Bodb Dearg- Celtic GodDeity
Also known as: Bodb Derg
Description
Bodb Dearg offered Lír his foster-daughter Aoife as a wife to heal a political rift — but Aoife transformed Lír's four children into swans for nine hundred years. When Bodb learned what she had done, he struck her with a druidic wand and condemned her to wander as a phantom of the air.
Mythology & Lore
King of the Síd
Bodb Dearg, whose epithet means Red, was a son of the Dagda and was chosen as king of the Tuatha Dé Danann after the Milesian conquest forced the divine race to retreat into the síd mounds. The other candidates for kingship included Midir of Brí Léith and Lír of Síd Finnachad. Both took offence at being passed over, and Lír in particular withdrew from the assembly and refused to acknowledge Bodb's authority. Bodb ruled from Síd ar Femen, a fairy mound in what is now County Tipperary.
The Reconciliation with Lír
Bodb sought to heal the rift with Lír by offering him one of his foster-daughters in marriage. Lír chose Aeb, and they were happy together until she died giving birth to twins. Bodb then offered his second foster-daughter, Aoife, as a replacement wife. Aoife grew jealous of Lír's devotion to his four children from the first marriage, Fionnuala and Aodh among them, and used magic to transform them into swans, cursing them to remain in that form for nine hundred years.
The Punishment of Aoife
When Bodb Dearg learned what Aoife had done, he struck her with a druidic wand and transformed her into a demon of the air, condemned to wander as a phantom. He then visited the swan-children at Lake Derravaragh and provided what comfort he could, though he was unable to undo the curse. The Tuatha Dé Danann gathered at the lake to hear the children of Lír sing, for their voices retained their beauty even in swan form.
Relationships
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