Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Among Celts in close contact with Ancient Rome, s...
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In Celtic mythology Taranis was the god of thunder worshipped primarily in Gaul, Gallaecia, the British Isles, but also in the Rhineland and Danube regions, amongst others. Taranis, along with Esus and Toutatis as part of a sacred triad, was mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia as a Celtic deity to whom human sacrificial offerings were made. Taranis was associated, as was the cyclops Brontes ("thunder") in Greek mythology, with the wheel.
Gundestrup cauldron, created between 200 BC and 300 AD, is thought to have a depiction of Taranis on the inner wall of cauldron on tile C Many representations of a bearded god with a thunderbolt in one hand and a wheel in the other have been recovered from Gaul, where this deity apparently came to be syncretised with Jupiter.
About Taranis
The name Taranis derives from the Celtic (or Indo-European) root 'taran' meaning thunderer or thunder. A bronze figurine was found in Le Chatelet, France and is dated to the 1st to 2nd century BCE. It shows a wise, patriarchal being holding a lightning bolt and a solar wheel. As one who grew up in the Western traditions, this figure is almost instantly recognizable as Jupiter, only the solar wheel giving away the fact that this is a Celtic and not a Roman figure.
‘The oldest known coherent account of the Celtic pantheon is Caesar's, who lists their major deities, defining their respective functions briefly though clearly. Unfortunately, Caesar does not give their Gaulish names, only their Roman equivalents. The first to be mentioned is Mercury, the most highly revered among the Gauls and presumably corresponding to Lugh, the supreme lord’; then comes Apollo, said to ‘drive away disease’, then Minerva, who ‘transmits the principles of arts and crafts’, then Jupiter, who ‘rules over the skies’, and finally Mars, who ‘oversees war’. Scholars agree that these deities correspond to the three main functions of the Indo-European system: the sacred (Jupiter), war (Mars), and productivity (Apollo and Minerva). (Kruta et al., p. 132)
The association of Taranis with Fire is clear from the figure and Caesar's words; the fire of the skies: the Sun, and the fire of the air: lightening and its voice thunder, giving the God his name, Taranis. ‘Elsewhere we find Jove 'complete with wheel,' thought to represent the Celtic god of thunder, Taranis, who, hurling his wheel through the clouds, unleashed the terrible din. He turns up in 'classical' styles which must surely be official. A link is thus established from the little 'ritual wheels' of the Bronze and Iron Ages to the Gundestrup cauldron, and to representations of the Empires.’ Pre-Roman Images of ‘Taranis’:
The amazing site in the Camonica valley near Paspardo, Italy (Valcamonica: see ‘Footsteps of Man tracing’) contains many thousands of rock carvings that span the paleolithic to the late iron age periods. This area was invaded by the Celts during the late Hallstat period and settled by them during the late Iron Age. Carvings from this latter period may relate to the gods Taranis and Cernunnos.
