Atepomarus or Atepomaros in
Celtic Gaul was a healing god from
Mauvières (Indre).
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
was associated with this god in the form ''Apollo Atepomarus''.
At some of Apollo's healing sanctuaries (as at
Sainte-Sabine, Burgundy) small figurines of horses were associated with him.
Names and etymology
The title also appears as ''Atepomerus''.
Scholarship suggests the name is a compound of ''at-'' (intensifier), ''-epo-'' (the Celtic word for "horse") and ''-marus'' ("large, great").
Thus, the epithet is sometimes translated as "Great Horseman" or "possessing a great horse".
Pierre-Yves Lambert rejects his connection with horses and suggests an etymology based on ''*ad-tepo'', related to 'protection, refuge'.
Role
As founder
A character named Atepomarus appears with a Momoros (
fr) as a pair of Celtic kings and founders of
Lugdunum
Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Colonia (Roman), Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon, France, Lyon.
The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but cont ...
. They escape from Sereroneus and arrive at a hill. Momorus, who had skills in
augury
Augury was a Greco- Roman religious practice of observing the behavior of birds, to receive omens. When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" () means "looking at birds". ...
, sees a murder of crows and names the hill ''Lougodunum'', after the crows. This myth is reported in the works of Klitophon of Rhodes and in
Pseudo-Plutarch Pseudo-Plutarch is the conventional name given to the actual, but unknown, authors of a number of pseudepigrapha (falsely attributed works) attributed to Plutarch but now known not to have been written by him.
Some of these works were included in s ...
's ''De fluviis''.
As a theonym
The name appears as a theonym attached to Graeco-Roman deities
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
and
Mercurius.
An inscription of ''Apollo Atepomarus'' was found in
Mauvières, tied to the Gallic tribe of the
Bituriges.
References
Bibliography
* ''Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend.'' Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997
* ''Animals in Celtic Life and Myth'', Miranda Green, Routledge.
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Celtic mythology (ancient)
Gaulish gods
Health gods