Cernunnos

No narrative origin story survives in the supplied sources. The modern label 'Cernunnos' derives from an inscriptional reading on the Pillar of the Boatmen (1st century CE); application of that name to a wider cluster of antlered, often cross‑legged images is a scholarly convention. Iconographic material indicates the figure belongs to indigenous Gallic religious practice attested from at least the 4th century BCE and continuing into the Roman period, but the original vocalization and precise identity remain uncertain.

Depictions show a bearded male, often aged, frequently portrayed cross‑legged. The head bears a pair of deer antlers; in the Pillar of the Boatmen depiction torcs are shown hanging from the antlers. The upper head area of the pillar figure is described in the sources as animal‑like (hairless and bulging) and two triangular extrusions appear between the antlers. Associated imagery across the iconographic cluster includes ram‑horned or ram‑headed serpents, torcs, fertility symbols, and wild beasts (especially deer).

No explicit powers or mythic deeds are recorded in the provided materials. Scholarly interpretations based on recurring iconography propose associations with fertility, the underworld, and 'bi‑directionality' (a conceptual role linking two realms), as well as connections to wild fauna and valuable social ornaments (torcs). These functions are inferential, drawn from visual context rather than preserved textual descriptions of actions.