Belisama (

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, ...

''Belesama''; epigraphically ) is a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

. She was identified by Roman commentators with

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

by ''

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 ...

''.

Name

The Gaulish

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 ...

''Belesama'' has been traditionally interpreted as meaning 'the very bright', stemming from 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 ''*bʰelH-'' ('white, shining'; cf. Lith. ''báltas'' 'white', Greek φαλόσ ''phalós'' 'white', Arm. ''bal'' 'pallor', goth. ''bala'' 'grey') attached to the superlative suffix *-''isamā''. As for '' Belenos'', however, this theory has come under increasing criticism in contemporary scholarship. Xavier Delamarre 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 'white, grey, pale', and proposes to derive the name from the Gaulish root ''belo''- ('strong, powerful'), rendering ''Belesama'' as 'the very strong' (cf. Sanskrit ''baliṣṭhaḥ'' 'the strongest'). Alternatively, Peter Schrijver has conjectured a connection with the stem for '

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 ...

', *''beles''-, attached to an unknown suffix -''ma'', by comparing the name with the Gaulish theonym ''Belisa-maros''. According to him, this is "formally attractive and semantically possible (if *''Belesama'' = Lat. ''Minerva medica'') but not supported by direct evidence". The toponyms Beleymas, Bellême, Balesmes, Blesmes, Blismes, and Velesmes are based on the theonym. The name also appears in various river names of Gauls and Britain, including ''Belisama'' ( River Ribble) and ''Le Blima'' ( Tarn)., s.v. ''Belisama''. The Galatian personal name ''Blesamius'', from an earlier *''Belesamios'', may also be added to the comparison.

Attestations

inscription found at

Vaison-la-Romaine Vaison-la-Romaine (; ) is a town in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and ca ...

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

( RIG G-172) shows that a '' nemeton'' was dedicated to her: : ''СΕΓΟΜΑΡΟС/ ΟΥΙΛΛΟΝΕΟС/ ΤΟΟΥΤΙΟΥС/ ΝΑΜΑΥСΑΤΙС/ ΕΙѠΡΟΥ ΒΗΛΗ/СΑΜΙ СΟСΙΝ/ ΝΕΜΗΤΟΝ'' : ''Segomaros Ouilloneos tooutious Namausatis eiōrou Bēlēsami sosin nemēton'' : "Segomarus Uilloneos, citizen 'toutius''of Namausus, dedicated this sanctuary to Belesama" The identification with Minerva 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 ...

is established in a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription from Saint-Lizier (anciently ''Consoranni''), Ariège department ( CIL XIII, 8): :''Minervae / Belisamae / sacrum / Q(uintus) Valerius / Montan s/ v to?' The presence of the goddess in Ancient Britain is more difficult to establish. Based on

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

's reference to a "Belisama estuary" (Βελισαμα), River Ribble in England seems to have been known by the name ''Belisama'' in Roman times. Ronald Hutton (1991). ''The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles.'' Oxford: Blackwell. p. 218. Hutton also suggests that the name of

Samlesbury Samlesbury ( ''or locally'' ) is a village and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is in the village, as is Samlesbury Aerodrome and a large modern brewery owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The pop ...

may derive from a corruption of the name.

Theories

The attestation of the theonym as a river name may indicate that she was a lake- and river-goddess. Belisama has also been speculatively claimed as companion of Belenos, whose name seems to contain the same root.

References

;Bibliography * * * * *

External links

{{Celtic mythology (ancient) Gaulish goddesses Sea and river goddesses Minerva

Name

Attestations

Theories

See also

References

External links