Visucius
Gallo Roman god identified with Mercury
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Visucius_distribution.png/220px-Visucius_distribution.png)
Visucius was a Gallo-Roman god, usually identified with Mercury . He was worshipped primarily in the east of Gaul , around Trier and on the Rhine ; his name is recorded on about ten dedicatory inscriptions. One such inscription has also been found in Bordeaux . Visucius is, along with Gebrinius and Cissonius , among the most common indigenous epithets of the Gaulish Mercury. [1]
The name has sometimes been interpreted as meaning "of the ravens" [2] or "knowledgeable"; [3] cf. the Proto-Celtic roots * wesāko- 'raven, grebe' (cf. Old Irish disyllabic fiach , Welsh gwyach ) and * witsu- 'knowing'. [4] [5]
The variant or mistaken spelling Visuclus is also attested. [6]
In a Latin inscription from Rheinzabern , Germany ( CIL 13, 5991) dedicated to Jupiter , Apollo , and Visucius, the name SOLI T[...] appears after Visucius, perhaps originally standing for Solitumarus , an epithet of Mercury's in an inscription (AE 2001, 1388; AE 2008, 901) found at Chateaubleau , France. [6]
Another inscription is co-dedicated to Sancta Visucia , as well as to Mercurius Visucius. [7] This goddess, apparently a companion or analogue of Visucius, has sometimes been likened to Rosmerta or Maia , who also accompany Mercury on many Gaulish dedications.
One inscription dedicated to Visugius has also been found at Agoncillo in Spain ; this may perhaps refer to the same deity. [6]
References
- ↑ Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Paris: Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-200-7 .
- ↑ Mary Jones. "Uisucius" Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia, 2004.
- ↑ MERCURIUS - L'inventore di tutte le arte from Bifröst (in the original, Sapiente ).
- ↑ Matasovic, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Brill, 2008, pp. 415-416
- ↑ Proto-Celtic—English lexicon and English—Proto-Celtic lexicon . University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See also this page for background and disclaimers.)
- 1 2 3 Table of results for Visucius , Visuclus , and Visugius from L'Arbre Celtique.
- ↑ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XIII:6404, transcribed on Bifröst .