Anextiomarus (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

: ''Anextlomāros'', 'Great Protection') is a Celtic epithet of the sun-god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

recorded in a

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, ...

inscription from South Shields, England. A variant form, ''Anextlomarus'', appears as a divine style or name attested in a fragmentary

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

dedication from Le Mans, France. Anextlomarus is also attested as a

man's father's name at

Langres Langres () is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Grand Est. History As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe known as the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then ...

, and a feminine divine form, ''Anextlomara'', appears in two other Gallo-Roman dedications from

Avenches Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully. History The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of the ...

, Switzerland.

Name

The Gaulish

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...

''Anextlomāros'' means 'Great Protection', that is to say 'he who is in Great Protection'. It stems from the noun ''anextlo''- ('protection'; cf. Old Irish ''anacul'') attached to ''māros'' ('great').

References

;Bibliography * * *

External links

Romano-British gods

{{Celtic mythology (ancient) Gods of the ancient Britons Epithets of Apollo