Belisama
- Belisana is also a spider genus (Pholcidae).
In Celtic polytheism, Belisama or Bηλησαμα (Bēlēsama) 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 has been claimed to be the consort of Belenus,[1] with whom she shared certain attributes. The exact meaning of her name is uncertain, but one possible interpretation is "Very Strong".[2]
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A Gaulish inscription found at Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence shows that a nemeton was dedicated to her:[3]
- Segomaros Ouilloneos tooutious Namausatis eiōrou Bēlēsami sosin nemēton
- "Segomarus Uilloneos, citizen [toutius] of Namausus, dedicated this sanctuary [nemeton] to Belesama"[4]
A Latin inscription from Saint-Lizier, Aquitania (in antiquity, Consoranni) associates her with Minerva:[5]
- Minervae / Belisamae / sacrum / Q(uintus) Valerius / Montan[us] / [e]x v[oto?]
Placenames
The River Ribble in England was known by the name Belisama in Roman times.[6] Ptolemy lists a Belisama estuary at coordinates which correspond to the mouth of the Ribble.
References
- ↑ Belisama: a Gaulish and Brythonic goddess (Summer Bright)
- ↑ Delamarre, Xavier, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, Errance, 2003, p. 71.
- ↑ Michel Lejeune. Receuil des Inscriptions Gauloises (RIG) 1: Inscriptions Gallo-Grèques. G-153.
- ↑ Xavier Delamarre (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise. Éditions Errance, p.299.
- ↑ 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
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