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Taranis

Taranis is a prominent deity in ancient Celtic mythology, revered as the god of thunder, storms, and the sky across much of the Celtic world, including Gaul and Britain.^[1] His name derives from the Proto-Celtic root *taran-, meaning "thunder," reflecting his role as the "Thunderer." Taranis was one of the supreme gods of the Gauls, as noted by the Roman poet Lucan in the 1st century AD, and he was often equated with the Roman god Jupiter due to shared attributes of sky and storm control.^[2] The most distinctive symbol of Taranis is the wheel, frequently depicted as a spoked bronze model or carved on altars and coins, interpreted as a representation of his thunderbolt or the cyclical forces of change and cosmic order.^[2] Archaeological evidence, such as wheel votives from temple hoards like the Felmingham Hall Hoard in Norfolk, England (dated to the Romano-British period), underscores his widespread worship and syncretism with Roman deities, where he appears as Jupiter Taranis.^[2] Inscriptions on altars from sites in Britain (e.g., Chester) and Gaul (e.g., Orgon, France) confirm dedications to him, often in Latin or Greek, highlighting his integration into the Romano-Celtic religious landscape.^[3]^[4] Taranis's cult involved rituals potentially including fire-based sacrifices, as suggested by classical accounts linking him to severe offerings akin to those for other thunder gods, though direct evidence is limited.^[5] His influence extended to warrior aspects, with the wheel symbol possibly serving as a protective emblem in Celtic coinage from the La Tène period, evoking Indo-European thunder deity traditions.^[6] Overall, Taranis embodies the Celts' reverence for natural forces, bridging pre-Roman indigenous beliefs with imperial Roman adaptations.^[1]

Name

Etymology

The name Taranis derives from the Proto-Celtic *toranos, meaning "thunder," a reconstruction supported by linguistic analysis of ancient Celtic languages.^[7] This root reflects the deity's association with stormy weather, evolving into forms attested in later Celtic tongues, such as Old Irish torann ("thunder") and Middle Welsh taran ("thunder" or "peal of thunder").^[7] The Proto-Celtic term itself stems from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- ("to thunder"), illustrating a deep linguistic continuity in Indo-European expressions for thunderous phenomena.^[8] Cognates of *toranos appear across Indo-European languages, particularly in Germanic traditions where Proto-Germanic *þunraz ("thunder") gave rise to names like Old High German Donar and Old Norse Þórr (Thor), both denoting thunder deities.^[7] Ancient inscriptions reveal variant spellings of the name, adapted through regional phonetic variations and Roman influences, including Taranus, Tanarus, and forms like Taranucno-.^[9] For instance, a second-century CE altar from Chester, Britain, dedicates to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Tanaro, interpreted as a Brythonic variant of Taranis with a possible metathetic shift from an earlier *tonaro- to *torano-. During the Gaulish and Romano-Celtic periods, such spellings proliferated in epigraphic contexts across Gaul, Britain, and Germania, reflecting assimilation into Latin script while preserving the core Proto-Celtic phonology, including nasal and liquid consonants.^[10]

Associations as Thunder God

Taranis embodies the archetype of the Celtic thunder deity, embodying the power of storms, lightning, and other celestial phenomena within Celtic cosmology, where he was revered as the controller of atmospheric forces that could both devastate and renew the land.^[11] His epithet as the "Thunderer" reflects this dominion, positioning him as a sovereign over the sky's tumultuous aspects, including thunderclaps interpreted as divine pronouncements and lightning as weapons hurled from the heavens.^[12] In broader Indo-European mythology, Taranis parallels thunder gods such as the Germanic Thor, Vedic Indra, and Hittite Tarhunna, sharing motifs of wielding thunder as a tool for cosmic order and combat against chaotic forces, though Celtic traditions emphasize his role less through epic battles and more through the cyclical renewal of nature.^[11] These associations highlight Taranis's multifaceted influence: storms under his command brought vital rain for agricultural fertility, offered protection against natural perils by appeasing his wrath, and symbolized martial prowess in warfare, where thunder evoked the clamor of battle and lightning the strike of victory.^[12] Unlike more generalized sky deities in the Celtic pantheon, such as Lugus—who governed light, oaths, and craftsmanship—Taranis's domain was narrowly focused on the thunderous and stormy elements, distinguishing him as the preeminent arbiter of tempests rather than broader solar or judicial powers.^[11] Evidence of Taranis's invocation for safeguarding against storms appears in theophoric personal names and place names across Celtic regions, where devotees incorporated his name to seek divine intervention amid weather threats; for instance, names like Taranucno in dedications to a thunder god form suggest appeals for protection, while regional toponyms preserving elements of *tarani- imply localized veneration tied to stormy landscapes.^[13]

