View source for Mag Mell

{{short description|Mythical realm in Irish mythology}}
{{Use Irish English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|cs1-dates=ll|date=April 2022}}
{{one source|date=October 2014}}
{{Utopia}}
In [[Irish mythology]], '''{{lang|sga|Mag Mell|italic=unset}}''' (modern spelling: '''{{lang|ga|Magh Meall|italic=unset}}''', meaning 'delightful plain')<ref>{{cite book |last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |title=Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition |publisher=Prentice Hall Press |date=1991 |page=409}}</ref> is one of the names for the [[Celtic Otherworld]], a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory. Unlike the [[underworld]] in some mythologies, {{lang|sga|Mag Mell|italic=unset}} was a pleasurable paradise, identified as either an island far to the west of Ireland or a kingdom beneath the ocean. However, {{lang|sga|Mag Mell|italic=unset}} was similar to the fields of [[Elysium]] in Greek mythology, and similarly was accessible only to a select few. Furthermore, {{lang|sga|Mag Mell|italic=unset}}, like the numerous other mystical islands said to be off the coast of Ireland, was never explicitly stated in any surviving mythological account to be an afterlife. Rather, it is usually portrayed as a paradise populated by deities, which is occasionally visited by some adventurous mortals. In its island guise, it was visited by various legendary Irish heroes and monks, forming the basis of the adventure myth or {{lang|sga|[[echtrae]]}} as defined by [[Myles Dillon]] in his book ''Early Irish Literature''. This otherworld is a place where sickness and death do not exist, a place of eternal youth and beauty.  Here, music, strength, life, and all pleasurable pursuits come together in a single place.  Here, happiness lasts forever, and no one wants for food or drink.  It is something of an Irish equivalent to the [[Valhalla]] of the Norse as well as the Elysium of the Greeks.

Legends say its ruler is the sea god [[Manannán mac Lir]], or less often the [[Fomorians|Fomorian]] King [[Tethra]]. {{lang|sga|Mag Mell|italic=unset}}'s allure extended from the pagan era to Christian times. In later stories, the realm is less an otherworld destination than an [[Garden of Eden|earthly paradise]] which adventurers could reach by traveling west from Ireland, often blown off course by providential tempests while on an inspired mission. They typically explore many other fantastic islands before reaching their destination and returning home (or sailing on). Among these legendary voyagers are [[St. Brendan]], {{lang|ga|[[Bran mac Febal]]|italic=unset}} {{crossref|(see ''[[The Voyage of Bran]]'')}}, and {{lang|sga|[[The Voyage of Máel Dúin|Máel Dúin]]}}.

==See also==
*{{lang|ga|[[Tír na nÓg]]|italic=unset}}
*{{lang|egy-Latn|[[Aaru]]|italic=unset}}
*{{lang|sga|[[Aillen]]|italic=unset}}
*[[Avalon]]
*{{lang|xtg|[[Erecura]]|italic=unset}}
*[[Fortunate Isles]]
*[[Heaven]]
*[[Brasil (mythical island)|Hy-Brasil]]
*{{lang|sk|[[Iriy]]|italic=unset}}
*{{lang|ga|[[Sídhe]]|italic=unset}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |first=James |last=MacKillop |title=Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=1998 |isbn=9780198691570}}
{{Refend}}

{{Heaven}}
{{Celtic mythology topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Irish mythology (mythological)}}

[[Category:Conceptions of heaven]]
[[Category:Fictional countries]]
[[Category:Irish mythology]]
[[Category:Places in Celtic mythology]]
[[Category:Mythical utopias]]
[[Category:Mythological islands]]