![Minerva Sulis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Minerva_Sulis.jpg)
In the localised
Celtic polytheism
Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe. Because the ancient Celts did not have writing, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts ...
practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a
deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
worshiped at the
thermal spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
of
Bath (now in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
). She was worshiped by the
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...
as Sulis
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...
, whose
votive objects and inscribed lead tablets suggest that she was conceived of both as a nourishing, life-giving
mother goddess
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or th ...
and as an effective agent of
curse
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
s wished by her
votaries
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views.
In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...
.
Etymology of name
The exact meaning of the name ''Sulis'' has been a matter of debate, but an emerging consensus among linguists regards the name as
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 ...
with
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
''súil'' ("eye, sight").
A common
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...
root ''*sūli-'', related to the various
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 ...
words for "sun" (cf. Homeric Greek ηέλιος, Sanskrit ''sūryah'', from c ''*suh
2lio-'') has also been proposed, although the
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
terms for "sun" (
Old Breton
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...
''houl'',
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
''heul'') feature a
diphthong
A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech o ...
that is absent from ''Sulis'' and they are not attested as a feminine form or with the ''-i-''
inflection
In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and defin ...
.
Pierre-Yves Lambert Pierre-Yves Lambert (born 30 May 1949) is a French linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. He is a researcher at the CNRS and a lecturer at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Celtic linguistics and philology. Lambert is the director of the jo ...
argues for a Proto-Celtic form ''*su-wli-'', composed of the prefix ''su-'' ("good") attached to the Celtic verbal theme ''*wel-'' ("to see").
The
medieval Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen ...
personal name ''Sulgen'' (< ''Sulien''; "born from Sulis") and the Breton personal name ''Sul'', borne by a local saint, are also related.
Cult at Bath
Sulis was the
local goddess of the thermal springs that still feed the
spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
baths at
Bath, which the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
called ''
Aquae Sulis
Aquae Sulis (Latin for ''Waters of Sulis'') was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is the English city of Bath, Somerset. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as ''Aquis Sulis.'' Ptolemy records ...
'' ("the waters of Sulis"). Sulis was likely venerated as a healing divinity, whose sacred hot springs could cure physical or spiritual suffering and illness.
According to scholar Miranda Green, the cult of Sulis at Bath was active until the mid-fourth century CE.
Her name primarily appears on
inscriptions discovered in an extensive temple area to her at Bath, with only a single instance outside of Britain at
Alzey
Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
![The Great Bath of the Roman Baths at Bath](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/The_Great_Bath_of_the_Roman_Baths_at_Bath.jpg)
At the Roman temple at Bath, several ancient additions to the altar area suggest that sacrifice there was a major part of worshipping the goddess.
The open area surrounding the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
may have been used for processions and public offerings of meats and liquids.
A majority of the finds at the spring consist of coins and
curse tablets
A curse tablet ( la, tabella defixionis, defixio; el, κατάδεσμος, katadesmos) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The table ...
(see "Inscribed tablets" section next), with over twelve and a half thousand Roman coins and eighteen Celtic coins having been found in the reservoir.
In addition, items have also been retrieved that were likely private offerings, such as jewelry, gemstones, plates, bowls, military items, wooden and leather objects.
Pewter vessels found in the spring reservoir have led some scholars to conclude that physical contact with the water may have been important for transfer of healing properties, with these vessels being used to pour the water over visitors' bodies.
From the evidence of funerary inscriptions discovered on the site, it appears that visitors to the sacred springs may have included retired soldiers, soldiers acting as tourists, and/or soldiers looking for relief from injury or illness.
In order to afford the inscriptions, those who recorded their visit with altars or tombstones would likely have been of higher status.
The Temple to Sulis Minerva was known for burning coal in the altar-fire instead of wood.
This coal would have been brought by slaves or servants, who would also assist in cleaning and service for cult meals.
The
gilt bronze cult statue of Sulis Minerva "appears to have been deliberately damaged" sometime in later
Antiquity, perhaps by
barbarian
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...
raiders, Christian zealots, or some other forces.
Inscribed tablets
About 130
curse tablets
A curse tablet ( la, tabella defixionis, defixio; el, κατάδεσμος, katadesmos) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The table ...
, mostly addressed to Sulis, have been found in the
sacred spring
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...
at the Roman baths in Bath.
Typically, the text on the tablets offered to Sulis relates to theft; for example, of small amounts of money or clothing from the bath-house. It is evident, from the localized style of Latin ("
British Latin
British Latin or British Vulgar Latin was the Vulgar Latin spoken in Great Britain in the Roman and sub-Roman periods. While Britain formed part of the Roman Empire, Latin became the principal language of the elite, especially in the more roma ...
