Mythological Cycle Archives - Page 5 of 5

Aengus Óg

Overview:
Aengus Og son of the Daghda and Bionn (Goddess of the river Boyne) is the love god of Irish Mythology. Aengus means ‘true vigour’.

Aengus Og, God of Love:

Four bright birds hovered over his head. The birds represented his kisses. He brought love singing into the hearts of any a maiden and youth.

Stories of Aengus Og:

A spell cast by the Daghda caused Aengus Og to be both conceived and born on the same day, hence he is known as the archetypal youth. According to the myth of Diarmuid and Grainne, Aengus Og was Diarmuid’s guardian from the Tuatha. He offered the safety of his protective cloak to both Diarmuid and Grainne in their attempt to escape Finn and his men. He advised them on which path to follow on their journey and also presented Diarmuid with a gift of a sword.
Aengus fell in love with awoman he had seen in a dream. He asked Bionn and the Daghda for help. The Daghda called for aid from Bov the Red (from the Children of Lir). Bov undertook a search that lasted one year and declared that he found her by the Lake of the Dragons Mouth. When they went to the lake they saw one hundred and fifty maidens tied in pairs with gold chains. But Aengus knew his lady because she was taller than the rest. Her name was Caer, daughter of Ethel. But Ethel would not let his daughter go.

Aengus lamented that he was not strong enough to carry her off. Bov sought the help of Meadbh and Ailill of Connaught, but Ethel refused again. However with the combined powers Ailill and the Daghda they took Ethel prisoner. When they demanded Caer again he confessed that he did not comply for ‘she is more powerful than I’. He explained that she lived alternatively in the form of a maiden and a swan ‘and on the first day of November next she will be seen with a hundred and fifty other swans at the Lake of the Dragons Mouth’. Aengus went to the Lake and told Caer of his love for her. He was transformed in to a swan and the lovers flew to the palace on the Boyne accompanied by a music so divine that it lulled many hearers to sleep for three days and three nights.

Conclusion:
Aengus Og is a patron of young lovers. He helps them to get over the obstacles in front of them.

Nuadhu of the Silver Arm

Overview

Nuadhu was the King who led the Tuatha Dé Danann into Ireland. He brought the great sword of Nuadhu from which no opponent ever escaped. This sword was one of the four special gifts the Tuatha brought with them. His army defeated the Fir Bolgs, but he lost his arm in the battle and therefore lost his Kingship, as there was a condition that the King of the Tuatha Dé Danann must be perfect in every way.

Stories of Nuadhu

Nuadhu led the Tuatha Dé Danann into battle and took the land from the Fir Bolgs who resided there at that time. During the first battle of Moytura, his right arm was severed in combat with the Fir Bolg warrior Sreang. Nuadhu asked Sreang to tie up his own right arm to continue with the combat in a fair way but Sreang refused. The Tuatha Dé Danann intervened and offered the province of Connaght to Sreang to save their beloved Nuadhu.

Breas the Beautiful gained the Kingship because of Nuadhu’s imperfection. And while Breas reigned, Nuadhu’s physician, Dian Céacht, magically fashioned him a silver arm, hence, he became known as Nuadhu of the Silver Arm. However, Dian Céacht persisted with his magic and restored his arm to perfection after an operation that lasted nine days where the physician never left Nuadhu’s side. He was perfect and eligible to be King again.

At the second Battle of Moytura when the Tuatha Dé Danann went to battle with the Formorians, King Nuadhu gave Lugh authority over his army. At that battle, Nuadhu was slain by the powerful Formorian, Balor of the Evil Eye. When Nuadhu lay dying, the phantom queen, The Morrigán appeared in the shape of a black crow and screamed encouragement at the De Danann troops. Fresh courage was restored and they went on to win the battle. After this the Kingship went to Lugh.

Conclusion

Nuadhu was a wise King who was loved by his people. His story embodies the idea of the ‘perfection’ in the king. The fact that he gave up his kingship to Lugh is indicative of a recognition of a code of Sovereignty seen as ‘bigger’ than only one man.

Nemed

Overview

Arrived in Ireland with his wife Macha his four sons and their wives and twenty other Nemedians. Nemed had lost all but one of a fleet of thirty two boats. The nine Nemedians became settlers who cleared, like Partholon, the forests of Ireland to create twelve more fertile plains. The Nemedians also had to fight the Formorians with their dark and evil ways. They won three battles but finally lost the fourth and were destroyed.

