Re: [tied] Re: Ingui

> The association with the Tuatha makes Oenghus a divine
> foreigner.

I don't see how - the Tuatha De were native gods of Ireland.

> Because a burial mound is referred to as his court or temple he was
> likely a god of the dead.

I don't know - that's a rather bold staement. I haven't seen anything in
Oengus' nature that makes him a god of the dead. Remember, Oengus is
otherwise known as Mac in Og, the Irish reflex of Gallo-Brittonic (Apollo)
Maponos (Welsh Mabon), "the divine youth," who was worshipped as a god of
healing springs and who may have had some kind of warrior function. He
likely also had a solar nature (as did the other Celtic Apollos). Youths
are not usually associated with death - that is reserved for "old" gods
(like Baltic Pecullo/Patollo and Norse Odinn).

> Oenghus is also referred to as a god of
> beauty, youth, wit, charm, and love. The tradition of Oenghus (as god
> of the dead) and the swan princes may have something to do with
> fertility and seasonal death/rebirth. There are also several other
> traditions of Oenghus as a lover, followed by death. In a nutshell
> he's described as a primal Apollo-like deity who is primarily the
> lord of love and death. It appears that because of Angus' association
> with love and sex a lot of his tradition was suppressed in the early
> Christian era.

I don't believe that there is any evidence that Oengus is a "god of love" -
though he does aid the lovers Diarmuid and Grainne (we must be careful not
to jump to conclusions about this, however).

-Chris Gwinn