Nemetona
Encyclopedia
Nemetona is a Goddess of ancient Celtic religion
worshiped in eastern Gaul
. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the Germano
-Celtic people known as the Nemetes
; evidence of her veneration is found throughout their former territory in and around what is now Trier
, Germany
. She is also attested in Bath, England, where an altar to her was dedicated by a man of the Gallic
Treveri
people. Her name is derived from the Celtic root nemeto-, referring to sacred areas, and is related to nemeton
, a term designating Gaulish religious spaces.
Surviving inscriptions often associate Nemetona with Mars
. She is paired with "Loucetios Mars
" in the inscription at Bath, and with Mars at Trier
and Altrip
. Individual inscriptions to Nemetona and Loucetios have been recovered from the same site in Klein-Winternheim
. The Altrip site was further notable for yielding a terra cotta
depiction of the Goddess.
Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
worshiped in eastern Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the Germano
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
-Celtic people known as the Nemetes
Nemetes
The Nemetes , by modern authors sometimes improperly called Nemeti, were an ancient Germanic tribe living by the Rhine between the Palatinate and Lake Constance where Ariovistus had led them, the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC...
; evidence of her veneration is found throughout their former territory in and around what is now Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. She is also attested in Bath, England, where an altar to her was dedicated by a man of the Gallic
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
Treveri
Treveri
The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, at the latest, until their eventual absorption into the Franks...
people. Her name is derived from the Celtic root nemeto-, referring to sacred areas, and is related to nemeton
Nemeton
A nemeton was a sacred space of ancient Celtic religion. Nemeta appear to have been primarily situated in natural areas, and, as they often utilized trees, they are often interpreted as sacred groves. However, other evidence suggests that the word implied a wider variety of ritual spaces, such as...
, a term designating Gaulish religious spaces.
Surviving inscriptions often associate Nemetona with Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. She is paired with "Loucetios Mars
Loucetios
In Gallo-Roman religion, Loucetios was a Gallic god invariably identified with the Roman Mars. About a dozen inscriptions in his honour have been recovered, mainly from eastern Gaul, with a particular concentration among the Vangiones . Mars Loucetios is often accompanied by Nemetona...
" in the inscription at Bath, and with Mars at Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
and Altrip
Altrip
Altrip is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. 7 km southeast of Ludwigshafen.-References:...
. Individual inscriptions to Nemetona and Loucetios have been recovered from the same site in Klein-Winternheim
Klein-Winternheim
Klein-Winternheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
. The Altrip site was further notable for yielding a terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
depiction of the Goddess.