Welsh Gods and Goddesses

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Welsh Gods

 


Amaethon

The Welsh god of agriculture.

 


Bran

A hero god and also the god of poetry and the underworld.
His name means 'raven'.

 


Belatu-Cadros

God of war and of the destruction of enemies.
His name means 'fair shining one'.
The Romans linked him with Mars.

 


Dewi

The official emblem of Wales, a red dragon, is derived from the Great Red Serpent, that once represented the god, Dewi.

 


Dylan

A sea god, brother of Lleu.
He was said to have slipped into the sea at birth, possibly in order to avoid the curses their mother, Arianrhod, placed upon them.

 


Gwydion

Was a warrior and magician god.
He was brother to Arianrhod.
There are various stories about him, the most well known, suggesting that he fathered Lleu and Dylan, or that he raised and passed on his knowledge to Lleu.

 


Lleu
(also Lleu Llaw Gyffes)

God of arts and crafts and also a hero god.
His name translates as 'the fair one has a skillful hand'.
Brother of Dylan, he was denied a name, by his mother, Arianrhod, who also would not allow him to bear arms, or to marry.  With help from Gwydion and Math, he overcame these curses and bypassed the third, when Math and Gwydion created for him a woman made of flowers, whose name was Bloduewedd.
He has similarities with the Irish god, Lugh.

 


Math

An eminent magician and lord of North Wales.
He was the brother of Don, the Welsh mother goddess.
Math could only rule when his feet were in the lap of a virgin, except when he was at war.
Returning from battle, he discovered that his foot-holder (Arianrhod) had been raped by his nephews.  Furious, he turned them first of all, into stag and a hind, then a boar and a sow and then a wolf and a she-wolf.

 


Pwyll

Prince of Dyfed (Southwest Wales), who married the goddess, Rhiannon and had a son, Pryderi. 

 

Welsh Goddesses

 


Arianrhod

Moon goddess.
Her name means 'silver wheel'.  She is the daughter of Don, sister of Gwydion.
Given the position of foot-holder to Math, and therefore supposedly a virgin, she nevertheless gave birth to Dylan and Lleu, taking her revenge on all men (see Math) by cursing the latter.
She is an aspect of the triple goddess.

 


Branwen

Goddess of love and beauty.
After the death of her brother, Bran, due to a war caused by her husband, the Irish king Matholwch, she died of a broken heart.
She is linked with the Greek goddess, Aphrodite and the Roman goddess, Venus.

 


Ceridwen

Best known in her aspect of the 'Dark Goddess'.  Her name means witch, or sorceress and as such, she was keeper of the Cauldron of Inspiration and Knowledge.
She is often described as the 'Old One', or Hag of Creation.
She is perceived as both creator and initiator.  She causes things to be reborn (changed, by having been given her protection) and at the same time, is in charge of the actual process of generation.
She has the power of knowing what is needed, whatever the circumstances.
She is connected with wolves and some believe that her cult dates to the Neolithic era.
Ceridwen corresponds to Brigit.

 


Cliodhna

Goddess of beauty.
She had three magical birds, who sang to the sick, sending them to sleep and curing them in the process.

 


Rhiannon

Believed to be the Welsh counterpart of the Gaulish horse goddess, Epona and the Irish goddess, Macha.
She was unjustly accused of killing her infant son and as punishment, was forced to act as a beast of burden and carry visitors to the royal court.  She was later vindicated.

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