The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic people are known from many sources, such as ancient places of worship, statues, carvings, religious objects, and names of places or people. The ancient Celts had a group of gods and goddesses similar to those in other Indo-European religions, each connected to parts of life and the natural world. After the Romans conquered Celtic lands, most of these gods were linked to Roman gods through a process called blending of beliefs. Their worship continued until Christianity spread. Epona was an exception and remained without a Roman counterpart. Pre-Roman Celtic art rarely showed gods and goddesses, and these images are hard to identify because they lack writing. After the Roman conquest, more images were made, some with writing that named the gods. Most of what we know comes from writings by Latin authors and archaeological findings from the time after the conquest. Some connections may also be made between ancient Celtic gods and characters in early medieval Irish and Welsh stories, though these stories were written long after Christianity began.
The most important source about the Celtic gods of Gaul is a passage in Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico (The Gallic War, 52–51 BC), where he names six gods and their roles. He says Mercury was the most honored god, and many statues of him were found. Mercury was seen as the creator of all crafts, the protector of travelers and merchants, and the most powerful god in matters of trade. Next, the Gauls honored Apollo, who healed sickness; Mars, who controlled war; Jupiter, who ruled the sky; and Minerva, who supported crafts. Caesar also mentions a god he compared to Dis Pater, whom the Gauls believed was their ancestor.
In a typical Roman way, Caesar did not use the original Celtic names for these gods but instead matched them to Roman gods, which makes it harder to connect them to gods in Celtic literature from Britain and Ireland. He also grouped the gods and their roles in a simple way that does not match how they were described in Celtic stories. Despite these limits, his short list is still valuable.
The gods Caesar named are often found in later writings from Gaul and Britain. Their names are sometimes paired with original Celtic names and titles, such as Mercury Visucius, Lenus Mars, Jupiter Poeninus, or Sulis Minerva. Some names without Roman connections are also common, especially for goddesses like Sulevia, Sirona, Rosmerta, and Epona. In total, hundreds of names with Celtic elements are recorded in Gaul. Most names appear only once, leading some scholars to believe that Celtic gods and their worship were local to specific tribes rather than shared by all Celts. Supporters of this idea point to a reference by Lucan to a god called Teutates, which they interpret as "god of the tribe" (teuta- likely meant "tribe" in Celtic).
General characteristics
During the Roman period, many gods and goddesses were worshipped by people in the Celtic world. Some deities were honored in many places, while others were only known in one region or even a single location. Some local or regional gods and goddesses were more popular in their areas than gods who were worshipped in many regions. For example, in east-central Gaul, the healing goddess Sequana, who lived near present-day Burgundy, was likely more important to her local followers than the Matres, who were worshipped across Britain, Gaul, and the Rhineland.
Some gods and goddesses were respected by many tribes. These included the Matres, Cernunnos, the sky-god Taranis, and Epona, the horse-goddess. Epona was honored by people living as far apart as Britain, Rome, and Bulgaria. The Matres, or mother-goddesses, were often shown as a group of three in many places, such as Britain, Gaul, and along the Rhine. However, there were differences in how they were represented in different regions.
The Celtic sky-god, Taranis, was also worshipped in different ways across the Celtic world. However, a connection between Taranis and the solar wheel was found in many areas, from Hadrian’s Wall to Cologne and Nîmes.
It was sometimes possible to identify gods and goddesses linked to specific regions, tribes, or smaller groups within tribes. For example, the Remi tribe in northwest Gaul had a unique set of stone carvings showing a god with three faces and shared facial features. This tribe also made coins with three faces, a design seen in other parts of Gaul. Another tribal god was Lenus, worshipped by the Treveri people. He was honored in many Treveri temples, including the grand temple in their capital, Trier. Lenus was also worshipped in other areas, such as Chedworth in England and Caerwent in Wales.
Many Celtic gods and goddesses were only worshipped in very specific places, sometimes in just one shrine. This may have been because they were seen as genius loci, spirits that protected or controlled a particular place. In Gaul, over 400 different Celtic deity names have been recorded, with at least 300 of them appearing only once. For example, Sequana was worshipped only near her spring shrine in Dijon, and Sulis was associated with the town of Bath. A pair of gods, Ucuetis and Bergusia, were only worshipped at Alesia in Burgundy. In Britain, the god Nodens was most closely linked to the large temple at Lydney, though he also appeared at another site in Cumbria. Two other British gods, Cocidius and Belatucadrus, were both associated with war and were worshipped in clearly defined areas near Hadrian’s Wall. Other deities, such as Vosegus, Luxovius, and Vasio, may have originally been spirits tied to specific places, such as mountains, spas, or towns.
A common feature in Gaulish and Romano-Celtic art was the pairing of male and female gods and goddesses. Examples include Rosmerta and Mercury, Nantosuelta and Sucellos, Sirona and Apollo Grannus, Borvo and Damona, and Mars Loucetius and Nemetona.
