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Belenus (
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 ...
: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic
healing god A health deity is a god or goddess in mythology or religion associated with health, healing and wellbeing. They may also be related to childbirth or Mother Goddesses. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions. List of health deities A ...
. The cult of Belenus stretched from the Italian Peninsula to the British Isles, with a main sanctuary located at
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 ...
, on the
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
coast. Through ''
interpretatio romana ''Interpretatio graeca'' (Latin, "Greek translation") or "interpretation by means of Greek odels is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a comparative methodology using ancient Gr ...
'', Belenus was often identified with
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
, although his cult seems to have preserved a certain degree of autonomy during the Roman period.


Name


Attestations

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 ...
''Belenus'' (or ''Belinus''), which is a latinized form of the Gaulish ''Belenos'' (or ''Belinos''), appears in some 51 inscriptions. Although most of them are located in
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 ...
(near modern
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
, Italy), the main centre of his cult, the name has also been found in places where Celtic speakers lived in ancient times, including 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 during ...
,
Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...
,
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 ...
, and the
British Islands The British Islands is a term within the law of the United Kingdom which refers collectively to the following four polities: * the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (formerly the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); ...
. Linguist
Blanca María Prósper Blanca María Prósper Pérez is a Spanish linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. Since 2019, she has been Professor ('' Catedrática'') in Indo-European linguistics at the University of Salamanca. Biography Blanca María Prósper earned a PhD in ...
argues that ''Belinos'' was probably the original form, which also appears in the name ' (from an earlier ''Belinos''), a Welsh leader who died in 627 AD. Known variants include ''Bellinus'' and perhaps ''Belus''., s.v. ''Belenus''. The deity may also have been known in Ireland and Britain by the variants ''Bel'', ''Beli'', and ''Bile.''


Etymology

The etymology of the name remains unclear. It has been traditionally translated as the 'bright one' or the 'shining one', by deriving the name from a
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
root ''*bʰelH-'', interpreted as 'white, shining' (cf. Lith. ''báltas'' 'white', Grk φαλός ''phalós'' 'white', Arm. ''bal'' 'pallor', Goth. ''bala'' 'grey'). This theory was encouraged by the ''
interpretatio romana ''Interpretatio graeca'' (Latin, "Greek translation") or "interpretation by means of Greek odels is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a comparative methodology using ancient Gr ...
'' of ''Belenos'' as the 'Gaulish
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
', a divinity with sun attributes. However, this etymology has come under increasing criticism in recent scholarship.
Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. Since 2019, he has been an associate researcher for the CNRS- PSL AOrOc l ...
notes that the proposed
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
s stemming from ''*bʰelH-'' do not seem to connote 'shining', but rather '
ale Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typicall ...
white' or 'grey', and suggests that ''Belenos'' may rather derive from the Gaulish stem ''belo''- ('strong, powerful') attached to the suffix -''nos'' ('lord, master'), which would lead to ''Belenos'' as the 'Master of Power'. Alternatively,
Peter Schrijver Peter Schrijver (; born 1963) is a Dutch linguist. He is a professor of Celtic languages at Utrecht University and a researcher of ancient Indo-European linguistics. He worked previously at Leiden University and the Ludwig Maximilian University o ...
has proposed that ''Belenos'' might be an ''o''-stem of the
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 ...
root *''bʰel-'', designating the
henbane ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. Histor ...
(cf. Welsh ''bela'', Germanic *''bel(u)nōn'', Slavic ''*bъlnъ''), a psychoactive plant which was known as ''belenuntia'' in Gaulish and as ''apollinaris'' in Latin.
Bernhard Maier Bernhard Maier (born 1963 in Oberkirch (Baden), Oberkirch, Baden) is a German professor of religious studies, who publishes mainly on Celtic studies, Celtic culture and religion. Maier studied comparative religion, comparative linguistics, Celtic ...
and
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 ...
have also argued that the name may derive from a root ''*gwelH-'', meaning 'source, spring'. According to Šašel Kos, Belenus' "close association with water is confirmed by two dedications to ''Fons B(eleni)'' and by an altar in which Belenus is worshipped together with the Nymphs. Thermal springs are also attested to at Iulium Carnicum." The 19th-century attempt to link the root ''bel''- with the Phoenician deity ''
Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...
'' is now widely rejected by modern scholars.


