Gallo-Roman religion was a fusion of
Roman religious forms and modes of worship with
Gaulish deities from
Celtic polytheism. It was a selective acculturation.
Deities
In some cases, Gaulish deity names were used as epithets for Roman deities, as with
Lenus Mars or
Jupiter Poeninus. In other cases, Roman gods were given Gaulish female partners – for example,
Mercury was paired with
Rosmerta and
Sirona was partnered with
Apollo. In at least one case – that of the equine goddess
Epona – a native Celtic goddess was also adopted by Romans.
Eastern
mystery religion penetrated Gaul early on. These included the cults of
Orpheus,
Mithras,
Cybele, and
Isis.
The
imperial cult, centred primarily on the
numen of
Augustus, came to play a prominent role in public religion in Gaul, most dramatically at the pan-Gaulish ceremony venerating Rome and Augustus at the Condate Altar near
Lugdunum on 1 August.
Worship
Generally Roman worship practices such as offerings of incense and animal sacrifice, dedicatory inscriptions, and naturalistic statuary depicting deities in anthropomorphic form were combined with specific Gaulish practices such as
circumambulation around a temple. This gave rise to a characteristic Gallo-Roman
fanum, identifiable in archaeology from its concentric shape.
Sources
- Burnand, Y. (1999). "Notes sur le vocabulaire épigraphique de la représentation de la divinité en Gaule romaine" in Signa deorum : L'iconographie divine en Gaule romaine.......
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