Intarabus

Intarabus was a Gaulish god in the pantheon of the Treveri and some neighbouring peoples. His name is known from nine inscriptions from a relatively compact area in what are now Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany and eastern France.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 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 Intarabus,'' noting that a ''fanum'' and ''simulacrum'' of this god had been restored at Trier. Meanwhile, another inscription from Mackwiller in Alsace 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 in Belgium), invokes ''Entarabus'' in conjunction with the ''Genius Ollodagus''.

A bronze statuette from the Foy-Noville site, identified on the base as ''Deo Intarabo'' (in the dative case), 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 appears to have been dedicated to Intarabus, as was an ''aedicula'' at Ernzen. A silver ring engraved simply with the name ''Intarabo'' (again, in the dative case) was found at Dalheim.Drawing of the ring and descriptions as given on a wall plaque at the Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg.

According to Helmut Birkhan, the site at Mackwiller 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 was built there, and inscriptions testify to the common worship of Mithras 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, 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