Lenus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lenus Mars was a Celtic god who was worshiped especially by the Treverians , but also in Britain . In the Interpretatio Romana he was equated with Mars .

Locations

On an inscription in Saint-Mard near Virton ( Belgium , Roman province Gallia Belgica ) Lenus is nicknamed Exsobinus . When it is mentioned at the same time as Mars, however, the Celtic name is mentioned first in almost all inscriptions found, which is unusual. This could indicate his primacy, presumably he was the tribal god of the Treveri. Its tasks were probably in war and healing functions. The former can be concluded from a comparison with Mars and a bronze statue of Martberg near Pommern on the Moselle (Roman province Germania superior ), which depicts him with a Corinthian helmet , spear, shield and armor. The latter, on the other hand, is suggested by an inscription, again from Martberg, in which a certain Tychikos thanks Lenus for having been healed of serious ailments. Whereby Alfred Haffner claims that the identification with Mars is based only on a mistake from the Roman period and that Lenus is only a salvation deity. Lenus had an important sanctuary in the oppidum on Martberg, which existed from pre-Roman to late Roman times.

Another sanctuary was located in the Irminenwingert temple district in Augusta Treverorum (today Trier ), where Lenus was invoked along with Iovantucarus , Ancamna and the Xulsigiae. In addition to eight inscriptions from the Treveri area, a bronze statue and fragments of a stone cult image of the god are known.

An altar for Lenus comes from Chedworth in Gloucestershire ( England ), with a relief depicting the god with ax and spear. A statue plinth of Mars Lenus Ocelus Vellaunus was found in Venta Silurum (Caerwent, County Monmoutshire , Wales ) , the statue itself is no longer preserved.

etymology

The name Lenus , in Gaulish Lenos , has no reliable origin. Garrett S. Olmsted assumes as one possibility that it could come from Indo-European * plenos- , where it would then normally have to be Celtic * linos- . In this case, the name would be associated with “pouring, filling” or more likely with “push, blow, swing”, which would fit the warlike aspect. Another translation is “wonder” or “violator”, but it could also be related to “youth”. On the other hand, according to Helmut Birkhan , it could come from the Old Irish lían , possibly (questionable!) Borrowed from the Latin lenis , which means “lind” and “mild”. Another suggestion comes from Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel, which Lenus interprets as a “grove”. The epithet Exsobinus is also unclear.

See also

literature

Single receipts

  1. ↑ CIL XIII, 3970 Leno Marti / Exsobin (i) Novic (ius) / et Exp <e = F> ctatus / v (otum) s (olverunt) l (ibentes) m (erito)
  2. ↑ CIL XIII, 7661 "GR" // [C] orporis adque animi diros / sufferre labores // "GR" // Dum nequeo mortis pro / pe limina saepe vagando // "GR" // Servatus Tychicus divino / Martis amore / / "GR" // hoc munus parvom pr [o] / magna dedico cura
  3. ^ Alfred Haffner: The Mart and Hüttenberg near Pomerania / Karden, an oppidum in the eastern Trever region. In: Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier: Trier - Augustus city of the Treverians. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0792-6 , p. 110
  4. ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan: Kelten, attempt at an overall representation of their culture. P. 639 and note 3 ibid.
  5. ↑ The Roman Inscriptions of Britain (RIB) 1, No. 126  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [L] en (o) M [arti]@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de  
  6. ↑ The Roman Inscriptions of Britain (RIB) 1, No. 309  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : [Deodorant] Marti Leno / [s] ive Ocelo Vellaun (o) .@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de  
  7. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Kelten, attempt at an overall representation of their culture. P. 428.
  8. ^ Garrett S. Olmsted: The Gods of the Celts and the Indo-Europeans. Archaeolingua Alapítvány, Budapest 1994, ISBN 3-85124-173-8 , p. 323.
  9. ↑ In: Wolfgang Spickermann (Ed.): Celtic gods in the Roman Empire. Bibliopolis, Möhnesee 2005, ISBN 978-3-933925-69-5 , p. 7. Patrizia de Bernardo stamp connects the name and a. with old Kymrisch loinou .