Sirona (mythology)

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Sirona sanctuary in Hochscheid, information board and statue of Sirona

Sirona , also Đirona , was a Celtic goddess of healing. Iconographically she was equated with the Roman goddess Hygieia . She is often a cult companion of Apollo Grannus .

General

Locations of inscriptions from Sirona

Sirona is only known from inscriptions, no ancient written source mentions it, it has no mythology.

So far, nine dedicatory inscriptions are known for (Dea) Sirona alone. They can be found predominantly in the provinces of Gallia Belgica and Germania superior , occasionally in the provinces of Gallia Celtica , Aquitania and Lugdunensis .

More often, however, a total of fifteen times, it is mentioned in combination with Apollo , who was identified with the healing god Grannus in the course of the Interpretatio Romana . These inscriptions can be found in the Gallia Belgica and in the Germania superior, in Raetia , Noricum , Pannonia and Dacia as well as once in Rome , but not in western Gaul.

A sanctuary of Apollo and Sirona from the 2nd century AD was excavated in Hochscheid ( Hunsrück ). There was also the inscription “DEO APOLLINI ET SANCTE SIRONE”. Another sanctuary of Apollo and Sirona is documented by a building inscription from Grossbottwar dated 201 AD . Sirona was often worshiped at medicinal springs.

She was depicted as a young woman dressed in a palla , partly with a grape and ear of wheat as an attribute, partly - following the example of Hygieia - with a snake that she holds in her hands.

Statuette made of red beech wood of the goddess of healing Sirona, found in a well in Pforzheim, rich in water, with a snake in the left hand approx. 200–260 AD.

Surname

Her name means "lofty, big star" or "calf, heifer ". Helmut Birkhan prefers the latter translation because, following Garrett S. Olmsted, he associates it with the Indo-European word root * ster- (“not yet sexually mature cattle”).

Sirona and Apollon bronze from Mâlain

In inscriptions there are other spellings in addition to Sirona : Đirona several times and Serana and Thirona once each . The different ways of writing the initial sound show the difficulty of reproducing it in the Latin alphabet. The Đ is called Tau Gallicum and is pronounced like a sharp, hissing ß , ss , z or ts , but also like st at the beginning of the word . Hence the goddess was probably pronounced Zirona .

Merging with Cybele?

In the Roman city of Iuvavum (today Salzburg ), Asklepios and Hygeia were evidently intensely venerated. In the surrounding area (today Bavaria) there was also a consecration to the healing god Apollo Grannus and the source goddess Sirona. Under certain circumstances, Grannus and Sirona were identified by Greek freedmen there with Asklepios and Hygeia. In addition to the Asklepios and Hygeia finds , Serapis and Cybele were also found in Salzburg , so that an equation can be assumed here as well.

However, there are many representations of Kybele in the entire Noric region , so that Sirona can possibly be thought of here.

The "cow brains" from Wutschein

For example, the headless seated statue of the so-called “Kuhdirn” by Wutschein (Magdalensberg municipality, Carinthia ) is to be thought of (the severed head is said to have been walled into the basement foundations of the farm in the southeast).

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Sirona  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bordeaux (Burdigala): CIL XIII, 582 Sironae / Adbucietus / Toceti fil (ius) / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito) ; CIL XIII, 586 [Sir] onae (?) M (arcus) Sulpicius Primulus // Turiassone (n) sis seviral (is) d (e) s (ua) p (ecunia) f (aciendum) c (uravit) // Sulpicius Sacuro f (ilius) // Sulpicia Censorina f (ilia) // Sulpicia Phoebe l (iberta)
  2. ↑ z. B. Augusta Raurica : Herbert Nesselhauf , Hans Lieb: Third supplement to CIL XIII: Inscriptions from the Germanic provinces and the Trever area. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission 40, 1959, p. 158 No. 97.
  3. ↑ Sarmizegetusa : AE 1957, 197 ; AE 1983, 828 .
  4. ↑ CIL VI, 36 : Apollini / Granno et / Sanctae / Sironae / sacrum .
  5. ↑ Gerd Weisgerber: The pilgrim sanctuary of Apollo and Sirona from Hochscheid in the Hunsrück. Habelt, Bonn 1975.
  6. ↑ AE 1941, 89 : Deo Apolli / ni et sanc / t (a) e Siron (a) e / r (eficiundum) c (uravit) per Con / [
  7. ↑ CIL XIII, 6458 ; Inscription at ubi-erat-lupa .
  8. ↑ From Stern: gall. ser , syr , kymr. sera , grain. steyr , steren , breton. ster , sterenn , altlat. sterra
  9. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Kelten, attempt at an overall representation of their culture. Vienna 1997, pp. 590-591. 621.
  10. ↑ AE 1994, 1256 : Augusta Treverorum , Gallia Belgica Deae Diro [nae] / Silvin [i] / Adiutor et Iun [ianus] / v (otum) s (olverunt) l (ibentes) m (erito)
    AE 1994, 1257 : ibid. De] ae Diro (nae) deo [Apollini?] / [3] AE II [3] / [3] v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) [m (erito)]
    CIL XIII, 3662 : ibid. D (e) ae Dirona (e) / L (ucius) Lucanius Censor [i] / nu [s] sigillum d (onum) d (edit)
    CIL XIII, 4498 : Saint-Avold / Mediomatrici , Gallia Belgica Deae Dironae / Maior Ma / giati filius / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)
    CIL XIII, 3143 = AE 1999, 1071 : Corseul / Fanum Martis , Lugdunensis Num (ini) Aug (usti) de (ae ) / Dirona (e) Cani (a) / Magusia lib (erta) / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)
  11. ↑ AE 1982, 806 : Aquincum , Pannonia inferior Apollini / et / Sironae / T (itus) Iul (ius) Mer / cator d (ecurio) c (oloniae) / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m ( erito)
  12. ↑ AE 1994, 1227 : from Milan / Mediolanum, Transpadana Thiron (a) et Apollo