Celtic+Creation+and+Destruction+Myths

=Celtic Creation and Destruction Myths= Created by: Dan Chung Hour 3 Mythology Ms. Ross

Celtic Mythology - Creation
Passed on through spoken language, the Celts do not have a specific creation myth; rather, they begin their history with the settling of Ireland. Ireland was invaded by five immense groups of warriors to fight over the land. In the begining of time for the Celtics and their stories, they have been the most powerful and all ruling race (4).Yet many powerful races challenged and deteriorated the vast army they obtained. Eventually, there was a fall in the Celtic legion. The chief god was Dagda, whose magic cauldron could bring the dead back to life (3). The Ulster Cycle recounts the deeds of warriors and heroes, especially Cuchulain, the warrior and champion of Ireland. The Historical Cycle tells of the adventures and battles of legendary Irish kings. The Fenian Cycle deals with the heroic Finn Mac Cumhail, or Finn Mac Cool, leader of a band of bold warriors known as the Fianna. This cycle is filled with exciting adventures and tales of hand-to-hand combat. ( Wickershalm)

Early Irish myths blend mythology and history by describing how Ireland was settled by different groups of Celtic deities and humans. There were many groups that had all fought over Ireland, and they all wanted to have control over the vast area of Europe (1). Having most myths spread from generation to generation by the explanation of speaking instead of writing, there were hundreds of tales that were yet to be recorded, yet still in existence. The Romans end up being most of the sources of the creation myths of the Celtic society, yet the Romans had disliked the Celts, and unfortunately, some of the myth stories may be tarnished to be in favor of the Roman background (6). Most of these creation myths would contain the Celtic people to be fierce warriors, yet since the Romans told most of the Celtic myths, they were often portrayed in an unfavorable manor.

Filled with magic and excitement, the tales tell of battles between forces of light and darkness. They describe a time when gods lived not in the heavens but on earth, using their powers to create civilization in Ireland and to bring fertility to the land. In the whole creation of the Celtic world, the gods were known to protect the people side by side on the very same ground, and these great gods were known to create the world. A major piece in the creation of the world not only contained gods and their powers that have effects on the people, yet there was also an object known as the cauldron. This cauldron of plenty was never empty and supplied immense quantities of food (2). The cauldron of rebirth brought slain warriors to life again.

Many of the Celtic myths aren't easily found, yet there still are some Celtic mythology creation myths in existence. They passed all of their stories orally, and this would account for the low number of myths in existence from the Celtic origin. Due to the unreliability of not having physical evidence of the myths, the Celts did not have a specific "creation myth", yet had begun all of their journeys with the settling of Ireland. I have noticed that many creation myths that I have researched about the Celtic origins are mainly leaniant towards the stories of the Celtics settling in Ireland. Their creation involved the gods helping them through numerous amounts of battles with their powers, and had taken form on the planet Earth, rather than in the heavens. Yet there still are some Celtic creation myths existing besides the ones that contain the facts of the people settling in Ireland.

Another Celtic myth in existance is the story of the giants. There was a powerful giant that had been created from hoarfrost. Yet eventually, fire had come and it had melted the giant. The giants body parts flew across the world, and many remnants of his body had come to form many aspects of Earth. His blood flowed to create the seas and water, while mountains were created from his bones. The forests had originated from his hair as well. I had found that this myth, unlike the other creation myth which is more appraised, has a more mysterious vibe to it, and really portrays the subtle, yet unknown background to the Celtic myths as well. This shows that no one truly knows the existence of the Celtic myths and which are true or not, yet the myths do show that they were a mysterious group of people, and were very superstitious with the beliefs of many rituals.

Celtic Mythology - Destruction
Analagous to Celtic creation myths, the destruction myths are very vaguely told, and rarely contain all aspects to the whole story. There are usually tidbits and pieces to each of the myths, and the Celtic mythology being passed from generation to generation orally really hindered the overall content in the Celtic Mythology culture. Yet there are still many sources that can be found, and the most dominant destruction myth that can be found from the Celtic background is known as "The Second Battle of Mag Tured".

The Tuatha De Dannan were the people who were settled on the earth, and they had conquered over much of the earth. Yet wars were plentiful in these times of misery and chaos, and there was much death and plague upon all the people. The Tuatha De Dannan had many enemies, and there were many loses in the number of people because of that. There were many adventures and alliances built from the Tuatha De Danna, yet the final battle was what casted the whole shadow of destruction. The battle was won for the Tuatha De Danna, yet Morrigu, the daughter of Emmas, had prophecised the end of the world after. She proclaimed that there would be much evil, vengeance, and disease in the future world to come. After she had witnessed such horror and death from all the people fighting over the land, she could only say what was to come. She said summers without flowers, daughters who deceive their mothers, and sea without produce. This really reveals the mysterious side of the Celtic myths again, and I've found that the many mistakes made by the Celtic people back then were a foreshadowing of the people of the present day. Many of these statements are true, and contain much true content.

