Editing Belenus

{{Short description|Celtic deity}}
{{For|the asteroid|11284 Belenus}}
{{Redirect|Belenos|the rugby club|Belenos RC|the star|HD 8574}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Belenus''' ([[Gaulish]]: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic [[healing god]]. The cult of Belenus stretched from the [[Italian Peninsula]] to the [[British Isles]], with a main sanctuary located at [[Aquileia]], on the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] coast. Through ''[[interpretatio romana]]'', Belenus was often identified with [[Apollo]], although his cult seems to have preserved a certain degree of autonomy during the [[Roman period]].{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=24|ps=: "Apart from the association with the Roman Apollo, little is
known about the function and significance of Belenos (Pauly Wissowa s. v. Belenus). He is probably associated with medicine."}}<ref>{{harvnb|Birkhan|2006|p=195|ps=: "Celtic deity whose name is often connected with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo (see interpretatio romana), although the cult of Belenos seems to have preserved a degree of independence ... Belenus was often identified with Apollo and seen as a typical Karnian oracle- and health-giving deity."}}</ref>

==Name==
=== Attestations ===
The [[theonym]] ''Belenus'' (or ''Belinus''), which is a latinized form of the Gaulish ''Belenos'' (or ''Belinos''), appears in some 51 inscriptions. Although most of them are located in [[Aquileia]] ([[Friuli]], Italy), the main centre of his cult, the name has also been found in places where Celtic speakers lived in ancient times, including in [[Gauls|Gaul]], [[Noricum]], [[Illyria]], [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Ireland]].{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}}  

Linguist [[Blanca María Prósper]] argues that ''Belinos'' was probably the original form,{{Sfn|Prósper|2017|p=258}} which also appears in the name ''{{ill|Belyn|cy|Belyn o Lŷn}}'' (from an earlier ''Belinos''), a Welsh leader who died in 627 AD.{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}} Known variants include ''Bellinus'' and perhaps ''Belus''.<ref name="MacKillop">{{Harvnb|MacKillop|2004}}, s.v. ''Belenus''.</ref> The deity may also have been known in Ireland and Britain by the variants ''Bel'', ''Beli'', and ''Bile.''{{Sfn|Leeming|2005|p=48}}

===Etymology===
{{wiktionary|Belenus}}
The etymology of ''Belenos'' remains unclear. It has been traditionally translated as the 'bright one' or the 'shining one', by deriving the name from a [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root ''*bʰelH-'', interpreted as 'white, shining' (cf. <small>Lith.</small> ''báltas'' 'white', <small>Grk</small> φαλός ''phalós'' 'white', <small>Arm.</small> ''bal'' 'pallor', <small>Goth.</small> ''bala'' 'grey'). This theory was encouraged by the ''[[Interpretatio Romana|interpretatio romana]]'' of ''Belenos'' as the 'Gaulish [[Apollo]]', a divinity with sun attributes.{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=|pp=24–25}}{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=72}}

However, this etymology has come under increasing criticism in recent scholarship. [[Xavier Delamarre]] notes that the proposed [[cognate]]s stemming from ''*bʰelH-'' do not seem to connote 'shining', but rather '[pale] white' or 'grey', and suggests that ''Belenos'' may rather derive from the Gaulish stem ''belo''- ('strong, powerful') attached to the suffix -''nos'' ('lord, master'), which would lead to ''Belenos'' as the 'Master of Power'.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=72}} Alternatively, [[Peter Schrijver]] has proposed that ''Belenos'' might be an ''o''-stem of the [[Indo-European]] root *''bʰel-'', designating the [[henbane]] (cf. Welsh ''bela'', Germanic *''bel(u)nōn'', Slavic ''*bъlnъ''), a psychoactive plant which was known as ''belenuntia'' in Gaulish and as ''apollinaris'' in Latin.{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=|pp=24–27}} [[Bernhard Maier]] and [[Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel]] have also argued that the name may derive from a root ''*g<sup>w</sup>elH-'', meaning 'source, spring'.{{Sfn|Maier|1994|p=40}}<ref>{{Citation |last1=de Bernardo Stempel |first1=Patrizia |title=Celtic and Other Indigenous Divine Names Found in the Italian Peninsula |date=2013 |work=Théonymie celtique, cultes, interpretatio - Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio |page=79 |editor-last=de Bernardo Stempel |editor-first=Patrizia |edition=1 |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |isbn=978-3-7001-7369-4 |jstor=j.ctv8mdn28.8 |last2=Hainzmann |first2=Manfred |last3=Mathieu |first3=Nicolas |editor2-last=Hofeneder |editor2-first=Andreas}}</ref> According to Šašel Kos, Belenus' "close association with water is confirmed by two dedications to ''Fons B(eleni)'' and by an altar in which Belenus is worshipped together with the Nymphs. Thermal springs are also attested to at Iulium Carnicum."{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}} The 19th-century attempt to link the root ''bel''- with the Phoenician deity ''[[Baal]]'' is now widely rejected by modern scholars.<ref name="MacKillop" />