Literary References

Lucan

In his epic poem Pharsalia (also known as Bellum Civile), composed in the mid-1st century CE during the reign of Nero, the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus provides the earliest literary mention of Taranis as one of three principal Celtic deities worshiped by the Gauls.^[14] The reference appears in Book 1, lines 444–446, within a broader description of the barbarian tribes rallying to Caesar's side in the civil war against Pompey, portraying their religious practices as savage to underscore Roman superiority.^[15] The Latin text reads: et quibus inmitis placatur sanguine diro / Teutates horrensque feris altaribus Esus / et Taranis Scythicae non mitior ara Dianae, emphasizing human sacrifices offered to these gods.^[14] A standard English translation renders the passage as: "And those who pacify with blood accursed / Savage Teutates, Hesus' horrid shrines, / And Taranis' altars cruel as were those / Loved by Diana, goddess of the north."^[16] Here, Lucan equates the cruelty of Taranis's altar with that of the Scythian Diana (Artemis Tauropolos), infamous in Greek mythology for demanding human blood, thus framing Celtic rituals as barbaric from a Roman viewpoint informed by earlier accounts of the Gallic Wars (58–50 BCE), such as Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico.^[17] This depiction reflects Roman ethnographic traditions that exoticized and demonized Gallic druidic customs, including human sacrifice, to justify conquest and cultural assimilation.^[15] Within the triad of Teutates, Esus, and Taranis, Lucan positions Taranis as the culminating figure, evoking a hierarchy of destructive worship; scholars interpret this grouping as paralleling the Roman Capitoline triad (Jupiter, Mars, Mercury), with Taranis corresponding to Jupiter as a sovereign sky and thunder deity associated with fiery, burning sacrifices.^[15] The name "Taranis" represents a direct phonetic borrowing from Gaulish, preserving the Celtic root tarani- meaning "thunder," without significant Latin adaptation, unlike more Romanized divine names in classical literature.^[18] This linguistic fidelity highlights Lucan's reliance on contemporary or near-contemporary reports of Celtic religion, likely transmitted through military or administrative channels post-Gallic conquest.^[18]

Scholia

The scholia on Lucan's Pharsalia, particularly the 9th-century Commenta Bernensia (also known as the Berne Scholia), provide interpretive expansions on the poet's brief mention of Taranis as one of three Gaulish gods receiving human sacrifices, elucidating the deity's attributes and ritual practices. These commentaries, compiled in monastic scriptoria, equate Taranis with the Roman god Dis Pater (Pluto), portraying the deity as an infernal figure propitiated through fiery offerings that align with the thunder god's association with lightning and destruction.^[19] Specifically, the Commenta Bernensia describe sacrifices to Taranis involving the burning of victims in a wooden trough (alveo ligneo), a method symbolizing the god's tempestuous and incendiary nature.^[20] Later medieval scholia, such as the 12th-century Glosule super Lucanum attributed to Arnulf of Orléans, offer variations by identifying Taranis explicitly with Jupiter, emphasizing the god's role as a celestial sovereign and "master of war" rather than an underworld ruler.^[21] This divergence reflects interpretive flexibility in equating Celtic deities with Roman counterparts, with some commentaries conflating Taranis' chthonic aspects—linked to Dis Pater—possibly due to Lucan's broader reference to infernal sacrifices in the passage. The Adnotationes super Lucanum, another 9th-century compilation intertwined with the Berne tradition, reiterates the burning ritual while reinforcing the human victims' immolation in enclosed wooden structures, akin to colossal figures or containers evoking the god's thunderous wrath.^[20] These scholia from 9th- to 12th-century manuscripts, including those preserved in Bern and other European libraries, were transmitted primarily by Christian scribes who integrated classical texts into monastic education. Their descriptions of Taranis' rituals, such as enclosing victims in straw-filled wooden forms before ignition, may incorporate biases from Christian demonization of pagan practices, amplifying the horror of sacrifices to underscore the superiority of Christian doctrine over perceived barbarian rites.^[22]

