Ogmios

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The Gallic god of eloquence, eloquence personified, often depicted as an aged Hercules drawing men by chains fastened to their ears
2. A Celtic deity associated with eloquence and persuasive speech, often portrayed as an old, muscular figure linked to the Greek hero Heracles
3. In Celtic mythology, the divine figure of learning and eloquence, shown as a elderly man who leads people with golden chains from their tongues and ears

Etymology: Ogmios is the Celtic god the Greek writer Lucian described in his work "Herakles" (second century CE), and the name is a Greek rendering of a Gaulish deity. Lucian reports that the Gauls depicted Herakles not as a hero of strength but as an old man, bald and grey, with a tongue stretched out and chains of gold and amber running from it to the ears of his followers, who followed willingly, pulled by words alone. Lucian's account is the chief source for the god, and the Greek name was chosen to match Herakles, whom Lucian identified with the Celtic figure. The name itself is usually linked to the Gaulish or Celtic root behind Irish "Ogma," the god of eloquence and writing credited in Irish tradition with inventing the ogham alphabet. Scholars generally treat the two as related, though the exact etymology of the root is uncertain, and the Irish and Gaulish figures are not identical in their myths.