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Lusitanian mythology is the mythology of the Lusitanians, the Indo-European people of western Iberia, in the territory comprising most of modern Portugal, Extremadura and a small part of Salamanca in modern Spain..

Lusitanian deities heavily influenced all of the religious practices in western Iberia, namely also in Gallaecia. They mingled with Roman deities after Lusitania was conquered.[1]

Main pantheon[]

Of particular importance and popularity, especially following the Roman conquest, were a number of deities among whom were Endovelicus, Ataegina, Nabia and Trebaruna. Endovelicus was a god of healing and also had oracular functions. With ninety-four separate dedications,[1] he appears to have been the most important of all. Ataegina is less well defined; her name has been derived from Celtic *atte-gena perhaps meaning "reborn". Nabia may have been two separate deities, the consort of the Lusitanian equivalent of the Roman Jupiter and another associated with earth and sacred springs[2] while Trebaruna's name appears in inscriptions in the Lusitanian language associated with another, presumably male deity named Reve, whom Witczak[3] suggests may be the equivalent of the Roman Iovis or Jupiter, both names ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European *diewo-.

Bandua or Bandi is another with numerous dedications: the name is male in most inscriptions and yet the only depiction being female, it seems the name referred to numerous deities, especially since Bandi/Bandue often carries an epithet associating the name with that of a town or other location such as Bandua Roudaeco, Etobrico or Brealiacui. The god or goddess was probably the protector of the local community, often associated with the Roman Mars[4] and in one dedication is considered a god or goddess of the Vexillum or standard.[5]

Deities[]

Dii, Lares, Nymphs and Genii, were the main types of divinity worshiped, known from the Latin epigraphy, although many names are recorded in the Lusitanian or Celtiberian languages.

See also[]

References[]

Notes
  1. 1.0 1.1 Katia Maia-Bessa and Jean-Pierre Martin (1999)
  2. P. Le Roux and A. Tranoy (1974)
  3. Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak, Lódz (1999)
  4. Juan Carlos Olivares Pedreño (2005)
  5. Juan Francisco Masdeu (1688)
Sources

External links[]

Wikipedia
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Lusitanian mythology. The list of authors can be seen in the page history.
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