Iconography

Wheel Symbolism

The spoked wheel, known as the rouelle in Celtic contexts, served as the primary iconographic symbol of Taranis, the Celtic thunder god, embodying both celestial authority and the dynamic forces of storms. Often featuring six or eight spokes, this motif distinguished Taranis's attribute from the simpler four-spoked solar crosses associated with deities like Belenos, instead evoking the rumbling motion of thunder or the flash of lightning across the sky.^[23]^[24] Scholars interpret the wheel as representing the cyclical nature of storms, the chariot of the sky god traversing the heavens, or even a stylized thunderbolt, symbolizing Taranis's control over atmospheric upheavals and seasonal renewal.^[3]^[24] Archaeological evidence prominently links the spoked wheel to Taranis through Celtic coinage from the La Tène period. Gold and silver coins minted by tribes such as the Scordisci in the 2nd–1st centuries BCE frequently depict chariots drawn by horses, accompanied by spoked wheels, interpreted as emblems of the thunder god's celestial vehicle and warrior prowess.^[24] These motifs, appearing alongside bearded male figures or horse imagery, reflect Taranis's role as a protective deity in tribal contexts, with examples from sites in modern-day Serbia and Western Europe underscoring the symbol's widespread adoption.^[24] In Gallo-Roman syncretism, the wheel motif appears on dedicatory objects pairing Taranis with Jupiter. A notable bronze statuette from Le Châtelet cave in Gourzon, Haute-Marne (1st–2nd century CE), portrays the god holding a six-spoked wheel in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other, with additional spiral ornaments suggesting ritual significance.^[3] Similar wheel depictions adorn altars in Gaul, such as those from the Haute-Marne region, where the symbol reinforces Taranis's thunderous domain without explicit textual invocation, highlighting its standalone emblematic power.^[23] Interpretations of the wheel extend to its ritual use, potentially as a thunderbolt surrogate or divinatory tool, though distinct from purely solar symbolism in other Celtic cults. Votive wheels, often cast into rivers or buried in shrines, underscore its role in invoking Taranis's favor for protection against storms or in warfare, emphasizing conceptual ties to cosmic cycles over literal solar worship.^[23]^[24]

Thunderbolt and Other Attributes

In Romano-Celtic art dating from the 1st to 3rd century CE, Taranis is commonly depicted wielding the thunderbolt, or fulmen, rendered as a jagged lightning bolt that signifies his dominion over storms and celestial power.^[25] This attribute draws from indigenous Celtic traditions but incorporates Roman stylistic elements, portraying the bolt as a weapon hurled in battle against chaos.^[26] The Chester altar from Britain bears an inscription to Jupiter Tanarus, exemplifying the fusion of Taranis's native ferocity with Jupiter's authoritative pose.^[27] A prominent example is a bronze statuette recovered from the Seine River in Paris (1st century CE), now in the British Museum, depicting Taranis as a bearded figure holding a wheel in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other.^[2] Beyond the thunderbolt, Taranis's iconography often features him as a robust, bearded warrior figure, evoking a sense of martial vigor and protection.^[6] In some reliefs, he holds an axe, interpreted as a symbol of the thunderclap's resounding force, while other representations show him in a chariot drawn by horses, emphasizing mobility across the heavens and ties to fertility and warfare.^[28] These elements underscore Taranis's multifaceted role as both destroyer and guardian. Roman influence markedly shaped the evolution of these attributes, merging Celtic abstraction with classical realism to create hybrid forms, such as Taranis-Jupiter enthroned with a thunderbolt and scepter in Gaulish sculptures.^[29] This syncretism, evident in artifacts from the 2nd century CE onward, transformed Taranis from a localized sky power into a pan-provincial figure aligned with imperial iconography.^[4]

