Belenus (

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic healing god. The cult of Belenus stretched from the Italian Peninsula to the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, with a main sanctuary located at

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

, on the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coast. Through ''

interpretatio romana , or "interpretation by means of Greek odels, refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign deities with their own gods. It is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cult ...

'', Belenus was often identified with

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, although his cult seems to have preserved a certain degree of autonomy during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Name

Attestations

The

theonym A theonym (from Greek (), 'god', attached to (), ) is a proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics, the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. Theonymy helps develop an und ...

''Belenus'' (or ''Belinus''), which is a latinized form of the Gaulish ''Belenos'' (or ''Belinos''), appears in some 51 inscriptions. Although most of them are located in

(

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

, Italy), the main centre of his cult, the name has also been found in places where Celtic speakers lived in ancient times, including in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Linguist Blanca María Prósper argues that ''Belinos'' was probably the original form, which also appears in the name ' (from an earlier ''Belinos''), a Welsh leader who died in 627 AD. Known variants include ''Bellinus'' and perhaps ''Belus''., s.v. ''Belenus''. The deity may also have been known in Ireland and Britain by the variants ''Bel'', ''Beli'', and ''Bile.''

Etymology

The etymology of ''Belenos'' remains unclear. It has been traditionally translated as the 'bright one' or the 'shining one', by deriving the name from a

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

root ''*bʰelH-'', interpreted as 'white, shining' (cf. Lith. ''báltas'' 'white', Grk φαλός ''phalós'' 'white', Arm. ''bal'' 'pallor', Goth. ''bala'' 'grey'). This theory was encouraged by the ''

'' of ''Belenos'' as the 'Gaulish

', a divinity with sun attributes. However, this etymology has come under increasing criticism in recent scholarship.

Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and former diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. With linguist Romain Garnier, Delamarre is the co-publishing edi ...

notes that the proposed

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

s stemming from ''*bʰelH-'' do not seem to connote 'shining', but rather '

ale Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...

white' or 'grey', and suggests that ''Belenos'' may rather derive from the Gaulish stem ''belo''- ('strong, powerful') attached to the suffix -''nos'' ('lord, master'), which would lead to ''Belenos'' as the 'Master of Power'. Alternatively, Peter Schrijver has proposed that ''Belenos'' might be an ''o''-stem of the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

root *''bʰel-'', designating the

henbane Henbane (''Hyoscyamus niger'', also black henbane and stinking nightshade) is a poisonous plant belonging to tribe Hyoscyameae of the nightshade family ''Solanaceae''. Henbane is native to Temperate climate, temperate Europe and Siberia, and natu ...

(cf. Welsh ''bela'', Germanic *''bel(u)nōn'', Slavic ''*bъlnъ''), a psychoactive plant which was known as ''belenuntia'' in Gaulish and as ''apollinaris'' in Latin.

Bernhard Maier Bernhard Maier (born 1963 in Oberkirch, Baden) is a German professor of religious studies, who publishes mainly on Celtic culture and religion. Maier studied comparative religion, comparative linguistics, Celtic and Semitic studies at the Al ...

and Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel have also argued that the name may derive from a root ''*g^welH-'', meaning 'source, spring'. According to Šašel Kos, Belenus' "close association with water is confirmed by two dedications to ''Fons B(eleni)'' and by an altar in which Belenus is worshipped together with the Nymphs. Thermal springs are also attested to at Iulium Carnicum." The 19th-century attempt to link the root ''bel''- with the Phoenician deity ''

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

'' is now widely rejected by modern scholars.

Related terms

A village that is now part of the municipality of Aquileia is still named ''Beligna''. A tribal leader of pre-Roman Britain was named '' Cunobelinos'' (Old Welsh ''Conbelin''), which possibly means 'hound of Belenos', or else 'strong as a dog' if the name is not theophoric. The Old Welsh personal name ''Liuelin'' (modern '' Llywelyn'') goes back to a similar compound *''lugu-belinos'' (either a dvandva with the names of two deities, or else 'strong as

Lugus Lugus (sometimes Lugos or Lug) is a Celtic god whose worship is attested in the epigraphic record. No depictions of the god are known. Lugus perhaps also appears in Ancient Rome, Roman sources and medieval Insular Celts, Insular mythology. Va ...

