- Sucellus
In Gaulish religion, Sucellus or Sucellos was the
god ofagriculture ,forest s and alcoholic drinks of the Gauls, also part of theLusitanian mythology .culptures
He is usually portrayed as a middle-aged bearded man, with a long-handled
hammer , or perhaps a beer barrel suspended from a pole. His wife,Nantosuelta , is sometimes depicted alongside him. When together, they are accompanied by symbols associated with prosperity and domesticity.which she is tipping onto a cylindrical altar. To the right Sucellus stands, bearded, in a tunic with a cloak over his right shoulder. He holds his mallet in his right hand and an
olla in his left. Above the figures is a dedicatory inscription and below them in very low relief is a bird, of a raven. This sculpture was dated by Reinach (1922, pp.217-232), from the form of the letters, to the end of thefirst century or start of thesecond century .Inscriptions
At least eleven inscriptions to Sucellus are known (Jufer & Luginbühl p.63), mostly from Gaul. One (RIB II, 3/2422.21) is from
York inEngland .In an inscription from
Augst (in antiquity, Augusta Rauricorum) Sucellus is assimilated to Silvanus (AE 1926, 00040)::"In honor(em) / ":"d(omus) d(ivinae) deo Su/":"cello Silv(ano) / ":"Spart(us) l(ocus) d(atus) d(ecreto) d(ecurionum)"
The assimilation of Sucellus to Silvanus can also be seen in artwork from
Narbonensis . (Duval 78)Etymology
In Gaulish, "-cellos" means 'striker'. It is derived from IE "*-kel-do-s" from which also come Latin "per-cellere" ('striker'), Greek "klao" ('to break') and Lithuanian "kálti" ('to hammer, to forge') (Delamarre p.113). The prefix "su-" means 'good' or 'well' and is found in many Gaulish personal names (Delamarre pp.283-4). Sucellus thus means 'the good striker' a name that fits well with a hammer-carrying god.
References
* Delamarre, X. (2003). "Dictionnaire de la Langue Gauloise" (2nd ed.). Paris: Editions Errance. ISBN 2877722376
* Deyts, S., Ed. (1998) "A la rencontre des Dieux gaulois, un défi à César". Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux. ISBN 2-7118-3851-X
* Paul-Marie Duval. (1957-1993) "Les dieux de la Gaule." Paris: Presses Universitaires de France / Éditions Payot.
* Jufer, N. and T. Luginbühl (2001) "Répertoire des dieux gaulois". Paris, Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-200-7
* Reinach, S. (1922) "Cultes, mythes et religions"
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