Stories of Nemed

Nemed and his family arrive din Ireland thirty years after the plague that had wiped out Partholon and his people. He had had a great fleet of ships that had been lost in a greedy pursuit of gold when they discovered a tower of gold in the sea. In pursuit of the gold the sea had risen up to destroy the fleet, as well as nine hundred and fifty one of Nemed’s people. They became cultivators and settlers, and on the model of Partholon cleared the forest of Ireland.

They created twelve plains and by diverting rivers they created four new lakes. One of these was named after Nemed’s wife, Macha. She was a seer and predicted in her dreams and vision great happenings on the plains. One of these visions was about the creation of a grand court, which became known as Emhan Macha, after the place she was buried. Nemed defeated the sea pirates, the Formorians, in three battles. He made four of the Formorians build a fortress which they did in one day. He had a ruthless streak and killed them in case they built a better fortress for other people. Nemed died of a plague then on an island in Cork harbour.

After his death, the Formorians gained the upper hand and eventually the Nemedians rebelled and attached the Formorian stronghold at Tory Island.

They did capture the tower on the Island but reinforcements and the sea rising up led to a defeat. It was a frightful slaughter and only one boat managed to get away. Some, with Simeon fled to Greece. Others went North to become the Tuatha de Danann.

Conclusion

Nemed was a druid but also a great leader with the ability to engender prosperity and well being. To do so required the skills to cultivate land, having cleared it but also the warrior that was able to defeat the Formorians. With his wife, Macha, they constituted a powerful force whose role was taming nature and establishing a culture.

The Book of Invasions

Ireland existed long before people came to its shores, an island on the fringe of the Otherworld, the last stop before a traveller would come to the three times fifty islands of the Otherworld.

Cesaire was the first to come to Ireland. She led her followers; three times fifty women of art and skill, along with her father, her brother and her husband, through all the known world to come to this new land that she had dreamed of. The land welcomed them, new rivers and lakes burst forth and Cesaire and her people cleared away a new plain to live on. But they did not live long in Ireland, though some say their end came with the flood and others say that they faded away for want of men to give the women children, there came a day when only Fintan, the husband of Cesaire, was left.

Fintan learned the magic of changing his shape, and could take on the form of any animal in Ireland, so that time had no effect on him, and he could watch all who came after.

Next came Partholon, a giant from Greece, who was fleeing a terrible curse. He had brought the curse on himself when he killed his own parents, and he thought he might be able to escape it if he ran far enough away. Partholon’s people battled the Fomorians, sea-raiders from Tory Island in the North, for dominion of Ireland, and when they won their magical contest, four new lakes burst forth from the land. Fintan Mac Bochra made himself known to them, and helped them set up in Ireland. They cleared three plains, started agriculture and set legal precedents, and prospered for a time. But Partholon’s curse caught up with them at last, and all his descendants were wiped out by a plague, leaving Fintan Mac Bochra alone once again.

After a time, people came to Ireland again. Now came the followers of Nemed, in thirty ships with sixty people in each. On their way to Ireland, they passed by a tower of gold, and in their greed, they tried to capture it. But a storm blew up, and blew them away from the tower. They, too, had to battle the Fomorians, and defeat them to win the land. When they won, Nemed, remembering the wonderful tower of gold, made the Fomorians build for him a beautiful fortress. It was so beautiful, that Nemed killed the craftsmen who worked on it, so that they could never build its equal for anyone else. The Fomorians had their revenge after Nemed died, and put terrible taxes on his people, demanding a third of everything they produced, including their children. In desperation, the Nemedians rose up, and took the Fomorian fortress on Tory Island. But the Fomorians had a close relationship with the sea, and when they asked, it rose up and overwhelmed the Nemedians, killing all but two small groups.

One group went North, into the unknown, magical lands, and the other went East, to the Mediterranean. There they did not fare well, and were made slaves and labourers, and were called the Fir Bolg, which means the men of the sacks, for the heavy loads they would have to carry for their masters all day long. The Fir Bolg kept their spirits up through generations, by telling each other stories of Ireland, their homeland, till they one day managed to escape from oppression and return.