Epigraphic Evidence

Inscriptions in Gaul

Epigraphic evidence for Taranis in Gaul spans the late Iron Age and Roman period, with inscriptions primarily from southern, central, and western regions, dating from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. These texts, both in Gaulish and Latin, reveal Taranis as a deity invoked for personal vows, community protection, and safe travel, often by civilians and occasionally by organized groups such as guilds or soldiers. The geographic distribution centers in areas like Provence, the Massif Central, and the Loire valley, reflecting local adaptations of a pan-Celtic thunder god. The earliest known attestation is the Gallo-Greek inscription RIG I G-27 from Orgon in Bouches-du-Rhône (southern Gaul), discovered in 1886 and dated to the 2nd–1st century BCE. Written in the Greek alphabet, the text reads "ΟΥΗΒΡΟΥΜΑΡΟС ΔΕΔΕ ΤΑΡΑΝΟΟΥ ΒΡΑΤΟΥ ΔΕΚΑΝΤΕΜ" (transliterated as ouēbroumaros dede taranoou bratou dekan tem), dedicated by an individual named Vebrumaros. It translates to "Vebrumaros has dedicated this to Taranus, the brother, a tithe of gratitude," likely fulfilling a vow for healing or protection, as tithe offerings were common for such purposes in Celtic votive practice.^[30] This bilingual-style inscription (Gaulish language in Greek script) highlights linguistic features like the dative form taranoou, emphasizing Taranis' role as recipient of offerings. In Roman Gaul, Latin inscriptions employ the dative Tarano or Tarani to invoke Taranis, sometimes with epithets denoting sanctity or power. These appear on altars and votive objects, portraying Taranis as a protector of travelers and communities. Dedicants include civilians seeking personal aid and military personnel for safe journeys, with examples from central Gaul, where invocations request healing and communal welfare from the 1st–2nd century CE.^[31] Bilingual Latin-Gaulish texts, though rare, underscore Taranis' enduring Celtic identity amid Romanization, using forms like Tarani to blend native and imperial elements. Overall, these inscriptions, concentrated in western and central Gaul, illustrate Taranis' transition from a pre-Roman thunder deity to a syncretized protector in Roman provincial life, with dedicants from diverse social strata emphasizing his broad appeal.^[32]

Inscriptions in Britain and Germania

Epigraphic records of Taranis in Britain and Germania are sparse compared to those in Gaul but illustrate the god's adaptation in Roman frontier provinces, particularly among military personnel during the occupation from the 1st to 4th centuries CE. These inscriptions, often on altars, reflect the spread of the cult through legionary movements and local Celtic influences, with British examples showing pronounced Roman syncretism and Germanic ones retaining more indigenous naming conventions.^[22] In Roman Britain, the most prominent evidence comes from a 2nd-century CE altar discovered in Chester (Deva), the base of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix. The inscription, RIB 452, reads I(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) Tanaro L(ucius) Elufrius Praesens Galer(ia) Clun(iensis) princ(eps) leg(ionis) XX V(aleriae) V(ictrixis), dedicating the monument to Jupiter Tanarus, Best and Greatest, by Lucius Elufrius Praesens, a chief clerk from Clunia in the Galerian voting-tribe. Scholars interpret Tanarus as a Latinized form of Taranis, highlighting the god's equation with Jupiter in a military votive context.^[27]^[13] This syncretic dedication underscores Taranis's role as a thunder deity within the Roman pantheon, likely appealing to Celtic soldiers in the legion. While direct inscriptions are limited, similar military cults at sites like York (Eboracum), headquarters of the Sixth Legion Victrix, suggest broader veneration of thunder gods among troops, paralleling Gaulish patterns of localized worship.^[22] In the Germanic provinces, particularly Germania Superior, inscriptions preserve more localized variants of Taranis's name, indicating continuity of Celtic traditions amid Roman administration. A notable example is an altar from Bockingen near Heilbronn dedicated to Deo Taranucno, dating to the Roman period and reflecting a non-syncretized form possibly linked to Teutonic thunder god associations.^[33] Another key find is CIL XIII 6094 from Godramstein in the Palatinate, erected in the second half of the 2nd century CE to Deo Taranucno, a form related to Taranis, demonstrating the god's persistence in rural, militarized settings. These epigraphic traces, spanning the 1st–4th centuries CE, were facilitated by legionary deployments along the Rhine frontier, adapting Taranis to both Roman imperial and indigenous Germanic contexts without the heavy Jupiter overlay seen in Britain.^[22]

