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{{Short description|Celtic god of thunder}} {{Other uses}} [[File:RIG G-27, Sagnier 1887.jpg|thumb|alt=Altar to Taranis|Altar from [[Orgon]], France with a [[Gaulish]] inscription recording an offering to Taranis.]] '''Taranis''' (sometimes '''Taranus''' or '''Tanarus''') is a Celtic [[thunder god]] attested in literary and [[epigraphic]] sources. The Roman poet [[Lucan]]'s epic ''[[Pharsalia]]'' mentions Taranis, [[Esus]], and [[Teutates]] as gods to whom the [[Gauls]] sacrificed humans. This rare mention of Celtic gods under their native names in a Latin text has been the subject of much comment. Almost as often commented on are [[Commenta Bernensia and Adnotationes Super Lucanum|the scholia to Lucan's poem]] (early medieval, but relying on earlier sources) which tell us the nature of these sacrifices: in particular, that the victims of Taranis were burned in a hollow wooden container. This sacrifice has been compared with the [[wicker man]] described by [[Caesar]]. These scholia also tell us that Taranis was perhaps either [[interpretatio romana|equated by the Romans]] with [[Dis Pater]], Roman god of the underworld, or [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]], Roman god of weather. Scholars have preferred the latter equation to the former, as Taranis is also equated with Jupiter in inscriptions. Both identifications have been studied against Caesar's lapidary remarks about the Gaulish Jupiter and [[Gaulish Dis Pater]]. The equation of Taranis with Jupiter has been reason for some scholars to identify Taranis with the "wheel god" of the Celts. This god, known only from iconographic sources, is depicted with a [[spoked wheel]] and the attributes of Jupiter (including a thunderbolt). No direct evidence links Taranis with the wheel god, so other scholars have expressed reservations about this identification. Various inscriptions attest to Taranis's worship, dating between the 4th century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Scholars have drawn contrary conclusions about the importance of Taranis from the distribution of these inscriptions. ==Name== [[File:RIB 452, John Grenehalgh.png|alt=Drawing of an altar to Taranis|thumb|Altar dedicated to Jupiter Tanaris from [[Chester]], England]] ===Etymology and development=== Taranis's name derives from [[proto-Celtic]] {{lang|cel-x-proto|torano-}} ("thunder"), which in turn derives from the [[proto-Indo-European root]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|(s)tenh₂-}} ("to thunder"). Through the proto-Celtic etymon, the theonym is cognate with words for thunder in [[Old Irish]] ({{lang|sga|torann}}), [[Old Breton]] ({{lang|obt|taran}}), [[Middle Welsh]] ({{lang|wlm|taran}}), and (as a loan word into a non-Celtic language) the [[Gascon dialect]] of French ({{lang|oc|taram}}).<ref name=Matasovic>{{cite book |first=Ranko |last=Matasović |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic |url=https://archive.org/details/matasovic-etymological-dictionary-of-proto-celtic |volume=9 |location=Leiden / Boston |series=Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series |publisher=Brill |date=2009 }}</ref>{{rp|384}} During the development of Celtic, the word for thunder seem to have undergone a [[metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]] (transposition of syllables) from {{lang|cel-x-proto|tonaro-}} to {{lang|cel-x-proto|torano-}}.<ref name=Matasovic/>{{rp|384}} The question of whether the [[Chester]] altar (discussed below) should be read as attesting to an unmetathesised form of the god's name, Tanaris, was for a long time controversial. However, the discovery of a dedication to {{lang|la|Iovi Tanaro}} ("Jupiter Tanaris") in [[Dalmatia]] confirms that such a form did exist.<ref name=ALIP/> ===Thunder god=== The association with thunder, suggested by the etymology of Taranis's name, is confirmed by his equation with Jupiter.<ref name=Meid>{{cite journal |last=Meid |first= Wolfgang |title=Keltische Religion im Zeugnis der Sprache |journal=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie |volume=53 |issue=1 |date=2003 |pages=20–40 |doi=10.1515/ZCPH.2003.20 }}</ref>{{rp|33}} Taranis's name corresponds etymologically to that of the Germanic god [[Donar]] (i.e., Thor).