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 ...

, Loucetios (

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 ...

ized as Leucetius) was a Gallic god known from the Rhine-Moselle region, where he was identified with the Roman

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 ...

. Scholars have interpreted his name to mean ‘lightning’. Mars Loucetius was worshipped alongside the goddess Nemetona.

Name and etymology

The name ''Loucetios'' derives from a Celtic stem *''lowk-et''-, meaning 'flash of lightning, thunderbolt' (cf. Old Irich ''lóchet''), itself from the root *''lowk''- ('bright, light'; cf. Middle Irish ''luach'' 'glowing light', Middle Welsh ''llug'' 'eyesight, perception'). It is the source of the place name '' Luzech'', attested as ''Luzechium'' in 1326 CE. The name may be a reference to either a Celtic common

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

for battles as thunderstorms (cf. Old Irish ''torannchless'', the 'thunder feat'), or else the divine aura of the hero (the ''lúan'' of

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), is an Irish warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the ...

). It is presumably analogous to

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian and South Picene. Oscan was spoken by a number of t ...

''Loucetius'' ‘light-bringer’, an epithet of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

Inscriptions and shrines

About a dozen inscriptions in honour of Mars Loucetius have been recovered, mainly from eastern Gaul, with a particular concentration among the

Vangiones The Vangiones appear first in history as an ancient Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe of unknown provenance. They threw in their lot with Ariovistus in his bid of 58 BC to invade Gaul through the Doubs river valley and lost to Julius Caesar in a ba ...

and Aresaces (two Rhenish tribes). Inscriptions to him have also been found at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

; The sites listed for Loucetius/Leucetius are

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

, Eisenberg, Groß-Gerau, Klein-Winternheim, Frauenstein, Großkrotzenburg, Marienborn,

, and

. the altar at Bath specifies that it was dedicated by a citizen 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 ...

. Inscriptions often invoke Mars Loucetius together with Victoria or Nemetona (or both, in the case of the Eisenberg inscription'' AE'' 2007, 1044.). Edith Mary Wightman considers this pair “closely similar to if not identical with,

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, ...

and Ancamna”, who are known chiefly from the territory of the

adjacent to those of the Aresaces and

. Four of the inscriptions to Mars Loucetius are also dedicated ''IN H(onorem) D(omūs) D(ivinae)'', ‘in honour of the divine house’ (i.e. the imperial family). Wightman further suggests that the shrine of Mars Loucetius at Klein-Winternheim, south of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, was “a central one for the Aresaces”, the ancient inhabitants of the

Mainz-Bingen Mainz-Bingen is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Rheingau-Taunus, the district-free cities Wiesbaden and Mainz, the districts Groß-Gerau, Alzey-Worms, Bad Kreuzn ...

area.

Modern literature

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

's ''

American Gods ''American Gods'' (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana (culture), Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shad ...

'', Leucotios appears in chapter three, during Shadow's (the main character) dream of forgotten gods. Gaiman's Leucotios is described as a “man with ... white hair, with a necklace of teeth about his neck, holding a drum”.

References

Bibliography

* {{Celtic mythology (ancient) Gaulish gods Thunder gods Martian deities Celtic mythology