Áine
Áine (Irish pronunciation: [ˈaːnʲə]) is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun,[1] and is sometimes represented by a red mare.[1] She is the daughter of Egobail,[2] the sister of Aillen and/or Fennen, and is claimed as an ancestor by multiple Irish families. As the goddess of love and fertility, she had command over crops and animals and is also associated with agriculture.[2]
Áine is strongly associated with County Limerick. The hill of Knockainy (Irish: Cnoc Áine) is named after her,[2] and was site of rites in her honour, involving fire and the blessing of the land, recorded as recently as 1879.[3] She is also associated with sites such as Toberanna (Irish: Tobar Áine), County Tyrone;[4] Dunany (Irish: Dun Áine), County Louth; Lissan (Irish: Lios Áine), County Londonderry; and Cnoc Áine near Teelin, County Donegal.
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[edit] In Irish mythology
In early tales she is associated with the semi-mythological King of Munster, Ailill Aulom, who is said to have "ravished" her, an affair ending in Áine biting off his ear - hence "Aulom", meaning "one-eared". By maiming him this way, Áine rendered him unfit to be King, thereby taking away the power of sovereignty.[3] The descendants of Aulom, the Eóganachta, claim Áine as an ancestor.[5]
In other tales Áine is the wife of Gearoid Iarla. Rather than having a consensual marriage, he rapes her (thought to be based on the story of Ailill Aulom), and she exacts her revenge by either changing him into a goose, killing him, or both.[1] Thus the FitzGeralds also claim an association with Áine; despite the French-Norman origins of the clan, the FitzGeralds would become known for being "More Irish than the Irish themselves."
In yet other versions of her myth, she is the wife or daughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir. The feast of Midsummer Night was held in her honor. In County Limerick, she is remembered in more recent times as Queen of the fairies.
[edit] Related goddesses
Áine (Ir. "brightness, glow, joy, radiance; splendour, glory, fame") is sometimes mistakenly equated with Danu as her name bears a superficial resemblance to Anu.[1]
"Aynia", reputedly the most powerful fairy in Ulster, may be a variant of the same figure.[6]
About seven miles from Áine’s hill, Cnoc Áine (Knockainy) in County Limerick, is the hill of the goddess Grian, Cnoc Gréine. Grian (literally, "sun") is believed to be either the sister of Áine, another of Áine's manifestations, or possibly "Macha in disguise".[7] Due to Áine's connection with midsummer rites, it is possible that Áine and Grian may share a dual-goddess, seasonal function (such as seen in the Gaelic myths of the Cailleach and Brighid) with the two sisters representing the "two suns" of the year: Áine representing the light half of the year and the bright summer sun (an ghrian mhór), and Grian the dark half of the year and the pale winter sun (an ghrian bheag).[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d MacKillop, James (1998) Dictionary of Celtic Mythology Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-280120-1 pp.10, 16, 128
- ^ a b c Cotterell, Arthur: The Encyclopedia of Mythology, page 96. Hermes House, 2007. ISBN 1-84038-894-3
- ^ a b Meehan, Cary, Sacred Ireland
- ^ )"Ainm Index - Water Names: "T"". http://www.ulsterplacenames.org/ainm_index_-_water_names_t.htm. Retrieved 2011-22-09.
- ^ Byrne, Francis John (2001) Irish Kings and High-Kings. Four Courts Press. 2nd revised edition
- ^ Charles Squire. Celtic Myth and Legend. The Gaelic Gods: Chapter XV. the Decline and Fall of the Gods, p.245.
- ^ a b MacKillop (1998) pp.10, 70, 92
[edit] Bibliography
- Byrne, Francis John, Irish Kings and High-Kings. Four Courts Press. 2nd revised edition, 2001.
- Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology(Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN 0-19-508961-8
- MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-280120-1.
- O hOgain, Daithi "Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopedia of the Irish Folk Tradition" Prentice Hall Press, (1991) : ISBN 0-13-275959-4 (the only dictionary/encyclopedia with source references for every entry)
- Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN 0-00-764059-5
[edit] External links
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