Aericura
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In Celtic mythology, Aericura (Aeracura, Heracura) was an underworld goddess; she was originally an earth goddess, associated with Silvanus, the Rhine Valley and the cornucopia. Under her later aspect as an underworld goddess, she may have been displaced by Dis Pater.
Etymological Clues to Fundamental Character
The reconstructed lexis of the Proto-Celtic language as collated by the University of Wales [1] (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf) suggests that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Heri-kura. This Proto-Celtic word connotes the semantics of beyond-circle . So this mythological character may fundamentally have been a personification of the supposed transcendent cyclicality anciently deemed inherent in the cycles of nature, life and death.
Bibliography
- Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN: 0195089618
- MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0192801201.
- Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN: 0007640595