The Fir Bolg understood how power can corrupt, so they designed a political system in Ireland, where power would not be concentrated into any one place. Instead, the land was divided: four provinces, and each to be ruled by a King, and a fifth province at Tara, where the High King would rule from, and where each province could send their wisest and most skilful delegates to meet as Irishmen, and advise the High King, and take council from his druids at Uisneach.

Fintan Mac Bochra watched all of this happening, and approved. He introduced himself to the Fir Bolg, and helped them fight off the Fomorians.

Only thirty-seven years passed before a new race came to Ireland. They arrived in a mist, and when the mist cleared, the Fir Bolg saw a beautiful tower, and the ships of the new arrivals all in flames. They met these new arrivals, the Tuatha de Dannan, the people of the goddess, and learned that they were all related: these were the remnants of the people of Nemed who had gone North. But where the Fir Bolg had suffered greatly, the Tuatha de Dannan had prospered, journeying through the four magical cities, gathering enchanted treasures of great power, developing their wisdom and skill. The difference between them was notable: the Fir Bolg were short, dark and hairy, with crude weapons, and the Tuatha de Dannan tall, golden and beautiful, with light and brightly-shining weapons.

Peace was proposed, and the dividing of Ireland equally between the two groups, but the Fir Bolg wanted to fight, and so fight they did, on the Plains of Moy Tura. Fintan fought beside the Fir Bolg, and though they were defeated, they struck a blow against the Tuatha de Dannan, crippling their king, Nuada. The Fir Bolg were given the province of Connaught, but the Tuatha de Dannan had to find a new king, as no one, not even the wonderful Nuada, could reign if he was crippled. They elected Breas, son of a Fomorian father and a Tuatha de Dannan mother, in hopes that he would unite the two races, but their optimism was not rewarded. Dreadful battles followed, until at last another son of the two races, called Lugh, defeated the Fomorians in the Second Battle of Moy Tura and Nuada, with his arm magically restored, was able to take the kingship again.

For generations, the people of the goddess ruled Ireland, building on all that had gone before them. There came a time when the High King died, and his three sons were quarrelling over which of them should be king after him, and on the brink of civil war. They asked advice from a wanderer, an old man called Ith who had seen Ireland from the top of a tower in Northern Spain. Ith advised them to follow their own laws, and praised the land all about him. But he praised it so well that the Tuatha de Dannan grew nervous, thinking he was looking with the eye of a conqueror, and they killed him with no more provocation than that.

Word of this crime came back to Ith’s son, Mil, and Mil set out on a voyage of revenge, taking his sons with him. Though he died en route, the Sons of Mil followed through, countering the powerful magics of the Tuatha de Dannan with the power of their own druid, Amergin, who sang to the land and promised to honour it. Truces were made and then broken, and at last the Sons of Mil faced the Tuatha de Dannan in battle on the Plains of Tailtiu. The people of the goddess were defeated, their kings and queens were slaughtered, and many more were slaughtered in the rout, as their defeated army was driven all the way to the sea. The survivors decided not to stay, where they would have to pay taxes and tributes to their conquerors, so the people of the goddess retreated under the hills of Ireland, to the rivers and wild places to live out their immortal lives in peace, away from the sons of Mil and all their kind.

Fintan Mac Bochra threw his lot in with these new people, adapting to this new group as he had adapted to all the others, advising the Sons of Mil on the traditions of this land, and how to keep them best. He would change his shape now and then, to salmon, hawk, and deer, and he watched Ireland change until the five thousand years of his life came to an end.

Children of Lir

Background Fionnuala and her brother Aed were the first born children of Lir of Sídh Fionnachaidh and his wife Aobh (Eve). Twin boys followed called Conn and Fiacra. Their mother died giving birth to the twins and their father married Aoife their mother’s younger sister. Fionnuala was as fair as the young rowan tree. Aed was a little bright eyed boy. Comely Conn and Fiacra of the beautiful arms were as swift and strong as running water.

