Ataegina ( es, Ataecina; pt, Atégina) was a goddess worshipped by the ancient

Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (amo ...

Lusitanians The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

, and Celtiberians of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

. She is believed to have ruled the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

Names

The deity's name is variously attested as ''Ataegina'', ''Ataecina'', ''Adaecina'' and ''Adaegina'', among other spellings. Her name appears in conjunction to a place named ''Turibriga'' or ''Turobriga'' (see below).

Etymology

Celtic hypothesis

The name ''Ataegina'' is most commonly derived from a Celtic source: according to Cristina Maria Grilo Lopes and Juan Olivares Pedreño, French scholar D'Arbois de Jubainville and Portuguese scholar

José Leite de Vasconcelos José Leite de Vasconcelos Cardoso Pereira de Melo (7 July 1858 – 17 May 1941) was a Portuguese ethnographer, archaeologist and prolific author who wrote extensively on Portuguese philology and prehistory. He was the founder and the first dire ...

interpreted her name as a compound ''atae'' 'repetition' and ''gina'', from ''*-genos'' '(to be) born'. Thus, her name would mean 'The Reborn One' ("renascida", in the original). Others propose a connection to the domain of nocturnal or underworld deities: tentatively saw a connection with

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''adaig'' 'night', which may indicate a relation to the underworld. Similarly, in a 1998 article, Eugenio Luján, based on the epigraphic evidence available until then, supposed that ''Adaecina'' is the original spelling of her name, and related it to Irish ''adaig'', and both deriving from a

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 reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...

''*adakī''. This form would account for both words, but Luján refrained from offering a definitive etymology. Italian linguist

Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel (born 5 April 1953) is an Italian philologist, linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. Biography Patrizia de Bernardo was born on 5 April 1953 in Milan, Italy, the daughter of Mario de Bernardo and Adriana Marra. She ...

argues for a Celtic etymology, from ''*atakī'' ('night'), from an earlier ''*at-ak-ī'' ('interval'). Thus, de Bernardo proposes, her name means "the one of the night". In a later article, she describes Ataecina as "the goddess of the nighttime", and derives her name from *''Atakī-nā'' 'the divine (night)time'.

Other hypotheses

That said, her presence in decidedly non-Indo-European Iberian regions suggest that she may have an older, indigenous origin, in which case her name's etymology is more likely Iberian or Tartessian. In his late 19th century study, José Leite de Vasconcelos, while proposing a Celtic reading of her name, also supposed her origins as a Celticized indigenous deity. Spanish historian supported the idea of Ataegina's indigenous character, while remarking that a Celtic interpretation of her name as 'reborn' is "inviable", and that her connection to Irish 'night' is "difficult".

Centers of worship

Ataegina was worshipped in Lusitania and

Betica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic ...

; there were also sanctuaries dedicated to Ataegina in

Elvas Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortres ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

), and Mérida and Cáceres in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, along with other places, especially near the

Guadiana river The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...

. She was one of the goddesses worshipped in ''Myrtilis'' (today's

Mértola Mértola () is a municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274, in an area of approximately : it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. Meanwhile, it is the second-lowest popula ...

), ''

Pax Julia ''Pax Iulia'' (also known as ''Colonia Civitas Pacensis'') was a city in the Roman province of Lusitania (today situated in the Portuguese municipality of Beja). History The region was inhabited during 400 BC by Celtic tribes, but there are indic ...

'' ( Beja, Portugal). A bronze plaque from

Malpartida de Cáceres Malpartida de Cáceres is a municipality in the province of Cáceres (Spain) with a population of 4368 inhabitants (population figures on 1 January 2004). The urban centre of Malpartida de Cáceres is situated 11 kilometres west from Cáceres cit ...

suggests associations with the

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

as a sacred animal.

Turibriga or Turobriga

Her name appears with adjective ''Turobrigensis'', which seems to indicate a place called ''Turibriga'' or ''Turobriga''. Similar epigraphic attestations read ''Turibrige'', '' rubricae'' and ''Turibri'', which led professor Amílcar Guerra to indicate a form ''*Turibris''. This place is interpreted by scholarship to mean the main center of her cult, but its precise location is unknown. Classical author

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

indicated it belonged to Celtic Beturia.

Functions

Epigraphs from the

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...

region associate the goddess with the Roman

Proserpina Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whose ...

(analogous to Greek

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

), which would make her a goddess presiding over

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

and seasonality, echoing the "reborn" derivation of the name,Juan Manuel Abascal, ''Las inscripciones latinas de Santa Lucía del Trampal (Alcuéscar, Cáceres) y el culto de Ataecina en Hispania,'' Archivo Español de Arqueología 68: 31-105 (1995) or connect her to the Underworld. In that regard, a dedication etched in marble was found in Augusta Emérita: the propitiator prays to ''Dea Ataecina Turibrig(ensis) Proserpina'' for her to avenge the theft of some pieces of clothing.Tomlin, Roger. "Cursing A Thief In Iberia And Britain". In: ''Magical Practice in the Latin West''. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013. pp. 247-249. doi: https://doi-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1163/ej.9789004179042.i-676.55

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Frías, Manuel Salinas de; Cortés, Juana Rodríguez. "Corrientes religiosas y vías de comunicación en Lusitania durante el Imperio Romano". In: ''V Mesa Redonda Internacional sobre Lusitania Romana: las comunicaciones. Cáceres, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, 7, 8 y 9 de noviembre de 2002''. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura, Secretaría General Técnica, Subdirección General de Información y Publicaciones, 2004. pp. 286-292. * . * . * . * Olivares Pedreño, Juan Carlos.
Los dioses de la hispania céltica
'. Universitat d´Alacant / Universidad de Alicante, Servicio de Publicaciones: Real Academia de la Historia. 2002. pp. 247-249. . * Vasconcellos, José Leite de.
Religiões da Lusitania na parte que principalmente se refere a Portugal
'. Lisboa: Imprensa nacional, 1897. pp. 146-173.