Celtic mythology: Did you mean...?

Elements of Norse mythology abound in The Lord of the Rings, and none is so compelling as the ring itself. The One Ring is reminiscent of magic rings in Norse lore, especially Odin's Draupnir or Andvaranaut from the legend of the Volsungs...

The Ancient Celtic religion was a polytheistic one, with numerous gods with sometimes overlapping responsibilities. The ancient Celts, who occupied parts of western and central Europe during the Late Bronze Age and through to the Iron Age...

Achilles The hero of the Trojan War, leader of the Myrmidons, slayer of Hector and Greece's greatest warrior, who sadly came unstuck when Paris sent a flying arrow guided by Apollo, which caught him in his only weak spot, his heel. Adonis...

Elves and dwarves represent minor divine figures in Norse mythology. Elves (álfar) and dwarves (dvergar) have in common their talent for creating precious objects, skill, agility, and moral ambiguity. Dwarves appear in several important stories...

Scythian art is best known for its 'animal art.' Flourishing between the 7th and 3rd centuries BCE on the steppe of Central Asia, with echoes of Celtic influence, the Scythians were known for their works in gold. Moreover, with the recent...

The Cimbri were a tribe who lived in northern Jutland during the Roman era. Their ethnicity is enigmatic; scholars generally believe that the Cimbri were Germans, though others maintain that they were Celts. The late 2nd-century BCE migration...

A terracotta figurine of a Celtic warrior. Likely a Celtic Gaul. From Egypt, 220-180 BCE. (British Museum, London)

A Celtic parade helmet in bronze and iron covered in gold with coral inlay, c. 350 BCE. Found buried in a cave in Agris, western France. It is a fine example of the use of vegetal motifs in ancient Celtic art. (Bernisches Historisches Museum...

Leprechauns (also leprecauns or lepracauns) are figures in Irish folklore who guard hidden treasure. Regarded as small and incredibly agile male fairies or goblins, they most often guard a pot of gold. Leprechauns live solitary lives and...

The Wheel of the Year is a symbol of the eight Sabbats (religious festivals) of Neo-Paganism and the Wicca movement which includes four solar festivals - Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox - and four seasonal festivals...