In Gallo-Roman religion, Luxovios, Latinized as Luxovius, was the god of the waters of Luxeuil, worshiped in Gaul. He was a consort of Bricta. The thermal spring sanctuary at Luxeuil provided evidence of the worship of other deities, including the sky-horseman who bears a solar wheel, and Sirona, another deity associated with healing springs.
Inscriptions
Luxovius is recorded in the following two inscriptions, both from Luxeuil-les-Bains :
- [Lus]soio / et Brictae / Divixti/us Cons/tans / v(otum) s(olvit) <l=T>(ibens) m(erito)
"To Lusso(v)ios and Bricta, Divixtius Constans freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow." (CIL 13, 05425)
- Luxovio / et Brixtae / G(aius) Iul(ius) Fir/manus / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)
"To Luxovios and Brixta, Gaius Julius Firmans freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow." (AE 1951, 00231; CIL 13, 05426)
Etymology
The name Luxovios implies light symbolism. This may indicate that the god was a deity of both light and curative spring waters, two elements that were strongly linked in the Celtic world.[1]
References
- ^ *Zeidler, Jürgen (2003). "On the etymology of Grannus". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 53 (1): 87–88. doi:10.1515/ZCPH.2003.77. ISSN 0084-5302.
Bibliography
- Année Epigraphique volume 1951
- Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), volume 13, Tres Galliae
- Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997
This page was last edited on 9 September 2023, at 21:28