Intarabus was a Gaulish god in the pantheon of the

Treveri The Treveri (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Treweroi'') were a Germanic peoples, Germanic or Celts, Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle (river), Moselle in modern day Germany from around 150 BCE, if not ea ...

and some neighbouring peoples. His name is known from nine inscriptions from a relatively compact area in what are now

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Paris: Editions Errance. . He may have been the

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

of one of the three '' pagi'' (subdivisions) of the Treveri. In most cases, Intarabus is invoked alone – without any synthesis to a Roman deity, and without accompanying female deities. However, one inscription invokes him as ''

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

Intarabus,'' noting that a ''

fanum Fanum may refer to: * Fanum (streamer) (Roberto Escanio Pena, born 1997), Dominican-American content creator * Fanum (Roman religion), a sacred space in ancient Roman religion * Fanum House, the former headquarters of the Automobile Association in ...

'' and ''

simulacrum A simulacrum (: simulacra or simulacrums, from Latin ''wikt:simulacrum#Latin, simulacrum'', meaning "likeness, semblance") is a representation or imitation of a person or thing. The word was first recorded in the English language in the late 16 ...

'' of this god had been restored at

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. Meanwhile, another inscription from

Mackwiller Mackwiller (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Archaeology In 1955, substantial fragments of a large Mithraeum were unearthed in Mackwiller by Jean-Jacqu ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

gives Intarabus the epithet ''Narius''. An inscription at Ernzen in Germany has his name as '' narabus'', while another from Foy-Noville (now within the town of

Bastogne Bastogne (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardi ...

in Belgium), invokes ''Entarabus'' in conjunction with the ''

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

Ollodagus''. A bronze statuette from the Foy-Noville site, identified on the base as ''Deo Intarabo'' (in the

dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...

case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type Containers * Case (goods), a package of relate ...

), depicts the god as a beardless, long-haired man in a tunic, draped with a wolf skin. His raised right hand would presumably have held a spear or some other implement, while his left hand, extended at waist length, is now missing. The theatre at

Echternach Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg. History The town grew around the Abbey of Echt ...

appears to have been dedicated to Intarabus, as was an ''

aedicula In religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a Niche (architecture), niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns an ...

'' at Ernzen. A silver ring engraved simply with the name ''Intarabo'' (again, in the dative case) was found at

Dalheim Dalheim () is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the Remich (canton), canton of Remich, which is part of the Grevenmacher District, district of Grevenmacher. , the town of Dalheim, which lies in ...

.Drawing of the ring and descriptions as given on a wall plaque at the Musée national d'histoire et d'art,

. According to Helmut Birkhan, the site at

reveals a number of evolutions in the local cult. Starting in the 1st century CE, there was a sanctuary for Narius Intarabus related to worship at a local spring. In the 2nd century CE, a

mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion (), is a Roman temple, temple erected in classical antiquity by the Mithraism, worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman ...

was built there, and inscriptions testify to the common worship of

Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

and Narius Intarabus. In the second half of the 3rd century, the mithraeum was replaced with a traditional Gaulish-style temple, which now enclosed the sacred spring. From this it can be seen that the Mithraic cult was abandoned in favour of the older Celtic local deities. The name ‘Intarabus’ has been characterized as “etymologically obscure”;

Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and former diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. With linguist Romain Garnier, Delamarre is the co-publishing edi ...

, however, takes the name to mean ''entar-abus'' "Entre-Rivières" (between rivers).Xavier Delamarre (2003). ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise : Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental,'' 2^e édition. Éditions Errance. . pp.29, 162.

References

{{Celtic mythology (ancient) Gaulish gods Treveri