Worship Practices

Rituals and Sacrifices

The Roman poet Lucan, in his first-century CE epic Pharsalia (Book I, lines 444–446), describes Gaulish tribes propitiating Taranis alongside the gods Teutates and Esus through human sacrifices, portraying the altars of Taranis as particularly cruel.^[34] A ninth-century scholiast on Lucan elaborates that offerings to Taranis specifically involved burning victims—both human and animal—in large wicker structures or colossal wooden idols, a method that aligned with the deity's association with thunder and fire.^[35] These fiery sacrifices were performed during periods of crisis, such as wars or severe thunderstorms, to seek divine protection or avert calamity.^[36] Votive rituals dedicated to Taranis emphasized non-lethal offerings that symbolized his celestial power, including the deposition of weapons, jewelry, and miniature bronze wheels—representing thunderbolts or the turning sky—into sacred springs and bogs as acts of devotion or thanksgiving.^[37] Such practices, common across Celtic regions, served to invoke Taranis's favor for protection in battle or fertility of the land, with items often ritually broken or bent before immersion to render them unusable in the human world.^[38] Direct archaeological evidence for fiery sacrifices to Taranis is limited, with textual accounts providing the primary basis for understanding these practices. Bog bodies from Britain, such as the first- or second-century CE remains from Lindow Moss, exhibit signs of ritual killing, potentially indicative of broader Celtic sacrificial customs.^[36]

Cult Sites and Votive Offerings

Archaeological evidence for Taranis' cult is concentrated in Gaul, Britain, and Germania, where sanctuaries and deposits reveal patterns of worship tied to thunder, war, and natural forces from the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE. These sites often feature enclosures or open-air shrines, with offerings reflecting the god's attributes as a sky and storm deity. Direct evidence remains sparse, with much inferred from general Celtic practices and epigraphic dedications (see Epigraphic Evidence). The sanctuary at Gournay-sur-Aronde in northern France stands as a key Iron Age site, dating to the 4th–1st centuries BCE, where large deposits of ritually broken weapons, shields, and horse gear—totaling over 2,000 iron items—indicate offerings to warrior deities and protectors in battle. The site comprises a rectangular ditched enclosure with central pits for deposition, surrounded by post-built structures, highlighting organized cult activity over centuries. In Britain, the Roman-period hot springs at Bath yielded numerous wheel-shaped amulets among thousands of votive items dedicated to the syncretic Sulis Minerva, including bronze miniatures cast into the sacred waters from the 1st–4th centuries CE. These offerings, recovered from the spring's sediments, underscore Romano-Celtic thermal cults, with wheel symbols common in Celtic iconography.^[39] Common votive types dedicated to Taranis include small bronze wheels known as rouelles, thunderbolt figurines, and lead or bronze tablets, spanning the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE. Thousands of rouelles—typically 4–8 spoked and 2–5 cm in diameter—have been excavated from riverbanks and sanctuary pits in Belgic Gaul, such as at Alesia and other enclosures, representing the god's rolling thunder or celestial chariot. Thunderbolt-shaped amulets and cast figurines, often stylized as axes or bolts, appear in similar contexts, symbolizing divine power and protection. Inscribed metal tablets, bearing dedications or curses, complement these, though their texts are epigraphic in nature. Taranis' sanctuaries frequently took the form of hilltop enclosures or riverine shrines, selected for elevated positions prone to thunderstorms or proximity to water courses believed to channel divine energy. These structures, often ditched and palisaded without elaborate buildings, facilitated communal rituals and depositions, as seen in Gaulish examples from the La Tène period onward. Recent excavations near Roman military camps in Germany, such as along the Rhine limes, have revealed hybrid Romano-Celtic artifacts and weapon deposits in temple precincts, reflecting adaptation of indigenous deities in frontier garrisons, though specific links to Taranis are not confirmed.