'). The Brittonic variant of the name could be the source of the ''

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to th ...

'' ward in London, although this may be a

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

, and possibly of the fountain of ''Belenton'' (now Bérenton) in the

Brocéliande Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly t ...

forest in Brittany. The names of the Welsh and Irish ancestor-figures ''

Beli Mawr was an ancestor figure in Middle Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Cassivellaunus, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies, he is listed as the son or husband of Anna, cousi ...

'' and ''

Bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...

'' may also be related. The Gaulish term ''belenuntia'' (Βελενούντιαν), designating the

, a hallucinogenic plant also known in Latin as ''apollinaris'', may be a derivative form of ''Belenos''. The variant ''belenion'', cited as a poisonous plant by

Pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their works to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known a ...

, appears to be the source of the Spanish ''beleño'' ('henbane'). The Gallo-Roman term ''belisa'' could also have been borrowed into

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

as ''bilisa'' (cf. modern German ''Bilsenkraut'' 'henbane'). Henbane was commonly used in antiquity for medicinal purposes, providing further evidence of Belanos' healing attributes. A shallow stone dish found in Saint-Chamas (south of France) and dedicated to ''Beleino'' could thus have been used to hold hallucinogenic substances. According to Delamarre, the name of the goddess '' Belisama'' appears to be built on a same stem ''bel(o)''- ('strong, powerful') attached to the intensifying suffix -''isama'', and could thus been translated as 'Very Powerful'. Schrijver rather links it to a stem for 'henbane', *''beles''-, attached to an unknown suffix -''ma'', and compares the name with the Gaulish theonym ''Belisa-maros''. The personal name ''

Bellovesus Bellovesus (Gaulish: 'Worthy of Power') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new la ...

'' can probably be translated as 'Worthy of Power', from ''bello''- ('power') attached to ''uesus'' ('worthy, good, deserving'). Spanish scholarship also relates the deity's name to Aquitanian anthroponym ''Belinatepos'' or ''Belanetepos'' (taken to have an equine association), as well as the toponyms Beleño and Beloño.

Epithets

In ancient Gaul and Britain,

was commonly associated with the sun and healing attributes. He may have been equated with fifteen or more different names and epithets (including ''Belenus'', ''Vindonnus'', '' Grannos'', '' Borvo'', '' Maponus'', '' Moritasgus'', among others).Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Paris: Editions Errance. . The god was venerated as Apollo Belenus at the curative shrine of Sainte-Sabine (Burgundy), where he was invoked by pilgrims seeking cures for their sickness. If Belenus is interpreted as meaning 'shining, brilliant', it can be compared to the Celtic epithet ''Vindonnus'' (from *''windo''- 'white'), attached to Apollo as a deity who restored light and vision to people with eye disease at Essarois (Burgundy).

Historical cult

Origin

According to philologist Helmut Birkhan, Belenus was seen as a "typical Karnian oracle- and health-giving deity", although its widespread attestation among ancient Celtic peoples may point to a

Common Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. ...

origin of the cult. Scholar Miranda Aldhouse-Green writes that the deity probably pre-existed the Roman period. Philologist Marjeta Šašel Kos thinks that the worship of Belenus spread from

towards the nearby towns of Aquileia and Iulium Carnicum (modern Zuglio).

Locations

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

, writing in c. 200 AD, identifies Belenus as the national god of Noricum. Inscriptions dedicated to Belenus are concentrated in the

Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...

and

Gallia Cisalpina Cisalpine Gaul (, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the name given, especially during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, to a region of land inhabited by Celts (Gauls), corresponding to what is now most of northern Italy. Afte ...

, but there is evidence that the popularity of the god became more widespread in the Roman period. Around 240,

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

mentions Belenus' worship in

, where he was regarded as its patron god. During the siege of the city in 238 AD by emperor

Maximinus Thrax Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" () was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – given the nickname ''Thrax'' ("the Thracian") – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of th ...

