Hispan, Espan, Hispalo or Hispano, is a

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

character of Antiquity, who would derive the name

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

, according to some ancient writers. Therefore, Hispan is the eponymous hero of Hispania. Hispan is mentioned first by the Gallo-Roman historian

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfat ...

(1st century BC) in his work ''Historiae Philippicae'', preserved only in a later summary, probably made in the 3rd century AD by Justinus. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Hispan was also known as Espan, told of him various legends.

Yatendra & Deepmala--Background of the myth of Hispan

Probably, the word Hispan is the

latinized name Latinisation (or Latinization) of names, also known as onomastic Latinisation, is the practice of rendering a ''non''-Latin name in a Latin style. It is commonly found with historical proper names, including personal names and toponyms, and in t ...

of an ancient Canaanite god called B'l Spn, whose name has different meanings, as "Lord of Sapanu" or "Lord of the North". His worship was introduced into the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

by the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...

during the 1st millennium BC. The legends and myths of this divinity would be those set out in the medieval texts that refer to Hispano or Hispan, such as the ''Estoria de España'' of the 13th century. But scholars like Robert B. Tate defend the fictional and medieval nature of Hispan.

Origin

It is told that he was partially from

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

and

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

origin.

References

- Isidore of Seville, ''Etymologiae''. - Justinus, ''Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV''. - Matesanz Gascón, Roberto, "Hispano, héroe epónimo de Hispania", ''Gallaecia'', 21, 2002, 345-370. - Tate, Robert B., "Mitología en la historiografía española de la Edad Media y del Renacimiento", ''Ensayos sobre la historiografía peninsular del siglo XV'', Madrid, 1970. Heroes in mythology and legend Legendary Spanish people