Related terms

A village that is now part of the municipality of Aquileia is still named ''Beligna''. 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 A theophoric name (from Greek language, Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relat ...
. The Old Welsh personal name ''Liuelin'' (modern ''
Llywelyn Llywelyn, Llewelyn or Llewellyn is a name of Welsh language origins. See Llywelyn (name) for the name's etymology, history and other details. As a surname Arts *Carmen Llywelyn, American actress and photographer * Chris Llewellyn (poet), American ...
'') goes back to a similar compound *''lugu-belinos'' (either a
dvandva A dvandva ('pair' in Sanskrit) is a linguistic compound in which multiple individual nouns are concatenated to form an agglomerated compound word in which the conjunction has been elided to form a new word with a distinct semantic field. For ins ...
with the names of two deities, or else 'strong as
Lugus Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gall ...
'). The Brittonic variant of the name could be the source of the ''
Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...
'' ward in London, although this may be a
folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
, and possibly of the fountain of ''Belenton'' (now Bérenton) in the
Brocéliande Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly r ...
forest in Brittany. The names of the Welsh and Irish ancestor-figures ''
Beli Mawr Beli Mawr ("Beli the Great") was an ancestor figure in Middle Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Cassivellaunus, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies he is listed as the son or husb ...
'' and ''
Bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bile ...
'' may also be related. The Gaulish term ''belenuntia'' (Βελενούντιαν), designating the
henbane ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. Histor ...
, a hallucinogenic plant also known in Latin as ''apollinaris'', may be a derivative form of ''Belenos''. The variant ''belenion'', cited as a poisonous plant by
Pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as ps ...
, appears to be the source of the Spanish ''beleño'' ('henbane'). The Gallo-Roman term ''belisa'' could have been borrowed into
Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
as ''bilisa'' (cf. modern German ''Bilsenkraut'' 'henbane'). Henbane was commonly used in antiquity for medicinal purposes, providing further evidence of Belanos' healing attributes. A shallow stone dish found in Saint-Chamas (south of France) and dedicated to ''Beleino'' could thus have been used to hold hallucinogenic substances. According to Delamarre, the name of the goddess ''
Belisama Belisama (Gaulish ''Belesama''; epigraphically ) is a Celtic goddess. She was identified by Roman commentators with Minerva by ''interpretatio romana''. Name The Gaulish theonym ''Belesama'' has been traditionally interpreted as meaning 'the ...
'' appears to be built on a same stem ''bel(o)''- ('strong, powerful') attached to the intensifying suffix -''isama'', and could thus been translated as 'Very Powerful'. Schrijver rather links it to a stem for 'henbane', *''beles''-, attached to an unknown suffix -''ma'', and compares the name with the Gaulish theonym ''Belisa-maros''. The personal name ''
Bellovesus Bellovesus (Gaulish: 'Worthy of Power') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new lands ...
'' can probably be translated as 'Worthy of Power', from ''bello''- ('power') attached to ''uesus'' ('worthy, good, deserving'). Spanish scholarship also relates the deity's name to Aquitanian anthroponym ''Belinatepos'' or ''Belanetepos'' (taken to have an equine association), as well as toponyms Beleño and Beloño.


Epithets

In ancient Gaul and Britain,
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
was commonly associated with the sun and healing attributes. He may have been equated with fifteen or more different names and epithets (including ''Belenus'', ''Vindonnus'', '' Grannos'', ''
Borvo Borvo or Bormo (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Borwō'', ''Bormō'') was an ancient Celtic god of healing Spring (hydrology), springs worshipped in Gauls and Gallaecia., s.v. ''Borvo''. He was sometimes identified with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo, a ...
'', ''
Maponus In Celtic polytheism, ancient Celtic religion, Maponos or Maponus ("Great Son") is a god of youth known mainly in northern Roman conquest of Britain, Britain but also in Gaul. In Roman Britain, he was equated with Apollo. The Welsh mythology, Wel ...
'', ''
Moritasgus Moritasgus is a Gaulish language, Celtic epithet for a healing god found in four epigraphy, inscriptions at Alesia (city), Alesia. In two inscriptions, he is interpretatio romana, identified with the Greco-Roman god Apollo. His hieros gamos, conso ...
'', among others).Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Paris: Editions Errance. . The god was venerated as Apollo Belenus at the curative shrine of
Sainte-Sabine Sainte-Sabine () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 Communes of France, communes of the Côte-d'Or Departments of Franc ...
(Burgundy), where he was invoked by pilgrims seeking cures for their sickness. If Belenus is interpreted as meaning 'shining, brilliant', it can be compared to the Celtic epithet ''Vindonnus'' (from *''windo''- 'white'), attached to Apollo as a deity who restored light and vision to people with eye disease at
Essarois Essarois () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 Communes of France, communes of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, d ...
(Burgundy).