Notable deity types
A common image in ancient Gaulish art shows a god sitting cross-legged with antlers, sometimes surrounded by animals, and often wearing or holding a torc (a type of necklace). The name most often used for this god today is Cernunnos. This name appears only a few times in historical records. It is found on the Pillar of the Boatmen, a stone in Paris that was once labeled "CERNUNNOS" in the 18th century. Another example is an inscription from Montagnac, which reads, "Alletinos dedicated this to Carnonos of Alisontea." A third example is from Seinsel-Rëlent, where it is written as "Deo Ceruninco." While the name Cernunnos is rare, images of similar gods are common. The earliest known image was found in northern Italy, and the most famous is on plate A of the Gundestrup Cauldron, a 1st-century BC artifact discovered in Denmark. On this cauldron and sometimes elsewhere, Cernunnos or a similar figure is shown with a ram-headed serpent. In Reims, the figure is depicted holding a cornucopia (a horn-shaped container) filled with grains or coins.
Healing gods and goddesses were found in many parts of the Celtic world. They were often linked to thermal springs, healing wells, herbal medicine, and light.
Brigid, a goddess known for healing, poetry, and metalworking, is one of the most famous healing deities from the Insular Celtic traditions. She is connected to many healing springs and wells. Another Irish healing goddess is Airmed, who is also linked to a healing well and the practice of herbal medicine.
In the Romano-Celtic tradition, Belenus was mainly found in southern France and northern Italy. His name may come from a Celtic word meaning "bright," though other explanations have been suggested. Apollo Grannus was mostly found in central and eastern Gaul but was also linked to healing waters in Brittany and the Danube Basin. Grannus was often accompanied by the goddess Sirona. Another important healing deity was Bormo or Borvo, who was closely tied to hot springs like Bourbonne-les-Bains and Bourbon-Lancy. These springs were believed to have healing powers. The name Borvo may mean "boiling or bubbling spring water."
In Celtic culture, the sun was often seen as a female force. Several goddesses have been suggested as possibly linked to the sun.
In Irish, the word for the sun, "Grian," is a female name. A goddess named Áine is thought to have been either the same as Grian or her sister, representing the summer sun while Grian was the winter sun.
Étaín has sometimes been linked to the sun as well. If this is true, the goddess Epona may have originally been a sun goddess, though later beliefs connected her to the moon.
The British goddess Sulis has a name similar to other sun gods like the Greek Helios and the Indian Surya. She is associated with the eye and light. Another name, Sulevia, was more widely used and may have been a sun goddess for the Celts. The Welsh goddess Olwen has been linked to the sun because of her name's possible connection to the wheel and colors like gold, white, and red.
Brighid has also been linked to the sun because of her role as a goddess of fire and light.
In Ireland, many holy wells are dedicated to Brighid. In Britain and other Celtic regions, there are dedications to the goddess Minerva. In Bath, Minerva was connected to the goddess Sulis, who was worshipped near thermal springs.
Other goddesses were linked to sacred springs, such as Icovellauna among the Treveri and Coventina at Carrawburgh. Damona and Bormana also served this role alongside the spring god Borvo.
Some goddesses were associated with rivers, including Boann (of the River Boyne), Sinann (of the River Shannon), Sequana (the deified Seine), Matrona (the Marne), Souconna (the deified Saône), and possibly Belisama (of the River Ribble).
The most well-known sea god is Manannán, and his father, Lir, was often seen as the god of the ocean. Nodens was linked to healing, the sea, hunting, and dogs.
In Lusitanian and Celtic beliefs, Borvo was a healing god associated with bubbling spring water. Condatis was linked to river confluences in Britain and Gaul. Luxovius was the god of the sacred waters of Luxeuil and was worshipped in Gaul. Dian Cécht was a healer to the Irish people, using a fountain of healing. He was also connected to the River Barrow. Grannus was a god associated with spas, healing springs, and the sun.
Horses, which were important during the spread of Indo-European cultures, played a role in Celtic myths. The Gaulish goddess Epona, who may have had sun-related connections, was widely worshipped. She was adopted by Roman soldiers and honored throughout Europe, even in Rome itself. She was seen as a symbol of horsemanship, which was vital for tribal success and protection. She had similar figures in Welsh and Irish traditions, such as Rhiannon and Macha.
Table
This table lists some Celtic and Romano-Celtic gods and goddesses mentioned earlier. Their names are shown in Roman, Gaulish, British, or Iberian languages, as well as in the names of the Tuatha Dé Danann and characters from the Mabinogion. The table organizes these names to show possible connections between the deities and literary figures based on language or roles. However, scholars often disagree and revise these connections over time. Scholars like Sjoestedt have pointed out that trying to match Celtic gods from the British Isles to Roman gods can lead to misunderstandings and distort the true nature of these deities.