Aengus Óg vs The Dagda

The ever-young god of love and poetic inspiration, whose kisses become birds that hover around young lovers' heads, whispering sweet nothings.

Aengus is the son of **the Dagda** and **Boann**, goddess of the River Boyne. Their union was an affair: Boann was married to Elcmar (or Nechtan), so the Dagda sent Elcmar away on a journey and caused nine months to pass as a single day. Thus Aengus was conceived and born before Elcmar returned. Aengus was fostered by **Midir** at Brí Léith, unaware of his parentage. When he came of age, he learned his true heritage and cleverly won the **Brú na Bóinne** (Newgrange) from his father through a word-trick: he asked to stay "a day and a night," but in Irish idiom this means "forever."

Aengus Óg, the "Young Son" or "Youthful Strength", is the Irish god of love, youth, and poetic inspiration. Forever young and beautiful, he represents the eternal renewal of passion and creativity. His four magical birds, said to be kisses transformed, fly above lovers' heads, inspiring tender words.

The father figure and king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. A giant, bearded powerhouse with a magic club that can kill with one end and heal with the other, and a cauldron that never runs empty.

The Dagda is one of the principal leaders of the **Tuatha Dé Danann**, the divine tribe who arrived in Ireland shrouded in magical mist or in cloud-ships from the northern islands of the world. His parents are sometimes given as Elatha of the Fomorians and Eithne, making him half-Fomorian himself, though other traditions name Danu as the mother of all the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is the father of many important deities, including Brigid, Aengus, Midir, and Bodb Derg. His primary consort is the Morrígan, the great goddess of war and sovereignty.

The Dagda, whose name means **"the Good God"** (not morally good, but good at everything), is the father figure and High King of the **Tuatha Dé Danann**, the divine race of Irish mythology. He embodies abundance, fertility, and the life-giving power of the earth. Despite his immense power, he is often depicted with a comically short tunic and enormous appetite, lending him a more approachable, earthy quality than many other chief deities.