Alisanos (latinized as Alisanus) was a local Celtic god worshipped near Dijon (modern Côte-d'Or, France).
Name
[edit]The theonym Alisanos is generally connected with the Gaulish word alisia, which may denote either a 'rock, boulder, rocky height' (cf. Old Irish ail 'rock, boulder') or the 'whitebeam' (source of French alisier 'whitebeam'; ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European term for 'alder').[1][2] On this basis, Alisanos has been interpreted either as a deity associated with rocky features of the landscape or as a god of whitebeams or alders.[2] An alternative etymology, deriving the name from a river name Alisos, has also been suggested.[3] Most Celticists nevertheless traditionally interpret Alisanos as a 'god of the rock',[4][5][6] viewing him as an expression of Celtic animism, the belief that natural features of the landscape were endowed with their own divine presence.[5][6]
The same root appears in the toponym Alesia, located further north in Burgundy.[1] Some scholars has thus proposed to interpret him as a 'topical god of Alesia',[2] and possibly the eponymous spirit of the site.[5][6] However, this interpretation is weakened by the existence of other toponyms and anthroponyms formed from the same root that have no connection with Alesia.[2] Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel has further objected that the cult of 'eponymous town deities' appears to be a development of the Gallo-Roman period, probably under Roman influence, which would be difficult to reconcile with a pre-Roman origin for the god.[7]
Attestations
[edit]The worship of Alisanus is attested by two dedicatory inscriptions on bronze bowls, found at Couchey and Visignot (a hamlet of Viévy), near Dijon (Côte-d'Or).[2]
The inscription from Couchey (CIL XIII: 5468) is engraved on bronze and written in Gaulish.[8]
DOIROS SEGOMARI IEVRV ALISANV Doiros (son) of Segomaros has dedicated (this) to AlisanosThe inscription from Visignot (CIL XIII: 2843), written in Latin, records a man fulfilling a vow by dedicating a bronze bowl (patera) to the god Alisanus in gratitude for his son, Contedius.[9]
DEO·ALISANO·PAVLLINVS ❧ PRO·CONTEDIO·FIL·SVO ❧ V·S·L·M· Paullinus has freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow to the god Alisanus on behalf of his son ContediusReferences
[edit]- ^ a b Delamarre 2003, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b c d e Raepsaet-Charlier 2013, pp. 191–192.
- ^ Maier 1994, p. 15.
- ^ Mac Cana 1985, p. 48.
- ^ a b c Green 1997, p. 28.
- ^ a b c MacKillop 1998, p. 11.
- ^ de Bernardo Stempel 2010.
- ^ Kerlouégan, François (1991). "Recueil des inscriptions sur pierre de Couchey (Côte d'Or), 1550-1850". Collection de l'Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité. 444 (1): 277–296.
- ^ Bruun, Christer; Edmondson, Jonathan (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy. Oxford University Press. p. 421. ISBN 978-0-19-971442-1.
- de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (2010). "Celtic Taboo-Theonyms, Gobanos/Gobannos at Alesia". In Hily, Gaël (ed.). Deuogdonion: mélanges offerts en l'honneur du professeur Claude Sterckx. TIR. pp. 115–119. ISBN 978-2-917681-11-4.
- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
- Green, Miranda J. (1997). Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-27975-5.
- Mac Cana, Proinsias (1985). Celtic Mythology. Chancellor. ISBN 978-1-85152-930-8.
- Maier, Bernhard (1994). Lexikon der keltischen Religion und Kultur. A. Kröner. ISBN 978-3-520-46601-3.
- MacKillop, James (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-869157-0.
- Raepsaet-Charlier, Marie-Thérèse (2013). "Alésia et ses dieux : du culte d'Apollon Moritasgos à l'appartenance civique des Mandubiens à l'époque gallo-romaine". L'Antiquité Classique. 82 (1): 165–194. doi:10.3406/antiq.2013.3831.
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