Ancamna on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
In
In Gallo-Roman religion
Gallo-Roman religion is a fusion of the traditional religious practices of the Gauls, who were originally Celtic speakers, and the Roman and Hellenistic religions introduced to the region under Roman Imperial rule. It was the result of selectiv ...
, Ancamna was a goddess worshipped particularly in the valley of the river Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...
. She was commemorated at Trier
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
and Ripsdorf as the consort of Lenus
Lenus (; E. Courtney (1995) reads the original dative form as in ''Musa Lapidaria: A Selection of Latin Verses'' 160, p. 152. agrees with dative in the following line.) was a Celtic god of healing, good fortune, and protection in battle, ...
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
, and at Möhn as the consort of Mars Smertulitanus.Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl. 2001. ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Editions Errance, Paris. pp.14, 21. At Trier, altars were set up in honour of Lenus Mars, Ancamna and the '' genii'' of various '' pagi'' of the Treveri
The Treveri (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Treweroi'') were a Germanic peoples, Germanic or Celts, Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle (river), Moselle in modern day Germany from around 150 BCE, if not ea ...
, giving the impression of Lenus Mars and Ancamna as tribal protectors honoured in an officially organized cult.Two such surviving inscriptions were published in Finke (1927) "Neue Inschriften," ''Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission'' 17: inscriptions 12 and 13. Among the few statuettes left as votive offering
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
s at the sanctuary of Mars Smertulitanus and Ancamna at Möhn is one of a '' genius cucullatus'' like those offered to the Xulsigiae at the Lenus Mars temple complex in Trier.
Inciona is also apparently invoked along with Lenus Mars Veraudunus on a bronze ''ex voto'' from Luxembourg;Musée d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg. 1974. ''Pierres sculptées et inscriptions de l'époque romaine'', catalogued by Eugénie Wilhelm, p.71. it is unclear what connection, if any, exists between Inciona and Ancamna. Jufer and Luginbühl link Ancamna with two other consorts of the Gaulish Mars, Litavis
Litavis (Gaulish: ''Litauī'' 'Earth', lit. 'the Broad One') is a Gallic deity whose cult is primarily attested in east-central Gaul during the Roman period. She was probably originally an earth-goddess.' In medieval Celtic languages, various ter ...
and Nemetona
Nemetona, or 'she of the sacred grove', is a Celtic polytheism, Celtic goddess with roots in northeastern Gaul. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the Germanic peoples, Germano-Celts, Celtic people known as the Nemetes;Beck, pp. 23 ...
, noting that none of these appear to be warrior goddesses themselves; instead, they suggest that Ancamna might have been associated with a spring. Edith Wightman considers the couple Mars Loucetius and Nemetona
Nemetona, or 'she of the sacred grove', is a Celtic polytheism, Celtic goddess with roots in northeastern Gaul. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the Germanic peoples, Germano-Celts, Celtic people known as the Nemetes;Beck, pp. 23 ...
to be "closely similar to if not identical with, Lenus and Ancamna".
Works cited
Further reading
* Ellis, Peter Berresford (1994). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' (Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, Oxford. * MacKillop, James (1998). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford. . * * Wood, Juliette (2002). ''The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art.'' Thorsons Publishers.External links
* {{Celtic mythology (ancient) Gaulish goddesses Sea and river goddesses Treveri