Lugh



Artist's image of Lugh, the Sun god.
Click on image for full size (108K GIF)
Nate Proulx, Windows to the Universe Original
For the Celts, who lived in central Europe, Lugh was a Sun god. The underworld god Balor was his grandfather. Balor was the leader of the Fomorii. The Fomorii were evil people. According to a prophecy, Balor was to be killed by a grandson.

To stop the prophecy from coming true, Balor tried to kill his grandson. Lugh miraculously survived. He was secretly raised by the god of the sea ,Manannan, and became an expert warrior.

Balor had an evil eye capable of killing whomever looked at it. Lugh threw a small magic stone into Balor's eye and killed Balor.

Lugh



Artist's image of Lugh, the Sun god.
Click on image for full size (108K GIF)
Nate Proulx, Windows to the Universe Original
For the Celts, who lived in central Europe, Lugh was a Sun god. The underworld god Balor was his grandfather. Balor was the leader of the Fomorii. The Fomorii were evil people that lived in the underworld.

According to a prophecy, Balor was to be killed by a grandson. To prevent the happening of the prophecy, Balor tried to kill his grandson, but Lugh miraculously survived. Lugh was secretly raised by the god of the sea ,Manannan, and became an expert warrior.

When he reached manhood, he joined the peoples of the goddess Dana, named the Tuatha De Danaan, to help them in their struggle against the Fomorii and Balor. Balor had an evil eye capable of killing whomever looked at it. Lugh threw a magic stone ball into Balor's eye, and killed Balor.

Lugh corresponds to the Welsh god Lleu and the Gallic Lugos. From Lugh's name derives the names of modern cities such as Lyon, Laon and Leyden. Today, people remember the figure of Lugh with a festival which commemorates the beginning of the harvest in August.

Lugh



Artist's image of Lugh, the Sun god.
Click on image for full size (108K GIF)
Nate Proulx, Windows to the Universe Original
Lugh, whose name means "the shining one," was the Celtic Sun god. The underworld god Balor was his grandfather. Balor was the leader of the Fomorii. The Fomorii were evil people that lived in the darkness of the underworld. According to a prophecy, Balor had to be killed by his grandson. To prevent this from happening, Balor had his daughter Ethlinn imprisoned in a crystal tower .

Nonetheless, Cian, the son of the medicine god, entered the tower . Ethlinn gave birth to a child whose name was Lugh. Unfortunately, as soon as the child was born, Balor had him thrown into the sea to drown. Lugh miraculously escaped from his destiny of death and was raised in the utmost secrecy by the god of the sea, Manannan. He learned the skills of the arts and crafts, and became an expert warrior.

When he reached manhood, he joined the Tuatha De Danaan, "the peoples of the goddess Dana" in their struggle against the Fomorii. During a desperate battle, the king of the Tuatha De Danaan died, being hit by the evil gaze of Balor. Balor had a malicious gaze capable of killing whomever looked at it. However, Lugh threw a magic stone ball at Balor's eye, and killed Balor as the prophecy had predicted. Lugh then became the king of the Tuatha De Danaan.

Lugh corresponds to the Welsh god Lleu and the Gallic Lugos. From Lugh's name derives the names of modern cities such as Lyon, Laon and Leyden. Today, people remember the figure of Lugh with a festival which commemorates the beginning of the harvest in August. The feast of Lugh, called by the Celts "Lughnasadh", is better known now as Lammas, or the feast of first fruits.



Last modified prior to September, 2000 by the Windows Team

The source of this material is Windows to the Universe, at http://www.windows.ucar.edu/ at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). © The Regents of the University of Michigan. Windows to the Universe® is a registered trademark of UCAR. All Rights Reserved. Site policies and disclaimer