檢視凱爾特神話的原始碼

{{凱爾特神話}}
'''凱爾特神話（Celtic mythology）'''是[[凱爾特多神信仰]]的[[神話學]]的一環，是[[凱爾特民族]]在[[鐵器時代]]的信仰。就如其他鐵器時代的歐洲民族般，早期的[[凱爾特民族]]也擁有[[多神信仰]]的信仰結構。其中凱爾特民族比如[[高盧人]]和[[凱爾特伊比利亞人]]與羅馬有複雜關係，所以他們的神話並沒有在[[羅馬帝國]]中幸存。最後其轉變成爲[[基督教]]，也在其中失去了凱爾特語言。諷刺的是，大部分人認爲同一時期的羅馬及基督教出處透露著他們的神話得到了保存。凱爾特民族保留著由其祖先信仰中殘留的政治或語言特性（例如[[蓋爾人]]和[[不列顛群島]]的[[布立吞亞支]]部落），從[[中世紀]]開始訴諸文字。

==概述==
儘管凱爾特在頂峰時代幾乎覆蓋整個西歐和中歐，但是他們沒有達到政治上的統一也沒有任何實質的文化中央或共同的中心。結果導致當地的[[凱爾特信仰]]一個很大的變化。雖然擁有與羅馬幾乎相同數量——超過三百座碑刻銘文的遺留物，但是大部分都是[[守護神]]、地方或部落的神明，很少有得到廣泛信仰的（少部分如太陽神魯格Lugh幾乎在所有凱爾特信仰中都有出現）。然而在這些僅存的凱爾特神話中，還是有可能發現共同性，也有可能隱含著一些比現在被相信的更統一的眾神。

這些古老神明的種類和職能可以從祂們的名字、銘文的位子、神祇插畫、相對的[[羅馬神話]]諸神和與後來的凱爾特神話相似的模型中推斷出來。

凱爾特神話的發現主要是來自於一些[[凱爾特語言]]中有相關的分支：
*古凱爾特信仰（主要通過考古發現而非書面流傳的神話；參考[[:Category:古高盧及大不列顛神|古高盧及大不列顛神]]）
*[[蓋爾亞支]]（Goidelic）語言中的神話。主要的代表是[[蓋爾神話]]（Gaelic mythology）（參考[[蘇格蘭神話]]及[[愛爾蘭神話]]）
**愛爾蘭神話故事（Mythological）
**[[阿爾斯特神話]]（Ulster）
**[[芬尼安神話]]（Fenian）
**歷史基礎的神話（Historical）
*[[布立吞亞支]]（Brythonic）語言中的神話。主要的代表是[[威爾士神話]]（Welsh mythology）（參考[[:Category:大不列顛神話及民間故事|大不列顛神話及民間故事]]）

==Historical sources==
Because of the scarcity of surviving materials bearing written [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]], it is surmised that the pagan Celts were not widely literate&mdash; although a written form of Gaulish using the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Old Italic alphabet|North Italic]] alphabets was used (as evidenced by votive items bearing inscriptions in Gaulish and the [[Coligny Calendar]]). Caesar attests to the literacy of the Gauls, but also wrote that their priests, the [[druids]], were forbidden to use writing to record certain verses of religious significance (Caesar, ''De Bello Gallico'' 6.14) while also noting that the Helvetii had a written census (Caesar, De Bello Gallico 1.29).

Rome introduced a more widespread habit of public inscriptions, and broke the power of the druids in the areas it conquered; in fact, most inscriptions to [[deity|deities]] discovered in [[Gaul]] (modern [[France]]), [[Roman Britain|Britain]] and other formerly (or presently) Celtic-speaking areas post-date the Roman conquest. 

And although early Gaels in Ireland and parts of modern [[Wales]] used the [[Ogham]] script to record short inscriptions (largely personal names), more sophisticated literacy was not introduced to Celtic areas that had not been conquered by Rome until the advent of [[Christianity]]; indeed, many Gaelic myths were first recorded by Christian [[monks]], albeit without most of their original religious meanings.

