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Mercurius Cimbrianus or Cimbrius is a Germanic god mentioned in seven Roman dedicatory inscriptions. These inscriptions are from the territory of the Roman province of
Germania Superior
Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...
from the second to third centuries CE.
Three inscriptions were found in a Roman cult complex on the
Heiligenberg
Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, in Germany.
Location and climate
Heiligenberg (literally: the Holy Mountain or the Mountain of Saints) is loca ...
, near present-day
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, which was used until late Antiquity. Two finds from the vicinity of
Miltenberg
Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000.
Geography
Location
The old town lies on the Main ...
and two inscriptions from near Mogontiacum (present-day
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 ...
) make up the remainder of the documentation on this god.
The name ‘Cimbrianus’ is derived from that of the
Germanic tribe of
Cimbri
The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate that ...
, whose homeland is placed in the
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
peninsula by ancient sources such as
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
, and who began migrating southward in the late 2nd century BCE.
From this it has been conjectured that the cult of Mercurius Cimbrianus was established in the
Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
by some detachments of such Cimbri. Also near Miltenberg, another inscription mentions the presence of Teutons,
who were associated with the Cimbri in their great 2nd-century BCE migration. As the god is
identified
''Identified'' is the second studio album by Vanessa Hudgens, released on July 1, 2008 in the U.S. June 24, 2008 in Japan, February 13, 2009 in most European countries and February 16, 2009 in the United Kingdom. The album re ...
with the Roman
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, this ‘Mercury of the Cimbri’ is generally thought to represent the Germanic god
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
or *''Wōđanaz''.
Literature
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cimbrianus
Germanic gods
Roman gods
Names of Odin
Mercury (mythology)