Thursday, December 31, 2015

Conall Cernach

Conall Cernach (modern spelling: Conall Cearnach) is a hero of the Ulaidh in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is said to have always slept with the head of a Connachtman under his knee. His epithet is normally translated as "victorious" or "triumphant", although it is an obscure word, and some texts struggle to explain it. Alternative meanings include "angular, having corners", "swollen", or "possessing a dish or receptacle".



Bricriu's Feast

Fráech's Cattle Raid

The Battle of Howth

The death of Cúchulainn

Final showdown with Cet

Later years
After Conchobor and his son, Cormac Cond Longas, had been killed, Conall was offered the kingship of Ulster, but he refused it, putting forward instead his foster-son, Conchobar's younger son Cúscraid, who was proclaimed king. In his declining years he contracted leprosy and went to stay with Ailill and Medb of Connacht, who were best placed to look after him, since they had the resources to satisfy his enormous appetite. Ailill was seeing another woman behind Medb's back, so Medb incited Conall to kill Ailill, something he was happy to do as Ailill had killed Fergus mac Róich. He fled, but the men of Connacht pursued and killed him at a ford on Lá Bealtaine. Both oral tradition and old textual sources place this at the town of Ballyconnell, County Cavan.

Unusually for a character from the Ulster Cycle, Conall appears in medieval Irish genealogies as the ancestor of the kings of the Dál nAraidi and the Uí Echach Cobo. The legendary High King Mal mac Rochride was also said to be descended from him.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Lugaid mac Con Roí

In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lugaid mac Con Roí was the son of Cú Roí mac Dáire. He was also known as Lugaid mac Trí Con ("son of three hounds").

He avenged his father's death by killing Cúchulainn after conspiring with Medb and the children of other people Cúchulainn had killed.

After Lugaid's spear had spilled out his innards, Cúchulainn tied himself to a standing stone so he could die standing up. Only when a raven landed on his shoulder was Lugaid convinced he was dead. As Lugaid cut off his head, Cúchulainn's sword fell from his hand and cut off Lugaid's hand.

Conall Cernach pursued him. As Lugaid had lost a hand, Conall fought him with one hand tucked into his belt, but he only won when his horse took a bite out of Lugaid's side. He took Lugaid's head and set it on a stone, but his blood melted the stone and the head sank right through it.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015


Láeg, or Lóeg, son of Riangabar, is the charioteer and constant companion of the hero Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. His horses are Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend.

Cú Chulainn sends Láeg to the Otherworld with Lí Ban, sister to Fand, and he brings back bountiful descriptions of the Otherworld in the tale Serglige Con Culainn (The Sickbed of Cúchulainn). In the tale of Cú Chulainn's death he is killed by Lugaid mac Con Roí with a spear intended for Cú Chulainn.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn, also spelt Cú Chulaind or Cúchulainn ([kuːˈxʊlˠɪnʲ]; Irish for "Culann's Hound") and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin /kəˈhʊlɨn/, is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the mortal Deichtine, sister of Conchobar mac Nessa.


Cú Chulainn shows striking similarities to the legendary Persian hero Rostam, as well as to the Germanic Lay of Hildebrand and the labours of the Greek epic hero Heracles, suggesting a common Indo-European origin, but lacking in linguistic, anthropological and archaeological material

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Gáe Bulg



The Gáe Bulg had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes. It entered a man's body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body.

In other versions of the legend, the spear had seven heads, each with seven barbs. In the Táin Bó Cuailnge, Cúchulainn received the spear after training with the great warrior master Scáthach in Alba. She taught him and his foster-brother, Ferdiad, everything the same, except she only taught the Gáe Bulg feat to Cuchulainn. He later used it in single combat against Ferdiad. They were fighting in a ford, and Ferdiad had the upper hand; Cúchulainn's charioteer, Láeg, floated the Gáe Bulg down the stream to his master, who cast it into Ferdiad's body, piercing the warrior's armor and "coursing through the highways and byways of his body so that every single joint filled with barbs." Ferdiad died soon after. On a separate occasion, Cúchulainn also killed his own son, Connla, with the spear. In both instances, it was used as a last resort, as once thrown it proved invariably fatal.