Interpretations and Syncretism

Equation with Jupiter

The syncretism of the Celtic god Taranis with the Roman Jupiter, known as interpretatio romana, emerged during the Roman conquest and administration of Celtic territories, particularly from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE, as a means to integrate indigenous deities into the Roman pantheon. This equation reflected the Romans' practice of identifying foreign gods with their own based on functional similarities, allowing local worship to continue under a familiar Roman guise while reinforcing imperial cultural dominance.^[40] Epigraphic evidence for this identification appears in Latin inscriptions where Taranis is invoked alongside or as an epithet of Jupiter, such as "I(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) Tanaro" on an altar from Chester (Deva) in Britain, dedicated in 154 CE by a Roman legionary officer, Lucius Elufrius Praesens, princeps of Legio XX Valeria Victrix, highlighting the god's role in military vows.^[27] Similar dedications occur in Gaul, including a Gaulish inscription from Orgon in Gallia Narbonensis reading "Ταρανοου" (to Taranus), dating to the late 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE, which predates but foreshadows Roman syncretism by associating the deity with thunder and sky powers.^[41] Another example from Thauron in central Gaul invokes "I(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) Taranuen," likely a variant form linking to Taranis, erected in the 2nd or 3rd century CE as a votive offering.^[42] The theological rationale for equating Taranis with Jupiter stemmed from shared attributes, including control over thunder and lightning—Taranis's core domain as a native thunder god—and sovereignty over the sky, often symbolized by thunderbolts in both traditions. Military inscriptions, such as the Chester altar, emphasize oaths and vows to the syncretic deity for protection and victory, mirroring Jupiter's role as patron of the Roman state and legions. In Germania Superior, an altar to "deo Taranucno" from Heilbronn (CIL XIII 6478), dated to the 2nd-3rd centuries CE, further illustrates this fusion in frontier contexts.^[27]^[22] This syncretism led to hybrid cults where Taranis adopted Jupiter's iconographic elements, such as the eagle as a symbol of divine authority and celestial power, evident in Gallo-Roman reliefs like that from Séguret in Gaul, depicting a wheel-bearing thunder god accompanied by an eagle. Temple architecture in these regions also blended Roman columnar styles with Celtic motifs, fostering localized worship that preserved Taranis's thunder aspect while incorporating Jupiter's imperial prestige.^[33]

Connections to Other Deities

In the Pharsalia, the Roman poet Lucan describes a triad of Gaulish deities—Teutates, Esus, and Taranis—to whom the Celts offered human sacrifices in times of distress, portraying Taranis as a formidable sky god associated with destruction and possibly positioned within a broader divine council. This grouping, drawn from Lucan's observation of Celtic practices during the Gallic Wars, underscores Taranis's role as one of three principal gods invoked for protection and vengeance, with his thunderous attributes complementing Teutates's tribal guardianship and Esus's arboreal ferocity.^[43] Scholarly interpretations suggest this triad reflects a structured pantheon where Taranis embodies celestial authority, though epigraphic evidence for the grouping remains limited beyond Lucan's account.^[36] Taranis exhibits strong parallels with Germanic thunder deities such as Donar (the continental form of Thor), sharing etymological roots in the Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂- ("to thunder") and iconographic motifs like the wheel, symbolizing storms and cosmic cycles.^[6] Both gods wield thunderbolts or hammers to battle chaos, with Taranis's wheel often depicted as a rolling thunder source akin to Thor's chariot wheels sparking lightning in Germanic lore.^[44] Similarly, in Welsh tradition, the term taran ("thunder") preserves linguistic ties to Taranis, hinting at mythological echoes in figures wielding storm powers, though direct deity equivalents remain elusive.^[45] Recent scholarship in the 2020s has revisited these ties through interdisciplinary lenses, with studies on Celtic coinage and iconography affirming Taranis's role in a pan-Celtic thunder cult that spanned Gaul, Britain, and Iberia, while questioning insular adaptations like those in Irish lore as localized evolutions rather than direct continuations.^[6] Analyses of wheel amulets and votive deposits further support shared cultic practices across Celtic regions, emphasizing Taranis's thunder motifs as a unifying Indo-European thread without uniform syncretism.^[44]

