Anextlomarus

Anextlomarus or Anextiomarus (Gaulish: Anextlomāros, 'Great Protector') is an ancient Celtic deity. On an inscription from Arbeia (modern South Shields, England), he appears as epithet of the Roman god Apollo. A feminine form of the name, Anextlomara, is attested in a Gallo-Roman dedication from Aventicum (now Avenches, Switzerland). He probably also appears in incomplete form in a fragmentary dedication found near Le Mans, France.

Name

The Gaulish theonym Anextlomāros has been interpreted as 'great protector',[1] 'of great protection',[2] or '(he who is) great in protection'.[3] It is a compound formed with the noun anextlo- ('protection'; cf. Old Irish anacul '[act of] protecting) attached to māros ('great').[3][2][4] The feminine form Anextlomarā, attested in Aventicum (modern Avenches), is translated as 'Great Protectress'.[5]

Anextlomarus is also attested as a personal name at Langres.[6]

Attestations

South Shields

The god is equated with Apollo on an inscription on a bronze bowl from Arbeia (modern South Shields).[7] According to Helmut Birkhan, the reading Anextiomarus may be incorrect and amended to Anextlomarus.[8]

Inscription Translation Reference
Apollini Anextiomaro M(arcus) A(...) Sab(inus[?]) To Apollo Anextiomarus, Marcus A(…) Sab(inus?) (dedicated this)[7] RIB 2415.55.

Le Mans

His name is thought to survive in incomplete form in an inscription found near Le Mans, in the territory of the Aulerci Cenomani.[1]

Inscription Reference
[—] I. ANEX / [—] EIVS DEI / [— ornam] ENTIS. D CIL XIII 3190

Avanches

The feminine form Anextlomara occurs in an inscription from Aventicum (now Avenches in Switzerland), dated to the 1st–3rd centuries AD.[6]

The name of the man who commissioned this dedication, Publicius, makes it possible to determine his social status as a freed public slave serving Roman municipalities and colonies. His cognomen, Aunus, indicates a Celtic origin.[6] Augustus is to be understood here as the generic title of the reigning emperor. This double dedication suggests an intention to associate the imperial cult with a local, indigenous religious tradition. The spelling of the divine name (AneXtlomara), with an oversized X corresponding to the Greek letter chi, reflects indigenous epigraphic practices predating Roman conquest.[6]

Inscription Translation Reference
AneXtlomarae / et Aug(usto) / Public(ius) Aunus To Anextlomara and to the Emperor. Publicius Aunus (erected this monument)[6] H. Finke, Nachtrag zu CIL XIII, in B.R.G.K., 17, 1927, n. 94

References

  1. ^ a b Maier 1997, p. 16.
  2. ^ a b Delamarre 2003, pp. 49, 218–219.
  3. ^ a b Markey 2003, pp. 295–296.
  4. ^ Lambert 2008, pp. 91–92.
  5. ^ Poux, Matthieu; Demierre, Matthieu (2022). Le sanctuaire de Corent (Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne): Vestiges et rituels. CNRS Éditions. p. 623. ISBN 978-2-271-14176-7.
  6. ^ a b c d e Frei-Stolba & Bielman 1996, pp. 87–89.
  7. ^ a b Collingwood & Wright 1991, p. 58.
  8. ^ Birkhan 1997, p. 619; see also Collingwood & Wright 1991, p. 58, for doubts about reading i rather than l in the inscription, in light of other attestations of the name.
Bibliography
  • Birkhan, Helmut (1997). Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-7001-2609-6.
  • Collingwood, Robin George; Wright, R. P. (1991). The Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Instrumentum domesticum. Clarendon Press.
  • Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
  • Frei-Stolba, Regula; Bielman, Anne (1996). Musée romain d'Avenches: les inscriptions : textes, traduction et commentaire. Association Pro Aventico, Université de Lausanne. ISBN 978-2-9700112-0-0.
  • Lambert, Pierre-Yves (2008). "Gaulois Solitumaros". Études celtiques. 36 (1): 89–101. doi:10.3406/ecelt.2008.2303.
  • Maier, Bernhard (1997). Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85115-660-6.
  • Markey, Tom L. (2003). "Gaulish Anextlomārus Revisited". Historische Sprachforschung / Historical Linguistics. 116 (2): 295–301. ISSN 0935-3518. JSTOR 40849195.
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