=== Related terms ===
A village that is now part of the municipality of Aquileia is still named ''Beligna''.{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}} A tribal leader of pre-Roman Britain was named ''[[Cunobeline|Cunobelinos]]'' (Old Welsh ''Conbelin''), which possibly means 'hound of Belenos', or else 'strong as a dog' if the name is not [[theophoric]].{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=27–28}}<ref name="MacKillop" />{{Sfn|Prósper|2017|p=262}} The Old Welsh personal name ''Liuelin'' (modern ''[[Llywelyn (name)|Llywelyn]]'') goes back to a similar compound *''lugu-belinos'' (either a [[dvandva]] with the names of two deities, or else 'strong as [[Lugus]]').{{Sfn|Prósper|2017|p=262}} The Brittonic variant of the name could be the source of the ''[[Billingsgate]]'' ward in London, although this may be a [[folk etymology]], and possibly of the fountain of ''Belenton'' (now Bérenton) in the [[Brocéliande]] forest in Brittany.{{Sfn|Leeming|2005|p=48}}<ref name="MacKillop" /> The names of the Welsh and Irish ancestor-figures ''[[Beli Mawr]]'' and ''[[Bile (Irish legend)|Bile]]'' may also be related.<ref name="MacKillop" />{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|pp=30–34, 39–40|p=}}

The Gaulish term ''belenuntia'' (Βελενούντιαν), designating the [[henbane]], a hallucinogenic plant also known in Latin as ''apollinaris'', may be a derivative form of ''Belenos''.{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=27}}{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=71}} The variant ''belenion'', cited as a poisonous plant by [[Pseudo-Aristotle]], appears to be the source of the Spanish ''beleño'' ('henbane').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=71}} The Gallo-Roman term ''belisa'' could also have been borrowed into [[Old High German]] as ''bilisa'' (cf. modern German ''Bilsenkraut'' 'henbane').{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}} Henbane was commonly used in antiquity for medicinal purposes, providing further evidence of Belanos' healing attributes.{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=26}} A shallow stone dish found in Saint-Chamas (south of France) and dedicated to ''Beleino'' could thus have been used to hold hallucinogenic substances.{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}}

According to Delamarre, the name of the goddess ''[[Belisama]]'' appears to be built on a same stem ''bel(o)''- ('strong, powerful') attached to the intensifying suffix -''isama'', and could thus been translated as 'Very Powerful'.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=72}} Schrijver rather links it to a stem for 'henbane', *''beles''-, attached to an unknown suffix -''ma'', and compares the name with the Gaulish theonym ''Belisa-maros''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1999|p=|pp=30–31}} The personal name ''[[Bellovesus]]'' can probably be translated as 'Worthy of Power', from ''bello''- ('power') attached to ''uesus'' ('worthy, good, deserving').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=72}}

Spanish scholarship also relates the deity's name to Aquitanian anthroponym ''Belinatepos'' or ''Belanetepos'' (taken to have an equine association), as well as the toponyms Beleño and Beloño.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=El jinete desnudo y la silla de montar de la estela de Iruña (Alava) |first=José Ignacio San Vicente González |last=de Aspuru |journal=Hispania Antiqua |issn=1130-0515 |issue=32 |date=2008 |pages=75, 78 |url=https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/9775}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gricourt |first1=Daniel |first2=Hollard |last2=Dominique |title=Lugus et le cheval |journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne |volume=28 |issue=2 |date=2002 |page=136 |doi=10.3406/dha.2002.2475}}</ref>

===Epithets===
In ancient Gaul and Britain, [[Apollo]] was commonly associated with the sun and healing attributes.{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}} He may have been equated with fifteen or more different [[List of Celtic deities|names and epithets]] (including ''Belenus'', ''Vindonnus'', ''[[Grannos]]'', ''[[Borvo]]'', ''[[Maponus]]'', ''[[Moritasgus]]'', among others).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Notes d'histoire des religions: 8. Introduction à une étude de l'Apollon gaulois |last=Le Roux |first=F. |date=1959 |page=216-226 |journal=Ogam |volume=11 |lang=FR}}</ref>{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}}<ref name="Jufer">Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Paris: Editions Errance. {{ISBN|2-87772-200-7}}.</ref>

The god was venerated as Apollo Belenus at the curative shrine of [[Sainte-Sabine]] (Burgundy), where he was invoked by pilgrims seeking cures for their sickness. If Belenus is interpreted as meaning 'shining, brilliant', it can be compared to the Celtic epithet ''Vindonnus'' (from *''windo''- 'white'), attached to Apollo as a deity who restored light and vision to people with eye disease at [[Essarois]] (Burgundy).{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}}

