Oenghus satisfies Caer’s condition. He must prove his love to her. He must illustrate that he recognizes her human and animal essence. He must guarantee her freedom, and he must pledge himself to her protection before she will come to him. This tale captures the distinct nature of the Celtic gods. According to Noma Chadwick the "Irish gods" do not emerge as gods in the usual meaning of the term. They are neither worshipped nor sacrificed. They are supernatural beings with magical powers… If such a name is not appropriate, they might be described as mundane or pedestrian gods. In this tale it is the male and the immortal that must earn his beloved. Caers appears to be indifferent to the struggle being waged for her affections. He must prove that Caer is the woman of his dreams and that he knows her in any disguise. Also he must accept her terms and guarantee her safety before she will commit herself to him and satisfy his longing. In essence, it Oenghus that yearns for Caer. It is the god who must pursue and win the hand of Caer, the mortal woman (although she possesses magical powers). In Apuleius’s tale, it is the mortal female Psyche, who must toil to win her beloved Cupid. In Celtic myths, the gods crave the love of mortals, while in the classical myths it is the mortals who crave the love of the gods. In "The Dream Of Oenghus", the gods must satisfy mortal conditions to win their true love. In the tale of "Cupid and Psyche" it is Psyche the mortal, who must satisfy the conditions of fate among the gods. When Psyche’s search for Cupid proves fruitless and her pleas for sympathy and relief have been completely repulsed, she decides to throw herself on Venus’s mercy and to satisfy her rage with meekness. Venus challenges Psyche to a series of tasks that lead up to her making a trip to Hades, the underworld. Through favorable and periodically divine intervention Psyche is able to complete al...