Cú Chulainn's use of the Gáe Bulg in the Táin Bó Cuailnge exemplifies its deadliness and the gruesome nature in which it leaves its victims. This can be seen in the fact that after it is utilized, one must literally cut into the victim to retrieve it. This was the case in Cú Chulainn's slaying of Fer Diad. As it is stated in Ciaran Carson's translation of The Táin:

Láeg came forward and cut Fer Diad open and took out the Gáe Bolga. Cú Chulainn saw his weapon bloody and crimson from Fer Diad's body... "

Traditionally, the name has been translated as "belly spear", with the second element of the name, bulga, being treated as a derivative of Old Irish bolg "belly, sack, bag".

Several notable Celtic scholars, including Joseph Loth and Kuno Meyer, have preferred to derive it rather from Old Irish bolc "gap, breach, notch" (cognate with Welsh bwlch), suggesting a linguistic link with the second element in the name of Fergus mac Róich's sword, Caladbolg and King Arthur's sword Caledfwlch

Saturday, December 26, 2015


In Norse mythology, Gungnir (Old Norse "swaying one") is the spear of the god Odin.

Poetic Edda
According to the Poetic Edda, the spear was fashioned by the Dwarves; Loki discovers the Spear whilst visiting the Dwarves (on an errand to commission golden hair for Sif). Loki flatters the Dwarves and asks the Spear of them, which they give him.[citation needed] In the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, the Æsir-Vanir War is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of an assembly of Vanir gods. Whether or not this was specifically Gungnir is, however, unstated. In Sigrdrífumál, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa advises Sigurd on the magical application of runes. She gives Sigurd advice and shares with him lore, including that runes were carved on the tip of Gungnir.

Prose Edda
According to chapter 51 of the Prose Edda book, Gylfaginning, Odin will ride in front of the Einherjar while advancing on to the battle field at Ragnarök wearing a gold helmet, an impressive cloak of mail and carrying Gungnir. He will then attack the wolf Fenrir with it.

In Skáldskaparmál, more information regarding the spear is presented. The spear was fashioned by the dwarves known as the Sons of Ivaldi under the mastery of the blacksmith dwarf Dvalin. The spear was obtained from the dwarves by Loki, the result of a scheme he concocted as a partial reparation for his cutting of the goddess Sif's hair. The spear is described as being so well balanced that it could strike any target, no matter the skill or strength of the wielder.

Archaeological record
If the rider on horseback on the image on the Böksta Runestone has been correctly identified as Odin, then Odin is shown carrying Gungnir while hunting an elk.

In the Ring of the Nibelung
In Wagner's opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wotan's (Odin's) spear is made from the wood of the world tree Yggdrasil and engraved with the contracts from which Wotan's power derives. He uses the spear to break the sword of Siegmund, leading to Siegmund's death. When he tries to bar the eponymous hero of the opera, Siegfried (Siegmund's son), from awakening Brünnhilde from her magic sleep, Siegfried breaks the spear in two and Wotan flees. It is implied that this is also the end of Wotan's power and he never appears onstage again.

Friday, December 25, 2015



When Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet his own head with Brokkr that his brother Eitri (Sindri) would not have been able to make items to match the quality of those mentioned above.

So to make gifts to Freyr, Eitri threw a pig's skin into a furnace as Brokkr worked on the bellows, and together they manufactured the boar Gullinbursti which had bristles in its mane that glowed in the dark.

According to Húsdrápa, Freyr rode Gullinbursti to Baldr's funeral, while in Gylfaginning, Snorri states that Freyr rode to the funeral in a chariot pulled by the boar.

The boar is also known as Slíðrugtanni (sometimes Anglicized to "Slidrugtanni").

Thursday, December 24, 2015


In Norse mythology, Brokkr (Old Norse "the one who works with metal fragments; blacksmith", anglicized Brokk) is a dwarf, and the brother of Eitri or Sindri.


While Eitri used magic in a forge that was extremely hot, Brokkr worked the bellows so that the fire would not cool down nor get too hot for the magic. While making the boar Gullinbursti, a gadfly, often thought to be Loki himself, came and bit Brokkr on the hand. Brokkr was not disturbed though and kept blowing into the fire. While making the golden arm ring Draupnir the gadfly came again and bit Brokkr, this time in the neck but Brokkr kept on blowing. Finally, while making the hammer Mjöllnir the gadfly bit Brokkr on the eye this time. This temporarily caused Brokkr to stop blowing. That brief stoppage of blowing into the fire caused Mjöllnir's handle to become shorter than it should have been. Because of this, Thor had to wear the iron gauntlets Járngreipr to handle it.

