Alternate name for Epona?

[GemmaPhoenix]

Recently I read that the Irish word/name for Epona was Mare (pronounced "MAH-ray.") I was wondering if anyone knows if this is accurate.

Even if "Mare" is not an alternate name for her, does anyone know if "MAH-ray" would be the correct pronunciation? Is "Mare" even used in Irish? One source says the origin of the word is Old English and that it meant "demon." I'm all confused now...

[Philosophia]

I don't much about Epona, but I found this on her names:

The name 'Epona'
The name Epona comes from Gaulish, a member of the Celtic family of Indo-European languages. Gaulish was spoken during the later Iron Age (La Tène C and D, around 300 BCE to 50 BCE) and then in parallel with Latin during the Roman Civil War and Roman Empire (50 BCE onwards), gadually dying out over the next four centuries.
Gaulish was spoken over much of continental north-western Europe including modern France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany[Lambert pp13-24, Mallory]. Related Celtic languages were spoken in Spain (Celtiberian), in Britain (Brythonic, or British, from which later developed Welsh, Cornish and Breton), in northern Italy (Lepontic), Hungary and Romania (Danubian), and as far east as Turkey (Galatian) [Mallory].
The word epos means horse in Gaulish, derived from the proto-Indo-European root *ék̂u̯os and giving similar words in other Indo-European languages such as equus (Latin), ech (Old Irish), ešva (Old Lithuanian), ekvon (Venetian) and Ηιππος (híppos, Greek) [Delamarre p. 163-4], the latter giving the English name hippopotamus, water horse.
In Gaulish, -os is the masculine singular ending and –a, the female singular [Lejeune p.325, Lambert pp. 29-30]. Thus epa means a mare, a female horse.
Personal names frequently contained the word horse, for example Epacus, Epasius, Eppius, Eppia, Epomeduos, Eporedorix as did the names of tribes, such as the Επίδιοι (Epidii) in Scotland or of places, such as Epomanduodurum in France [Delmarre pp. 163-164 and pp. 355-389 ].
The component -on- is frequently found in the names of Gaulish or Gallo-Roman divinities including, besides Epona, such examples as Divona, Maponos, Carnonos, Matrona, Rigatona, Sirona [Jufer]. However, it is also found in other contexts like personal names and in the names of months (such as Giamonios) [Lambert p.108-115] and there are divine names that do not have it, such as Esus. It should probably be considered to be a way to turn the name of an object into a personal name [Gwinn]. The name Epona thus means, in Gaulish, ‘divine mare’ or 'she who is like a mare'.
Although Celtic peoples possessed writing in the late Iron Age, they did not produce a body of literature in their native languages, or use monumental dedicatory inscriptions before becoming part of the Roman Empire. Thus, the Gaulish name Epona is only found as a foreign word in Latin or Greek inscriptions or in the literature.

From http://www.epona.net/introduction.html

I don't know if this helps or not. Also, check:

Epona is also known as the Great Mare. She is, first and foremost, a Horse Goddess associated with the Gauls. In spite of Her popularity there seems to be little information readily available about Her. Unfortunately, any legends Gaulish Celts may have had have been lost to us. The legends and myths of the British Celts were written down by early Christian monks. However, the Gauls and others did leave a rich legacy of inscriptions and monuments and it is from this that most of the evidence for Epona comes. However there is one tale of Epona’s origin that has survived.

From http://www.druidry.org/obod/deities/epona.html

[Meadhbh]

A latin inscription calls her Eponae Reginae, Epona the queen. You can try using that if your not comfortable calling her by the name of the night mare. She is either a white horse or ride a white horse. She is often accompanied by dogs. The Irish called her "Mare"(MAH-ray) and the word nightmare is derived from the terror of a nighttime visit from this Goddess. In this form she is a lot like Macha she is called is a battle Goddess who brings death, disease, strife, and destruction. I imagine a nighttime visit from such as she would indeed cause disturbing dreams.

[Agaliha]

I'm sure Epona has many forms and names-- all deities do.
All the sites I keep seeing say she is the Great Mare and she's a White Mare.

As for the Proto-Indo-European angle, read these: Goddesses Overview (http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm#10), towards the bottom it talks about the Mare goddesses.
And here: A long entry about Ekwona (http://www.ceisiwrserith.com/pier/deities.htm#11), a horse goddesses whose name Epona seems to be connected with.

[Nantonos]

A latin inscription calls her Eponae Reginae, Epona the queen. You can try using that if your not comfortable calling her by the name of the night mare.
Thats correct; the inscription is from Alba Iulia (Alba, Transilvaniei, Romania) and says Eponae Reginae Sanctae (to Holy Queen Epona).


She is either a white horse or ride a white horse.
Although Riannon is associated with a white horse, there is no indication of the color of horse ridden by Epona or indeed if there was a particular color.


She is often accompanied by dogs.
Very rarely. One or two statues show her holding a small dog in her lap. Out of three hundred or so statues, that isn't "often".


The Irish called her "Mare"(MAH-ray) and the word nightmare is derived from the terror of a nighttime visit from this Goddess.
There is no particular basis for equating Mare, or Macha, with Epona apart from the connection with horses. But then, several deities are related to horses.

In this form she is a lot like Macha she is called is a battle Goddess who brings death, disease, strife, and destruction. I imagine a nighttime visit from such as she would indeed cause disturbing dreams.
In contrast, historically Epona had few to none of these attributes and was instead associated with security and protection in battle, with loyalty, and with horse rearing and prosperity. Which makes the connection with a 'night-mare' somewhat suspect.

[Nantonos]

quoted:
Epona is also known as the Great Mare.
Which is certainly correct, although that is the English word mare, meaning female horse.

I will leave it to someone who speaks Old or Modern Irish to comment on the 'Ma-re' word.

In Gaulish, which is the Celtic language that Epona comes from, epos is a male horse and epa is a female horse. The -on- part id frequently found in deity names (but is also found in personal names as well).

For more on Epona:

http://www.epona.net (http://www.epona.net/)