Danu (Irish Goddess)

Danu is known as the mother goddess of the Tuath De (the Tuatha Dé Danann) of Irish Mythology. She is believed to be the eponymous goddess after whom the Tuatha Dé Danann are named.

The name of this mythical, legendary peoples literally means “folk of the goddess Danu” — or some variation, such as “tribe of Danu” or “people of Danu”. They are recollected in a supernatural light.

While her exact attributes, role and identity are uncertain (and debated) she is often associated with fertility, wisdom, the natural world, and water — especially water. Her name is thought to mean “divine waters”.

The Origins of Danu

The Origins of Danu are uncertain. When we consider her within the greater context of Indo-European myth, it is not immediately clear whom she is related to (as it often is with other gods among the various Indo-European religions, pantheon, and mythical corpus).

The most obvious links are:

• Danu (Hinduism) — A primordial goddess of the Hindu religion, mentioned in the Rigveda (of the oldest Vedic texts) and is also named as the eponymous race known as the danavas.
• Diana (Roman) and —

The Ancient Roots of Danu

As Danu is found in all of the largest surviving Indo-European Religions — Danu to the Celtic and Vedic people’s, Diana to the Romans, in addition to being found in the Sumerian Religion too, probably as Inanna — Danu is a truly ancient mythical figure.

While it is not exactly clear who she was (( her ancient pedigree cannot be questioned) there are many details that remain unanswered.

One of my questions (which I have spoken about elsewhere) is why she was preserved in both Sumerian and

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