Eitri succeeded in making the golden ring Draupnir, the golden-bristled boar Gullinbursti and the hammer Mjöllnir. These objects were judged by the gods to be superior and Brokkr won the bet. However, Loki did not allow him to take his head as doing so would have damaged his neck which was not included in the bet. In lieu of this, Brokkr sewed Loki's lips so that Loki would not brag until the thread came out.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015



In Legends about Theoderic the Great, he was of Dietrich von Bern's warriors. In one of the ballads, he won particular fame in his duel with Langben Rese/Risker.

During the Middle Ages, he became the son of Wayland the Smith and Böðvildr, and this entitled him to carry a hammer and pliers in his coat of arms. Later the origin of his name "Wayland's son" was forgotten, but the fame of the character prevailed. During the 16th and the 17th centuries, this led to the idea that his name "Villandsson" referred to Villand Hundred in Skåne, and the hundred duly began to use his coat of arms as its own. Wudga wielded the sword Mimung, forged by his father, as was the helmet he wore. His mount was the stallion Schimming, one of the finest horses of its age.


According to Jordanes, Vidigoia was Gothorum fortissimus and defeated the Sarmatians with a ruse for which he became the subject of epic songs among the Goths. Wudga's treachery may derive from Tufa who deserted Theodoric to join Odoacer, whereas Wudga's greatest treason, which was surrendering Ravenna, appears to be based on a merger with king Vitiges. This king gave away Ravenna in 540 to a minor force led by Belisarius and the surrender was held to be a disgrace by his fellow Goths.








Tuesday, December 22, 2015


Háma (Old English: Hāma), Heimir (Old Norse), or Heime (German) was a legendary Germanic hero who often appears together with his friend Wudga. He appears in the Anglo-Saxon poems Beowulf and Widsith, in the Scandinavian Þiðrekssaga and in German epics such as Alpharts Tod.

Since Wudga is based on a Gothic hero named Vidigoia, it is possible that Hama has a similar origin, and the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith talks of Hama and Wudga as Gothic warriors fighting against the Huns in the Vistula forests, where the Goths had an early settlement. Later, during the evolution of the legends, the two heroes were connected with both the Gothic kings Ermanaric and Theodoric the Great, and they were increasingly presented as traitors; it is as traitors that they appear in the Þiðrekssaga.

According to the Þiðrekssaga, Heime was originally named Studas and named so after his father. He lost his name, however, and was renamed Heime as he looked as ferocious and grim as a dragon by that name. In German versions, he had killed the dragon. In the Middle High German Dietrich cycle, he is the son of a Madelger or Adelger of Lamparten, and he appears either as a duke or as a giant with several hands or elbows, a trait which also appears in the Swedish version of the Þiðrekssaga. Heime has an excellent weapon named Blodgang and a famous horse called Rispa. When Theodoric is only 12 years old and Heime is 17, Heime leaves his home to challenge Theodoric in a duel. In the fight, Heime's sword, Blutgang, is destroyed and Theodoric's helmet shattered. Heime loses the duel, and swears allegiance to Theodoric. Later, when Theodoric wins the sword Eckesachs, he gives his old sword Nagelring to Heime. Heime is among Theodoric's twelve men who help him fight against Isung.

In the German poems, Heime is bought over by Ermanaric and so abandons Theodoric. This is not mentioned in Þiðrekssaga, but on the other hand it relates that Heime and his comrade Widga (Wudga) fight for Ermanaric. This pairing of Widga and Heime is also mentioned in Widsith. In Alpharts Tod, Witege (Wudga) is rescued from Alphart (Hildebrand's kinsman) by Heime. By dishonourably fighting two against one, Heime and Wudga kill Alphart.

The Þiðrekssaga has Heime spend his last years in a monastery where he calls himself Ludwig. When a giant named Aspilian threatens the monastery, Heime dons his armour again and kills the giant. He fails to return to his life as a monk because Theodoric calls him back and wants his services again. Heime then returns to the monastery in order to demand taxes from the monks, but when he does not receive anything, he kills every monk inside it and burns it down. Heime then has to fight a second giant, but loses and is killed. He is avenged by Theodoric. According to German sources, Heime is buried near Innsbruck at a monastery called Wilten.