Influences on Celtic Myths
Celtic mythology was never a purely structured source of information, and much of its myths were passed down through a process of verbal stories. The first settlers usually settled in the area of Ireland, and there were many influential attributes that molded the very same myths that are still told to this day. The overall society of the Celtic background was filled with a plethora of gods, themes, and entertainment purposes that all heavily influenced the present day Celtic myths that we all know of. The Celts were Polytheistic, meaning they worshipped a numerous amount of gods, and many of those gods had strong connections with nature and animals. Many of the powerful gods were known as Deities, and since the Celtic tribe dominated in seperate squads rather than one immense army, each individual tribe had a god that helped protect the people and help them prosper. Yet some of these gods may have similar attributes, which lead to the similarity in some Celtic myths. Some deities had a more important role than others, and this influenced the Celtic myths to a further extent than the other deities (3). Other influences on the Celtic Myths included religious rituals and heroic deeds that were present within the villages. The Celts believing in many gods surely influenced the wide variety of myths that originate all from the same background, and whenever the heros had performed honorable deeds, they would passed down from generation to generation to spread their glory and power. The Celts were also very fond of food, drinking, and feasting. Many myths do portray this fondness in many of their myths, and food was a big influence in the myths, ( ex. The Cauldron ). In borad sense, the stories did reflect many aspects of the ancient Celtic society. It was a whole world immensly populated by many different tribes, each which were ruled by a king or chieftain. The Warriors, priests, and poets were at the top of the whole social order, while the peasant farmers were at the bottom end. (5)

Magic, magicians, and the supernatural played a significant role in the Celtic background and tales .Other important themes in the myths were voyages to mysterious and dangerous lands and larger-than-life heroes. The heroes experienced all kinds of adventures and often had to perform impossible tasks before marrying their loved one. Love, romance, and mischief also figured prominently (6). The gods played tricks on humans and on one another. Animals changed shape at will. Some of the Celtic myths also had included such places such as the Underworld, yet the Celts believed this to be a place of no work and no death. They all aspired to travel to the underworld, and thought that the Underworld would bring eternal happiness. This shows the influence of the Celts taking a positive position on the whole idea of the underworld, and portrayed this place to be a place that all wanted to travel to.(7) Yet the Irish history and story tellers were also under the influence of the religion of Christianity. After the Romans had a heavy influence on these people, many of the Celtic myths were written by christian monks, and this is shown in many of the myths as well. One can find that there was a very religious background to many of these myths, and one can imbibe the fact that christianity had great influence in the Celtic myths.



Sources Cited[[image:http://www.gods-heros-myth.com/graphics/fairy2.jpg width="230" height="248" align="right"]]
1. Joe, Jimmy. "Celtic Mythology." //Timeless Myths//. Timeless Mythology, 11 Mar. 1999. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. [].

2. "Celtic Mythology : Gods, Goddesses, Spirits, Legends from Ireland, Wales and Scotland." //Godchecker.com - Your Guide To The Gods. Mythology with a twist!// Celtic Mythology, 1999. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. [].

3. "Celtic Mythology." 2009. Absolute Astronomy. 13 Jan. 2010 [].

4. "CELTIC HISTORY; BRIEFLY..." __Celtic Culture__. 1998. Thinkquest Mythology. 13 Jan. 2010 [].

5. "Celtic Mythology." //Myths and Legends of the World//. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York: Macmillan, 2000. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Walled Lake CSD - Secondary Schools. 13 Jan. 2010 [&contentSet=GSRC &type=retrieve &tabID=T001 &prodId=SRC-1 &docId=EJ2134050095 &source=gale &srcprod=SRCG &userGroupName=wall41812 &version=1.0]

Myths-
"Celtic Creation Myth." //Oracle ThinkQuest Library//. Web. 15 Jan. 2010. [].

"Celtic Creation Myth." //Free Website Hosting - Tripod free website templates to make your own free website//. Web. 15 Jan. 2010. [].

"The Second Battle of Mag Tured." //Academy for Ancient Texts. Ancient texts library.// Ed. Whitley Stokes. Irish Text Archives. Web. 15 Jan. 2010. [].

Picture Sources Cited-
[] [] [] [] http://www.c2.api.ning.com/files/RbB7zR-rAAivvsMFkq4m7nFVP2Gq3Clyy9R0iZTLK37rEoocYWyYJxA6rI-xZhIWz31qdJ1Yzvrq43Ys5Ns83b5P-ogQOajV/CelticPentacle.jpg [] [] []

Library Resources-
6. Harpur, James. //Celtic myth a treasury of legends, art, and history//. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe, 2008. Print.

7. Books., Time-Life, and Time-Life. //Heroes of the Dawn Celtic Myth (Myth and Mankind)//. New York: Time-Life, 1998. Print