In the fortress of Eamhain Macha, also called the "Castle of sins" Culann the blacksmith was having a party. His powerful dog had been dropped to keep the door of the stronghold. Setanta arrived there at nightfall. He did not know the dog of Culann, who attacked him and was immediately floored: Setanta did not give him the slightest chance.

Son of Lugh, the god of light -whom they say he was Sun's son- and of Dectire, a beautiful mortal woman, Setanta came from another worldWith his people of half-gods, the Tuatha dé Danann he came from four islands in the North. But "another world" might mean other planets? Go to Retrouvez les Pléiades When he heard of his dog's death, Culann flew into a terrible rage, and Setanta swore he would replace Culann's dog to keep the door of the stronghold. So Setanta was called "the Hound of Culann" what is said Cùchulainn in ancient Gaelic. And the soothsayer Cathbad had calculated that this was a good day to fight. Then Cùchulainn armed himself; that was the day he departed to glory and but also to his approaching end.

During the first battle, he killed the sons of Nechtin Seine, what filled him with a war fever. His body began to twist and split, his flesh splitting under his skin. A red veil crimsoned his face and he had to choose between two lanes. Cùchulainn chose the path of blood. He returned to Eamhain Macha, threatening to destroy the city. To appease his fury, the besieged sent him three naked women. Disarmed, the giant fell in love with the most beautiful, Emer, the lily of Emain.

They went to fetch the father of the young woman: "No one will marry my daughter if he is not first formed by Domhnall, the fencing master", said the latter. Culann's hound went to train with Domhnall, he learned all he could from him. "Now you must train with Scathatch, the master in martial arts." Cuchulainn lowered his head. "I'll go find Scathatch" he said. Trained in martial arts, he returned to ask the hand of Emer, but once again, her father refused.

Then Cùchulainn gave vent to his rage. Entering the fortress, he killed many fierce warriors. Terrified, Emer's father killed himself. The lovers were finally married. Cùchulainn, the Hound of Culann, fought then against snakes he put into pieces and dragons he routed: since then, he wore the Serpent's emblem. In those times of unrest and wars, Cùchulainn, Ulster's Hound, defended his country alone. Faced with the invasion of Maeve from Connaught, he protected Ulster despite the pain of his injuries.

Cùchulainn is a tragic hero: with his trusty sword Caladin, he killed Ferdiad, his best friend, in the heat of the battle of Ford. In his last fight, he got pierced by a hostile javelin. His entrails hung from his torn belly. He staggered and collapsed near a lake where he drank copiously. Then he firmly fastened up to a raised stone. A crow hopped on his guts and drank his blood. Cùchulainn sent out a last laugh, ending in painful gasp.

On his feet he faced up to his enemies, on his feet he died. Already, he felt his end coming, but he still firmly kept his valiant sword Caladin. For three days and three nights, the enemy was trembling in the bushes, not daring to approach him, tied to his stone like a pagan Christ, raising a threatening arm that was still holding Caladin. On the fourth day, an otter approached Cùchulainn. The otter sniffed his face and began to drink his blood. Whispered his enemies:

"Cùchulainn is dead!"

This is the story of Cùchulainn, the mythical hero of Ulster. Reading this story, we may suspect that Cùchulainn is not an ordinary man. His divine sonship, the superhuman strength he has shown, the feats he performed and the terror he inspired place him into the category of ancient superheroes. The son of Lugh belonged to the race of the Tuatha De Danaan,Go to Tuatha Dé Danann the giantsGo to L'empreinte des géants before the great flood.Go to Le grand catacysme We have seen that at first blood, he sees red. An irresistible desire for murder and blood rises in him.

It is a trait often cited about the giants. In his Theogony,Go to Le règne de Cronos Hesiod told us that sometimes the giants were doing a massacre in the ranks of men, killing and slaughtering everyone they met.Go to Le règne de Zeus The following sequence is quite noteworthy. Cùchulainn, driven by his desire of murder, went into a kind of trance and split. One Cùchulainn chose the path of blood, the one whom we are told the story. But what happened to the other Cùchulainn? That is what we will try to unravel.

Initially, Setanta received the name of Hound of Culann. In Erse, dog is said chu, and falls between the two syllables of Culann to express belonging: Cùchulainn. Now this curious way of putting a word into  another one, is found across the Atlantic, which in itself is quite puzzling. And even better, this is also the name of a mythical founding hero. A blond giant, who bears the symbol of the snake. The Aztecs called him Quetzalcoatl,Go to page the Feathered Serpent.

For their part, the Quiche called him Gucumatz. With his fellows of the Serpent People, he came from another world. However, as Cùchulainn, the name Gucumatz consists of two words into one another: gumatz, which means snake, and cu which means bird. For the Maya, Gucumatz is called Kukulkan, sounding a bit like Cùchulainn. Could it be that Cùchulainn had lived a double life?It happened already. Go to La face cachée de Jésus Could it be that the heroic Celtic warrior was also the peaceful and benevolent god celebrated by the Maya?

It is worth a close look at the story of Kukulkan.Click +