<ref name=Meid/>{{rp|33}} Peter Jackson has conjectured that the theonyms Taranis and Donar (as well as perhaps the epithet [[Jupiter Tonans|Tonans]] of Jupiter) originated as a result of the "fossilization of an original epithet or [[epiklesis]]" of the [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|proto-Indo-European]] thunder god [[*Perkʷūnos]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jackson |first=Peter |date=2002 |title=Light from Distant Asterisks. Towards a Description of the Indo-European Religious Heritage |journal=Numen |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=61–102 |jstor=3270472 |doi=10.1163/15685270252772777}}</ref>{{rp|77}} [[Calvert Watkins]] compared Taranis's name with the name of the [[Hittites|Hittite]] weather god [[Tarḫunna]]. However, [[John T. Koch]] pointed out that an etymology linking the two theonyms would reverse the order of the metathesis (so that Taranis precedes Tanaris) and therefore compromise the proto-Indo-European etymology.<ref name=Koch>{{cite book|last=Koch|first=John T.|title=Celto-Germanic, Later Prehistory and Post-Proto-Indo-European vocabulary in the North and West |publisher=University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies |date=2020 }}</ref>{{rp|143}} ==Lucan and the scholia== ===Lucan=== Lucan's ''Pharsalia'' or ''De Bello Civili'' (''On the Civil War'') is an epic poem, begun about 61 CE, on the events of [[Caesar's civil war]] (49–48 BCE). The passage relevant to Taranis occurs in "Gallic excursus", an [[epic catalogue]] detailing the rejoicing of the various Gaulish peoples after Caesar removed his legions from Gaul (where they were intended to control the natives) to Italy. The passage thus brings out two themes of Lucan's work, the barbarity of the Gauls and the unpatriotism of [[Caesar]].<ref name=Hofeneder2>{{cite book |title=Die Religion der Kelten in den antiken literarischen Zeugnissen |volume=2 |last=Hofeneder |first=Andreas |date=2008 |location=Wien |publisher=Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften }}</ref>{{rp|296}} {{verse translation |lang1=la |Tu quoque laetatus converti proelia, Trevir, Et nunc tonse Ligur, quondam per colla decore Crinibus effusis toti praelate Comatae; Et quibus inmitis placatur sanguine diro Teutates horrensque feris altaribus Esus Et Taranis Scythicae non mitior ara Dianae.<ref>Lucan, ''De Bello Civilo'', 1.441-446</ref> |Transferral of the warfare pleased you too, [[Treviri]], and you, [[Ligures]], now shorn of hair but once in all of Long-Haired Gaul unrivalled for your tresses flowing gracefully over your necks; and the people who with grim blood-offering placate Teutates the merciless and Esus dread with savage altars and the slab of Taranis, no kinder than Diana of the Scythians.<ref>Translation from {{cite book |last=Braund |first=Susan H. |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=Oxford World's Classics |title=Lucan: Civil War |date=1992 }}</ref>}} The substance of the last few lines is this: unspecified Gauls, who made human sacrifices to their gods Teutates, Esus, and Taranis, were overjoyed by the exit of Caesar's troops from their territory.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|298–299}} The reference to "Diana of the Scythians" refers to the human sacrifices demanded by [[Diana Nemorensis|Diana at her temple in Scythian Taurica]], well known in antiquity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Green |first=C. M. C. |title=Lucan ''Bellum Civile'' 1.444-46: A Reconsideration |journal=Classical Philology |date=January 1994 |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=64–69 |doi=10.1086/367392 |jstor=269754 }}</ref>{{rp|66–67}} That Lucan says little about these gods is not surprising. Lucan's aims were poetic, and not historical or ethnographic. The poet never travelled to Gaul and relied on secondary sources for his knowledge of Gaulish religion. When he neglects to add more, this may well reflect the limits of his knowledge.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|296}}<ref name=GreenAltar>{{cite journal |last=Green|first=Miranda J. |date=1982|title=Tanarus, Taranis and the Chester altar |journal=Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society |volume=65 |pages=37–44 |doi=10.5284/1070267 }}</ref>{{rp|40}} We have no literary sources prior to Lucan which mention these deities, and the few which mention them after Lucan (in the case of Taranis, [[Papias (lexicographer)|Papias]] alone{{efn|1=Papias was a Latin lexicographer of the 11th century. His dictionary has entries for Teutates and Taranis, which do no more than give ''interpretatios'' of these pagan deities (the origin of whom Papias did not even know). Papias evidently relies on the commentary tradition to Lucan.<ref name=Hofeneder3>{{cite book |title=Die Religion der Kelten in den antiken literarischen Zeugnissen |volume=3 |last=Hofeneder |first=Andreas |date=2011 |location=Wien |publisher=Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |url=https://archive.org/details/9783700169970-gesamt-2 }}</ref>{{rp|531–532}}}}) rely on this passage.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|299}} The secondary sources on Celtic religion which Lucan relied on in this passage (perhaps [[Posidonius]]) have not come down to us.