Ophiussa, also spelled Ophiusa, is the ancient name given by the ancient Greeks to what is now Portuguese territory near the mouth of the river Tagus. It means Land of Serpents.

The expulsion of the ''Oestrimni''

The 4th century Roman poet

Rufius Festus Avienius Postumius Rufius Festus Avienius (sometimes erroneously Avienus) was a Latin writer of the 4th century AD. He was a native of Volsinii in Etruria, from the distinguished family of the Rufii Festi. Avienius is not identical with the historian F ...

, writing on geographical subjects in ''Ora Maritima'' ("Seacoasts"), a document inspired by a Greek mariners' Periplus, related that the '' Oestriminis'' (''Extreme West'' in Latin) was peopled by the ''Oestrimni'', a people who had been living there for a long time; they had to flee their homeland after an invasion of serpents. These people could be linked to the ''Saephe'' (

Saefs The Sefes sometimes also known as Cempsi were a people of ancient Iberia said to have lived on the coast of modern day Portugal and Galicia. In his poem '' Ora Maritima'', the 4th century Roman author Avienius wrote that they were neighbours of th ...

) or ''Ophis'' ("People of the Serpents") and the ''Dragani'' ("People of the Dragons"), who came to those lands and built the territorial entity the Greeks termed ''Ophiussa''. The expulsion of the Oestrimni, from ''Ora Maritima:'' The "serpent people" of the semi-mythical Ophiussa in the far west are noted in ancient Greek sources.

Land of the ''Ophi''

The ''Ophi'' people lived mainly in the inland mountains of Northern Portugal (and

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

). Others say they lived mainly by the estuaries of the rivers Douro and Tagus. The ''Ophi'' worshiped serpents, hence ''Land of Serpents''. There have surfaced a few archeological findings that could be related to this people or culture. Some believe that the

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

sometimes represented as a

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

, from the original Winged Serpent, or Wyvern (the traditional Portuguese ''Serpe Real''), old crest of the crown of the Kings of Portugal and later of the Emperors of Brazil, is linked to local people or to the Celts who later invaded the area and could also have been influenced by the ''Ophi'' cult.

''Ophi'' legend

A legend relates that on the summer solstice a maiden-serpent, a

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 ...

goddess, reveals hidden treasures to people journeying through forests. This maiden would live in the city of Porto. Festivities related to this goddess occurred during the solstice. During the rest of the year, she would change into a snake living under or among rocks, and shepherds would set aside some milk from their flocks as an offering to her.

Notes

External links

Ora Maritima
(in Latin) at The Latin Library
Culto a la serpiente en el mundo Antiguo
Serpent cult in the Ancient Word (in Spanish)

{{Portugal topics Ancient Portugal Lusitanian mythology

The expulsion of the ''Oestrimni''

Land of the ''Ophi''

''Ophi'' legend

See also

Notes

External links