The gods and goddesses, or deities of the Celts are known from a variety of sources, these include written Celtic mythology, ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names.

It should be understood that there are two main types of Celtic deities: general and local. General deities were known by Celts throughout large regions, and are the gods and goddesses they invoked for protection, healing, luck, honour and many other needs. The local deities were the spirits of a particular feature of the landscape (such as particular mountains, trees or rivers) and thus was generally only known by the locals in the surrounding areas.

After Celtic lands became Christianized, there were attempts by Christian writers to anthropomorphise (or make human) or even demonize the pre-Christian deities. For example, in Irish mythological sources, the Tuatha Dé Danann are commonly taken to represent a divine pantheon, but there is evidence of Christian attempts to discredit this.

Gaulish and Brythonic deities

The Gaulish Celts, or Gauls, inhabited the region roughly corresponding to that of modern France. The Brythonic Celts, or Britons, inhabited most of the island of Great Britain and later migrated to Brittany.

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Female

Welsh deities

The Welsh were the Britons that inhabited the area corresponding to modern Wales. After the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain, much of the Brythonic territories came under Anglo-Saxon influence. However, in the area of Wales, Brythonic Celtic religion was largely retained.

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Female

Irish deities

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Female

Scottish deities

These were the deities of the Gaelic Celts who migrated from Ireland to Scotland and formed the kingdom of Dál Riata. They are also known as the Scoti. It should be noted that much of Scotland was inhabited by the Picts before the Gaels arrived, but little is known of their religious beliefs.

External links

• The Welsh pantheon