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|297}} This passage is one of the very few in classical literature in which Celtic gods are mentioned under their native names,{{efn|For the most part, classical sources describe Celtic gods under Greek or Roman names without further comment. [[Georg Wissowa]] emphasises that Lucan "stands almost alone" ({{lang|de|steht nahezu allein}}) apart from this tradition. [[Epona]], the Gallo-Roman horse god, is a notable exception; she appears frequently in classical literature, and never under an ''interpretatio''.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Georg |last=Wissowa |title=Interpretatio Romana: Römische Götter im Barbarenlande |journal=Archiv für Religionswissenschaft |volume=19 |url=https://archive.org/details/archivfrreligi19reliuoft/page/1 |date=1916–1919 |pages=1–49 }}</ref>{{rp|9–11}} Other Celtic gods mentioned under their own name in later literature include [[Belenus]], [[Ogmios]], [[Grannus]], and [[Andraste]].<ref name=Hofeneder3/>{{rp|24}}}} rather than [[interpretatio graeca|identified with Greek or Roman gods]]. This departure from classical practice likely had poetic intent: emphasising the barbarity and exoticness the Gauls, whom Caesar had left to their own devices.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|298}} Some scholars, such as de Vries, have argued that the three gods mentioned together here (Esus, Teutates, and Taranis) formed a divine triad in ancient Gaulish religion. However, there is little other evidence associating these gods with each other. Other scholars, such as [[Graham Webster (archaeologist)|Graham Webster]], emphasise that Lucan may as well have chosen these deity-names for their [[scansion]] and harsh sound.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|299}} ===Scholia=== Lucan's ''Pharsalia'' was a very popular school text in late antiquity and the medieval period. This created a demand for commentaries and [[scholia]] dealing with difficulties in the work, both in grammar and subject matter.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|312}} The earliest Lucan scholia that have come down to us are the [[Commenta Bernensia and Adnotationes Super Lucanum|''Commenta Bernensia'' and ''Adnotationes Super Lucanum'']], both from manuscripts datable between the 9th and 11th centuries.<ref name=Esposito>{{cite book |last=Esposito |first=Paolo |chapter=Early and Medieval ''Scholia'' and ''Commentaria'' on Lucan |title= Brill's Companion to Lucan |pages=453–463 |doi=10.1163/9789004217096_025 |date=2011 |editor-last=Asso |editor-first=Paolo |location=Leiden / Boston |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-21709-6 }}</ref>{{rp|453}} Also important are comments from a [[Cologne]] codex (the ''Glossen ad Lucan''), dating to the 11th and 12th centuries.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|312}} In spite of their late date, these scholia are thought to incorporate very ancient material, some of it now lost. The ''Commenta'' and ''Adnotationes'' are known to contain material at least as old as [[Servius the Grammarian]] (4th century CE).<ref name=Esposito/>{{rp|453–454}} Below are excerpts from these scholia relevant to Taranis: {|class="wikitable" |- !Commentary !Latin !English |- |''Commenta Bernensia ad Lucan'', 1.445 |{{lang|la|Taranis Ditis pater hoc modo aput eos placatur: in alveo ligneo aliquod homines cremantur.}} |Taranis Dispater is appeased in this way by them: several people are burned in a wooden tub.<ref name=HofenederCB/> |- |''Commenta Bernensia ad Lucan'', 1.445 |{{lang|la|item aliter exinde in aliis invenimus. [...] praesidem bellorum et caelestium deorum maximum Taranin Iovem adsuetum olim humanis placari capitibus, nunc vero gaudere pecorum.}} |We also find it [depicted] differently by other [authors]. [...] the leader of wars and chief of the heavenly gods, Taranis, [they consider] to be Jupiter, who was once accustomed to be appeased with human heads, but now [is accustomed] to delight in those of animals.<ref name=HofenederCB>Translation after the German in {{cite book |title=Die Religion der Kelten in den antiken literarischen Zeugnissen |volume=2 |last=Hofeneder |first=Andreas |date=2008 |location=Wien |publisher=Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |page=317}}</ref> |- |''Adnotationes super Lucanum'', 1.445. |{{lang|la|Taranis Iuppiter dictus a Gallis, qui sanguine litatur humano.}} |Taranis is called Jupiter by the Gauls, to whom sacrifices are made with human blood.