![Heracura](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Heracura.jpg)
Erecura or Aerecura (also found as ''Herecura'' or ''Eracura'') was a goddess worshipped in ancient times, often thought to be
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic in origin, mostly represented with the attributes of
Proserpina and associated with the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
god
Dis Pater, as on an altar from Sulzbach.
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
(2009), p. 136. She appears with Dis Pater in a statue found at
Oberseebach,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and in several magical texts from Austria, once in the company of
Cerberus and once probably with
Ogmios
Ogmios (also known as Ogmius; grc, Ὄγμιος; la, Ogmius, Ogimius) was the Celtic deity of eloquence.[OG ...](_blank)
. A further inscription to her has been found near
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany. Besides her
chthonic
The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...
symbols, she is often depicted with such attributes of fertility as the
cornucopia and apple baskets.
She is believed to be similar to Greek
Hecate
Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
, while the two goddesses share similar names.
[P. Monaghan ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore'' New York: Facts On File, Inc, 2004. , p. 4.] She is depicted in a seated posture, wearing a full robe and bearing trays or baskets of fruit, in depictions from Cannstatt
and Sulzbach.
Miranda Green calls Aericura a "
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient 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 ...
Hecuba", while Noémie Beck characterizes her as a "land-goddess" sharing both underworld and fertility aspects with Dis Pater.
Representations of Erecura are most commonly found in the
Danubian
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
area of
Southern Germany and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, but they also occur in Italy, Great Britain, and France. Her inscriptions are concentrated in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and along the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
. Several monuments in honour of Erecura occur in cemeteries or other funereal contexts.
Jona Lendering notes the similarity between her iconography and that of
Nehalennia, who was worshipped in
Germania Inferior,
while Beck sees no significant difference between her attributes and those of the
Matres and Matronae.
Geographically, the areas in which Erecura and Dis Pater were worshipped appear to be in complementary distribution with those where the cult of
Sucellus
In Gallo-Roman religion, Sucellus or Sucellos () was a god shown carrying a large mallet (or hammer) and an ''olla'' (or barrel). Originally a Celtic god, his cult flourished not only among Gallo-Romans, but also to some extent among the neighbo ...
and
Nantosuelta
In Celtic mythology, Nantosuelta is the goddess of nature, the earth, fire, and fertility.
Pseudo-historical texts explain how there is an uncanny resemblance between Nantosuelta and what we know of the Irish goddess The Morrígan, who was associ ...
is attested, and Beck suggests that these cults were functionally similar although iconographically distinct.
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
(2009), p. 137.
A male deity called
Arecurius or Aericurus is named on an altar-stone in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
, England, although Beck cautions that "this inscription is quite uncertain, and it might be a misreading of
Mercurio".
Etymology
The
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
is of unclear origin. It has been connected with Latin ''aes, aeris'' 'copper, bronze, money, wealth', ''era'' 'mistress' and the name of the Greek goddess
Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
. Many different Latinised forms of this goddess's name occur: ''Aeraecura'' at
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
; ''Aerecura'' at
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
,
Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel.
Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...
,
Aquileia
Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
and
Roşia Montană; ''Aericura'' at
Sulzbach, Malsch, ''Eracura'' in
Mautern, Austria, ''Ercura'' at
Fliehburg, ''Erecura'' at
Cannstatt and
Belley in Aube; ''Heracura'' at
Stockstadt am Rhein, ''Herecura'' at
Cannstatt,
Freinsheim
Freinsheim (; Palatine German: Fränsem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With about 5,000 inhabitants, it is among the state's smaller towns. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a ...
and
Rottenburg am Neckar
Rottenburg am Neckar (; until 10 July 1964 only ''Rottenburg''; Swabian: ''Raodaburg'') is a medium-sized town in the administrative district (''Landkreis'') of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies about 50 kilometres (31 miles) s ...
, where the form ''Herequra'' is also found.
[Lajoye, Patrice; ''Inventaire des divinités celtiques de l’Antiquité'', Caen: Société de Mythologie Française. Available a]
L’Arbre Celtique
The alternation between the initial
H and
A may be due to the letters' similar shape in the
classical Latin capitals ordinarily used in
epigraphic inscriptions in the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, particularly since less literate members of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
’s community sometimes misinterpreted the
phonemic value of a given letter.
[This is also apparent in the inscriptions to ]Belatucadrus
Belatucadros or Belatucadrus, was a deity worshipped in Celtic northern Britain, particularly in Cumberland and Westmorland. In the Roman period he was identified with Mars and appears to have been worshipped by lower-ranked Roman soldiers as w ...
. Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
(2004), p. 102. A name of the form or appears to underlie the alternations ''Aeraecura'' ~ ''Aerecura'' ~ ''Aericura'' ~ ''Eracura'' ~ ''Ercura'' ~ ''Erecura'' ~ ''Heracura'' ~ ''Herecura'' ~ ''Herequra''.
Though the goddess herself may be
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 Fo ...
, it is open to question whether the name is of
Celtic origin or even
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
. Lendering considers her cult to be of
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
n origin, spreading from
Aquileia
Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
and only reaching the Danubian and Rhenish border regions through the Roman troops deployed there.
Beck considers the name to be of Germanic origin.
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
(2009), p. 135.
Bibliography
Works cited
References
*
*
Ellis, Peter Berresford, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' (Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994):
* Egger, Rudolf. ''Römische Antike und frühes Christentum: Ausgewählte Schriften von Rudolf Egger; Zur Vollendung seines 80. Lebensjahres'', ed. Artur Betz and Gotbert Moro. 2 vols. Klagenfurt: Verlag des Geschichtsvereines für Kärnten, 1962–63. (
LOC
LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to:
Places
* Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania
* Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary
* Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the e ...
call number DB29.E29.)
*
Green, Miranda (2004). ''The gods of the Celts.'' Sparkford, UK: Sutton Publishing.
* MacKillop, James. ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. .
* Wood, Juliette, ''The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art'', Thorsons Publishers (2002):
External links
Proto-Celtic — English lexicon
{{Celtic mythology (ancient)
Gaulish goddesses
Death goddesses
Earth goddesses
Underworld goddesses
Proserpina
Hecate