Alisanos

Alisanos (latinized as Alisanus) was a local Celtic god worshipped near Dijon (modern Côte-d'Or, France).

Name

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'). 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. An alternative etymology, deriving the name from a river name Alisos, has also been suggested. Most Celticists nevertheless traditionally interpret Alisanos as a 'god of the rock', viewing him as an expression of Celtic animism, the belief that natural features of the landscape were endowed with their own divine presence.

The same root appears in the toponym Alesia, located further north in Burgundy. Some scholars has thus proposed to interpret him as a 'topical god of Alesia', and possibly the eponymous spirit of the site. However, this interpretation is weakened by the existence of other toponyms and anthroponyms formed from the same root that have no connection with Alesia. 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.

Epigraphy

Alisanus is named on two dedicatory inscriptions, one in Gaulish and one in Latin, engraved on bronze votive bowls (paterae) from Couchey and from Visignot, a hamlet of Viévy, in the Côte-d'Or.

Text Find-spot Divine name(s) Translation Reference Comments
Doiros Segomari ieuru Alisanu Couchey (Côte-d'Or) Alisanos Doiros, son of Segomaros, dedicated (this) to Alisanos. CIL XIII, 5468 The dedication is in Gaulish, on a bronze patera.
Deo Alisano Paullinus pro Contedio fil(io) suo v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito) Visignot, Viévy (Côte-d'Or) Alisanus To the god Alisanus, Paullinus fulfilled his vow willingly and deservedly on behalf of his son Contedius. CIL XIII, 2843 On a bronze patera. The second D of Contedio is cut as O. Also published as ILS 4666.

References

  1. 1 2 Delamarre 2003, pp. 38–39.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Raepsaet-Charlier 2013, pp. 191–192.
  3. ↑ Maier 1994, p. 15.
  4. ↑ Mac Cana 1985, p. 48.
  5. 1 2 3 Green 1997, p. 28.
  6. 1 2 3 MacKillop 1998, p. 11.
  7. ↑ de Bernardo Stempel 2010.
Bibliography
  • 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.