<ref name=HofenederAS>Translation after the German in {{cite book |title=Die Religion der Kelten in den antiken literarischen Zeugnissen |volume=2 |last=Hofeneder |first=Andreas |date=2008 |location=Wien |publisher=Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |page=331 }}</ref> |- |''Glossen ad Lucan'', 1.445 |{{lang|la|Tharanis Iuppiter. hi omnes in Teutonicis partibus colebantur a Taranu. ut feria teutonice dicitur. }} |Tharanis Jupiter. All of these were worshipped in the [[Teutons|Teutonic]] regions at Taranus (?), as a day of the week is called in [[Germanic languages|Teutonic]].<ref name=HofenederG>Translation after the German in {{cite book |title=Die Religion der Kelten in den antiken literarischen Zeugnissen |volume=2 |last=Hofeneder |first=Andreas |date=2008 |location=Wien |publisher=Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |page=334 }}</ref> |} The first excerpt, about the sacrifice to Taranis, comes from a passage in the ''Commenta'' which details the human sacrifices offered each of to the three gods (persons were suspended from trees and dismembered for Esus, persons were drowned in a barrel for Teutates). This passage, which is not paralleled anywhere else in classical literature, has been much the subject of much commentary. It seems to have been preserved in the ''Commenta'' by virtue of its author's preference for factual (over grammatical) explanation.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|318}} The ''Adnotationes'', by comparison, tell us nothing about the sacrifices to Esus, Teutates, and Taranis beyond that they were each murderous.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|332}} [[File:The Wicker Man of the Druids crop.jpg|alt=Drawing of the wicker man being used in human sacrifice|thumb|An imaginative 18th-century illustration of the [[wicker man]]]] The ''Commenta'' tells us that as sacrifices to Taranis, several people were burned in a wooden {{lang|la|alveus}}. The Latin word {{lang|la|alveus}} is translated above as "tub", but it could applied to any hollow container. In various settings, the term could be used to mean a ship's hull, a bath tub, a [[drainage basin]], a canoe, or a beehive.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|324}} [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green|Miranda Green]] linked this sacrifice with the [[wicker man]], the well-known wooden figure in which (according to [[Caesar]] and [[Strabo]]) humans were burned as sacrifices.<ref>{{cite book |title= Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend |first= Miranda |last= Green |publisher= Thames and Hudson Ltd. |location=London |date=1997 |isbn= 978-0-500-27975-5 |url= https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofcelt00gree }}</ref>{{rp|100}} The ''interpretatio romana'' of Taranis as Jupiter, given by all three commentaries, is otherwise attested in epigraphy, and agrees with our understanding of Taranis as a thunder god. By contrast, the ''interpretatio'' of Taranis as Dis Pater, which only the ''Commenta'' gives,{{efn|1=The ''Commenta'' offers two sets of ''interpretatios'' of the three Celtic gods mentioned in Lucan. In the first set, Teutates is [[Mercury (god)|Mercury]], Esus is [[Mars (god)|Mars]], and Taranis is [[Dis Pater]]. In the second set, Teutates is Mars, Esus is Mercury, and Taranis is Jupiter.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|317}}}} is quite obscure. It is not given in any inscription, and we do not know what Taranis had to do with the underworld.{{efn|Among those who identify the Celtic wheel god with Taranis, some attempt has been made to substantiate the identification of Taranis with Dis Pater. [[Fritz Heichelheim]] cited the wheel god of [[Séguret]], who has a snake coiled behind it, as evidence of the chthonic associations of Taranis. [[Pierre Lambrechts]] took the Jupiter columns as showing Taranis's dominion over both the underworld and overworld.<ref name=BN>{{cite book |title=Die Iupitersäulen in den germanischen Provinzen |first1=Gerhard |last1=Bauchhenß |first2=Peter |last2=Noelke |publisher=Rheinland |location=Köln |date=1981 }}</ref>{{rp|80}}}}<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|324}} Manfred Hainzmann points out that Dis was associated in Latin literature with the night sky and night thunderstorms. [[Statius]], for example, refers to Dis Pater as the "thunderer of the underworld" (''Thebaid'', 11.209).<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|24}} In the course of giving the ''interpretatio'' of Taranis as Jupiter, the scholiast of the ''Commenta'' mentions that Taranis was "leader of wars". This is an unusual trait to associate with Jupiter rather than [[Mars (god)|Mars]] (Roman god of war), though the Romans occasionally gave Jupiter martial functions. Hofeneder has associated the comment that Taranis was "appeased with human heads" with this martial function, as the (pre-Roman) Celtic custom of carrying off their foes' heads in battle is well-attested.