Rudianos

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In Celtic mythology, Rudianos was a war god worshipped in Gaul. In Roman times he was equated with Mars.

He was invoked at Saint-Andeol-en-Quint and Rochefort Sanson (Drome), and at Saint-Michel-de-Valbonne. The name "Rudianos" means red, reflecting the warlike nature of the god. At Saint-Michel-de-Valbonne there was also found a prehistoric image of a mounted war-god, dating to the 6th Century BC, who could perhaps be Rudianos himself. The menhir-shaped stone depicts a roughly incised figure of a horseman, who an enormous head, riding down five severed heads. The iconography is evocative of the head-hunting exploits of the Celts, who hung the heads of their battle victims from their saddles, as chronicled by Classical writers.

[edit] References

Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, Miranda J. Green, Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1997