==The mythology of Ireland==
{{main|Irish mythology}}
The oldest body of myths is found in [[Early Middle Ages|early medieval]] [[manuscripts]] from [[Ireland]]. These were written by Christians, so the formerly divine nature of the characters is obscured. The basic myth appears to be a war between two apparently divine races, the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and the [[Fomorians]], which forms the basis for the text ''[[Cath Maige Tuireadh]]'' (the Battle of Mag Tuireadh), as well as portions of the history-focused ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' (the Book of Invasions). The Tuatha Dé represent the functions of human society such as kingship, crafts and war, while the Fomorians represent chaos and wild nature.

===The Dagda===
The supreme god of the Irish [[wiktionary:pantheon|pantheon]] appears to have been [[The Dagda]]. The name means the 'Good God', not good in a moral sense, but good at everything, or all-powerful. The Dagda is a father-figure, a protector of the tribe and the basic Celtic god of whom other male Celtic deities were variants. Celtic gods were largely unspecialised entities, and perhaps more like a clan rather than as a formal pantheon. In a sense, all the Celtic gods and goddesses were like the Greek [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]], who could never be described as the god of any one thing.

Because the particular character of Dagda is a figure of burlesque lampoonery in Irish mythology, some authors conclude that he was trusted to be benevolent (or ineffectual) enough to tolerate a joke at his expense.

Irish tales depict the Dagda as a figure of power, armed with a spear and associated with a [[cauldron]]. In [[Dorset]] there is a famous outline of an [[ithyphallic]] giant known as the [[Cerne Abbas Giant]] with a club cut into the chalky soil. While this was probably produced in relatively modern times ([[English Civil War]] era), it was long thought to be a representation of the Dagda. This has been called into question by recent studies which show that there may have been a representation of what looks like a large drapery hanging from the horizontal arm of the figure, leading to suspicion that this figure actually represents [[Hercules]]([[Heracles]]), with the skin of the [[Nemean Lion]] over his arm and carrying the club he used to kill it.  In [[Gaul]], it is speculated that the Dagda is associated with [[Sucellos]], the striker, equipped with a hammer and cup.

===The Morrígan===
The [[Morrígan]] was a tripartite battle goddess of the ancient Irish Celts. Collectively she was known as the Morrígan, but her divisions were also referred to as [[Nemhain]], [[Macha (Irish mythology)|Macha]], and [[Badb]] (among other, less common names), with each representing different aspects of combat. She is most commonly known for her involvement in the ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'', where she is at various times a helper and a hindrance to the hero [[Cúchulainn]], and in the ''Cath Maige Tuireadh'' (the Battle of [[Magh Tuiredh|Mag Tuired]]) where she also plays the role of a poet, magician and sovereignty figure, and gives the victory to the Tuatha Dé Danann. She was most often represented as a crow or [[raven]] but could take many different forms, including a cow, wolf or [[eel]]. The Morrígan can be compared to other [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] goddesses of death such as [[Kali]] in the [[Hindu]] pantheon and the [[Valkyries]] in [[Norse Mythology]].

===Lúgh/Lug===
The widespread diffusion of the god [[Lugus]] (seemingly related to the mythological figure [[Lugh]] in Irish) in Celtic religion is apparent from the number of place names in which his name appears, occurring across the Celtic world from Ireland to Gaul. The most famous of these are the cities of [[Lugdunum]] (the modern French city of [[Lyon]]) and Lugdunum Batavorum (the modern city of [[Leiden]]). Lug is described in the Celtic myths as a latecomer to the list of deities, and is usually described as having the appearance of a young man. He is often associated with light, the sun, and summer. His weapons were the throwing-spear and [[sling (weapon)|sling]], and in Ireland a festival called the [[Lughnasa]] (Modern Irish ''lúnasa'') was held in his honour.

===Others===
Among these are the goddess [[Brigid]] (or Brigit), the Dagda's daughter; nature goddesses like [[Tailtiu]] and [[Macha (Irish mythology)|Macha]]; [[Epona]], the horse goddess; and [[Ériu]]. 
Male gods included [[Goibniu]], the [[Smith (metalwork)|smith]] god and immortal brewer of [[beer]].

