Nemetona, or 'she of the sacred grove', is a
Celtic goddess with roots in northeastern
Gaul. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the
Germano-
Celtic people known as the
Nemetes;[2][3] evidence of her veneration is found in their former territory along the Middle Rhine[1][4] as well in the Altbachtal sanctuary in present-day
Trier,
Germany.[3][2][5] She is also attested in
Bath, England, where an altar to her was dedicated by a man of the
GallicTreveri people.[2][6]
Etymology
Nemetona's name is derived from the Celtic root nemeto-, referring to consecrated religious spaces, particularly sacred groves.[3][2] She has been considered a guardian goddess of open-air places of worship.[7] The same root is found in the names of the Romano-British goddess
Arnemetia[2] and the
Matres Nemetiales (known from an inscription in Grenoble).[3]
Inscriptions
Surviving inscriptions often associate Nemetona with
Mars (sometimes given the Celtic name
Loucetius). She is paired with "
Loucetius Mars" in the inscription at Bath, and with "Mars" at
Trier and
Altrip.[2][5][1] Separate inscriptions to Nemetona and to Loucetius have been recovered from the same site in
Klein-Winternheim near
Mainz.[8][9] The Altrip site was further notable for yielding a
terra cotta depiction of the goddess.[2]
[In h(onorem) d(omus)] d(ivinae) Marti Lou/[cetio et] Victoriae Neme/[tonae] M(arcus) A(urelius) Senillus Seve/[rus b(ene)f(iciarius) l]egati urnam cum / [sortib]us et phiala(m) ex / [vo]to posuit l(ibens) l(aetus) m(erito) / [Grat]o et Seleuco co(n)s(ulibus) / X Kal(endas) Maias
"In honour of the
divine house, to Mars Loucetius and Victoria Nemetona, Marcus Aurelius Senillus Severus, a protégé of the
general, set up an urn with its
lots and serving-dish in free, cheerful, and well-deserved fulfilment of his vow on the tenth day before the Kalends of May in the consulship of
Gratus and
Seleucus (22 April 221)."
Noémie Beck considers the identification of Nemetona with
Nemain to be "inaccurate and irrelevant".[10]
Beck, Noémie (2009-12-04). Goddesses in Celtic Religion, Cult and Mythology: A Comparative Study of Ancient Ireland, Britain and Gaul (Ph.D.). Université Lumière Lyon 2, University College of Dublin.
H. Finke (1927), "Neue Inschriften", Berichte der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission17, 1-107 and 198–231.
Jufer, Nicole; Luginbühl, Thierry (2001). Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Editions Errance.
Paula Powers Coe, "Nemetona", p. 1351 in Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
External links
Joanna Van Der Hoeven.
"Nemetona". OBOD website. Retrieved 2016-10-19.