Medaurus was the Illyrian guardian deity of the city of Risinium, and possibly a war god.

Description

Medaurus is depicted as riding on horseback and carrying a javelin. As the protector of Risinium, it is possible that Medaurus was regarded as a war god. Dyczek et al. indeed note that a rise in religiosity has been later observed 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 ...

regions threatened by

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

during the

Migration Period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

(375–568), especially the cult of ''Jupiter Depulsor'' repelling the enemies. Medaurus could have had a similar function among Illyrian soldiers fighting far from their home around the Roman

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

. The

Lambaesis Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in colonial French), is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also a La ...

dedication also indicates that an equestrian statue of Medaurus had been erected in Lambaesis (North Africa), likely the replica of a monumental statue located in Risinium. Recent archeological research in Risinium suggests that the statue of Medaurus was set up on a base of at least 15x20m, and situated on the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

where it dominated the city.

Attestation

Medaurus is mentioned in a dedication carved in

by a Roman

legatus A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...

native of Risinium (present-day

Risan Risan ( Montenegrin: Рисан, ) is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was prot ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

) and more scarcely in two other inscriptions found in Risinium and

Santa Maria di Leuca Santa Maria di Leuca, often spelled simply Leuca (, from ''Leukos'', "white"), is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Castrignano del Capo, in the Salento peninsula (Apulia), southern Italy. A part of the town once belonged to the ''comune'' of Ga ...

(

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

). The Lambaesis inscriptions are today lost, and the only remaining copies were made in the 19th century by the Polish Légion Étrangère soldier Joseph Konarzewski and the French historian

Léon Renier Charles Alphonse Leon Renier (2 May 1809, Charleville-Mézières, Charleville – 11 June 1885, Paris) was a 19th-century French historian specialist of Latin epigraphy. Arriving in Paris in 1838, he worked at the ''Dictionnaire encyclopédique d ...

. The temple of Medaurus was located near the temples of

Asclepius Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of ...

and

Salus Salus ( la, salus, "safety", "salvation", "welfare") was the Roman goddess of safety and well-being (welfare, health and prosperity) of both the individual and the state. She is sometimes equated with the Greek goddess Hygieia, though their fun ...

, erected ca. 161–162. The Lambaesis inscription was however not found in the temple of Asclepius, as it was initially thought due to imprecise indications given by Renier. The hypothesis of Medaurus as a god of medicine, often encountered in 20th-century studies, is therefore less certain. A fourth mention in a

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

text from Africa, that could accredit the thesis of the medical god, is also unlikely, as it probably refers instead to the city of

Madauros Madauros (''Madaurus'', ''Madaura'') was a Roman-Berber city and a former diocese of the Catholic Church in the old state of Numidia, in present-day Algeria. History The birth of the city dates back to the 5th century BC under the aegis of the ...

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

Texts

The author of the Lambaesis dedication is an unknown

from the

Legio III Augusta ("Third Augustan Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Its origin may have been the Republican 3rd Legion which served the general Pompey during his civil war against Gaius Julius Caesar (49–45 BC). It supported the general Octavia ...

(in service from 178? to 180) who participated in the

Marcomannic Wars The Marcomannic Wars (Latin: ''bellum Germanicum et Sarmaticum'', "German and Sarmatian War") were a series of wars lasting from about 166 until 180 AD. These wars pitted the Roman Empire against, principally, the Germanic Marcomanni and Quadi ...

with the Roman emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

, and was eventually nominated

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

''.'' The dedication was engraved in two different times, as the author claims to have obtained the Consulship in the last 4 lines. The lacunas in the text are likely due to a ''

damnatio memoriae is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have been many routes to , includi ...

'', his name removed from the inscription as a punishment for a fault.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medaurus Illyrian gods

Description

Attestation

Texts

See also

References

Bibliography