Cult of Gods

Lir

Celtic (Irish) tradition. See the whole pantheon.

Domains
the sea
Children
Manannán mac Lir
Folio 309r of the Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin), c. 800.
Folio 309r of the Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin), c. 800.

Key myth

Little is told about Lir in the oldest texts. His name means 'sea', and he is the father of Manannán; the later folktale 'Children of Lir' is a different Lir.

Primary sources

  • Lebor Gabála Érenn

All sources for the Celtic (Irish) pantheon

Place in the family graph

Choose a deity to see where it comes from. Dashed lines are links the sources describe that are not parent and child.

DanuLirManannán mac LirThe DagdaThe MorríganBoannNuadaBalorOgmaDian CéchtBrigidAengus ÓgEthniuCianLugh

More traditions

Odin rides to Hel, W. G. Collingwood, after the Poetic Edda.NorsePapyrus of Ani, British Museum (New Kingdom), a Book of the Dead.EgyptianA chaos monster and a sun god, drawn by L. Gruner for A. H. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh.MesopotamianVishvarupa Vishnu, Kashmir or Himachal, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection.Hindu

Elsewhere in the world

Deities in other traditions who share a theme with Lir: sea and waters. This is overlap in one area only.

Norse

Ægir

the sea, brewer of the gods' ale

Norse

Rán

drowning, the sea's net

Egyptian

Nun

the primeval waters

Egyptian

Sobek

Nile, fertility, kingship

Mesopotamian

Nammu

the primeval sea, mother of the gods

Mesopotamian

Apsu

fresh water below the earth

Mesopotamian

Tiamat

salt water, primordial mother

Compare across cultures