Ogma
Ogma is a god from Irish and Scottish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he is often considered a deity and may be related to the Gallic god Ogmios. According to the Ogam Tract, he is the inventor of Ogham, the script in which Irish Gaelic was first written.
Name and Epithets
Etymology
The name Ogma is believed to originate from the Proto-Indo-European root *ak- or *ag- meaning "to cut," which refers to the method in which ogham was incised into stone and wood. In Ogham, his name would be written .Epithets
Ogma is given three epithets in Irish Gaelic tradition:Grianainech “sun-faced” or “shining, radiant countenance” on p. 303 of the Táin Bó Cúailnge and p.187 of Lebor Gabála Érenn ;
Trenfher “Strongman” or “Champion” in sections 59 and 162 of the Do Cath Mag Tuired ; and
Griain-éigis “Shining sage or learned man” in section 12 of Foras Feasa ar Éirinn.
Many scholars have credited The Dagda's son Cermait's epithet Milbel, or "honey-mouthed" or "eloquence" with Ogma, but this confusion seems to be an incorrect comparison by MacKillop .
Mythology
He fights in the first battle of Magh Tuiredh when the Tuatha Dé Danann take Ireland from the Fir Bolg. Under the reign of Bres, when the Tuatha Dé Danann are reduced to servitude, Ogma is forced to carry firewood, but nonetheless is the only one of the Tuatha Dé who proves his athletic and martial prowess in contests before the king. When Bres is overthrown and Nuadu restored, Ogma is his champion. His position is threatened by the arrival of Lugh at the court, so Ogma challenges him by lifting a great flagstone, which normally required eighty oxen to move it, and hurling it out of Tara, but Lugh answers the challenge by hurling it back. When Nuadu hands command of the Battle of Mag Tuired to Lugh, Ogma becomes Lugh's champion and promises to repel the Fomorian king, Indech, and his bodyguard, and to defeat a third of the enemy. During the battle he finds Orna, the sword of the Fomorian king Tethra, which recounts the deeds done with it when unsheathed. During the battle Ogma and Indech fall in single combat, although there is some confusion in the texts as in Cath Maige Tuired Ogma, Lugh and the Dagda pursue the Fomorians after the battle to recover the harp of Uaitne, the Dagda's harper. Which substantiates the reason that the Dagda gives Síd Aircheltrai to Ogma in De Gabáil in tSída and is also referred to be in residence in Brecc on page 303 in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.He often appears as a triad with Lugh and the Dagda, who are sometimes collectively known as the trí dée dána or three gods of skill, although that designation is elsewhere applied to other groups of characters. His father is Elatha and his mother is usually given as Ethliu, sometimes as Étaín. In the Ogam Tract, he is called the son of Elatha and brother of Delbaeth and Bres. Oghma's sons include Delbaeth and Tuireann.