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|324–325}} The scholiast describes a transition from human to animal sacrifice, probably connected to the suppression of human sacrifice in Gaul in the Imperial period.<ref name=Demandt>{{cite book |first=Alexander |last=Demandt |chapter= Der Baumkult der Kelten |pages=1–18 |editor1-first=Charles Marie |editor1-last=Ternes |editor2-first=Hartmut |editor2-last=Zinser |title=Dieux des Celtes – Götter der Kelten – Gods of the Celts |series=Études Luxembourgeoises d’histoire et de science des religions |volume=1 |location=Luxemburg |date=2002 }}</ref>{{rp|5}} Caesar states in his ''[[Commentaries on the Gallic War]]'' that the Gauls regarded [[Gaulish Dis Pater|a Gaulish god]] (whom Caesar equated with Dis Pater) as their ancestor.<ref name=Hainzmann>{{cite book |last=Hainzmann |first=Manfred |chapter=Taranis – Jupiter: Keltischer Donner und römischer Blitz |editor1-first=Charles Marie |editor1-last=Ternes |editor2-first=Hartmut |editor2-last=Zinser |title=Dieux des Celtes – Götter der Kelten – Gods of the Celts |series=Études Luxembourgeoises d’histoire et de science des religions |volume=1 |location=Luxemburg |date=2002 |pages=19–38 }}</ref>{{rp|24}} As Taranis is the only Celtic god equated with Dis Pater in ancient literary sources, Taranis has often been a cited as a candidate for [[Gaulish Dis Pater]].<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|201}} On the other hand, Caesar also briefly refers to an unnamed Gaulish god who "rules over all the gods" ({{lang|la|imperium caelestium tenere}}), and whom he equates with Jupiter. It has been suggested that Taranis is behind this description.<ref name=Hofeneder1>{{cite book |title=Die Religion der Kelten in den antiken literarischen Zeugnissen |volume=1 |last=Hofeneder |first=Andreas |date=2005 |location=Wien |publisher=Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften }}</ref>{{rp|208}} The similarity between Caesar's description of Gaulish Jupiter, and the ''Commenta''{{'s}} description of Taranis as "chief of the heavenly gods" ({{lang|la|caelestium deorum maximum}}), has been noted, though this may reflect reliance on Caesar's text or a routine characterisation of the Roman god Jupiter.<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|25}} ==Taranis and the wheel god{{anchor|Wheel god}}== The wheel god ({{lang|de|Radgott}}) is a figure of Celtic religious iconography, a god wielding a spoked wheel. The wheel god is often depicted with the attributes of [[Jupiter]]: thunderbolt, sceptre, and eagle. The spoked wheel was an important religious motif for the Celts. Metal votive wheels (known as ''{{ill|rouelle (artifact)|fr|Rouelle (Antiquité)|lt=rouelles}}'') are known from Iron Age Europe.<ref name=GreenJupiter>{{cite book |date=1986 |title=Pagan Gods and Shrines of the Roman Empire |editor1-first=Martin |editor1-last=Henig |editor2-first=Anthony |editor2-last=King |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University School of Archaeology |last=Green |first=Miranda J. |chapter=Jupiter, Taranis and the Solar Wheel |pages=65–75 }}</ref>{{rp|68, 73}} The ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae]]'' lists 15 depictions of the wheel god. Some are statuettes of the god dressed in Gaulish garb, with a wheel in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. A mosaic from [[Saint-Romain-en-Gal]] shows a woman and a man leaving sacrifices to such a statuette. An obscure scene on the [[Gundestrup cauldron]] perhaps shows a leaping devotee offering a wheel to the wheel god. The so-called [[Jupiter column]]s, religious monuments widespread in [[Germania]], are frequently crowned with an equestrian god, who sometimes wields a wheel.<ref name=Nagy/>{{rp|844}} Because both were identified with Jupiter, Taranis has been repeatedly equated with the wheel god (for example, by [[Pierre Lambrechts]], {{ill|Jean-Jacques Hatt|fr}}, and [[Anne Ross (scholar)|Anne Ross]]).<ref name=GreenAltar/>{{rp|41}} However, nothing connects the gods directly. No inscription links Taranis with wheel iconography.<ref name=BN/>{{rp|81}} Some scholars have rejected this equation. Green rejects it, and argues that the wheel god was a solar deity; naturally identifiable with Jupiter, but distinct from the thunder god Taranis.<ref name=GreenAltar/>{{rp|41}} {{ill|Gerhard Bauchhenß|de}} and {{ill|Peter Noelke|de}} both express scepticism in their studies of Jupiter columns in Germany.<ref name=BN/>{{rp|81, 399}} Árpád M. Nagy described the equation as "probable, but not binding".<ref name=Nagy/>{{rp|844}} In any case, the combination of the thunderbolt and wheel as attributes is not unique to one deity: [[Hercules]] is occasionally depicted with these attributes in the Latin West, and a female deity with a thunderbolt and wheel is known from a statue in [[Autun]].