==Historical cult==

=== Origin ===
According to philologist [[Helmut Birkhan]], Belenus was seen as a "typical [[Carnic Alps|Karnian]] oracle- and health-giving deity", although its widespread attestation among ancient Celtic peoples may point to a [[Proto-Celtic paganism|Common Celtic]] origin of the cult.{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}} Scholar [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green]] writes that the deity probably pre-existed the Roman period.{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}} Philologist [[Marjeta Šašel Kos]] thinks that the worship of Belenus spread from [[Noricum]] towards the nearby towns of Aquileia and Iulium Carnicum (modern [[Zuglio]]).{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}}

=== Locations ===
[[Tertullian]], writing in c. 200 AD, identifies Belenus as the national god of Noricum. Inscriptions dedicated to Belenus are concentrated in the [[Eastern Alps]] and [[Gallia Cisalpina]], but there is evidence that the popularity of the god became more widespread in the Roman period.<ref name="GKK">{{cite book |last=Maier |first=Bernhard |title=Geschichte und Kultur der Kelten |year=2012 |place=C.H.Beck}}</ref> 

Around 240, [[Herodian]] mentions Belenus' worship in [[Aquileia]], where he was regarded as its patron god.{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}}{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}} During the siege of the city in 238 AD by emperor [[Maximinus Thrax]], who died during the event while his army was defeated soon afterwards, Belenus was invoked as the divine protector of Aquileia.{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}} The soldiers reported seeing an appearance of the god floating in the air, battling and defending his town, in an evocation of Apollo's defence of Delphi against the troops of [[Brennos]].{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}} Dedications to a ''Fons Beleni'' ('Fountain of Belenos') show connection with medicinal springs.<ref>{{harvnb|Schrijver|1999|p=24}}.</ref> The third-century emperors [[Diocletian]] and [[Maximian]] each dedicated an inscription to Belenus in the region of Aquileia. A further 6 votive inscriptions of Belenus were discovered at [[Altinum]], [[Concordia Sagittaria|Concordia]] and [[Iulium Carnicum]].<ref name="GKK" />[[File:Vasque-Bélénos.jpg|thumb|Bowl dedicated to Belenus ([[Marseille History Museum]]).]]Belenus was an important god of Iulium Carnicum (modern [[Zuglio]]), a town close to the border with Noricum inhabited by the [[Carni]]. A sanctuary dedicated to the deity is attested by the second half of the 1st century BC, when its renovation was commemorated by two chiefs of the village.{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}} Epigraphic dedications to the god are also known in Venice and at Rimini.{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}} An altar was also found in Celeia (modern [[Celje]]), one of the most important Norican towns. The cult may have been introduced here from Aquileia, as suggested by the name of its dedicator, Lucius Sentius Forensis, the Sentii being well attested to at Aquileia, but not in Noricum.{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=229}}
[[Ausonius]] (later 4th century AD) alludes to sanctuaries dedicated to Belenus in [[Aquitania]], and mentions a temple priest of the cult named Phoebicius. The deity was also popular in Provence, as attested by inscriptions from the [[Marseille]] and [[Nîmes]] areas.{{Sfn|Aldhouse-Green|1997|pp=30–31}} A votive inscription from Caesarean times by the poet Lucius Erax Bardus was found at Rochemolles, near Bardonecchia (Bardonnèche), in Italy ([[Alpi Graie]]).{{sfn|Birkhan|2006|p=195}} At Aquae Borvonis ([[Bourbon-Lancy]]), the [[Aedui]] worshipped Belenus in association with health giving waters.<ref name="MacKillop3">{{Harvnb|MacKillop|2004}}, s.v. ''Belenus''.</ref>

=== Consort ===
Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, perhaps the Gaulish deity [[Belisama]].<ref name="Koch">Koch, John T. (2006). ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.'' Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}.</ref> The river name ''[[Bienne (river)|Bienne]]'' (''Biena'' in 1337 AD), present-day eastern France, and the place name ''[[Biel/Bienne|Bienne]]'' (''apud Belnam'' in 1142 AD), modern Switzerland, also attest to the existence of a feminine form *''Belenā''.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=72}}

In Noricum, Belenus may also have been accompanied by an otherwise unknown female deity named ''Belestis'' (or ''Beléna, Beléstis Augústa, Beléstris, Belínca''), possibly worshipped as a goddess of nature and fertility.{{sfn|Kropej|2012|p=217}}{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}} Two shrines dedicated to the goddess were found in [[Podljubelj]] in the [[Karawanks]].{{sfn|Kropej|2012|p=217}}