In Grípisspá, Helreið Brynhildar and the Völsunga saga there is a Heimir, and although the accounts of this Heimir have nothing in common with the traditions mentioned above, they have been presented as the same character. This Heimir is the king of Hlymdalir, the maternal uncle of Brynhildr and foster-father, or spouse, of Brynhildr's sister Bekkhildr. He is also the foster-father of Aslaug, Brynhildr's daughter with Sigurd (Sigfried). As the Burgundians wanted to kill the little child, he kept her hidden in a harp and wandered as a minstrel until he arrived in Spangereid in Norway, where he was murdered in his sleep by Áki and Grima, who believed that Heimir kept valuables in the harp.

Monday, December 21, 2015


In Norse mythology, Sindri (from the Old Norse sindr: "spark") is the name of both a character (probably a dwarf) and a hall that will serve as a dwelling place for the souls of the virtuous after Ragnarök.

Völuspá (37) mentions "a hall of gold, of the lineage of Sindri" located northward, in Niðavellir. There are several reasons to think that Sindri is probably a dwarf: his name is related with forging and the hall is made of gold (dwarves are said to be skillful smiths), the location of the hall is Niðavellir, which possibly means "dark fields" (dwarves live away from the sunlight).

Moreover Sindri is a dwarf in one of the manuscripts of the Prose Edda. In the Skáldskaparmál (Codex Wormianus version), Snorri Sturluson tells how the dwarves Brokkr and Eitri fashioned some of the magical objects used by the gods (the boar of Freyr Gullinbursti, the golden ring of Odin Draupnir and the hammer of Thor Mjöllnir). The names of the dwarves are not given in the three other main manuscripts but in the Codex Regius, someone added more recently the names of Brokkr and Sindri.

Sindri is also a dwarf in Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar. He helps Þorstein to defeat a powerful enemy (22-23) and to escape when he is taken prisoner.

In Gylfaginning, Snorri refers to Sindri as the name of a golden hall that will serve as a dwelling place for the good and righteous after Ragnarök (along with Brimir and Gimlé):

That too is a good hall which stands in Nida Fells [Niðafjöll], made of red gold; its name is Sindri. In these halls shall dwell good men and pure in heart.
—Gylfaginning (LII), Brodeur's translation
For Rudolf Simek, this seems to be a transposition of the Christian belief in Heaven, despite the fact that Sindri is in Snorri's account located in Niðafjöll, the mountains from which the corpse-sucking dragon Níðhöggr comes according to Völuspá.

Some argue that Snorri's view of Sindri as a place rather than as a character may come from a misinterpretation of the stanza of Völuspá

Sunday, December 20, 2015










Saturday, December 19, 2015


In Norse mythology, Brísingamen (or Brísinga men) is the torc or necklace of the goddess Freyja. The name is an Old Norse compound brísinga-men whose second element is men "(ornamental) neck-ring (of precious metal), torc". The etymology of the first element is uncertain. It has been derived from Old Norse brísingr, a poetic term for "fire" or "amber" mentioned in the anonymous versified word-lists (þulur) appended to many manuscripts of the Prose Edda, making Brísingamen "gleaming torc", "sunny torc", or the like. However, Brísingr can also be an ethnonym, in which case Brísinga men is "torque of the Brísings"; the Old English parallel in Beowulf supports this derivation, though who the Brísings (Old Norse Brísingar) may have been remains unknown.

Friday, December 18, 2015




Thursday, December 17, 2015





Wednesday, December 16, 2015






Tuesday, December 15, 2015





Monday, December 14, 2015


In Greek mythology, Endymion (/ɛnˈdɪmiən/; Ancient Greek: Ἐνδυμίων, gen.: Ἐνδυμίωνος), was variously a handsome Aeolian shepherd, hunter, or king who was said to rule and live at Olympia in Elis, and he was also venerated and said to reside on Mount Latmus in Caria, on the west coast of Asia Minor.

There is confusion over the correct location of Endymion, as some sources suppose that one was, or was related to, the prince of Elis, and the other was a shepherd from Caria— or, a later suggestion, an astronomer: Pliny the Elder mentions Endymion as the first human to observe the movements of the moon, which (according to Pliny) accounts for Endymion's love. As such, there have been two attributed sites of Endymion's burial: the citizens of Heracleia ad Latmo claimed that Endymion's tomb was on Mount Latmus, while the Eleans declared that it was at Olympia.