<ref name=Nagy>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Taranis |url=https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20VII-1%20Oidipous-Theseus/page/n436 |first=Árpád M |last=Nagy |pages=843–845 |encyclopedia=Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae |volume=VII |date=1994 }}</ref>{{rp|845}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Émile |last=Espérandieu |date=1908 |volume=3 |title=Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine |url=https://archive.org/details/recueilgeneralde21espe |location=Paris |publisher=Imprimerie nationale }}</ref>{{rp|60}} {{gallery |File:Iupiter Taranis Obernburg.jpg |Jupiter Column rider with a wheel from [[Obernburg]]. |File:Taranis Jupiter with wheel and thunderbolt Le Chatelet Gourzon Haute Marne.jpg |Jupiter with a thunderbolt and a wheel from {{ill|Le Châtelet de Gourzon|fr}}. |File:ChaudronDeGundestrup3.jpg |A broken wheel held by a large bearded man and a leaping man on the [[Gundestrup cauldron]] (plate C). |File:Mosaic depicting a rustic calendar, panel showing a scene of sacrifice (Summer), from Saint-Romain-en-Gal, first quarter of 3rd century AD, Musée d'Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (34574925420).jpg |Scene of two people offering sacrifices to the wheel god (wheel in one hand, thunderbolt in the other) on a mosaic from [[Saint-Romain-en-Gal]]. |File:Rouelle votive wheels.jpg |Votive wheels ({{lang|fr|rouelles}}) at the [[Musée d'Archéologie Nationale]]. |File:Altar dedicated to Jupiter, Nimes (CIL XII 2972).jpg |Altar to Jupiter with a relief of a wheel at the [[Musée de la Romanité]]. }} ==Epigraphy== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Text !Context !Date !Language !Citation !Comments |- |{{lang|xrr|ṣ a[ / kakaka[(?) / θarani[? / saφ̣ạṇa / θ̣]arani[?}}} |Inscribed on an object (perhaps a keyhandle) made from staghorn. Found in Sottopedonda, in the [[Fiemme Valley]], Italy.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|325}} |{{sort|-300|4th to 3rd century BCE}}<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|325}} |[[Raetic]] |''{{abbr|TIR|Thesaurus Inscriptionum Raeticarum}}'' [https://tir.univie.ac.at/wiki/FI-1 FI-1] |The god Taranis (in the form Tarani) is invoked twice in this obscure (perhaps magico-religious) Raetic inscription. Simona Marchesini has argued that the absence of the Celtic final -s suggests "the god's name was well integrated in the [[Rhaetian people|Raetic world]]".<ref name=Marchesini>{{cite book |first=Simona |last=Marchesini |chapter=La ricezione di elementi culturali allogeni in ambito retico: Taranis in Val di Fiemme (TN) |title=Mode e modelli. Fortuna e insuccesso nella circolazione di cose e idee |series=Officina Etruscologia |volume=7 |location=Rome |date=2012 |pages=177–190 }}</ref>{{rp|177}} |- |{{lang|xtg|ΟΥΗΒΡΟΥΜΑΡΟΣ / ΔΕΔΕ ΤΑΡΑΝΟΟΥ / ΒΡΑΤΟΥΔΕΚΑΝΤΕΜ}} (translit. {{transliteration|xtg|ouibroumaros / dede taranoou / bratoudekantem}}) |Inscribed on a small [[cippus]]. Found in [[Orgon]], [[Bouches-du-Rhône]], France.<ref name=G27/> |{{sort|-100|2nd to 1st century BCE}}<ref name=G27/> |[[Gaulish]] |''[[Recueil des inscriptions gauloises|RIG]]'' I [https://riig.huma-num.fr/documents/BDR-09-01 G-27] |Lejeune offers the translation "Vebrumaros offered Taranus in gratitude (?) the tithe (?)".<ref name=G27>RIG I [https://riig.huma-num.fr/documents/BDR-09-01 G-27] via ''Recueil informatisé des inscriptions gauloises''. Accessed on 16 January 2025.</ref> |- |{{lang|la|IOVI TAN(ARO) / ]S APER[}} |Inscribed on an altar. Found in [[Bribir, Šibenik-Knin County|Bribir]], [[Dalmatia]], Croatia.<ref name=2010-1225>''[[L'Année épigraphique|AE]]'' [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23513414 2010, 1225]</ref> |{{sort|25|First half of the 1st century CE}}<ref name=2010-1225/> |Latin |''[[L'Année épigraphique|AE]]'' [https://db.edcs.eu/epigr/epi_url.php?s_sprache=en&p_publication=AE+2010%2C+01227&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 2010, 1225] | |- |{{lang|la|TARANUOS}} |Inscribed on a terracotta jug. Found near [[Amiens]], [[Somme (department)|Somme]], France.<ref name=1966-269>''[[L'Année épigraphique|AE]]'' [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25606822 1966, 269]</ref> |{{sort|50|1st century CE}}<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|21}} |Latin |{{AE|1966|269}} |Another inscription found nearby ({{AE|1966|268}}) suggests the find-spot was originally a place of religious significance.<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|24}} |- |{{lang|la|PATE]RNIANUS(?) / V(IVUS) / [ALUM]NO(?) SUO / [PI]O(?) POSUIT / [3]EMIO // ]O[3] / [3]M SA[3] / UXO[RI] / TARANU[TIUS(?)] / COMATUL[LUS(?)