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DĂ´n
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DĂ´n

Celtic goddess
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History

DĂ´n, in Celtic mythology, leader of one of two warring families of gods; according to one interpretation, the Children of DĂ´n were the powers of light, constantly in conflict with the Children of Llyr, the powers of darkness. In another view, the conflict was a struggle between indigenous gods and those of an invading people. Although DĂ´n and other Welsh deities had Irish analogues (the Irish goddess Danu, e.g.), the stories surrounding them differed, and the Welsh mythology has only partially survived.

Dôn’s children included Gwydion, a master of magic, poetry, and music and a warrior who clashed frequently with various gods, and Aranrhod, a sky goddess and symbol of fertility, who bore Gwydion twin sons: Dylan, a sea god, and Lleu Llaw Gyffes (Lleu of the Dexterous Hand), whom many scholars consider analogous to the Irish god Lug.