The Celts believed in omens. [citation needed] While this was probably produced in relatively modern times (English Civil War era), it was long thought to be a representation of the Dagda. From the 3rd century bc 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. [45] According to Cassius Dio, Boudica's forces impaled Roman captives during her rebellion against the Roman occupation, to the accompaniment of revelry and sacrifices in the sacred groves of Andate. The archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believed that the Celts held "reverence for the power of the head" and that "to own and display a distinguished head was to retain and control the power of the dead person"[52] while the archaeologist Anne Ross asserted that "the Celts venerated the head as a symbol of divinity and the powers of the otherworld, and regarded it as the most important bodily member, the very seat of the soul. [1] Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Nonetheless, the interpretation of this evidence can be coloured by the 21st century mindset. [8] Along with dedications giving us god names, there are also deity representations to which no name has yet been attached. The Tuatha Dé represent the function… [40], The Celts made votive offerings to their deities, which were buried in the earth or thrown into rivers or bogs. But most were little deities. This gave rise to a characteristic Gallo-Roman fanum, identifiable in archaeology from its concentric shape. Another example is Gaulish Brigantia, cognate with Irish Brigid. The evidence from Ireland has been recognised as better than that from Wales, being viewed as "both older and less contaminated from foreign material. The Celts. Comparatively little is known about Celtic paganism because the evidence for it is fragmentary, due largely to the fact that the Celts who practiced it wrote nothing down about their religion. As a result of the scarcity of surviving materials bearing written Gaulish, it is surmised that the most of the Celtic writings were destroyed by the Romans, although a written form of Gaulish using the Greek, Latin and North Italic alphabets was used (as evidenced by votive items bearing inscriptions in Gaulish and the Coligny Calendar). Each The archaeological evidence does not contain the bias inherent in the literary sources. It is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. They did not go to church. [18], Celtic religion was polytheistic, believing in many deities, both gods and goddesses, some of which were venerated only in a small, local area, but others whose worship had a wider geographical distribution. [5] The Dagda was the figure after which male humans and other gods were based due to his embodiment of the ideal Irish traits. [19] The names of over two hundred of these deities have survived to us today, although it is likely that many of these names were different titles or epithets used for the same deity.[4]. Less is known about the pre-Christian mythologies of Britain than those of Ireland. [14] The Strettweg Cult Wagon is probably associated with libations or sacrifices, and pairs of metal "spoons" probably used for divination have been found. Olmsted. [11], Julius Caesar’s comments on Celtic religion and their significance. An example of this is Gaulish Lugus, whose name is cognate with Irish Lugh and Welsh Lleu. Monumental stone sculptures from before conquest by the Romans are much more rare, and it is far from clear that deities are represented. In the Celtic Revival, such survivals were collected and edited, thus becoming a literary tradition, which in turn influenced modern mainstream "Celticity". [30], The druids, the Celtic learned classes that included members of the clergy, were said by Caesar to have believed in reincarnation and transmigration of the soul along with astronomy and the nature and power of the gods.[31].

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