}} |Found in Caesarodunum (Roman [[Tours]]), [[Indre-et-Loire]], France<ref>{{CIL|13|3083}}</ref> |{{sort|50|1st century CE}}<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|27}} |Latin |{{CIL|13|3083}} |{{lang|la|Taranu[}} is a personal name.<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|26}} |- |{{lang|la|IOVI TA/RANUCO / ARRIA SUC/CESSA V(OTUM) S(OLVIT)}} |Found in Scardona (Roman [[Skradin]]), [[Dalmatia]], Croatia<ref name=3-2804/> |{{sort|75|1st to first half of the 2nd century CE}}<ref name=3-2804>{{CIL|3|2804}}</ref> |Latin |{{CIL|3|2804}} | |- |{{lang|la|E[ ]IMO / ESOET IVTRABAVTIO / RVTI DVO ESANA / TARAIN[I] PANOV / DIR FONT MEM / MIDR.MARMAR / EVI IABO . VIII . MV / MVLCOI CARBRVX}}{{efn|This reading follows [[Jürgen Untermann]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jürgen |last=Untermann |date=1993 |pages=810–813 |journal=Latomus |jstor=41536782 |volume=52 |issue=4 |title=Vorbemerkungen zur sprachlichen Deutung der Inscrift des Goldplättchen aus Baudecet }}</ref> Other readings, by [[Pierre-Yves Lambert]] and {{ill|Brigitte Galsterer|de}}, are given in the apparatus to ''RIG'' L-109.<ref name=L109/>}} |Inscribed on a gold [[lamella (materials)|lamella]]. Found in Baudecet, [[Gembloux]], [[Belgium]].<ref name=L109>''[[Recueil des inscriptions gauloises|RIG]]'' II.2 L-109 in Lambert, Pierre-Yves (2002). ''Recueil des inscriptions gauloises. II, fasc. 2, Textes gallo-latins sur instrumentum''. Paris: Éd. du CNRS. pp. 310-312.</ref> |{{sort|150|2nd century CE}}<ref>{{cite journal |first=Marie-Thérèse |last=Raepsaet-Charlier |title=La plaquette en or inscrite de Baudecet: quelques considérations sur sa fonction et son interprétation |date=1993 |pages=819–825 |journal=Latomus |jstor=41536782 |volume=52 |issue=4 }}</ref>{{rp|822}} |Latin (perhaps with Gaulish, Greek or Germanic elements) |''[[Recueil des inscriptions gauloises|RIG]]'' II.2 L-109 |This magico-religious inscription from [[Belgic Gaul]] is difficult to interpret. Several lines appear to be meaningless [[ephesia grammata]]. In arguing that the inscription has Gaulish elements, {{ill|Karl Horst Schmidt|de}} and [[Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel|Patrizia de Bernardo]] proposed that line 4 invokes the god Taranis. However, [[Pierre-Yves Lambert]] proposed the tablet is an [[Totenpass|Orphic gold tablet]], and reads this line as an Orphic formula in Greek.<ref name=L109/> |- |{{lang|la|NUM(INI) AUG(USTI) / ET I(OVI) O(PTIMO) M(AXIMO) / TARANUEN / D(E) S(UO) P(RO) P(IETATE) P(OSUIT)}} |Inscribed on an altar. Found in [[Thauron]], [[Creuse]], France.<ref name=1961-159>''[[L'Année épigraphique|AE]]'' [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25606780 1961, 159]</ref> |{{sort|150|2nd century CE?}}<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|27}} |Latin |{{AE|1961|159}} |It is uncertain whether {{lang|la|Taranuen}} is a god name or a personal name.<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|27}} |- |{{lang|la|I(OVI) O(PTIMO) M(AXIMO) TANARO / L(UCIUS) [ELUFRIUS(?)] GALER(IA) / PRAESENS [CL]UNIA / PRI(NCEPS) LEG(IONIS) XX V(ALERIAE) V(ICTRICIS) / COMMODO ET / LATERANO CO(N)S(ULIBUS) V(OTUM) S(OLVIT) L(IBENS) M(ERITO)}} |Inscribed on an altar. Found in [[Chester]], England.<ref name=RIB-452/> |{{sort|154|154 CE}}<ref name=RIB-452>{{RIB|452}}</ref> |Latin |{{CIL|7|168}} = {{RIB|452}} |This votive inscription to Jupiter Tanarus, by one Lucius Elufrius Praesens from [[Clunia]], was one of the [[Arundel marbles]].<ref name=RIB-452/> The inscription is now badly weathered and illegible, but was read and recorded in the 17th century. The unusual form of the god's name here (Tanarus) has led to repeated suggestions of a misspelling on the part of the engraver or misreading in the original autopsy. However, the discovery of a dedication to {{lang|la|Iovi Tanaro}} in Dalmatia has somewhat obviated these concerns.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|326}}<ref name=ALIP>{{cite web |title=Altar to Jupiter Tanarus, Chester |website=The Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions Project |url=https://latininscriptions.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/xml/AN_Chandler_3_1.xml |access-date=14 January 2025 |date=2018}}</ref> |- |{{lang|la|IN H(ONOREM) D(OMUS) D(IVINAE) DEO / TARANUCNO // ET RAVINI / QUIBUS EX / COLLATA STIPEN[DIA] / IUL(IUS) IUL[3] / C(AIUS?) COPI[US(?)? EX] / IUSS[U POSU(ERUNT?)]}} |Inscribed on an altar. Found in [[Godramstein]], Germany.<ref name=13-6094/> |{{sort|175|Second half of the 2nd century CE}}<ref name=13-6094>{{CIL|13|6094}}</ref> |Latin |{{CIL|13|6094}} | |- |{{lang|la|DEO / TARANUCNO / VERATIUS / PRIMUS / EX IUSSU}} |Inscribed on an altar. Found in [[Böckingen]], Germany.