References

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But the people in Britain already had their own gods – like Taranis, the Celtic god of thunder. Over time, Roman and Celtic beliefs mixed together.
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Jul 3, 2006 · These are the commentaries for the lines that mention Esus, Teutates, and Taranis. Translations are forthcoming, but I wanted to include the ...
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Support. Type of object: Altar; Material: Red sandstone; Dimensions: W 0.457 × H 0.965 m; Decoration and iconography: With a border of chip carving and two ...Missing: thunderbolt | Show results with:thunderbolt<|control11|><|separator|>
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chariot. Folkloric images of Perkūnas riding a chariot are popular in modern Lithuanian folk art: it is visually interpreted by the famous Lithuanian folk.
[30]
The sun god and the thunder&nbsp - Sumerian Origins
For example, the god may be referenced as Mars Thingsus (Latin 'Mars of the ... As in other Indo-European faiths, Taranis, being a thunder god, was associated ...
[31]
The Birth of Cult Images (Three)
The realization that cult images existed in the Iron Age has profound implications for our understanding of Romano-Celtic art. These earlier images likely ...
[32]
[PDF] Blažek, Václav Gaulish language Sborník prací Filozofické fakulty ...
The dedicatory inscription devoted to Taranis, discovered in 1886 in Or- gon, Bouches-du-Rhône, today in the Musée Calvet in Avignon (LG 88–89):.
[33]
[PDF] gaulish inscriptions - ARCHAEOLINGUA
This short survey of Gaulish epigraphical “literature” was first published in 1992, then reprinted with minor revisions in 1994.
[34]
Celtic Deities in Roman Dalmatia: A Reassesment - Academia.edu
The article analyses inscriptions of the area which are thought to be associated with Gaulish Taranis / Taranus, and also discusses the provenance of ...
[35]
[PDF] 1 GAULISH. LANGUAGE, WRITING, EPIGRAPHY - LatinNow
Increasingly scholars have interpreted the inscriptions as expressions of local identity which do not necessarily entail any straightforward adoption of ...
[36]
To Jupiter Best and Greatest - Deo Mercurio
The inscription is found on a carved antler (a typical Rhætic votive form) in the form Θarani, perhaps pronounced 'Darani', in the local Old Italic alphabet: 𐌔 ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[37]
Lucan (39–65) - The Civil War, Pharsalia: Book I - Poetry In Translation
I sing of a worse than civil war, of war fought between kinsmen over Pharsalia's plains, of wickedness deemed justice; of how a powerful people turned their ...Missing: 440-446 Teutates
[38]
[PDF] HUMANS AS RITUAL VICTIMS IN THE LATER PREHISTORY OF ...
Summary. The paper presented here addresses the issue of how far current evidence permits the admittance of ritual murder or human sacrifice in the.
[39]
[PDF] Celts and Romans: The transformation from natural to civic religion
“Lucan recorded how sacrifices to Taranis, who was probably a Celtic sky god, were burned. For offering to Teutates, the protector god, sacrifices were ...
[40]
(PDF) Striking the Sacred: Religious Imagery on British Iron Age Coins
The Wheel as a Cult Symbol in the Romano-Celtic World. Bruxelles; Latomus Revue d'Etudes Latines. 70 Green, M., 1986a. Jupiter, Taranis and the Solar Wheel.
[41]
Religion and religious practices of the ancient Celts of the Iberian ...
... Taranis (a celestial deity whose iconographic attribute is the wheel, and who was assimilated to the Roman Jupiter). The latter, according to Lucan ...
[42]
Religious Syncretism in Roman Gaul - Deo Mercurio
This phenomenon has been called a “divine marriage”; such is the term used by Miranda Green, who links this phenomenon with the theme of the sovereignty goddess ...
[43]
L'autel de Thauron (Creuse) - Persée
(13) Quatre inscriptions seulement le contiennent avec certitude, sous des formes diverses. Elles proviennent d'Orgon, Bouches-du-Rhône (C.I.L., XII, p. 820), ...
[44]
Les dieux vénérés dans les agglomérations secondaires lémovices : é...
### Summary of Thauron Inscription Related to Taranis or Jupiter Taranis
[45]
(PDF) The Triple God of Old Europe - Academia.edu
Researcher Miranda Green also draws the parallel between Taranis and Jupiter. ... 45 Taranis Jupiter with wheel and thunderbolt, dated around 1000 BCE. A ...
[46]
(PDF) Olav's Rose, Perun's Mark, Taranis's Wheel - Academia.edu
The paper delves into the geometric symbolism of the six-petalled rose, commonly known in European folk culture, investigating its origins and meanings ...Missing: statuette | Show results with:statuette
[47]
Loucetios - Leucetius - Celtic god of Lightning
Aug 17, 2015 · Modern scholars have identified Vintios who was probably a god of wind, Taranis the god of thunder, Sulis in Bath in England who was a ...
[48]
Dagda, storm of the Irish pantheon? A stumbling block of the ...
... god Dagda would be in the Celtic religion of Ireland the counterpart of the Gauls' Taranis. On the one hand, the Gallo-Roman archaeological elements ...
[49]
[PDF] The Dagda, Thor and ATU 1148B: Analogues, Parallels ... - Journal.fi
Both gods appear in versions of the international tale ATU 1148B 'The. Thunder Instrument' (Thor in the Old Norse poem Þrymskviða, and the Dagda's recovery of ...
[50]
Taranis: Celtic Thunder | We Are Star Stuff
Aug 30, 2017 · Miranda Green argues that Taranis and the Wheel-God are separate beings, since the wheel must be a solar symbol. Others have argued that the two ...<|control11|><|separator|>