") used, that a high proportion of the tablets came from the native population. In formulaic, often legalistic, language, the tablets appeal to the goddess Sulis to punish the known or unknown perpetrators of the crime until reparations are made. Sulis is typically requested to impair the physical and mental well-being of the perpetrator, by the denial of sleep, by causing normal bodily functions to cease or even by death. These afflictions are to cease only when the property is returned to the owner or disposed of as the owner wishes, often by its being dedicated to the goddess. One message found on a tablet in the Temple at Bath (once decoded) reads: "Docimedis has lost two gloves and asks that the thief responsible should lose their minds
'sic''and eyes in the goddess' temple."
![RIB155Bath](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/RIB155Bath.jpg)
The tablets were often written in code, by means of letters or words being written backwards; word order may be reversed and lines may be written in alternating directions, from left to right and then right to left (
boustrophedon
Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style. This is in contrast to modern European languages, where lines always begin on the same side, usually the le ...
). While most texts from Roman Britain are in Latin, two scripts found here, written on
pewter
Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...
sheets, are in an unknown language which may be
Brythonic. They are the only examples of writing in this language ever found.
The only dated tablet of the collection is Bath tablet 94, though no year is given alongside the day and month.
This can be inferred, however, by comparison to handwriting used on other tablets, which range from the 'Old Roman cursive' of the second and third centuries CE to the 'New Roman cursive' of the fourth century CE.
As argued by Tomlin in his 2020 publication, this shows the popularity of the inscriptions, and therefore the likely belief in their efficacy, for at least two centuries.
Syncretism with Minerva
At Bath, the
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of Ro ...
was dedicated to Sulis Minerva as the primary deity of the temple spa. It is likely that devotion to Sulis existed in Bath before the Roman presence in the area, by the local Celtic
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions.
Various historians and archaeologists have examined ...
tribe, who may have believed that Sulis had curative powers. Sulis' pre-Roman presence has also been suggested by the discovery of eighteen Celtic Iron Age coins at the lowest levels of the site, as documented by Barry Cunliffe in 1988.
This is one of the reasons Sulis is named first in the syncretic Sulis Minerva. Through the Roman Minerva
syncresis, later
mythographers
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 ...
have inferred that Sulis was also a
goddess of wisdom
A knowledge deity is a deity in mythology associated with knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence.
Ancient Egyptian mythology
* Neith, goddess sometimes associated with wisdom
* Thoth, originally a moon deity, later became the god of knowledge and w ...
and decisions.
Of the 17 dedicatory altars and bases found at the Roman temple at Bath, 9 evoke Sulis Minerva through her single or double-name.
In particular, there are two altars found at the Cross Bath (RIB 146) and Hot Bath (RIB 150)
sites respectively, which list 'Sulis Minerva' in full.
The altar found at the Hot Bath reads "To the goddess Sulis Minerva Sulinus, son of Maturus, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow" (RIB 150).
![Roman baths 2014 53](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Roman_baths_2014_53.jpg)
Sulis was not the only goddess exhibiting syncretism with
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...
.
Senua's name appears on votive plaques bearing Minerva's image, while
Brigantia also shares many traits associated with Minerva. The
identification
Identification or identify may refer to:
*Identity document, any document used to verify a person's identity
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Identify'' (album) by Got7, 2014
* "Identify" (song), by Natalie Imbruglia, 1999
* Identification ( ...
of multiple Celtic gods with the same Roman god is not unusual (both
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
and
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 ...
were paired with a multiplicity of Celtic names). On the other hand, Celtic goddesses tended to resist syncretism; Sulis Minerva is one of the few attested pairings of a Celtic goddess with her Roman counterpart.
Dedications to “
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...
” are common in both
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
, most often without any Celtic epithet or interpretation (cf.
Belisama for one exception).
Solar goddess
Based on her name's etymology, as well as several other characteristics, such as the association with sight, civic law, and epithets relating to light, Sulis has been interpreted as a
solar deity
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
, at least in pre-Roman times. Some researchers have further suggested a role as the ''de facto'' Celtic solar deity, the associated
Sulevia In ancient Celtic religion, Sulevia was a goddess worshipped in Gaul, Britain, and Galicia, very often in the plural forms Suleviae or (dative) Sule(v)is. Dedications to Sulevia(e) are attested in about forty inscriptions, distributed quite widely ...
and similar names being the goddess's attestations elsewhere.
Modern worship
Sulis has a number of modern-day worshipers among the Wiccan and pagan communities.
As of 1998, some people still deposited offerings in the waters of the Roman baths.
The Roman Baths Museum encourages visitors to throw coins into the Circular Bath, which is collected and used to fund the Bath Archaeological Trust.
Sulis in Art and Epigraphy
Sulis Minerva's Head
A gilt bronze head of the goddess Sulis Minerva was discovered in Bath in 1727 (see top right), which was probably from a cult statue that stood inside her temple, next to the Sacred Spring.
It is possible that this statue was positioned across the Temple courtyard from the sacrificial altar site.