, who died during the event while his army was defeated soon afterwards, Belenus was invoked as the divine protector of Aquileia. The soldiers reported seeing an appearance of the god floating in the air, battling and defending his town, in an evocation of Apollo's defence of Delphi against the troops of Brennos. Dedications to a ''Fons Beleni'' ('Fountain of Belenos') show connection with medicinal springs. The third-century emperors

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

and

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

each dedicated an inscription to Belenus in the region of Aquileia. A further 6 votive inscriptions of Belenus were discovered at

Altinum Altinum (in Altino, a ''frazione'' of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Adriatic Veneti, Veneti 15 km southeast of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers D ...

, Concordia and Iulium Carnicum.Belenus was an important god of Iulium Carnicum (modern Zuglio), a town close to the border with Noricum inhabited by the Carni. A sanctuary dedicated to the deity is attested by the second half of the 1st century BC, when its renovation was commemorated by two chiefs of the village. Epigraphic dedications to the god are also known in Venice and at Rimini. An altar was also found in Celeia (modern

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

), one of the most important Norican towns. The cult may have been introduced here from Aquileia, as suggested by the name of its dedicator, Lucius Sentius Forensis, the Sentii being well attested to at Aquileia, but not in Noricum.

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...

(later 4th century AD) alludes to sanctuaries dedicated to Belenus in

Aquitania Gallia Aquitania (, ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France and the comarca of Val d'Aran in northeast Spain, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquit ...

, and mentions a temple priest of the cult named Phoebicius. The deity was also popular in Provence, as attested by inscriptions from the

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

areas. A votive inscription from Caesarean times by the poet Lucius Erax Bardus was found at Rochemolles, near Bardonecchia (Bardonnèche), in Italy ( Alpi Graie). At Aquae Borvonis ( Bourbon-Lancy), the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region of Burgundy during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman Empire, Roman period. The Aedui had an ambi ...

worshipped Belenus in association with health giving waters., s.v. ''Belenus''.

Consort

Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, perhaps the Gaulish deity Belisama.Koch, John T. (2006). ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.'' Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. . The river name ''

Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German: ''Biel'' ; French: ''Bienne'' ; locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the country's tenth-largest city by population. Th ...

'' (''Biena'' in 1337 AD), present-day eastern France, and the place name ''

'' (''apud Belnam'' in 1142 AD), modern Switzerland, also attest to the existence of a feminine form *''Belenā''. In Noricum, Belenus may also have been accompanied by an otherwise unknown female deity named ''Belestis'' (or ''Beléna, Beléstis Augústa, Beléstris, Belínca''), possibly worshipped as a goddess of nature and fertility. Two shrines dedicated to the goddess were found in Podljubelj in the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks (; , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is o ...

Related beliefs

Medieval Ireland

The Irish Bel has been speculated by some scholars to be linked to the god Belenus. Fires in honor of the deity were lit for Celtic festivals of Beltaine ('Bel's Fires') on May 1., s.v. ''Belenus''. On occasion, cattle was driven between two fires in order to repeal diseases, which Schrijver has compared to the traditional German custom of burning henbane collected on

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...

to protect the cattle against diseases and witchcraft.

Modern Slovenia

The Slovenian divinity ''Belin'', attested in the 19th century by historian Simon Rutar, may provide evidence of the survival of Belenus' cult in the region and of its later integration into Slovenian beliefs, possibly blended with attributes of the Slavic god Belibog. The local population regarded him as a great healer who could cure blindness with his 'key'. Professor Monika Kropej also states that Belenus was possibly incorporated into the Slovenian lore as the ''beliči'', a type of fairy-like beings. An incised stone in southwestern Slovenia, called ''berlina'' by the local population, among other names, may also be related. It is connected to ancient rituals and features two primitively carved figures with heads ornamented with rays.

Legacy

Science

The minor planet 11284 Belenus is named after him.

Popular culture

The Gauls of the

Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...

franchise often swear by Belenos and

Toutatis Teutates (spelled variously Toutatis, Totatis, Totates) is a Celtic god attested in literary and epigraphic sources. His name, which is derived from a proto-Celtic word meaning "tribe", suggests he was a national god, tribal deity. The Roman po ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Apollo Celtic gods Gaulish gods Gods of the ancient Britons Health gods Horse deities Summer deities