Belisama
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- Belisana is also a spider genus (Pholcidae).
In Celtic mythology, Belisama (also Bηλησαμα or Belesama) was a goddess worshipped in Gaul and Britain. She was connected with lakes and rivers, fire, crafts and light. Belisama was identified with Minerva/Athena and has been compared with Brigid. She was the consort of Belenus,[citation needed] with whom she shared certain attributes. Her name means "most brilliant".[citation needed]
A Gaulish inscription found at Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence shows that a nemeton was dedicated to her:[1]
- Segomaros Ouilloneos tooutious Namausatis eiōrou Bēlēsami sosin nemēton
- "Segomaros, son of Uillo, toutious (tribe leader) of Namausos, dedicated this sanctuary to Belesama"
A Latin inscription from Saint-Lizier, Aquitania (in antiquity, Consoranni) associates her with Minerva:[2]
- Minervae / Belisamae / sacrum / Q(uintus) Valerius / Montan[us] / [e]x v[oto?]
The river Ribble in England was known by the name Belisama in Roman times.[3] Ptolemy lists a Belisama estuary at coordinates which correspond to the mouth of the Ribble.
Associated with industry, she was a patron of metallurgy (particularly weapon-making).[citation needed]
It may be possible that the name is derived from the Phoenician god Ba’al Shamîm, as the Phoenicians had a trading colony at Marseille in France for centuries before this.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Lejeune, Michel Receuil des Inscriptions Gauloises (RIG) 1 Inscriptions Gallo-Grèques. G-153.
- ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), 13 Tres Galliae et Germanae. 0008
- ^ Ronald Hutton (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell. p.218
