Caturix (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient 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, most of Switzerl ...

for "battle king") was the war god of the Helvetii.

Names

Caturix became known as ''Mars Caturix'' 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 selecti ...

interpretation Interpretation may refer to: Culture * Aesthetic interpretation, an explanation of the meaning of a work of art * Allegorical interpretation, an approach that assumes a text should not be interpreted literally * Dramatic Interpretation, an event ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

. There was a temple dedicated to Mars Caturix in Aventicum, the capital of Roman ''Helvetia'', another one in Nonfoux,

Essertines-sur-Yverdon Essertines-sur-Yverdon (, literally ''Essertines on Yverdon'') is a municipality in the district of Gros-de-Vaud in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Essertines-sur-Yverdon is first mentioned in 1180 as ''Essertines''. Geography Esser ...

. Other names (epitheta) of Caturix may have been ''

Cicollus Cicolluis or Cicoluis (also known as Cicollus, Cicolus, Cicollui, and Cichol) is a god in Celtic mythology worshiped by the ancient Gauls and having a parallel in Ireland. Name The Gaulish theonym ''Cicollu(i)s'' derives from the stem ''cico'' ...

'' and ''Caisivus''. ''Caturix'' has itself been interpreted as originating as an epithet of

Toutatis Toutatis or Teutates is a Celtic god who was worshipped primarily in ancient Gaul and Britain. His name means "god of the tribe", and he has been widely interpreted as a tribal protector.Paul-Marie Duval (1993). ''Les dieux de la Gaule.'' Édition ...

Etymology

The Gaulish name ''catu-rix'' means 'battle-king' or 'battle-lord', stemming from

root ''catu''- ('combat, battle') attached to ''rix'' ('king'). The root ''catu-'' is

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

to similar words in

Celtic languages The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edwar ...

, including

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writte ...

''cath'' ('battle, troop') and

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic a ...

''cad'' ('battle'), and is attested in other Celtic personal names such as '' Catigern''.Russell, Paul. "Old Welsh ''Dinacat'', ''Cunedag'', ''Tutagual'': Fossilized Phonology in Brittonic Personal Names". In: ''Indo-European Perspectives: Studies in Honour of Anna Morpugo Davies''. Edited by J. H. W. Penney. Oxford University Press. 2004. pp. 447-460. The Gallic tribe of the

Caturiges The Caturiges (Gaulish: ''Caturīges'', 'kings of combat') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Durance valley, around present-day towns of Chorges and Embrun, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Catur ...

('battle-kings'), settling in the area of modern Chorges (from Latin: ''Caturigumagus'') was apparently named after the god. The capital of the Caturiges was called ''Eburodunum'' (modern Embrun), i.e. the same name as that of

Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , wa ...

, suggesting a close relationship between the ''Caturiges'' and the ''Helvetii''.

Inscriptions

Five dedicatory inscriptions to Caturix were found in the area settled by the Helvetii, all of them close to

Avenches Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully. History The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of th ...

(Aventicum) and

(Eburodunum). A sixth inscription has been found in isolation in Böckingen,

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Middle Ages, it developed into an important trading centre. A ...

, Germany. * Riaz : HM 181 : ...]ATVRIG .. *Nonfoux : HM 164 : MARTI CATVRIGI ... TEMPLVM A NOVO IN[STTVIT *Pomy VD">Pomy: HM 165: : MARTI CATVR SACR ... *Yverdon: HM 172 : MARTI CATVRICI ET APOLLINI ... *Avenches: HM 222: MARTI CATVR ... *Avenches: HM221 : MART CAISIV ... *Böckingen: : IOM ET MARTI CATVRIGI GENIO LOCI ...

References

Bibliography

* Gerold Walser:
Römische Inschriftkunst
', Franz Steiner Verlag, 1993, S. 70, * Bernhard Maier: ''Lexikon der keltischen Religion und Kultur''; Kröner, Stuttgart (1994). * Ernst Howald, Ernst Meier: ''Die römische Schweiz''; Zürich (1940). * *{{Cite book, last=Lambert, first=Pierre-Yves, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjMcAQAAIAAJ, title=La langue gauloise: description linguistique, commentaire d'inscriptions choisies, date=1994, publisher=Errance, isbn=978-2-87772-089-2, author-link=Pierre-Yves Lambert Gaulish gods War gods Helvetii