Who were the mysterious gods worshipped by the ancient Celts of Europe?
In short: The ancient Celts left behind no written records of their faith. This video synthesizes archaeological evidence and classical accounts to reconstruct the polytheistic world of the Iron Age, revealing how they viewed their gods and the rituals that defined their daily lives.
The Celtic pantheon was a complex web of overlapping deities who were thought to influence human welfare. Among the most prominent was Cernunnos, the enigmatic horned god famously immortalized on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Other figures included Epona, the horse goddess; Sequana, a healing deity venerated in central France; and Brigantia, a British goddess whom Romans compared to Nike.
Beyond these, the Celts honored figures like Esus, a potential patron of crafts, and Rhenus, the god of the Rhine. Because the Celts left no internal written history, our understanding relies on a combination of votive inscriptions, burial sites, and the observations of classical authors who encountered these cultures across western and central Europe during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Ancient Celtic Religion, Druids and Funerary Beliefs
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