The Fomorians, or Fomoireans were, in Irish mythology, the gods of death, darkness, the hidden and the night. They had various shapes, generally considered deformed or monstrous, some with one eye, one foot and one hand, others had animal heads, sometimes goat, pig, bull, although others could be beautiful like Elatha, who was blonde and beautiful, or as Morrigan, goddess of death who sported white skin with beautiful features, black hair and a beautiful red dress. Although there were also indescribable ones like the god of darkness and king of the dead, Tethra, who was king of the Fomorians before Balor.
Overview[]
They lived in a dark region beyond the unknown ocean, and the corvus corone or crow and the crow announced their presence. Balor, who was tall enough to be considered a giant, had one eye on his forehead and another on the back of his neck, was one of his most remembered kings; He had the ability to kill just by looking directly through his rear eye as it emitted a lethal ray. Morrigan, who was the goddess and messenger of death, gave them the souls of the dead. She used a glass boat on her trips and the young people who were seduced by her beauty jumped into it, which then served to transport them to the country of the Fomoireans; Sometimes she could manifest as a raven or a war horn, although generally as a beautiful white woman, with long black hair and a red dress, she had the peculiarity of being neutral between Fomorians and Tuatha de Danann. Tethra, god of primeval darkness, was the king of the Fomorians before Balor, until he lost the 4 battles of Maige Tuired, where after his defeat he moved to the land of the dead, where he became king of the dead. Some "black druids" evoked and invoked him to gain power over ancient necromancy. Not much is known about the physical description of this god, the little that is known was that he was an absolute manifestation of darkness, which is why he was seen present in the abysses and in every corner where there was a little darkness or in every shadow of the environment given by any living being or object.
History[]
Fomorians fought against Partholón and his people, and after the bubonic plague that killed the descendants of Partholón, who lived on the island of Ireland, the Fomorians repopulated it. Nemed fought against the Fomore on four occasions and won all of them. The first battle, Murbolg, took place in Ulster, the second, Badbgna, in Connaught, the third, Cnamros, in Leinster. In the last battle, the fourth, Nemed defeated and killed the two kings. The account of these battles has unfortunately been lost. Shortly after winning for the last time, Nemed died a victim of an epidemic disease, which in turn killed another 2,000 people. Thus it was that, deprived of their kingship, the descendants of Nemed fell victims to the terrible tyranny of the Fomore, who were headed by two kings: Morc and Conann. At this stage power was disputed by two kings: Connan and Morc. Both maintained a tyranny over the Nemeds, who ended up rebelling. Led by three chiefs, they entered the island and took the tower. An aggressive turn by Morc took the lives of all but 30 of the Nemeds. It is said that this group of survivors ended up perishing in the mare pools of Ireland. They could only be defeated by the Tuatha Dé Danann, after which they returned to their homeland.
Known Fomorians[]
- Balor (king)
- Bres
- Thetra
- Elatha
- Ethniu