Belenus

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Belenus (Gaulish: Belenos, Belinos) is an ancient Celtic healing god whose cult is attested across much of the Celtic-speaking world. While his principal centre of worship lay at Aquileia in northeastern Italy, and the deity is primarily associated with the Noricum region, mentions extend from the Italian peninsula to the British Isles, including Gaul, Aquitania, Britain, and possibly in Ireland. [1] [2]

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In Roman sources and inscriptions, Belenus was commonly identified with Apollo through interpretatio romana , especially in contexts associated with healing and therapeutic springs. Ancient authors such as Tertullian and Herodian describe him as a prominent protective and civic deity, notably at Aquileia, where he was regarded as the city's patron god. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence further indicates that his cult was closely connected with medicinal waters, sanctuaries, and, in some regions, oracular functions.

The etymology of Belenus remains debated. Traditional interpretations derived the name from a Proto-Indo-European root associated with brightness or whiteness, encouraging solar interpretations. More recent scholarship, however, has proposed alternative explanations, including derivations connected with power, healing plants such as henbane, or water sources and springs. While no single etymology has gained universal acceptance, these interpretations broadly align with the god's well-attested associations with healing, protection, and water cults documented in epigraphic and archaeological sources.

Belenus appears to have predated the Roman period and may have originated as a Common Celtic deity, as suggested by the widespread attestation of his cult among ancient Celtic-speaking populations. Under Roman rule, he retained strong local importance, particularly in Noricum and the Alpine regions, where he functioned as a protective and healing god associated with springs and civic cults. His name also survives in personal names, place names, and later literary and folkloric traditions, suggesting a cultural legacy that extended beyond strictly cultic contexts.

Name and etymology

The theonym Belenus (or Belinus), which is a latinised form of the Gaulish Belenos (or Belinos), appears in some 51 inscriptions. [1] Although most of them are located in Aquileia (Friuli, Italy), the main centre of his cult, [3] the name has also been found in places where Celtic speakers lived in ancient times, including in Noricum, Gaul, Aquitania, Britain, and possibly in Ireland. [1] [2]

Linguist Blanca María Prósper argues that Belinos was probably the original form, [4] which also appears in the name Belyn  [ cy ] (from an earlier Belinos), a Welsh leader who died in 627 AD. [1] Known variants include Bellinus and perhaps Belus. [2] The deity may also have been known in Ireland and Britain by the variants Bel, Beli, and Bile. [5]

Etymology

The etymology of Belenos remains unclear. Traditionally, the name has been interpreted as meaning 'bright one' or the 'shining one', [3] [6] derived from a Proto-Indo-European root *bʰelH-, often glossed as 'white, shining' (cf. Lith.báltas 'white', Grk φαλός phalós 'white', Arm.bal 'pallor', Goth.bala 'grey'). This theory was long reinforced by the interpretatio romana of Belenos as the 'Gaulish Apollo', a divinity with solar attributes. [7] [8] In recent scholarship, however, this etymology has been increasingly questioned. [9] [8] Xavier Delamarre observes that the cognates derived from *bʰelH- tend to denoted '[pale] white' or 'grey' rather than 'shining', and therefore may not support a solar interpretation. [8]

An alternative hypothesis has been advanced by Peter Schrijver and Helmut Birkhan. [9] [1] Schrijver proposes that Belenos may be an o-stem of the Indo-European root *bʰel-, designating the henbane, a psychoactive plant. [9] In Gaulish, henbane was known as belenuntia (Βελενούντιαν), plausibly a derivative of Belenos, while in Latin it was called apollinaris. [9] [10] [note 1] Schrijver further connects the theonym Belisama to a stem *beles- ('henbane'; attested as belisa), combined with an otherwise unexplained suffix -ma, and compares this formation with the Gaulish theonym Belisa-maros, [11] which Birkhan explains as 'great in henbane'. [1] Since henbane was widely used in antiquity for medicinal purposes, this hypothesis has been taken as compatible with existing evidence of Belenos as a healing deity. [12] In this context, Birkhan has tentatively interpreted a shallow stone dish dedicated to Beleino, discovered at Saint-Chamas (southern France), as a vessel for hallucinogenic substances. [1]

A different line of interpretation has been proposed by Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel, who suggests that the theonym may instead derive from a root *gwelH-, meaning 'source, spring'. [13] Marjeta Šašel Kos observes that Belenus is closely associated with water cults, as evidenced by dedications to Fons Beleni and by an altar where Belenus is worshipped alongside the Nymphs. [14]

