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Blodeuwedd met Gronw Pebyr as
he hunted a stag near her home. They
are depicted here by British artist
Ernest Wallcousins for Charles Squire’s
1920 book, Celtic Myth & Legend.See also: The founding of Athens 58–59 ■ Arachne and the spider 115 ■ The voyage of Bran 165 ■ Cúchulainn 166–67NORTHERN EUROPE
death of Llew Llaw Gyffes. There
was one major obstacle for the
lovers: Llew’s immortality.Blodeuwedd’s betrayal
There seemed to be no way in
which Blodeuwedd’s husband could
be killed. He had previously told her
that he could not be killed during
the day or night, not indoors nor
outdoors, neither riding nor
walking, not clothed and not naked,
nor by any lawfully made weapon.
However, Blodeuwedd soon tricked
Llew into giving away the secret,and he revealed to her that he could
be killed at dusk, wrapped only in a
net, with one foot on a trough and
one on a goat, beside a river bank,
and by a special spear forged for
one year during the hours when
everyone should be at Mass.
Armed with this information,
Blodeuwedd arranged for Llew’s
demise. She and Gronw prepared
an ambush, but things did not go
according to plan. When Gronw
threw the spear, it hit Llew,
wounding him but not killing him.
In that split second, Llew turned
himself into an eagle and flew
away. Gwydion, Llew’s father,
eventually discovered the severely
wounded eagle perched high in an
oak tree. Realizing that the bird
was Llew, he transfigured his son
back into human form. Gwydion
and Math then nursed Llew back to
health, before mustering an army totake back his lands from Gronw
and Blodeuwedd. The latter fled,
but Gwydion hunted her down and
turned her into an owl. He told her
that she would never see the light
of day again and would be alone
for eternity. Her name would forever
be Blodeuwedd—which in the
modern Welsh language now
simply means “owl.” ■The reverse side of an ancient
Greek coin. This owl represented the
goddess Athena, whose head was
depicted on the other side.Owls
Regarded as sacred in many
cultures, the nocturnal owl is both
a symbol of wisdom—because it
can see in the dark—as well as of
death and spiritual renewal.
In ancient Welsh mythology,
these birds had a dark and
foreboding significance. Gwydion
turned Blodeuwedd into an owl
because, due to her plot to kill her
husband, he believed she should
never see the light of day again.
He knew that other birds—fearful
of owls—would attack her if she
appeared during daylight.Owls are also found in Irish
mythology. The heroine and
dark goddess Echtach was a
ghostly owl whose screeches
were heard in midwinter, after
sunset. She was said to haunt
the region where her sister
Echthge, a cannibal, lived.
Athena, the ancient Greek
goddess of wisdom and war,
was often depicted with a little
owl, which was regarded as a
good omen. The Roman goddess
of wisdom and arts, Minerva—
Athena’s counterpart—was
depicted with an owl perched
on her right hand.[Llew Llaw Gyffes] flew
up in the form of an eagle,
and gave a fearful scream.
Math fab MathonwyUS_170-171_Blodeuwedd.indd 171 01/12/17 4:23 pm