druids and Druid of the gods. Loosely could be called the king of the Celtic gods. He is credited with many various powers among them weather and crops. He is the God of tamed nature. He can be stern or comical, loving or disapproving, but always in moderation as a good father. He is said to possess a great bronze cauldron that is capable of providing infinite bounty and that also restores life to dead creatures place within it. Cauldrons were very important to the Celts who viewed them as a magickal representation of mother earth and many ornate cauldrons have been unearthed at Celtic archaelogical digs.
Manannan~
God of the sea. He is pictured as a mighty farmer and the oceans comprise his lands, the fish his cattle. He is a just god and respects those who venture on the seas wisely, but he is pitiless to those who do so foolishly.
Morrigan~
Goddess of war and battle.
Diancecht~
God of healers and healing. He cares for the sick and wounded, but is very jealous of his status as the chief healer. The idea that wounds should be cared for by those who inflicted them is credited to him.
Bel or Belenus~
God of the sun and fire. Beltaine(fire of Bel) is the festival named after him. Also another major god of the druids.
Lugh~
God of Warriors and patron of civilisation and the arts. Lugh is the God that is slain at Mabon and returns at Yule. He is the spirit in the corn and wheat and consort of the Goddess as Mother.
Ogma~
God of language and communication. Ogma taught the Celts to speak and persuade. The rune language called Ogham is named after him.
Brigantia~
Goddess of rivers and farming. She is the protectress of cattle and helps them grow and flourish. Rivers carry her blessing and healing.
As I said before there are many more, but this is all I can recall off the top of my head at this time.
Greek~
Probably the most familiar of western pantheons because of the Greek influence in the architecture, art, science, politics and philosophy of western culture. The Greek gods and goddesses were seen as having all the same faults and gifts as humans..but more so. Supernally beautiful, powerful and giving, they are also sometimes cruel and capricious and delight in playing with the lives of mortals, both for good and for ill.
Many traditional Wicca ceremonies that you might come across in books and websites are heavily based on the Greek pantheon and mythos.
Gaea~
Mother Earth, first of the Gods and mother of all that were to follow. As a diety she does not interact often with humans in the myths and when she does, she is seen to protect all of her children equally. This can seem bad if she chooses to favor an animal or another person over you, but it is hard for a mother to play favorites and her concern is always for the greatest good of everyone.
Uranus~
Father Sky, progenitor of all the later gods. He and Gaea were the parents of the Titans (of which there are a lot) and the Cyclops.
Cronos~
Eldest of the Titans and their ruler. With his Wife Rhea he was to produce the Olympian gods and goddesses.
Rhea~
Goddess and protectress of mothers and children. Cronos was so fearful of being supplanted by his children that he swallowed them immediately after they were born, until finally she was able to hide her last born child and fed Cronos a rock wrapped in a baby blanket instead and then raising the child Zeus in secret.
Prometheus~
One of the titans. He is called the" firebringer" and his name means "foresight". He is credited with creating humans from clay. He stole fire from the gods and brought it to man, so that humans would not be cold and afraid. For his "crime" Zeus chained him to a high mountain peak, where eagles came down daily and feasted on his liver which would regrow each night only to be eaten the next day. An archetypical "sacrificed" god.
Atlas~
Another titan. Charged with holding up the sky, famed for his strength.
Zeus~
King of the Olympian gods, and ruler of the sky and thunder. When he reached adulthood, he vanquished Cronos and caused him to vomit out his brothers and sisters that Cronos had swallowed (Hades, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon). Then he banished all but a few select Titans to Tartarus( deep underground) and sent the cyclopes to work in his forges to making his lightning bolts. Zeus is the archetypical sky god. Powerful and lusty, his rampant sexual exploits both with mortals and goddesses led to a wealth of lesser gods and goddesses, and heros. Among the divine children of Zeus (by Hera) Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, ( by himself) Athena, (by others) Dionysus, Aphrodite (though some accounts say that Aphrodite was either fathered by Poseidon or created from a mixture of sea foam and the blood of Uranus). And chief among his mortal children Heracles (aka Hercules)(go Kevin Sorbo..what a babe pant pant pant).(I love that show LOL).
Hera~
Queen of the gods. She is goddess of mothers and marriage and no woman or married woman might appeal to her in vain with one notable exception: she is chiefly noted for her insane rages over Zeus' infidelties and the cruel and unfair ways in which she punished both his lovers and the children they produced (At least Hercules the TV show got that bit right).
Demeter~
Goddess of the Harvest and nature. It is she who causes the plants to grow and produce fruit. Winter is caused by her mourning for her daughter Persephone, who must spend 3 months a year with Hades. When Persephone returns from the land of the dead, Demeter allows the earth to boom and spring returns.
Hades~
God of wealth and the dead. Not a mean or evil god, he is a just god though and ensures that each person's place in the underworld is appropriate to the actions they performed in life. His attribution as god of wealth comes from the fact that he knows all of the secrets of under the earth.
Poseidon~
God of the Sea. Seen as capricious and malevolent if not appropriately appeased (the Greeks were a major sea-faring people after all). Horses are said to be his special creation.
Ares~
God of War. A violent and destructive god who delights in war and strife.
Athena~
Goddess of Wisdom and Just warfare. Athena is said to have sprung full grown from Zeus' head without benefit of a mother. Her special animal is the owl.
Artemis~
Virgin Goddess of the hunt and wild creatures (compare to Cernnunos). She is twin to Apollo and is sometimes credited with being Goddess of the Moon. Along with Demeter(mother) and Hecate (crone), she is part of the "standard" triune Goddess. One of the myths concerning Artemis states that if any man saw her bathing naked she would turn him into a stag and hunt him to death. She is especial patroness of young animals and children.
Apollo~
God of Light and Music. Also god of the sun (though sometimes this is credited to Helios). He is also a lusty god and was renowned for chasing pretty maidens about.
Hecate~
Goddess of the dark moon and magick. She is the Crone aspect of the triune Goddess. Keeper of dark secrets and hidden lore.
Aphrodite~
Goddess of Love and Beauty. She is renowned for being very vain and sometimes severely punished those who dared to compare themselves to her (Medusa).
Well that's the major ones, there are scores of minor Greek dieties and I could write a book on all the myths (hundreds already have been), but my poor fingers are tired LOL.
Next Lecture~ Gods and Goddesses continued: American Indian & Norse
