Written By Branos Carnutodrûidion/Urādos – Gutuatir of BNG
Dis Pater, meaning “Rich Father,” is a mysterious and ancestral god mentioned by Julius Caesar, who wrote that “all the Gauls claim descent from Dis Pater.” But Caesar never told us who this god was.
While “Dis Pater” is a Roman term, in BNG we do not equate it with the Roman god of the underworld. Instead, we interpret the phrase as Caesar’s attempt to capture a native concept.
In Roman tradition, Dis Pater is a god of the underworld, wealth, and ancestral lineage — often associated with Pluto or Hades. In the Gaulish context, however, the identity of Dis Pater remains unclear. Scholars and practitioners have linked him to gods like Sucellos, Taranos, Ogmios, Carnonos, or even mythic ancestors like Celtus. Each carries a piece of the mystery.
In Bessus Nouiogalation (BNG), we don’t claim to know exactly who Dis Pater is. Instead, we recognize him as a sacred role, a divine mystery that speaks to ancestry, transition, and cosmic order. Dis Pater is not one god but a function filled by many — or by one whose name has been lost to time.
Ultimately, we believe each soul may come to know their own Dis Pater — the one who walks beside you in silence, who guides your soul between worlds, and who whispers the ancient truths that shape your path.
As mentioned above in Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Julius Caesar wrote that “all the Gauls claim descent from Dis Pater.” It’s a cryptic and powerful statement — one that has echoed down through the centuries and become a source of speculation, reconstruction, and inspiration among modern Gaulish pagans.
Who was this Dis Pater, this “Rich Father” of the Gauls? Is it Ogmios, Celtus, Sucellos, Smertrios, Carnonos, or Taranos?
All these have been discussed as the Dis Caesar may have meant. Why? Because each bears a connection — through iconography, etymology, or mythic function. I won’t dive into the academic weeds here (perhaps on my personal site), but instead offer how Bessus Nouiogalation (BNG) sees it.
In BNG, we choose not to pin down this ancestral god with a single identity. We do not say who the Gaulish Dis Pater is, because we do not believe he can be fully named. To do so would be to close the door to mystery, and in BNG, mystery is part of the sacred order of things.
Instead, we hold space for several figures who might reflect the role or radiance of this hidden Dêuos — not one name, but a constellation of them.
These are not contradictions. They are facets.
Ogmios: The Father of the Gauls
In BNG theology, Ogmios is honored as the Father of the Gauls. He is the god of powerful speech, binding his followers not with chains of iron, but with chains of golden words. A god of wisdom, silence, endurance, and radiant strength — he leads not through fear, but through persuasion and insight. Ogmios is not just a god of eloquence — he is the one who calls the tribes into being. He teaches, names, and guides. He sets the tone for our shared ethos: to live with honor, wisdom, and clarity, even in silence.
As the divine father, Ogmios doesn’t thunder — he whispers truths that shape nations.
He may be Dis Pater as the one who calls us into being, who names the tribes, and binds us in golden truths.
Galatos: The Divine Ancestor
We recognize Galatos as a mythic figure central to Gaulish identity — our culture hero and divine ancestor. Galatos, in BNG thought, is not a historical figure. He is a mythic construct, born from multiple streams of lore and gnosis:
- From the Greek Celtus myths, in which a legendary son gives rise to the Celts.
- From the martial and protective powers of Smertrios, a god of strength and battle.
- From the communal, rooted spirit of the Toutatis — the tribal protector and embodiment of the people as one.
He may be Dis Pater as the first of us, born of the land and tribe, carrying the spirit of our people forward.
Sucellos: The First to Enter Dumnos
We also see Sucellos as deeply entwined with this mystery — though in a more veiled and liminal role. In BNG mythopoesis, Sucellos is one of the first to pass into Dumnos, the Deep — and then into Antumnos, the Otherworld, the Ancestral Realm, the place of mystery and return. He is “the Well-Hidden One,” a god of quiet fertility, fermentation, and transformation. While his name may literally mean “the good striker,” we also reflect on kel- as “to hide,” and see in him the Keeper of What is Secret. Sucellos is not the father of the Gauls in a literal sense. He is the first ancestor — the one who precedes descent, who holds the memory of what came before, and who carries the keys to what lies beyond.
He may be Dis Pater as the hidden one, the first to pass into mystery, who waits for us in the deep places beyond life.
Carnonos: The Liminal Lord
We recognize Carnonos as a Dêuos of liminality and movement, one who dwells at the edges — of civilization and wilderness, of life and death, of seen and unseen. He is a guide, a guardian, a traveler. In BNG thought, Carnonos is not merely a forest god, but a keeper of transitions, a psychopomp who can move between this world and Antumnos, the Otherworld. His antlers crown him as one who listens beyond speech, who leads without words. He is flanked by animals, rooted in place, yet always moving through thresholds.
He may be Dis Pater as the one who walks between worlds, helping us cross when we must — and guiding us back when we are lost.
Taranos: Bringer of Virtue and Cosmic Order
Taranos is the great celestial Dêuos in BNG — the one whose thunder reminds us of the power of virtue and the need for cosmic balance. We honor him not only as the god of storm and sky, but as the one who maintains the order of the world through the gift of the Îanoi — the virtues. His mythic triumph over the serpent speaks to his role in shaping and protecting the structure of reality, setting boundaries between Samos and Giamos, between life and death, peace and chaos. The wheel is his symbol — ever-turning, many-spoked, always whole. Through it, Taranos teaches that strength lies in balance, that storm brings both destruction and renewal.
He may be Dis Pater as the giver of law, of structure, of insight — the thunder that wakes the soul.
The Dis Pater as a Sacred Role, Not a Single Being
So who, then, is the Gaulish Dis Pater of our bessus?
In Bessus Nouiogalation, we say this:
He is not a Dêuos of one name — he is a sacred role, a sacred function, a mystery.
- He may be Ogmios, whose golden chains bind hearts to truth.
- He may be Galatos, the first of us, born of strength and tribe.
- He may be Sucellos, the smiling god who walks unseen into the Otherworld.
- He may be Carnonos, guiding us through the veil.
- He may be Taranos, striking thunder into our bones to awaken us.
- He may be all of these — or none of them.
Conclusion: In the Silence, the Father Speaks
Each of the Deuoi has a sacred function in the cosmic order of things. For us, it’s about your own relationship to that deeper presence. The Gaulish Dis Pater remains unnamed in our tradition — not out of vagueness, but out of reverence. To name is to limit — and this god is too large, too deep, too intimate to be held in a single form. Each of us may encounter him differently — and that, too, is sacred.
In Bessus Nouiogalation, we also honor that your Dis Pater may not be any of the Deuoi listed above. He/She/They may come to you as another figure entirely — a guardian, a guide, a Deuoi whose name has been lost or never spoken aloud. What matters is not the name, but the role — the sacred presence of a divine ancestor who shapes, shelters, and calls you home.
BNG makes space for that mystery, too.
Bessus Nouiogalation 