ancient Celtic religion Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe. Because the ancient Celts did not have writing, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman account ...

, Sulevia was a goddess worshipped in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, very often in the plural forms Suleviae or (dative) Sule(v)is. Dedications to Sulevia(e) are attested in about forty inscriptions, distributed quite widely in the Celtic world, but with particular concentrations in

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic 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 nort ...

, among the

Helvetii The Helvetii ( , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Julius ...

, along the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

, and also in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Jufer and Luginbühl distinguish the Suleviae from another group of plural

Celtic goddesses The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheon ...

, the

Matres The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons") were female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe, of whom relics are found dating from the first to the fifth century AD. They are depicted on votive offerings and altars t ...

, and interpret the name Suleviae as meaning "those who govern well".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.15,64. In the original: ''"Celles qui gouvernent bien"''. In the same vein,

Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel (born 5 April 1953) is an Italian philologist, linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. Biography Patrizia de Bernardo was born on 5 April 1953 in Milan, Italy, the daughter of Mario de Bernardo and Adriana Marra. She ...

connects Suleviae with

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

''hylyw'' 'leading (well)' and Breton ''helevez'' 'good behaviour'.

Epigraphy

The Suleviae have been identified in one inscription with the

Junones In Roman religion, the genius (; plural ''geniī'') is the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. Much like a guardian angel, the genius would follow each man from the hour of h ...

, but mostly with the Matres, for example on an inscription from

Roman Colchester Camulodunum (; la, ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest rec ...

, as well as on most of the inscriptions from Rome. The Colchester inscription reads: ::::MATRIBVS SVLEVIS SIMILIS ATTI F CI CANT VSLM ::(Translated: ''To the Sulevi mothers, Similis the son of Attius, of the Civitas Cantiacorum, willingly and deservedly fulfills his vow.'') In another inscription, the dative singular ''Suleviae Idennicae'' is attested in conjunction with Roman goddess Minerva.

Relation to other deities

Van Andringa interprets the Suleviae as "native domestic divinities honoured at all social levels".William van Andringa (2002). ''La religion en Gaule romaine: piété et politique (I^er-III^e siècle apr. J.-C.'' Editions Errance, Paris p. 275. In the original: ''"divinités domestiques indigènes honorés dans tous les milieux sociaux"''. For the theory that the Suleviae were a

triune Triune may refer to: * Trinity, the Godhead in Christianity * Any of the triple deities * Triune, Tennessee, an unincorporated town in the United States * Triune, West Virginia, an unincorporated town in the United States * Triune Peaks, three pe ...

version of Sulis Minerva, see

Sulis In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath (now in Somerset). She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tab ...

. This theory is disputed by some researchers who find no direct links with Sulis, and suggest instead that the similarity in names is coincidental. Another theory connects the Suleviae with the

Xulsigiae In Gallo-Roman religion, the Xulsigiae were triple goddesses worshipped at the healing-spring shrine in ''Augusta Treverorum'' (present-day Trier). Edith Wightman suggests that they "may be local nymphs of the spring"; on the other hand, she also li ...

, known from a site at

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

;Edith Mary Wightman (1970). ''Roman Trier and the Treveri.'' Rupert Hart-Davis, London. but this suggestion has also been contested.

References

Celtic goddesses Gaulish goddesses Gallaecian goddesses Goddesses of the ancient Britons {{celt-myth-stub

Epigraphy

Relation to other deities

See also

References