Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!
Macha, in Celtic religion, one of three war goddesses; it is also a collective name for the three, who were also referred to as the three Morrígan. As an individual, Macha was known by a great variety of names, including Dana and Badb (“Crow,” or “Raven”). She was the great earth mother, or female principle, and a great slaughterer of men, as was another of the trinity, Morrígan, or Black Annis, who survives in Arthurian legend as Morgan le Fay. The third goddess was Nemain.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Rhiannon…Epona and the Irish goddess Macha. She is best-known from
The Mabinogion,a collection of medieval Welsh tales, in which she makes her first appearance on a pale, mysterious steed and meets King Pwyll, whom she marries. Later she was unjustly accused of killing her infant son, and in punishment…
Celtic religionCeltic religion, religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Celts. The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apogee of their influence and territorial expansion during the 4th century bc, extending across the length of Europe from Britain to Asia Minor. From the 3rd century bc…
MythMyth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons). Myths are…