Historical cult


Origin

According to philologist
Helmut Birkhan Helmut Birkhan (born 1 February 1938) is an Austrian philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Ancient German Language and Literature and the former Managing Director of the Institute for Germanic Studies at the University of Vienna. Having stud ...
, Belenus was seen as a "typical Karnian oracle- and health-giving deity", although its widespread attestation among ancient Celtic peoples may point to a
Common Celtic Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...
origin of the cult. Scholar
Miranda Aldhouse-Green Miranda Jane Aldhouse-Green, (''née'' Aldhouse; born 24 July 1947) is a British archaeologist and academic, known for her research on the Iron Age and the Celts. She was Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University from 2006 to 2013. Until ...
writes that the deity probably pre-existed the Roman period. Philologist
Marjeta Šašel Kos Marjeta Šašel Kos (born 20 April 1954) is a Slovene archaeologist and classical philologist. Biography Marjeta Šašel Kos was born on 20 April 1954. In 1980, she earned a master's degree in archaeology from the University of Ljubljana Th ...
thinks that the worship of Belenus spread from
Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...
towards the nearby towns of Aquileia and Iulium Carnicum (modern
Zuglio Zuglio ( fur, Zui) is a ''comune'' (municipality), former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see in the Province of Udine in the northeastern Italian autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwes ...
).


Locations

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
, writing in c. 200 AD, identifies Belenus as the national god of Noricum. Inscriptions dedicated to Belenus are concentrated in the
Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the ...
and
Gallia Cisalpina Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
, but there is evidence that the popularity of the god became more widespread in the Roman period.
Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him. H ...
(later 4th century AD) alludes to sanctuaries dedicated to Belenus in
Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...
, and of a temple priest of the cult named Phoebicius. The deity was also popular in Provence, as attested by inscriptions from the
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
and
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
areas. Herodian mentions Belenus' worship in
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 ...
, where he was regarded as the patron god of the city. During the siege of the city in 238 AD by emperor
Maximinus Thrax Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" ("the Thracian";  – 238) was Roman emperor from 235 to 238. His father was an accountant in the governor's office and sprang from ancestors who were Carpi (a Dacian tribe), a people whom Diocletian ...
, who died during the event while his army was defeated soon afterwards, Belenus was invoked as the divine protector of Aquileia. The soldiers reported seeing an appearance of the god defending the city from the air. The third-century emperors
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
and
Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...
each dedicated an inscription to Belenus in the region of Aquileia. A further 6 votive inscriptions of Belenus were discovered at
Altinum Altinum (in Altino, a ''frazione'' of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Veneti 15 km SE of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers Dese, Zero and Sile. A ...
, Concordia and Iulium Carnicum. Belenus was an important god of Iulium Carnicum (modern
Zuglio Zuglio ( fur, Zui) is a ''comune'' (municipality), former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see in the Province of Udine in the northeastern Italian autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwes ...
), a town close to the border with Noricum inhabited by the
Carni The Carni (Greek: Καρνίοι) were a tribe of the Eastern Alps in classical antiquity of Celtic language and culture, settling in the mountains separating Noricum and Venetia (roughly corresponding to the more modern Slovenia and Carinthia). ...
. 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. Epigraphic dedications to the god are also known in Venice and at Rimini. An altar was also found in Celeia (modern
Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...
), 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.


Consort

Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, perhaps the Gaulish deity
Belisama Belisama (Gaulish ''Belesama''; epigraphically ) is a Celtic goddess. She was identified by Roman commentators with Minerva by ''interpretatio romana''. Name The Gaulish theonym ''Belesama'' has been traditionally interpreted as meaning 'the ...
.Koch, John T. (2006). ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.'' Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. . The river name ''
Bienne , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...
'' (''Biena'' in 1337 AD), present-day eastern France, and the place name ''
Bienne , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...
'' (''apud Belnam'' in 1142 AD), modern Switzerland, also attest to a feminine form *''Belenā''. 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. Two shrines dedicated to the goddess were found in
Podljubelj Podljubelj ( or ; german: Sankt Anna''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 66.) is a settlement on the road to the Ljubelj Pass in the Muni ...
in the
Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: ...
.


Legacy


Modern beliefs

The Slovenian divinity ''Belin'', attested in the 19th century by historian
Simon Rutar Simon Rutar (12 October 1851 – 3 May 1903) was a Slovene historian and geographer. He wrote primarily on the history and geography of the areas that are now part of the Slovenian Littoral, the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Cr ...
, 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. The local population regarded him as a great healer who could cure blindness with his 'key'. Professor Monika Kropej also states that Belenus was possibly incorporated into the Slovenian lore as the ''beliči'', a type of fairy-like beings. 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.


Popular culture

Belenus is often sworn, 'By Belenos', by the Gauls on the
Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...
franchise.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Gaulish gods Gods of the ancient Britons Celtic gods Apollo Health gods Horse deities