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Belisama (Gaulish Belesama; epigraphically {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is a Celtic goddess. She was identified by Roman commentators with Minerva by interpretatio romana.
NameEdit
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The Gaulish theonym Belesama has been traditionally interpreted as meaning 'the very bright', stemming from the Indo-European root *bʰelH- ('white, shining'; cf. Lith. báltas 'white', Greek φαλόσ phalós 'white', Arm. bal 'pallor', goth. bala 'grey') attached to the superlative suffix *-isamā. As for Belenos, however, this theory has come under increasing criticism in contemporary scholarship.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Xavier Delamarre notes that the proposed cognates stemming from *bʰelH- do not seem to connote 'shining', but rather 'white, grey, pale', and proposes to derive the name from the Gaulish root belo- ('strong, powerful'), rendering Belesama as 'the very strong' (cf. Sanskrit baliṣṭhaḥ 'the strongest').Template:Sfn Alternatively, Peter Schrijver has conjectured a connection with the stem for 'henbane', *beles-, attached to an unknown suffix -ma, by comparing the name with the Gaulish theonym Belisa-maros. According to him, this is "formally attractive and semantically possible (if *Belesama = Lat. Minerva medica) but not supported by direct evidence".Template:Sfn
The toponyms Beleymas, Bellême, Balesmes, Blesmes, Blismes, and Velesmes are based on the theonym.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The name also appears in various river names of Gauls and Britain, including Belisama (River Ribble) and Le Blima (Tarn).Template:Sfn<ref name="MacKillop">Template:Harvnb, s.v. Belisama.</ref> The Galatian personal name Blesamius, from an earlier *Belesamios, may also be added to the comparison.Template:Sfn
AttestationsEdit
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A Gaulish inscription found at Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence (RIG G-172) shows that a nemeton was dedicated to her:<ref>Michel Lejeune. Recueil des Inscriptions Gauloises (RIG) 1: Inscriptions Gallo-Grèques. G-153.</ref>
- СΕΓΟΜΑΡΟС/ ΟΥΙΛΛΟΝΕΟС/ ΤΟΟΥΤΙΟΥС/ ΝΑΜΑΥСΑΤΙС/ ΕΙѠΡΟΥ ΒΗΛΗ/СΑΜΙ СΟСΙΝ/ ΝΕΜΗΤΟΝ
- Segomaros Ouilloneos tooutious Namausatis eiōrou Bēlēsami sosin nemēton
- "Segomarus Uilloneos, citizen [toutius] of Namausus, dedicated this sanctuary to Belesama"Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The identification with Minerva in Gallo-Roman religion is established in a Latin inscription from Saint-Lizier (anciently Consoranni), Ariège department (CIL XIII, 8):<ref>Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) 13: Tres Galliae et Germanae. 0008</ref>
- Minervae / Belisamae / sacrum / Q(uintus) Valerius / Montan[us] / [e]x v[oto?]
The presence of the goddess in Ancient Britain is more difficult to establish. Based on Ptolemy's reference to a "Belisama estuary" (Βελισαμα), River Ribble in England seems to have been known by the name Belisama in Roman times.Template:Sfn<ref name="MacKillop" /><ref>Ronald Hutton (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 218. Hutton also suggests that the name of Samlesbury may derive from a corruption of the name.</ref>
TheoriesEdit
The attestation of the theonym as a river name may indicate that she was a lake- and river-goddess.<ref name="MacKillop" /> Belisama has also been speculatively claimed as companion of Belenos, whose name seems to contain the same root.Template:Sfn
See alsoEdit
- 178 Belisana, asteroid named after the goddess
ReferencesEdit
- Bibliography