ancient Celtic religion 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 ...

, Sulevia was a goddess worshipped in

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 ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, 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 in the Celtic world, but with particular concentrations in

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

, among the Helvetii, along the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, and also in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Jufer and Luginbühl distinguish the Suleviae from another group of plural

Celtic goddesses The God (male deity), gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celts, Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appea ...

, the

Matres The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons") were female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe, of whom relics are found dating from the first to the fifth century AD. They are depicted on votive offerings and altars th ...

, and interpret the name Suleviae as meaning "those who govern well".Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Editions Errance, Paris. pp.15,64. In the original: ''"Celles qui gouvernent bien"''. In the same vein,

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 ...

connects Suleviae with Welsh ''hylyw'' 'leading (well)' and Breton ''helevez'' 'good behaviour'.

Epigraphy

The Suleviae have been identified in one inscription with the

Junones In Roman religion, the genius (; plural ''geniī'') is the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. Much like a guardian angel, the genius would follow each man from the hour of ...

, but mostly with the Matres, for example on an inscription from

Roman Colchester Camulodunum (; la, ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest re ...

, as well as on most of the inscriptions from Rome. The Colchester inscription reads: ::::MATRIBVS SVLEVIS SIMILIS ATTI F CI CANT VSLM ::(Translated: ''To the Sulevi mothers, Similis the son of Attius, of the Civitas Cantiacorum, willingly and deservedly fulfills his vow.'') In another inscription, the dative singular ''Suleviae Idennicae'' is attested in conjunction with Roman goddess Minerva.

Relation to other deities

Van Andringa interprets the Suleviae as "native domestic divinities honoured at all social levels".William van Andringa (2002). ''La religion en Gaule romaine: piété et politique (I^er-III^e siècle apr. J.-C.'' Editions Errance, Paris p. 275. In the original: ''"divinités domestiques indigènes honorés dans tous les milieux sociaux"''. For the theory that the Suleviae were a triune version of Sulis Minerva, see

Sulis In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath (now in Somerset). She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tabl ...

. This theory is disputed by some researchers who find no direct links with Sulis, and suggest instead that the similarity in names is coincidental. Another theory connects the Suleviae with the

Xulsigiae In Gallo-Roman religion, the Xulsigiae were triple goddesses worshipped at the healing-spring shrine in ''Augusta Treverorum'' (present-day Trier). Edith Wightman suggests that they "may be local nymphs of the spring"; on the other hand, she also ...

, known from a site at

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

;Edith Mary Wightman (1970). ''Roman Trier and the Treveri.'' Rupert Hart-Davis, London. but this suggestion has also been contested.

References

Celtic goddesses Gaulish goddesses Gallaecian goddesses Goddesses of the ancient Britons {{celt-myth-stub

Epigraphy

Relation to other deities

See also

References