Ocelus
Ocelus is the name of a Celtic god who, according to the Interpretatio Romana, was equated with Mars .
Locations
The name Ocelus can be found on three dedicatory inscriptions, one from Carlisle and two from Caerwent in South Wales .
One of the inscriptions from Caerwent (Roman Venta Silurum ) is on the base of the remains of a statue, which only shows a pair of human and goose feet, here Ocelus is also associated with the gods Lenus and Vellaunus (the inscription is on 152 dated AD):
- [DEO] MARTI LENO [S] IVE OCELO VELLAUN (O) ET NVM AVG M NONIVS ROMANVS OB IMMVNITATEM COLLEGNI / DDS / GLABRIONE ET H [OM] VLO COS DXK SEPT [1]
- ("To the god Mars Lenus also Ocelus Vellaunus and the imperial numen, M. Nonius Romanus, privileged by the college, dedicated his vows using his own property, during the consulate of Glabrio and Homulo ten days before the calendar of September")
The second can be read on an altar dedicated to the god Mars Ocelus:
- DEO MARTI OCELO AEL AGUSTINUS OP VSLM
- ("Ael (ius) Agustinus Op (tio) dedicates his vows to the god Mars Ocelus")
See also
literature
- Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 , p. 252 f.
Web links
- Richard J. Brewer: Birthday of the Eagle: The Second Augustan Legion and the Roman Military Machine. National Museum Wales, 2002, ISBN 9780720005141, pp. 87 f. (with a picture of the Mars-Lenus-Altar by Caerwent)
- Wolfgang Haase: Religion (Paganism: The religious conditions in the provinces). Walter de Gruyter, 1986, ISBN 9783110100501, p. 70.
- JS Wacher: The Towns of Roman Britain, University of California Press, 1975, ISBN 9780520026698, p. 384.