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Pilier des Nautes | Pillar of the Boatmen | Pariser Nautenpfeiler
The famous 'Pillar of the Boatmen' was set up between 14 and 37 CE in Lutettia/Paris (today in the Musée de Cluny). It provides us with information on a range of 'Celtic deities'; several reliefs are labelled with theonyms in Celtic:
ESUS, TARVOS TRIGARANOS, [C]ERNUNNOS, SMERT[RIOS] |
Further Reading:
For an academic discussion of the "pilier des nautes", see R. Haeussler (2012). Interpretatio indigena. |
Who? When?Discovered in Lutetia/Paris, the Pillar of the Boatmen can be dated to the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37), as we can see from the pillar's Latin inscription.
It was dedicated to a god with a Roman name - Jupiter Optimus Maximus - by the Parisian nautae, i.e. the shippers and/or traders on the river Seine. Tib(erio) Caesare | Aug(usto) Ioui Optum[o ] | Maxsumo nautae Parisiaci |
publice posierunt (!) || Eurises || Senani U[s]eiloni. |
Cernunnos
We usually identify all horned gods, and notably those who sits in a cross-legged position, as Cernunnos.
But the only attested name 'Cernunnos' comes from the Pillar of the Boatmen. And unfortunately, the letter 'C' has not survived. Moreover, we need to distinguish different types of 'horns': is it really a horned deity or a deity with antlers? Can we compare him with the horned god of Reims or the god with antlers on the Gundestrup cauldron? |
Esus
The inscription clearly identifies this god as ESUS. Deities called ESUS/AISOS are attested on some rare inscriptions:
The problem is again the meaning of the word: As Wolfgang Meid (2003) has convincingly argued that the name Esus/Aesus merely means ‘GOD’ |
Smert[rios]?
Unfortunately, this god's Celtic name is cut off due to damage to the stone. We can still read SMERT//OS, and can suggest SMERTRIOS (or Smertullos).
Here, we see him killing a serpent-like monster - a scene that resembles Hercules killing the myth. |
Tarvos Trigaranus
This relief depicts the three-horned bull that can be found in various parts of the Celtic world, in Gallo-Roman / Romano-Celtic art. Here is shown together with three cranes on his back and the willow tree.
The Celtic name on the relief identifies this bull as TARVOS TRIGARANUS. |
Volcanus
Volcanus... Does this really signify a Roman god or a local interpretation: is this the hammer/mallet god that we find across the Celtic world in Roman times...? See section on Sucellos.
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What is particularly interesting is the fact that a number of 'common Celtic deities' - or dare i say, pan-Celtic deities - is not part of the Pillar's iconography or the Pillar's inscriptions:
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