<ref name=13-6478/> |{{sort|200|Second half of the 2nd century to first half of the 3rd century CE}}<ref name=13-6478>{{CIL|13|6478}}</ref> |Latin |{{CIL|13|6478}}r\ | |- |[...] {{lang|la|VALE(N)S TARANIS}} [...] |Inscribed on a tablet. Found in [[Nicopolis ad Istrum]], Bulgaria.<ref name=3-6150/> |{{sort|227|227 CE}}<ref name=3-6150>{{CIL|3|6150}}</ref> |Latin |{{CIL|3|6150}} = {{CIL|3|7437}} = {{CIL|3|12346}} |{{lang|la|Vale(n)s Taranis}} is a personal name.<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|26}} |- |} A few different forms of the god's name are known from epigraphy. The spelling Taranus, which is much more common than Taranis in epigraphy, is an older form than Taranis.<ref name=Hainzmann/>{{rp|20}} There is the above-discussed un-metathesised form Taranus. There is also Taranuc(n)us ("son/descendant of Taranus"), known from two inscriptions of [[Germania Superior]], which attaches a patronymic suffix to Taranis's name.<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|325–326}} Different scholars have drawn different conclusions about Taranis's importance and the geographical extent of his worship from his epigraphic attestations. [[Marion Euskirchen]] calls the epigraphic evidence "scanty and altogether not unambiguous", which "suggests a rather limited significance of the god within a number of tribal federations".<ref name=Euskirchen>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Euskirchen |first=Marion |date=2006 |title=Taranis |encyclopedia=Brill's New Pauly Online |publisher=Brill. |doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1200490 }}</ref> Hofeneder, on the other hand, states that Taranis is "attested surprisingly often" for a Celtic god, a fact which "clearly indicates that he must have been a deity worshipped in large parts of ''{{ill|Keltiké|de}}'' and over a long period of time".<ref name=Hofeneder2/>{{rp|327}} ==See also== * [[Loucetios]] * [[Sucellus]] * [[Cernunnos]] ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book |last=Birkhan |first=Helmut |title=Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur |edition=2nd |publisher=Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |location=Wien |date=1997 |pages=549–551, 585–589 }} * {{cite book |last=Green |first=Miranda J. |title=The wheel as a cult-symbol in the Romano-Celtic world with special reference to Gaul and Britain |date=1984 |series=Collection Latomus |volume=183 |location=Brussels }} * {{cite journal |last1=Gricourt |first1=Daniel |last2=Hollard |first2=Dominique |title=Taranis, le dieu celtique à la roue. Remarques préliminaires |journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne |volume=16 |issue=2 |date=1990 |pages=275–320 |doi=10.3406/dha.1990.1491 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Gricourt |first1=Daniel |last2=Hollard |first2=Dominique |title=Taranis, ''caelestiorum deorum maximus'' |journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne |volume=17 |issue=1 |date=1991 |pages=343–400 |doi=10.3406/dha.1991.1919 }} * {{cite book |last=Lambrechts |first=Pierre |date=1942 |title=Contributions à l'étude des divinités celtiques |location=Bruges |publisher=De Tempel |chapter=Taranis, le dieu celtique à la roue }} * {{cite journal |last=Le Roux |first=Françoise |journal=Ogam |volume=10 |date=1958 |pages=30–39 |title=Taranis, dieu Celtique du Ciel et de l'Orage. I. Les documents épigraphiques et littéraires. L'étymologie et ses problèmes }} * {{cite journal |last=Le Roux |first=Françoise |journal=Ogam |volume=11 |date=1959 |pages=307–324 |title=Taranis, dieu Celtique du Ciel et de l'Orage. II. Taranis – Jupiter – Donar. La roue et l'anguipède. Introduction à une étude exhaustive du Jupiter Gaulois }} * {{cite journal |last=Linckenheld |first=Émile |title=Études de mythologie celtique en Lorraine |journal=Annuaire de la Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie de la Lorraine |volume=38 |date=1929 |pages=127–128}} * {{cite book |first=Martín |last=Sevilla Rodríguez |chapter=Vestigios toponímicos de culto a ''Taranis/Taranus'' en el Noroeste Peninsular |pages=101–103 |date=1981 |title=Primera reunión gallega de estudios clásicos : (Santiago-Pontevedra, 2-4 Julio 1979): ponencias y comunicaciones |location=Santiago de Compostela |publisher=Publicaciones de la Universidad de Santiago }} * {{cite journal |last=Sterckx |first=Claude |title=Le fils de Taranis: *Taranucnos = Mabon ab Mellt? |journal=Ollodagos |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=1988 |pages=21–27 }} ==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Taranis}} {{Celtic mythology (ancient)}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Gaulish gods]] [[Category:Celtic gods]] [[Category:Gods of the ancient Britons]] [[Category:Thunder gods]] [[Category:Jovian deities]] [[Category:Human sacrifice]] [[Category:Lucan]]
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