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June 27, 2006
~O so old! / Thousands of years, thousands of years, / If all were told.~
Tonight, more Wikipedia research of Irish mythology for that creative writing project...
The tale of Urashima Tarō:
He spends many days in happiness at this underwater kingdom, however soon becomes homesick and asks to be allowed home. The queen of the palace allows him to go home and gives him as a gift a jewel encrusted box. Upon arriving home Urashima discovers that over 300 years have passed in the real world and no one can remember him or any of his contemporaries. Wallowing in with alleged propertdepression he heads to the beach and remembers the box he was given. He opens it and a white cloud is released and he suddenly ages and dies - the box having contained his true age. Variants of this story have developed throughout Oceania and the actual origin is unknown.
Similar stories also exist in Europe, the most famous being the conclusion of the Irish legend cycle of the Fianna, in which the bard Oisín is taken to Tír na nÓg. The Voyage of Bran is also similar to this story. A Japanese sci-fi author, Aritsune Toyoda, explained the story of Urashima by the Twin paradox derived from Albert Einstein's relativity.
The Mythological Cycle is the cycle of Irish mythology that's soooooo chock-full of mythology that they had to include it in the name.
The Mythological Cycle is one of the four major cycles of Irish mythology, and is so called because it represents the remains of the pagan mythology of pre-Christian Ireland, although the gods and supernatural beings have been euhemerised by their Christian redactors into historical kings and heroes. Occasionally though, the mask slips.
The Fomorians, who appear to be the Irish gods of chaos, are unique among the peoples of the Mythological Cycle in that they have no origin - they're just there.
The Fir Bolg were displaced by the Tuatha Dé Danann or "Peoples of the goddess Danu", descendants of Nemed, who either came to Ireland from the north on dark clouds or burnt their ships on the shore to ensure they wouldn't retreat. They defeated the Fir Bolg king, Eochaid mac Eirc, in the first Battle of Magh Tuiredh, but their own king, Nuada, lost an arm in the battle. As he was no longer physically perfect he lost the kingship, and his replacement, the half-Fomorian Bres, became the first Tuatha Dé High King of Ireland.
Bres turned out to be a tyrant and brought the Tuatha Dé under the oppression of the Fomorians. Eventually Nuada was restored to the kingship, having had his arm replaced by a working one of silver, and the Tuatha Dé rose against the Fomorians in the second Battle of Magh Tuiredh. Nuada was killed by the Fomorian king, Balor, but Balor met his prophesied end at the hands of his grandson, Lug, who became king of the Tuatha Dé.
The Tuatha Dé are undoubtedly degraded gods, and have many parallels across the Celtic world. Nuada is cognate with the British god Nodens; Lug is a reflex of the pan-Celtic deity Lugus; the name of Lug's successor, the Dagda, is explained by the Irish texts as "the good god"; Tuireann is related to the Gaulish Taranis; Ogma to Ogmios; the Badb to Catubodua. Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, the Mórrígan, Aengus and Manannan appear in stories set centuries later, showing all the signs of immortality.
The Tuatha Dé are said to have brought chariots and druidry to Ireland.
In Irish mythology, the Fomorians, Fomors, or Fomori (Irish Fomóiri, Fomóraig) were a semi-divine race who inhabited Ireland in ancient times. They may have once been believed to be the beings who preceded the gods, similar to the Greek Titans. It has been suggested that they represent the gods of chaos and wild nature, as opposed to the Tuatha Dé Danann who represent the gods of human civilization. Alternatively, they may represent the gods of the displaced pre-Goidelic population of Ireland.
They are sometimes said to have had the body of a man and the head of a goat, according to an 11th century text in Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow), or to have had one eye, one arm and one leg, but some, for example Elatha, the father of Bres, were very beautiful. Bres himself, for example, carries the epithet "the Beautiful."
However Bres turned out to be a bad king who forced the Tuatha Dé to work as slaves and pay tribute to the Fomorians. He lost authority when he was satirized for neglecting his kingly duties of hospitality. Nuada was restored to the kingship after his arm was replaced with a working one of silver, but the Tuatha Dé's oppression by the Fomorians continued.
Bres fled to his father, Elatha, and asked for his help to restore him to the kingship. Elatha refused, on the grounds that he should not seek to gain by foul means what he couldn't keep by fair. Bres instead turned to Balor, a more warlike Fomorian chief living on Tory Island, and raised an army.
The Tuatha Dé also prepared for war, under another half-Fomorian leader, Lug. His father was Cian of the Tuatha Dé, and his mother was Balor's daughter Ethniu. This is presented as a dynastic marriage in early texts, but folklore preserves a more elaborate story, reminiscent the story of Zeus and Cronus from Greek mythology. Balor, who had been given a prophesy that he would be killed by his own grandson, locked Ethniu in a glass tower to keep her away from men. But when he stole Cian's magical cow, Cian got his revenge by gaining entry to the tower, with the help of a druidess called Biróg, and seducing her. She gave birth to triplets, which Balor ordered drowned. Two of the babies either died or turned into the first seals, but Biróg saved one, Lug, and gave him to Manannan and Tailtiu to foster. As an adult Lug gained entry to Nuada's court through his mastery of every art, and was given command over the army.
The Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians are closely related. Neit, a war god, is an ancestor of both.
The word fomóire is believed to derive from Old Irish fo muire (Modern Irish faoi muire), "under the sea". This, combined with their association with glass towers in the western ocean, suggests a connection with icebergs. However the mór element may derive from a word meaning "terror" which survives in English "nightmare".
They are the remnants of the underground kingdom given to the Tuatha Dé Danann ("people of the Goddess Danu") after they were defeated by the Milesians. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of Invasions), the Tuatha Dé Danann (also "Daoine Sídhe"), were defeated in battle by the mortal Sons of Míl Espáine. As part of the surrender terms the Túatha Dé Danann agreed to dwell underground in the síde (singular síd), the hills or mounds that dot the Irish landscape.
The Four Treasures of the Tuatha De Danann:
From Falias was brought the Stone of Fal (Lia Fáil), The Stone of Destiny which was supposedly located near the Hill of Tara in County Meath. It used to cry out beneath every king of Ireland. Said to hold Ireland above the waves. The Druid who lived in Falias was named Morfessa. From Gorias was brought the Spear of Destiny (Spear Luin). The Druid who lived in Gorias was named Esras. It was forged by the Smith of Falias for Lugh to use in his fight against Balor. No battle was ever sustained against it, or against the man who held it. From Findias was brought the sword of Nuada (Claíomh Solais). The Druid who lived in Findias was named Uscias. No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its deadly sheath, and no one could resist it. A bronze sword in the National Museum in Dublin claims to be this sword. From Murias was brought The Dagda’s Cauldron, the Coire Anseasc ("Undry Cauldron"). Semias was the Druid who lived in Murias. The cauldron was bottomless, capable of feeding an army. No company ever went away from it unsatisfied.
Posted by Jon Rubin at June 27, 2006 10:08 PM
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