Stories of the Children of Lir The children were loved so much by their father that they all slept in the same room so he would never be denied the sight of them at any time of the night or morning. Their stepmother Aoife also loved them but became jealous of the attention Lir bestowed on them. One day, she took the children on a trip to see their step grandfather Bodhbh Dearg, the King of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Fionnuala, being intuitive, sensed her stepmother’s treachery before it happened but she was powerless to save them from their fate. Aoife cast a spell that changed the children of Lir into swans, retaining their human sense and reason, their voices and their Irish. Fionnuala begged Aoife to reverse the spell causing Aoife to feel some remorse. But remorse was no good, as Aoife had not the power to reverse her terrible deed. Instead she placed a limit on the spell deeming that they would resume their human shape when a King from the north married a Queen from the south of Ireland. This did not happen for nine hundred years.

The children of Lir spent their first three hundred years on Lake Derravarragh (Loch Dairbhreach) where they consoled their father, grandfather and countless others with the music of the Sidhe. Every one that heard their music would sleep sound and quiet whatever trouble or sickness of heart might be on them. They spent the second three hundred years on the Sea of Moyle (Sruth na Maoile). There, they were blown by the storm winds and frozen by the ice so badly that their webbed feet were frozen solid to the rocks causing them to suffer the pain of salt water on their wounds. Once, after a terrible storm Fionnuala lamented their fate as she thought she had lost her brothers forever. But they returned to find her and she comforted them; Conn under her right wing, Fiacra under her left and Aed between the feathers at her breast until their strength returned. Their final three hundred years was spent on the Atlantic Ocean off Erris Co Mayo where they sheltered in the bays and on a lake on an island called Inis Glory (Inis Gluaire). There they met the Christian missionary, St Mochaomhóg who was kind to them and taught them about Jesus. They resumed their human shape when King Lairgnéan from Connaght married Deoch the daughter of the King of Munster. The new Queen desired the swans as a wedding present but when King Lairgnéan tried to take them away, the spell ended and the children turned into old and withered people. St Mochaomhóg christened them before they died.

Conclusion: The story of the Children of Lir has to be one of the saddest in the Irish, or indeed, any tradition. Through no fault of their own, years of exile, and then… not a happy ending!

Parthalon

Parthalon was a giant of a man, who lived in Greece. He got involved in a war of succession, and committed the very terrible sin of killing his family. Because of this, he was put under a curse: nothing he endeavoured would ever be successful.

Parthalon thought that, perhaps, he might be able to outrun this curse if he went far enough, and for that reason, he decided to come to Ireland, with his wife, three sons, and all their families and retainers.

When Parthalon’s people landed, they found only one plain in all of Ireland, and that is where Dublin is today. They created three more plains in different parts of Ireland, to make the land more habitable and to set up agriculture and industry. They explored the length and breadth of the land, and while they were in Donegal, they encountered a fearsome race of people from Tory Island. These people were called the Formorians, and they were sea pirates with powerful magic.

Parthalon’s people quickly found that they could not live in peace with the Formorians, so they fought a battle with them, for dominion over the land. This was a magical battle, and in it, no one was killed. The warriors faced each other in the stance of power: standing on one leg, with one arm behind the back and one eye closed. This was the way to access the powers of the Otherworld.

Partholon’s people defeated the Formorians at magic, and in response, four great lakes burst up in different parts of Ireland, a sign that they were accepted and welcomed by the land.

As Parthalon’s people began to establish themselves, Fintan Mac Bochra made himself known to them, and became their advisor. He was able to tell them all about Ireland and how best to survive there, because he knew it better than anyone else: from a man’s point of view, and a salmon’s, and a hawk’s.

For a time they prospered. One day, Parthalon the king went hunting, leaving his wife and servant together. The wife and servant slept together and then shared a drink from Parthalon’s cup. When he came home, Parthalon took a drink and tasted them on the lip of the cup and so knew what had happened. He killed the servant, and that was the first instance of adultery, jealousy and murder on the island of Ireland. Parthalon’s wife replied to his anger by saying “honey with a woman, milk with a cat, food with a host, meat with a boy, one with one, earns great risk” and nothing more was said. So they lived together happily for another 30 years after that, till Parthalon eventually died from a plague.

His people flourished for 500 years, and numbered about 9,000 all over Ireland, but in one week a great and terrible plague came and wiped them all out, fulfilling the curse that had been placed on their leader so many years before.

Fintan Mac Bochra survived the curse thanks to his magic, and returned to the wild and secret ways of the animals, until the next time men came to the land.

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