Mỗi vị thần có một hình dáng, một nguồn gốc, một sở thích, một cá tính và một lĩnh vực chuyên môn mà họ quản lý; tuy nhiên, việc miêu tả các thần thường xuất phát từ các dị bản khác nhau nên không phải lúc nào cũng ăn khớp với nhau. | thunder and Teutates is cognate with Tuatha people epithets which might have applied to almost any tribal god. In another passage Lucan describes the Gaulish Ogmios from whom may have been derived Ogma the champion of Irish mythology. The setting for worship is sometimes referred to in Greek and Roman writers. During the Roman period worship was formally organised in properly constructed temples and although there is evidence to suggest that some form of built temple may have been used in the period of Celtic independence the main ritual activity of the Celts was conducted in the open air in woodland clearings or by lakes rivers streams and springs. A writer in the fourth century . refers to the existence in Britain of a magnificent circular temple dedicated to Apollo. It is difficult to understand this reference. Perhaps Stonehenge or Avebury is intended but the original use of these sites dates to the Early Bronze Age at least one thousand years earlier and the allusion to the sky-god is obscure. The barbarism of certain Celtic rites is brought out in their writings by Caesar Tacitus Lucan and others. Caesar states that human sacrifices were made by burning the victims placed in huge images and other writers frequently refer to blood-stained altars and the like. Allowing for literary licence there seems to be no doubt that the Celts practised human sacrifice perhaps not as a frequent part of their ceremonial but certainly in times of trouble and possibly in the earlier period at least at certain annual ritual gatherings. This helps in the interpretation of various myths involving death by fire or burning. Similarly there are many references to the offering of human heads to the gods and both the archaeological and mythological evidence provide comparable evidence. The head of Bran and Cu Chulainn s juggling with human heads may be cited. More frequent were the animal sacrifices some of which were substitutes for earlier human sacrifices. It is from Latin .