Finally, Delamarre has also suggested deriving the name from the Gaulish stem belo- ('strong, powerful') attached to the suffix -nos ('lord, master'), yielding an interpretation of Belenos as the 'Master of Power'. In this framework, the goddess Belisama would be formed from the same stem bel(o)- with the intensive suffix -isama, and could thus be interpreted as 'the Very Powerful'. [8]

A village that is now part of the municipality of Aquileia is still named Beligna. [1] A tribal leader of pre-Roman Britain was named Cunobelinos (Old Welsh Conbelin), which possibly means 'hound of Belenos', or else 'strong as a dog' if the name is not theophoric. [15] [2] [16] The Old Welsh personal name Liuelin (modern Llywelyn ) goes back to a similar compound *lugu-belinos (either a dvandva with the names of two deities, or else 'strong as Lugus'). [16] The Brittonic variant of the name could be the source of the Billingsgate ward in London, although this may be a folk etymology, and possibly of the fountain of Belenton (now Bérenton) in the Brocéliande forest in Brittany. [5] [2] The names of the Welsh and Irish ancestor-figures Beli Mawr and Bile may also be related. [2] [17] Scholars also relate the deity's name to the Aquitanian anthroponym Belinatepos or Belanetepos (taken to have an equine association), and to the toponyms Beleño and Beloño. [18] [19]

Historical cult

Origin

According Helmut Birkhan, Belenus functioned as a typical oracle- and health-giving deity from the Carnian region, in the northeastern area of modern Friuli. [1] Marjeta Šašel Kos argues that the worship of Belenus spread from Noricum to nearby centres such as Aquileia and Iulium Carnicum (modern Zuglio). [14]

Although his name is frequently connected with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo, the cult of Belenus appears to have retained a degree of independence during the Roman period. [1] His widespread attestation among ancient Celtic peoples may point to a Common Celtic origin of the cult, [1] and in any case, likely predated the Roman period. [6]

Consort

Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, speculated to be the Gaulish deity Belisama. [20] The river name Bienne (Biena in 1337 AD), present-day eastern France, and the place name Bienne (apud Belnam in 1142 AD), modern Switzerland, also attest to the existence of a feminine form *Belenā. [8]

In Noricum, Belenus may also have been accompanied by an otherwise unknown female deity named Belestis (or Beléna, Beléstis Augústa, Beléstris, Belínca), possibly worshipped as a goddess of nature and fertility. [21] [14] Two shrines dedicated to the goddess were found in Podljubelj in the Karawanks. [21]

Attestations

Italy

Around 240 AD, Herodian mentions the worship of Belenus in Aquileia, where he was regarded as the city's patron god. [6] [14] During the siege of Aquileia in 238 by emperor Maximinus Thrax, Belenus was invoked as the city's divine protector. Soldiers claimed to have seen the god appear in the air, fighting on behalf of the city, an episode reminiscent of Apollo's defence of Delphi against the forces of Brennos. [3] [1] This event is also recounted in the Roman imperial biography known as the Historia Augusta. [3] Dedications to a Fons B[eleni] ('Fountain of Belenos') also show connection with medicinal springs. [22]

A further 6 votive inscriptions of Belenus were discovered at Altinum, Concordia and Iulium Carnicum. [3] Epigraphic dedications to the god are also known in Rome, Venice and Rimini. [3] [6] A votive inscription from Caesarean times by the poet Lucius Erax Bardus was found near Bardonecchia, in Alpi Graie. [1]

Noricum

Tertullian, writing in c. 200 AD, identifies Belenus as the national god of Noricum. [3] Belenus was an important god of Iulium Carnicum (modern Zuglio), a town close to the border with Noricum inhabited by the Carni. A sanctuary dedicated to the deity is attested by the second half of the 1st century BC, when its renovation was commemorated by two chiefs of the village. [14] An altar was also found in Celeia (modern Celje), one of the most important Norican towns. The cult may have been introduced here from Aquileia, as suggested by the name of its dedicator, Lucius Sentius Forensis, the Sentii being well attested to at Aquileia, but not in Noricum. [23]

Gaul and Aquitania

Bowl dedicated to Belenus (Marseille History Museum). Vasque-Belenos.jpg
Bowl dedicated to Belenus (Marseille History Museum).