== Related beliefs ==

=== Medieval Ireland ===
The Irish Bel has been speculated by some scholars to be linked to the god Belenus.{{Sfn|Leeming|2005|p=48}} Fires in honor of the deity were lit for Celtic festivals of [[Beltane|Beltaine]] ('Bel's Fires') on May 1.<ref name="MacKillop2">{{Harvnb|MacKillop|2004}}, s.v. ''Belenus''.</ref> On occasion, cattle was driven between two fires in order to repeal diseases, which Schrijver has compared to the traditional German custom of burning henbane collected on [[Midsummer]] to protect the cattle against diseases and witchcraft.{{Sfn|Schrijver|1999|pp=34–35}}

=== Modern Slovenia ===
The Slovenian divinity ''Belin'', attested in the 19th century by historian [[Simon Rutar]], may provide evidence of the survival of Belenus' cult in the region and of its later integration into Slovenian beliefs, possibly blended with attributes of the Slavic god [[Belobog|Belibog]].{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2001|p=14}}{{Sfn|Prósper|2017|p=258}} The local population regarded him as a great healer who could cure blindness with his 'key'.{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2001|p=9}} Professor Monika Kropej also states that Belenus was possibly incorporated into the Slovenian lore as the ''beliči'', a type of fairy-like beings.{{sfn|Kropej|2012|p=217}} An incised stone in southwestern Slovenia, called ''berlina'' by the local population, among other names, may also be related. It is connected to ancient rituals and features two primitively carved figures with heads ornamented with rays.{{Sfn|Prósper|2017|p=258}}

== Legacy ==

=== Science ===
The minor planet [[List of minor planets: 11001–12000#284|11284 Belenus]] is [[Meanings of minor planet names: 11001–12000#284|named after him]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Small-Body Database Lookup |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=11284 |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=ssd.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref>

=== Popular culture ===
The Gauls of the [[Asterix]] franchise often swear by Belenos and [[Toutatis]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Gravil |first=Richard |title=Among the Men of Old |date=2003 |work=Wordsworth’s Bardic Vocation, 1787–1842 |pages=11–32 |editor-last=Gravil |editor-first=Richard |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |doi=10.1057/9780230510333_2 |isbn=978-0-230-51033-3}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
*{{Cite book |last=Aldhouse-Green |first=Miranda J. |title=Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-500-27975-5 |author-link=Miranda Aldhouse-Green}}
*{{Cite book|last=Birkhan|first=Helmut|title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2006|isbn=978-1-85109-440-0|editor-last=Koch|editor-first=John T.|chapter=Belenos/Belinos|author-link=Helmut Birkhan}}
*{{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|publisher=Errance|year=2003|isbn=9782877723695|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
*{{Cite book|last=Kropej|first=Monika|title=Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folktales|publisher=Založba ZRC|year=2012|isbn=978-961-254-428-7}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Leeming|first1=David A.|title=The Oxford Companion to World Mythology|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-515669-0|author-link=David Adams Leeming}}
*{{Cite book|last=MacKillop|first=James|title=A dictionary of Celtic mythology|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=0-19-860967-1|author-link=James MacKillop (author)}}
*{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Bernhard|title=Lexikon der keltischen Religion und Kultur|publisher=A. Kröner|year=1994|isbn=978-3-520-46601-3|author-link=Bernhard Maier}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Prósper|first=Blanca María|year=2017|title=The irreducible Gauls used to swear by Belenos. – Or did they? Celtic religion, henbane and historical misapprehensions|journal=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie|volume=64|issue=1|doi=10.1515/zcph-2017-0007|s2cid=165188823 |issn=1865-889X|author-link=Blanca María Prósper}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Šašel Kos|first=Marjeta|date=2001|title=Belin|journal=Studia mythologica Slavica|volume=4|pages=9–16|doi=10.3986/sms.v4i0.1807|issn=1581-128X|author-link=Marjeta Šašel Kos|doi-access=free}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Šašel Kos |first=Marjeta |author-link=marjeta Šašel Kos |year=2022 |title=Belenus, Cybele, and Attis: Echoes of their Cults through the Centuries |journal=Studia mythologica Slavica |volume=25 |doi=10.3986/SMS20222511 |issn=1581-128X|doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Schrijver|first=Peter|year=1999|title=On Henbane and Early European Narcotics|journal=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie|volume=51|issue=1|pages=17–45|doi=10.1515/zcph.1999.51.1.17|s2cid=162678252 |issn=1865-889X|author-link=Peter Schrijver}}
{{refend}}

{{Celtic mythology (ancient)}}
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[[Category:Apollo]]
[[Category:Celtic gods]]
[[Category:Gaulish gods]]
[[Category:Gods of the ancient Britons]]
[[Category:Health gods]]
[[Category:Horse deities]]
[[Category:Summer deities]]