Ianuaria

Ianuaria is a Celtic goddess revered at the Burgundian sanctuary of Beire-le-chatel, a spring shrine at which images of Apollo, triple-horned bulls and doves were also dedicated. A small stone statuette from the temple depicts a young girl with curly hair, clad in a heavy-pleated coat and holding a set of pan-pipes. On the base of the statue is inscribed 'Deae Ianuariae'. Nothing else is known about this goddess. She may have been a healing goddess: the spring was a healing shrine, and it is known that Ianuaria's companion god Apollo was a healing god in both Celtic and Classical contexts. It is also possible that, since Apollo was a patron of music, and the goddess was depicted as holding panpipes, she was a goddess of music, which was perhaps perceived as a means of inducing the healing sleep.

References

Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.