The deity was known in southern France, as attested by inscriptions from Marseille, Saint-Chamas, Gréasque, Calissanne and Saint-Rémy. [3] [6] A gem dedicated to Belenus has also been discovered at Nîmes, depicting an elderly figure adorned with star-like symbols. [6]

At Aquae Borvonis (Bourbon-Lancy), the Aedui worshipped Belenus in association with health giving waters. [24] Belenus was also venerated at Clermont-Ferrand, and had a temple at the sacred healing springs of Sainte-Sabine, where Apollo Belenus was invoked by pilgrims in search of cures for illness. Stone images of swaddled infants were dedicated at the shrine, presumably in the hope of healing. [6]

Ausonius (late 4th century AD) alludes to sanctuaries dedicated to Belenus in Aquitania, and mentions a temple priest of the cult named Phoebicius. [3] [6] Given the lack of epigraphic confirmation, Bernhard Maier has suggested that the name Belenus here functions as a learned circumlocution for Apollo. [3]

Britain

A shrine of Belenus at Inveresk (Scotland) is inscribed Apollini Granno. [2]

Medieval Ireland

The Irish Bel has been speculated by some scholars to be linked to the god Belenus. [5] [25] [26] Fires in honor of the deity were lit for Celtic festivals of Beltaine ('Bel's Fires') on May 1. [25] On occasion, cattle was driven between two fires in order to repeal diseases, which Schrijver has compared to the traditional German custom of burning henbane collected on Midsummer to protect the cattle against diseases and witchcraft. [26]

Modern Slovenia

The Slovenian divinity Belin, attested in the 19th century by historian Simon Rutar, may provide evidence of the survival of Belenus' cult in the region and of its later integration into Slovenian beliefs, possibly blended with attributes of the Slavic god Belibog. [27] [4] The local population regarded him as a great healer who could cure blindness with his 'key'. [28] Monika Kropej also states that Belenus was possibly incorporated into the Slovenian lore as the beliči, a type of fairy-like beings. [21] An incised stone in southwestern Slovenia, called berlina by the local population, among other names, may also be related. It is connected to ancient rituals and features two primitively carved figures with heads ornamented with rays. [4]

Legacy

Science

The minor planet 11284 Belenus is named after him, [29] as is the star Bélénos. [30]

The Gauls of the Asterix franchise often swear by Belenos and Toutatis. [31]

Notes

  1. ↑ Compare with the cognates Welsh bela, Proto-Germanic *bel(u)nōn, and Proto-Slavic *bъlnъ. The form belenion, cited by Pseudo-Aristotle as a poisonous plant, appears to underlie Spanish beleño ('henbane'). [10] The Gallo-Roman term belisa may also have been borrowed into Old High German as bilisa (cf. modern German Bilsenkraut 'henbane'). [1]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Birkhan 2006, p. 195.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MacKillop 2004, s.v. Belenus.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Maier 1994, pp. 40–41.
  4. 1 2 3 Prósper 2017, p. 258.
  5. 1 2 3 Leeming 2005, p. 48.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Aldhouse-Green 1997, pp. 30–31.
  7. ↑ Schrijver 1999, pp. 24–25.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Delamarre 2003, p. 72.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Schrijver 1999, pp. 24–27.
  10. 1 2 Delamarre 2003, p. 71.
  11. ↑ Schrijver 1999, pp. 30–31.
  12. ↑ Schrijver 1999, p. 26.
  13. ↑ de Bernardo Stempel 2013, p. 79.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Šašel Kos 2022, p. 228.
  15. ↑ Schrijver 1999, p. 27–28.
  16. 1 2 Prósper 2017, p. 262.
  17. ↑ Schrijver 1999, pp. 30–34, 39–40.
  18. ↑ de Aspuru, José Ignacio San Vicente González (2008). "El jinete desnudo y la silla de montar de la estela de Iruña (Alava)". Hispania Antiqua (32): 75, 78. ISSN   1130-0515.
  19. ↑ Gricourt, Daniel; Dominique, Hollard (2002). "Lugus et le cheval". Dialogues d'histoire ancienne. 28 (2): 136. doi:10.3406/dha.2002.2475.
  20. ↑ Powers Coe 2006, p. 201.
  21. 1 2 3 Kropej 2012, p. 217.
  22. ↑ Schrijver 1999 , p. 24.
  23. ↑ Šašel Kos 2022, p. 229.
  24. ↑ MacKillop 2004, s.v. Belenus.
  25. 1 2 MacKillop 2004, s.v. Belenus.
  26. 1 2 Schrijver 1999, pp. 34–35.
  27. ↑ Šašel Kos 2001, p. 14.
  28. ↑ Šašel Kos 2001, p. 9.
  29. ↑ "Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  30. ↑ "IAU-Catalog of Star Names – exopla.net" . Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  31. ↑ Gravil, Richard (2003), Gravil, Richard (ed.), "Among the Men of Old", Wordsworth’s Bardic Vocation, 1787–1842, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 11–32, doi:10.1057/9780230510333_2, ISBN   978-0-230-51033-3 {{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)

Bibliography

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