been a male celestial god—identified with Taranis—associated with thunder, the wheel, and the
bull.[175] There were gods of skill and craft, such as the pan-regional god Lugus, and the smith
god Gobannos.[175] Celtic healing deities were often associated with sacred springs,[175] such
as Sirona and Borvo. Other pan-regional deities include the horned god Cernunnos, the horse and
fertility goddess Epona, the divine son Maponos, as well as Belenos, Ogmios, and Sucellos.[172][174] Caesar
says the Gauls believed they all descended from a god of the dead and underworld.[172] Triplicity is a
common theme in Celtic cosmology, and a number of deities were seen as threefold,[176] for example the
Three Mothers.[177]
Greco-Roman writers say the Celts believed in reincarnation. Diodorus says they believed souls were
reincarnated after a certain number of years, probably after spending time in an afterlife, and noted
they buried grave goods with the dead.[178]
Celtic religious ceremonies were overseen by priests known as druids, who also served as judges,
teachers, and lore-keepers. Other classes of druids performed sacrifices for the perceived benefit of the
community.[179] There is evidence that ancient Celtic peoples sacrificed animals, almost
always livestock or working animals. It appears some were offered wholly to the gods (by burying or
burning), while some were shared between gods and humans (part eaten and part offered).[180] There is
also some evidence that ancient Celts sacrificed humans, and some Greco-Roman sources claim the
Gauls sacrificed criminals by burning them in a wicker man.[181]
The Romans said the Celts held ceremonies in sacred groves and other natural shrines,
called nemetons.[172] Some Celtic peoples built temples or ritual enclosures of varying shapes (such as
the Romano-Celtic temple and viereckschanze), though they also maintained shrines at natural
sites.[172] Celtic peoples often made votive offerings: treasured items deposited in water and wetlands,
or in ritual shafts and wells, often in the same place over generations.[172] Modern clootie wells might be
a continuation of this.[182]
Insular Celtic mythology
Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples: Irish mythology has the largest
written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology. These were written down in the early Middle
Ages, mainly by Christian scribes.
The supernatural race called the Tuatha Dé Danann are believed to represent the main Celtic gods of
Ireland. Their traditional rivals are the Fomóire, whom they defeat in the Battle of Mag Tuired .[183] Barry
Cunliffe says the underlying structure in Irish myth was a dualism between the male tribal god and the
female goddess of the land.[172] The Dagda seems to have been the chief god and the Morrígan his
consort, each of whom had other names.[172] One common motif is the sovereignty goddess, who
represents the land and bestows sovereignty on a king by marrying him. The goddess Brigid was linked
with nature as well as poetry, healing and smithing.[176]
Some figures in medieval Insular Celtic myth have ancient continental parallels: Irish Lugh and
Welsh Lleu are cognate with Lugus, Goibniu and Gofannon with Gobannos, Macán and Mabon with
Maponos, while Macha and Rhiannon may be counterparts of Epona.[184]
In Insular Celtic myth, the Otherworld is a parallel realm where the gods dwell. Some mythical heroes
visit it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, by going under water or across the western sea, or
after being offered a silver apple branch by an Otherworld resident.[185] Irish myth says that the spirits of