Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn, also spelt Cú Chulaind or Cúchulainn, Irish for "Culann's Hound") and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. The son of the god Lugh and Deichtine (sister of Conchobar mac Nessa), his childhood name was Sétanta.

He gained his better-known name as a child after he killed Culann's fierce guard-dog in self-defence and offered to take its place until a replacement could be reared. At the age of seventeen he defended Ulster single-handedly against the armies of queen Medb of Connacht in the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge ("Cattle Raid of Cooley"). It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be a short one. For this reason he is compared to the Greek hero Achilles. He is known for his terrifying battle frenzy, or ríastrad (translated by Thomas Kinsella as "warp spasm" and by Ciaran Carson as "torque", in which he becomes an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe. He fights from his chariot, driven by his loyal charioteer Láeg and drawn by his horses, Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend. In more modern times, Cú Chulainn is often referred to as the "Hound of Ulster".

Cú Chulainn shows striking similarities to the Persian epic hero Rostam, as well as to the Germanic Lay of Hildebrand and the labours of the Greek epic hero Hercules, suggesting a common Indo-European origin, but lacking in linguistic, anthropological and archaeological material.

Source: Wikipedia