Belatu-Cadros

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In Celtic mythology, Belatu-Cadros ("fair shining one" or "fair slayer"), also rendered Belatucadros or Belatucadrus, was a deity worshipped in northern Britain, particularly in Cumberland and Westmorland. He may be related to Belenus and Cernunnos, and was equated in the Roman period with Mars. He appears to have been worshipped by lower-ranked Roman soldiers as well as by Britons.

Belatu-Cadros is known from approximately 28 inscriptions in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall, England. The spelling of the god's name varies a great deal, and dedications to Balatocadrus, Balatucadrus, Balaticaurus, Balatucairus, Baliticaurus, Belatucairus, Belatugagus, Belleticaurus, Blatucadrus and Blatucairus are generally accepted as variants of Belatu-Cadros. The most common of these forms is Belatucadrus, which as a result is the name generally used in modern writings. In five of these inscriptions, Belatu-Cadros is equated with the Roman god Mars as Mars Belatucadrus.

The altars dedicated to Belatu-Cadros were usually small, simple and plain, and their low quality and the variant spellings, which might reflect a low standard of literacy, have led to the suggestion that this god was mainly worshipped by people of low social status.

[edit] References

• Coulston, Jon C. & Phillips, E.J. (1988). Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani, Great Birtain, Volume I, Fascicule 6. Hadrian's Wall West of the North Tyne, and Carlisle (p. 55). New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-726058-6.
• Fairless, K.J. (1984). "Three religious cults from the northern crontier region" (p. 225–228). In R. Miket and C. Burgess (eds.), Between and Beyond the Wall. Essays on the Prehistory and History of North Britain in Honour of George Jobey (pp. 224–242). Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers. ISBN 0-85976-087-1.
• Green, Miranda J. (1992). Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend (p. 42). London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01516-3.
• Ross, Anne (1967). Pagan Celtic Britain. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-902357-03-4.