Editing Fomorians (section)

==Description==
Originally the Fomorians seem to have been regarded as malevolent spirits dwelling underwater and in the nether regions of the earth.<ref name=mythlegendromance/> In one of the earliest references to them, a probably 7th-century elegy for Mess-Telmann, they are said to dwell "under the worlds of men".<ref name="Carey"/> Later they were portrayed as sea raiders. This was influenced by the [[History of Ireland (800–1169)|Viking raids on Ireland]] that were taking place around that time.<ref name=mythlegendromance/>

They are often portrayed as monstrous.<ref name=mythlegendromance/><ref name="Carey"/> Sometimes they are said to have the body of a man and the head of a goat, according to an 11th-century text in ''[[Lebor na hUidre]]'' (the Book of the Dun Cow), or to have had one eye, one arm and one leg. However, those Fomorians who have relationships with the Tuath Dé, such as [[Elatha]] and his son [[Bres]], were portrayed as darkly beautiful.<ref name=mythlegendromance/>

The Fomorians are the enemies of Ireland's first settlers and of the supernatural Tuath Dé, with whom they are contrasted.<ref name="Carey"/> However, in some sources there is an overlap between the Fomorians and Tuath Dé. A figure called [[Tethra]] is named as presiding over both races.<ref name="Carey"/>

The conflict between the Tuath Dé and Fomorians has been likened to other [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|Indo-European myths]] of a war between gods: [[Æsir–Vanir War|between Æsir and Vanir]] in [[Norse mythology]], [[Titanomachy|between Olympians and Titans]] in [[Greek mythology]], and between [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] and [[Asura]]s in [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic mythology]]. [[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin]] writes that the Tuath Dé gaining agricultural knowledge from the Fomorians is similar to the Norse and Vedic versions, where the defeated races represent the fertility of the soil.<ref name="ohogain312-315"/>