"All the people of Gaul are very religious. The god they honour most is Mercury. His statues are the most numerous. They consider him to be the inventor of all the arts. He is for them the god who shows them the path to follow, who guides the traveller. It is he who is most capable of making them money and of protecting their business.

"Next to him they worship Apollo, and Mars, and Jupiter, and Minerva; respecting these deities, they have for the most part the same belief as other nations: that Apollo averts diseases, that Minerva imparts the invention of manufactures, that Jupiter possesses the sovereignty of the heavenly powers; that Mars presides over wars. To him, when they have determined to engage in battle, they commonly vow those things which they shall take in war. When they have conquered, they sacrifice whatever captured animals may have survived the conflict, and collect the other things into one place." --De Bello Gallico

Ah, but who are these gods, once divested of their Roman names? And are there more than six?

Well, scholars have conjectured that the following are the equivalent Gallic (ie continental Celtic) Gods:

ROMAN           GALLIC           WELSH                       IRISH

Mercury      Lugos/Esus     Lleu/Manawyddan1        Lugh/Cuchulain/Manannan mac Lir
Apollo       Belenos        Beli/Mabon ap Modron    Bile
Mars         Teutates       Nudd?                   Nuada     
Jupiter      Taranos         2                      the Dagda
Minerva      Brigantia       Sulis3                 Brigit
Dis Pater    Cernunnos?     Arawn?                  Donn

==========================================================================

Not mentioned by Caesar, but mentioned by others, or monuments found:

ROMAN          GALLIC            WELSH                IRISH

Hercules        Ogmios           Menw                      Ogma
Venus           Epona            Rhiannon/Branwen        Macha

1. Manawyddan/Manannan mac Lir is sometimes considered a god of commerce, and a trickster god, particularly in Irish myth. Both Lugh and Cuchulain are fostered by Manannan, as Pryderi is by Manawyddan.

2. While there is no direct equivalent to Jupiter in Welsh myth, there is mention of a Glineu ap Taran, Taran meaning "Thunder." Elsewise, one may consider Bran.

3. A direct equivalent to Brigit doesn't exist in known Welsh myth, but it was likely a name similiar to Brigantia; her temple was at Bath.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.