However, the role of lover of Selene, the moon, is attributed primarily to Endymion who was either a shepherd or an astronomer, either profession providing justification for him to spend time beneath the moon.

Sunday, December 13, 2015




Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called Phoebus ("bright"), Selene, from her identification with Artemis, is also commonly referred to by the epithet Phoebe (feminine form). The original Phoebe of Greek mythology is Selene's aunt, the Titaness mother of Leto and Asteria, and grandmother of Apollo, Artemis, and Hecate. Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called "Cynthia".


The usual account of Selene's origin is given by Hesiod. In the Theogony, the sun-god Hyperion espoused his sister Theia, who gave birth to "great Helios and clear Selene and Eos who shines upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven." The Homeric Hymn to Helios follows this tradition: "Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaëssa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios." Here Euryphaëssa ("wide-shining") is probably an epithet of Theia.

Other accounts make Selene the daughter of the Titan Pallas or of Helios

Like her brother Helios, the Sun god, who drives his chariot across the sky each day, Selene is also said to drive across the heavens. The Hymn to Selene, provides a description:


The earliest known depiction of Selene driving a chariot is inside an early 5th century BC red-figure cup attributed to the Brygos Painter, showing Selene plunging her chariot, drawn by two winged horses, into the sea. Though the moon chariot is often described as being silver, for Pindar it was golden. And while the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two, described as "snow-white" by Ovid, or was drawn by oxen or bulls.

Saturday, December 12, 2015


In Greek mythology, Theia /ˈθiːə/ (sometimes rendered Thea, Théa or Thia), also called Euryphaessa "wide-shining", is a Titaness. The name Theia alone means simply "goddess" or "divine"; Theia Euryphaessa (Θεία Εὐρυφάεσσα) brings overtones of extent (εὐρύς, eurys, "wide", root: εὐρυ-/εὐρε-) and brightness (φάος, phaos, "light", root: φαεσ-). Her brother/consort is Hyperion, a Titan and god of the sun, and together they are the parents of Helios (the Sun), Selene (the Moon), and Eos (the Dawn).


Once paired in later myths with her Titan brother Hyperion as her husband, "mild-eyed Euryphaessa, the far-shining one" of the Homeric Hymn to Helios, was said to be the mother of Helios (the Sun), Selene (the Moon), and Eos (the Dawn).

Pindar praises Theia in his Fifth Isthmian ode:


She seems here a goddess of glittering in particular and of glory in general, but Pindar's allusion to her as "Theia of many names" is telling, since it suggests assimilation, referring not only to similar mother-of-the-sun goddesses such as Phoebe and Leto, but perhaps also to more universalizing mother-figures such as Rhea and Cybele.

Theia's mythological role as the mother of the Moon goddess Selene is alluded to in the application of the name to a hypothetical planet which, according to the giant impact hypothesis, collided with the Earth, resulting in the Moon's creation.

Theia's alternate name Euryphaessa has been adopted for a species of Australian leafhoppers Dayus euryphaessa (Kirkaldy, 1907).

Friday, December 11, 2015





— Diodorus Siculus (5.67.1)


As the father of Helios, Hyperion was regarded as the "first principle" by Emperor Julian, though his relevance in Julian's notions of theurgy is unknown.

Thursday, December 10, 2015





Wednesday, December 9, 2015


In Greek mythology, Cercaphus was one of the Heliadae, sons of Helios and Rhodus. He and his brother Ochimus were the only to stay at the island of Rhodes, after their brother Tenages was killed by the other four and the murderers had to escape.

Ochimus, the eldest of the seven, became the king of Rhodes. Cercaphus married his brother's daughter Cydippe (or Cyrbia), daughter of Ochimus and Hegetoria, and subsequently inherited the island. According to an alternate version, Ochimus engaged Cydippe to Ocridion but Cercaphus loved her and kidnapped her. He did not return until Ochimus was old.

Cercaphus and Cydippe had three sons, Lindus, Ialysus and Camirus. After their father's death and a devastating deluge, they divided the island among themselves, and each founded a city and named it after himself (modern Lindus, Ialysos and Kameiros)

Tuesday, December 8, 2015







Monday, December 7, 2015





Pederasty in ancient Greece