The statue may be a product of the foundation of the Roman site, dating from the late first-century CE.
There are only two other known gilt bronze finds from Roman Britain.
Temple Pediment and Gorgon's Head
Discovered in 1790, this pediment from the Temple of Sulis Minerva features a large Gorgon's head in its centre.
It was likely carved in the first century CE, by craftsmen from northern
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 ...
.
Originally at a height of fifteen metres, the pediment would have been supported by four fluted columns.
There are also several accompanying images on the pediment, such as Tritons (the half-fish and half-men servants to Neptune), a face-helmet shaped like a dolphin's head, a small owl, and female Victories standing on globes.
!['Gorgon's Head' - Bath Temple Pediment](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/%27Gorgon%27s_Head%27_-_Bath_Temple_Pediment.jpg)
One interpretation of the central image, giving the piece its name, is that the head represents the mythical
Gorgon
A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. W ...
.
As Greek mythology has it, the hero
Perseus
In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...
killed the Gorgon and gave the head to
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
, who wore it on her breastplate. Thus, the Roman Baths Museum suggests a possible connection between the Gorgon to the goddess Sulis Minerva (Minerva being the Roman equivalent of the Greek Athena).
While the Gorgon on the pediment is male and the mythical Gorgon was female, it has been suggested that the pediment image was altered to reflect a combination of Celtic and classical styles.
Another interpretation is that the central head reflects a water god, due to similarities with other water gods from Britain. For example, the Roman Baths Museum points to a silver dish from Mindenhall depicting the god Oceanus.
![Mildenhall treasure great dish british museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Mildenhall_treasure_great_dish_british_museum.JPG)
In a 2016 article, Eleri H. Cousins argued that much of the imagery on the pediment can be linked to imperial iconography, including the Victories, the oak wreath and the star at its apex.
In addition, Cousins highlighted other examples of similar first and second-century architectural features, particularly Gorgon imagery found in Gaul and Spain, to suggest that the Forum of Augustus in Rome was used as an overall archetype.
According to Cousins, the pediment and its imagery are not just 'Roman' or 'Celtic', but result from a mixture of styles and concepts from "the local to the empire-wide".
Altar-like Statue Base
The altar-like statue base was found on the pavement nearby the steps of the Temple for Sulis Minerva.
The base reads, "To the goddess Sulis, Lucius Marcius Memor, soothsayer, gave (this) as a gift" (RIB III, 3049).
This is the only known instance of a
haruspex
In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails (''exta''—hence also extispicy ( ...
, or professional diviner who interpreted sacrificed animals' entrails, from Britain.
The original inscription used the abbreviation 'HAR' to distinguish Memor as a
haruspex
In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails (''exta''—hence also extispicy ( ...
, but it appears there was a later addition of the letters 'VSP'.
This may have been an attempt to clarify his position as more than an informal 'soothsayer', and suggests that Memor may not have been attached to the temple itself, but rather that he may have been a visiting member of the governor's staff.
Altar-like Tombstone
This tombstone resembling an altar (see top left) was found with two cinerary urns outside the city of Bath,
in the parish of Bathwick, 800 metres north-east of the Roman Baths.
The tombstone reads, "To the spirits of the departed; Gaius Calpurnius Receptus, priest of the goddess Sulis, lived 75 years; Calpurnia Trifosa, his freedwoman (and) wife, had this set up" (RIB 155).
Receptus' widow's name, Trifosa, is Greek and means 'De Luxe', and would have likely been her given name when she was a slave, before she was freed and married to her former owner, the priest Receptus.
Sulis in Modern Literature
Sulis has captured the attention of multiple creative writers and storytellers.
Sulis and the Roman Baths have been re-imagined in the following works of historical fiction:
* ''The Waters of Sul'' (1989) - Moyra Caldecott
* ''Flavia's Secret'' (2008) - Lindsay Townsend
* ''Crown of Acorns'' (2010) - Catherine Fisher
* ''The Curse-Maker'' (2011) - Kelli Stanley
* ''Memento Mori: A Crime Novel of the Roman Empire'' (2018) - Ruth Downie
See also
*
List of solar deities
A solar deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of solar de ...
*
Solsbury Hill
Little Solsbury Hill (more commonly known as Solsbury Hill) is a small flat-topped hill and the site of an Iron Age hill fort, above the village of Batheaston in Somerset, England. The hill rises to above the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon ...
*
Water and religion
Water is considered a purifier in most religions.
Holy water
Some faiths use water especially prepared for religious purposes (holy water in most Christian denominations, ''mambuha'' in Mandaeism, ''amrita'' in Sikhism and Hinduism). Many reli ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
{{Authority control
Celtic goddesses
Goddesses of the ancient Britons
Roman town of Bath
Solar goddesses
Water goddesses
Gaulish goddesses
Minerva