Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions

'i26 Old Irish Relio^ions.
^>
a hill to see the sunrise.
According to Schedius, the word
may be rendered 2 + 8 + 30 + 5 + 50+70+ 200 or 365,
the period in days of the sun's annual round. The solar
Hercules was represented in Irish by Ogviian or Ogham.
The god of light was ever god of the Heavens.
Belenus was Belus or Belis, from belos, an arrow, or ray,
and therefore a form of Apollo. As ApoUo-Belinus, he
was the young Sun, armed with arrows or rays, and was
exhibited as a young man without beard, and rays round
his head. As ApoUo-Abelios, he was the old or winter
sun, having no rays. The Breton god was Beletucadrus
—Mars and Apollo being identical. The votive altar
at St. Lizier bears the names of Minerva and Belisana.
Baron Chaudruc-de-Crazannes, writing upon Belisana, goddess
of the Gauls, observes that Caesar *' had found in
Esus, Taranis, Teutates, Camulus, Belisana, an identity
with Jupiter, Mercury, Apollo, Mars, and Minerva, of
Greeks and Romans." Belisana, without lance or shield, was
called the Queen of Arrows, i. e, the solar rays. She was
represented as thinking profoundly.
SainJian, literally servant, is derived from Sam^ the sun ;
s>o,sai)i]i-an^\\k^ the sun. As the Irish Pluto, he is guardian
of the Dead. As such, he would receive the prayers for
souls on Hallow Eve. The Arab schanis is the sun. Cearas^
god of fire, has a feminine equivalent in Ceara^ goddess of
Nature. As the horse was a symbol of the sun, we are
not surprised to see it associated with the god Cunobelhi of
Gaul, who had the sun's face, with locks of hair. The
Gaulish Cernunnos appeared as an old man with horns on
his head.
Le Blanc, in Etude snr le
Syinbolisnie Driiidiqiie, asserts
that the name of Bal-Sab proves that Bal, Bel, or Beal is
the same as the Irish Samhan. Bal is the personification
of the sacred fire become visible. The year, the work of