==The mythology of Wales==
{{main|Welsh mythology}}
Less is known about the pre-Christian mythologies of [[Prehistoric Britain|Britain]] than those of [[Prehistoric Ireland|Ireland]].  Important reflexes of British mythology appear in the [[Mabinogion|Four Branches of The Mabinogi]], especially in the names of several characters, such as [[Rhiannon]] (‘the Divine Queen’), [[Teyrnon]] (‘the Divine King’), and [[Bran the Blessed|Bendigeidfran]] (‘Bran [Crow] the Blessed’).  Other characters, in all likelihood, derive from mythological sources, and various episodes, such as the appearance of [[Arawn]], a king of the Otherworld seeking the aid of a mortal in his own feuds, and the tale of the hero who cannot be killed except under seemingly contradictory circumstances, can be traced throughout Indo-European myth and legend.  The children of [[Llŷr]] (‘Sea’ = Irish [[Lir]]) in the Second and Third Branches, and the children of [[Dôn]] ([[Danu]] in Irish and earlier Indo-European tradition) in the Fourth Branch are major figures, but the tales themselves are not primary mythology.

While further mythological names and references appear elsewhere in Welsh narrative and tradition, especially in the tale of [[Culhwch and Olwen]], where we find, for example, [[Mabon ap Modron]] (‘the Divine Son of the Divine Mother’), and in the collected [[Welsh Triads|Triads of the Island of Britain]], not enough is known of the British mythological background to reconstruct either a narrative of creation or a coherent pantheon of British deities.  Indeed, though there is much in common with Irish myth, there may have been no unified British mythological tradition per se.  Whatever its ultimate origins, the surviving material has been put to good use in the service of literary masterpieces that address the cultural concerns of [[Wales]] in the early and later Middle Ages.

==Remnants of Gaulish and other mythology==
The Celts also worshipped a number of deities of which we know little more than [[list of Celtic deities|their names]]. Classical writers preserve a few fragments of legends or myths that may possibly be Celtic.<ref name="Duval">Paul-Marie Duval. 1993. ''Les dieux de la Gaule.'' Éditions Payot, Paris. ISBN 2-228-88621-1. pp.94-98.</ref>

According to the Syrian rhetorician [[Lucian]], [[Ogmios]] was supposed to lead a band of men chained by their ears to his tongue as a symbol of the strength of his eloquence.

The Roman poet [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]] (1st century AD) mentions the gods [[Taranis]], [[Toutatis|Teutates]] and [[Esus]], but there is little Celtic evidence that these were important deities.

A number of objets d'art, coins, and altars may depict scenes from lost myths, such as the representations of [[Tarvos Trigaranus]] or of an equestrian ‘[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]’ surmounting a [[:fr:Anguipède|snake-legged human-like figure]]. The [[Gundestrup cauldron]] has been also interpreted mythically.<ref>[[G.S. Olmsted]]. "The Gundestrup version of Táin Bó Cuailnge". ''[[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]]'', vol. 50, pp. 95-103.</ref>

Along with dedications giving us god names, there are also deity representations to which no name has yet been attached.  Among these are images of a three headed or three faced god, a squatting god, a god with a snake, a god with a wheel, and a horseman with a kneeling giant.<ref name="Powell">Powell, T.G.E. The Celts. Thames & Hudson, London. 1958.</ref>   Some of these images can be found in [[Bronze Age|Late Bronze Age]] [[Bog|peat bogs]] in Britain,<ref name="Chadwick">Chadwick, Nora. The Celts. Pelican Books. 1970.</ref> indicating the symbols were both pre-Roman and widely spread across Celtic culture. The distribution of some of the images has been mapped and shows a pattern of central concentration of an image along with a wide scatter indicating these images were most likely attached to specific tribes and were distributed from some central point of tribal concentration outward along lines of trade. The image of the three headed god has a central concentration among the Belgae, between the Oise, Marne and Moselle rivers. The horseman with kneeling giant is centered on either side of the Rhine. These examples seem to indicate regional preferences of a common image stock.<ref name="Powell"/> 

===Julius Caesar’s comments on Celtic religion and their significance===
The classic entry about the Celtic gods of Gaul is the section in [[Julius Caesar]]'s ''[[De Bello Gallico|Commentarii de bello Gallico]]'' (52–51 BC; The Gallic War). In this he names the five principal gods worshipped in Gaul (according to the [[interpretatio romana|practice of his time]], he gives the names of the closest equivalent Roman gods) and describes their roles. [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] was the most venerated of all the deities and numerous representations of him were to be discovered. Mercury was seen as the originator of all the arts (and is often taken to refer to [[Lugus]] for this reason), the supporter of adventurers and of traders, and the mightiest power concerning trade and profit. Next the Gauls revered [[Apollo]], [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], and [[Minerva]]. Among these divinities the Celts are described as holding roughly equal views as did other populations: Apollo dispels sickness, Minerva encourages skills, Jupiter governs the skies, and Mars influences warfare. In addition to these five, he mentions that the Gauls traced their ancestry to [[Dis Pater]].

