Gaulish goddess
In
Gallo-Roman religion
,
Damona
was a
goddess
worshipped in
Gaul
as the consort of
Apollo
Borvo
and of
Apollo
Moritasgus
.
Name
[
edit
]
Look up
Damona
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The theonym
Damona
is a derivative of the
Proto-Celtic
stem
*damo-
, meaning 'bull' or 'deer' (cf. Old Irish
dam
'bull, deer'; also *
damato
- > Middle Welsh
dafad
'sheep', Old Cornish
dauat
'ewe'), itself from
Proto-Indo-European
*
dmh
2
o
- ('the tamed one'). The Latin noun
damma
, which is the source of French
daim
('roe'), is probably a loanword from
Gaulish
. The root
*dmh
2
-
is also presumably reflected in the British tribal name
Demetae
, interpreted as meaning 'Tamers'.
Cult
[
edit
]
Damona and
Bormana
have been described as the
patron deities
of the hot springs at Bourbonne-les-Bains and Saint-Vulbas, respectively.
[3]
[4]
Some seventeen inscriptions dedicated to Damona have been recovered, including nine from
Bourbonne-les-Bains
and four from
Bourbon-Lancy
, both spa towns in eastern
France
. In one inscription from
Saintes
, she has the epithet
Matubergini
.
[5]
Inscriptions and dedications
[
edit
]
There are several inscriptions relating to Damona,
[6]
including two inscriptions in Bourbon-Lancy (CIL 13, 02805), discovered in 1792.
- C (aius) Iulius Eporedirigis f (ilius) Magnus / pro L (ucio) Iulio Caleno filio / Bormoni and Damonae / vot (um) sol (vit)
and (CIL 13, 02806), where Damona is also included in dedications to
Borvo
, (CIL 13, 02807) and (CIL 13, 02808):
- Borvoni and Damonae / T (itus) Severius Mo / destus [o] mnib (us) / h [o] n [orib (us)] and offi [ciis]
The other large site associated with Damona is Bourbonne-les-Bains, there are nine dedications to the goddess of the waters, including (CIL 13, 05911):
- Deo Apol / lini Borvoni / et Damonae / C (aius) Daminius / Ferox civis / Lingonus ex / voto
and (CIL 13, 05914):
- Borvoni / and Damon (ae) / Aemilia / Sex (ti) fil (ia) / M [3] S
with (CIL 13, 05921):
- Damonae Aug (ustae) / Claudia Mossia and C (aius) Iul (ius) Superstes fil (ius) / l (ocus) d (atus) ex d (ecreto) d (ecurionum) v (otum) s (olverunt) l ( ibentes) m (erito)
Damona also appears in dedications to Chassenay, associated with Albius and Alise-Sainte-Reine. An inscription was found bearing Damona's name in
Alesia
in 1962, where she was worshipped with Apollo Moritasgus
[7]
[8]
[9]
(CIL 13, 11233):
- Aug (usto) sacr (um) / deo Albio and Damonae Sex (tus) Mart (ius) / Cocillus ex iussu eius v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)
and (CAG-21-01):
- Deo Apollini Moritasgo [and] / Damonae P (ublius) Pontius Apolli [naris]
Finally, there is an inscription in
Rivieres
.
[10]
Jullia Malla Malluronis fil (ia) numinibus Augustorum et deae Damonae Matuherginni (?) Ob memoriam Sulpiciae Silvanae filiae suae de suo posuit
References
[
edit
]
- ^
MacKillop, James (2016).
A dictionary of Celtic mythology
. Oxford.
ISBN
978-0-19-880484-0
.
OCLC
965737514
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
William van Andringa (2002).
La religion en Gaule romaine : Piete et politique (I
er
-III
e
siecle apr. J.-C.)
Editions Errance, Paris. p.165
- ^
Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbuhl (2001).
Les dieux gaulois : repertoire des noms de divinites celtiques connus par l'epigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.
Editions Errance, Paris. pp.36-7.
- ^
Hatt, Jean-Jacques (1983).
"Apollon guerisseur en Gaule. Ses origines, son caractere, les divinites qui lui sont associees - Chapitre II"
.
Revue archeologique du Centre de la France
.
22
(3): 185?218.
doi
:
10.3406/racf.1983.2383
.
- ^
Le Gall, Joel. (1980).
Alesia : archeologie et histoire
(Nouv. ed. rev. et augm ed.). [Paris]: Fayard.
ISBN
2-213-00780-2
.
OCLC
7462836
.
- ^
Raepsaet-Charlier, Marie-Therese (2013).
"Alesia et ses dieux:: du culte d'Apollon Moritasgos a l'appartenance civique des Mandubiens a l'epoque gallo-romaine"
.
L'Antiquite Classique
.
82
: 165?194.
doi
:
10.3406/antiq.2013.3831
.
ISSN
0770-2817
.
JSTOR
90004373
.
- ^
Beck, Noemie (2009).
Goddesses in Celtic Religion: Cult and Mythology: A Comparative Study of Ancient Ireland, Britain and Gaul
. Lyon, France.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Heron de Villefosse, Antoine (1918).
"Inscription romaine de Rivieres (Charente)"
.
Comptes rendus des seances de l'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
.
62
(6): 479?484.
doi
:
10.3406/crai.1918.74083
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]