|
The Iron Age
Religion
There are three
principal sources of information which allow us to draw near to the populace of
Asturies in the Iron Age: literary mentions from writers in Greek or Latin;
epi-graphic evidence, and in some cases, iconographic evidence. Strabo, the
Greek geographer, mentions a cult to a nameless divinity venerated by all-night
dances at the doors of the wors-hippers' houses on moonlit nights. Nowadays,
some writers draw our at- tention to the importance of a cult to the Roman
Jupiter in Asturies and Galicia(more than seventy percent of the inscriptions
appear in the Celtic Hispania), perhaps because Jupiter's universal character
allowed him to personify the nameless gods of the indiginous population.
Today, however, thanks to epigraphs, we do have various contemporary
place-names which are deri-ved from the gods of the time: Evedutoniu Barciaecu,
Reus Pecius Paramecus, lupiter Candamius, and the very interesting Nimmedus
Seddiagus, the first name of which, Nimmedus, has been connected to the Celtic
word Nemeton (open air sanctuary); and even more abundant names which have
survived in toponomy to the present day (Deva, Navia, Taranis, Taranes,
Taraniellu, Taranilla, Tdrafiu),who together with Esus and Teutatis forms the
fundamental divine triad venerated by the Celts, Belerms (Belefio), Vindormus
(Benduefiu, Lena), etc.
We can also appreciate the importance of astral symbolism in the iconography
which has survived, in waxing moons, stars and discs, spoked swastikas or
swastikas formed from horses, all of which direct our thoughts to "the
final journey".
Last /
Next
|
|
|