===The problem with Caesar’s ‘equivalent’ Roman gods===
As typical of himself as a Roman of the day, though, Caesar does not write of these gods by their Celtic names but by the names of the Roman gods with which he [[interpretatio romana|equated them]], a process that significantly confuses the chore of identifying these Gaulish gods with their native names in the insular mythologies. He also portrays a tidy schema which equates deity and role in a manner that is quite unfamiliar to the colloquial literature handed down. Still, despite the restrictions, his short list is a helpful and fundamentally precise observation. In balancing his description with the [[oral tradition]], or even with the Gaulish iconography, one is apt to recollect the distinct milieus and roles of these gods. Caesar's remarks and the iconography allude to rather dissimilar phases in the history of Gaulish religion. The iconography of Roman times is part of a setting of great social and political developments, and the religion it depicts may actually have been less obviously ordered than that upheld by the druids (the priestly order) in the era of Gaulish autonomy from Rome. Conversely, the want of order is often more ostensible than factual. It has, for example, been noticed that out of the several hundred names including a Celtic aspect that can be found in Gaul the greater part crop up only once. This has led some scholars to conclude that the Celtic deities and the related cults were local and tribal as opposed to pan-Celtic. Proponents of this opinion quote Lucan's reference to a divinity called [[Teutates]], which they translate as “tribal spirit” (''*teuta'' is believed to have meant “tribe” in Proto-Celtic). The apparent array of divine names may, nonetheless, be justified differently: many may be mere epithets applied to key gods worshiped in extensive pan-Celtic cults. The concept of the Celtic pantheon as a large number of local deities is gainsaid by certain well-testified gods whose cults seem to have been followed across the Celtic world.

==See also==
* [[Druid]]
* [[Gundestrup cauldron]]
* [[Triskele]]

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/><br>

*de Vries, Jan, ''Keltische Religion'' (1961)
*Duval, Paul-Marie, ''Les Dieux de la Gaule'', new ed. updated and enlarged (1976). 
*Green, Miranda J. ''Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend'' New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992. ISBN 0-500-27975-6.
*MacCana, Proinsias. ''Celtic Mythology''. New York: Hamlyn, 1970. ISBN 0-600-00647-6.
*Mac Cana, Proinsias, ''The Learned Tales of Medieval Ireland'' (Irish Literature - Studies), Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1980): ISBN 1-85500-120-9 
*MacKillop, James. ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-280120-1.
*Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit.''  New World Library, 2002.  ISBN 1-57731-190-6.
*O'Rahilly, Thomas F. ''Early Irish History and Mythology'' (1946, reissued 1971)
*Rhys, John, ''Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom'' 3rd ed. (1898, reprinted 1979).
*Sjoestedt, M. L. ''Gods and Heroes of the Celts''. 1949; translated by Myles Dillon. repr. Berkeley, CA: Turtle Press, 1990. ISBN 1-85182-179-1.
*Stercks, Claude, ''Éléments de cosmogonie celtique'' (1986)
*Vendryès, Joseph, Ernest Tonnelat, and B.-O. Unbegaun ''Les Religions des Celtes, des Germains et des anciens Slaves'' (1948).
*Wood, Juliette ''The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art'' Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN 0-00-764059-5
</div>

==External links==
{{commonscat|Celtic deities}}
*[http://www.unc.edu/celtic/catalogue/Gundestrup/kauldron.html Celtic Art & Cultures]: a detailed description of the [[Gundestrup cauldron]]
*[http://draeconin.com/database/celtreli.htm Celtic Religion - What Information do we really have]
*[http://www.pretanicworld.com/Pantheons.html Pretanic World - Celtic Pantheons]
*[http://www.conjure.com/whocelts.html What We Don't Know About the Ancient Celts]

{{Celtic mythology topics|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Celts|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Celtic mythology| ]]
[[Category:Indo-European mythology]]