Search

[German version] (Celtic compound name, [1. 120; 2. 291]). Cousin of Vercingetorix and leader of the Arverni. V. was one of the four army leaders who commanded the Gaulish army sent to relieve Alesia in 52 BC. After the defeat of the Gauls he was captured while fleeing (Caes. B Gall. 7,76,3 f.; 7,83,6; 7,85,4; 7,88,4). Commius; Eporedorix [2]; Viridomarus Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans 2 Schmidt.

[German version] (Dubnovellaunus; Celtic composite name: ‘he who sees the world’? [1. 196-197; 272-277]). King of some tribes in eastern Kent c. 15 BC ─ c. AD 15 [2. no. 275-291A]. Around the beginning of our era he conquered the territory of the Trinovantes north of the Thames and established himself in Camulodunum. In c. AD 10 he was driven out by Cunobellinus. It is probably this event that caused him to flee to Augustus, who mentions him in his Res Gestae (R. Gest. div. Aug. ch. 32).  Camulodunum;  Cunobellinus Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans 2 R. P. Mack, The Coin…

Celtic composite name, ‘Warrior King’ [1. 73-74; 2. 172]. [German version] [1] Pro-Roman chief of the Treveri A pro-Roman chief of the  Treveri, who fought for the tribal leadership against his father-in-law  Indutiomarus. Despite initial successes of C. and his followers, Indutiomarus was able to have him declared a public enemy in 54 BC and to confiscate his estates. After the Treveri's defeat and Indutiomarus' death in 53 BC, Caesar rewarded C. for his loyalty by granting him the highest rank in the tribe (Caes. B Gall. 5,3,2-5; 5,4,3; 5,6,3; 5,57,2; 6,8,9). Spickermann, Wolfgang …

[German version] (Κάμμα; Kámma). Wife of the Galatian tetrarch Sinatus, priestess of Artemis in the 2nd cent. BC. Plutarch notes her as an example of marital love and fidelity because she poisoned the murderer of her husband,  Sinorix, who had forced her to marry him, and herself in the temple (Plut. Mor. 257e-258c; 768b-e; Polyaenus, Strat. 8,39). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] (Ecritognatus). Celtic composite name with variant readings: ‘knows trembling’ or ‘born to attack’ [1. 78-79; 2. 185]. Arvernian nobleman, who in 52 BC extolled his fellow combatants in besieged Alesia to hold out when the absence of the Gaulish relief army caused serious provisioning difficulties. Caesar (B Gall. 7,77,2-16) relates the full wording of C.'s speech as an example of Gaulish cruelty because he called for eating the bodies of the old and the infirm rather than falling into eternal Roman servitude.  Alesia Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 …

(Viridomaros). Celtic compound name: 'strong hero'? [1. 125]. [German version] [1] Insubran prince, c. 3rd cent. BC Prince of the Insubres, who fell at Clastidium in 222 BC at the hands of the consul M. Claudius [I 11] Marcellus (Liv. Per. 20) [2. 379 f.]. Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) [German version] [2] Haeduan, soldier in Caesar Young man from the tribe of the Haedui of lowly origin who, by the patronage of Diviciacus [2], attained Caesar's high regard. Together with Eporedorix [2], in 52 BC he uncovered Litaviccus' conspiracy. Later he wa…

[German version] Name derived from an uncertain Indo-European root [1. 118-119]. Legendary king of the Curetes (?) in  Tartessus, who allegedly invented honey gathering. He repeatedly attempted to have his grandson Habis, who was born after a slip by his daughter, killed by wild animals but they spared and even nursed him. G. recognized his growing grandchild and made him his successor (Iust. 44,4,1-14).  Exposure, myths of Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 M. Lourdes Albertos Firmat, La onomastica personal primitiva, 1966. H. J. Rose, Griech. Mythologie, 51978, 2…

[German version] Celtic name (‘nicely dressed’?) [1. 335-336]. Caesar installed the Atrebatian C. as king in 56 BC after conquering his tribe. When C. was sent to Britain in 55 BC to persuade the local tribes of entering an alliance with Caesar, he was first put into chains but released upon Caesar's arrival. He served Caesar as leader of the cavalry and as negotiator in Britain and in Gallia and in return was granted rulership over the  Morini and others (Caes. B Gall. 4,21,6-8; 27,2-3; 35,1; 5,22,3; 6,6,4; 7,76,1). In 52 BC, C. changed sides and attempted to come to the aid of  V…

[German version] (Καμβαύλης; Kambaúlēs). Leader of a Celtic army that invaded Thrace in 281 BC but who had to retreat from there (Paus. 10,19,5-6). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] Minor king of the  Boii with a Celtic name [1. 184]. In 196 BC he killed the consul M.  Claudius [I 12] Marcellus (Liv. 33,36,4-8), who was operating in the Boian region in northern Italy. Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Schmidt.

[German version] Celtic name of uncertain origin [1]. Leader (?) of the  Senones, who in 53 BC called for an unsuccessful uprising against the Romans and was thereafter executed (Caes. B Gall. 6,4; 44). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans, 297 f. E. Klebs, s. v. A., RE 1, 151.

[German version] (Βόλγιος; Bólgios). Celtic name, cf. Irish Bolg ‘lightning’ [1.88], leader of the Galatian Celts. He invaded Macedonia in late 280 and early 279 BC and destroyed the small army of King  Ptolemaeus Ceraunus, who was killed in the process (Just. Epit. 24,4-5; Paus. 10,19,5-7). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 H. Rankin, Celts and the Classical World, 1987. Holder, 1, 384.

[German version] A Haedui nobleman with a name which is probably Celtic [1.472f.; 2.1678-1682], enemy of the Romans. In 51 BC he was taken prisoner by T. Labienus in a cavalry skirmish in Treveri territory (Caes. B Gall. 8,45,2). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans 2 Holder 2.

[German version] (Adietuanus, Adiatonnus, Adcatuannus, Adsatuannus). Celtic compound name from ad-ia(n)tu- ‘zealously striving (for rulership)’ [3. 45-47; 5. I 41,42; III 507]. Commander of the tribe of the Sotiates based in Gallia  Aquitania, who in 56 BC defended the oppidum of the tribe, Sot(t)ium, against P. Licinius Crassus. After a failed sortie attempt with 600 of his comrades ( soldurii), A. had to capitulate to the Romans (Caes. B Gall. 3,22,1; 3,22,4). A. is also mentioned in a fragment by Nicolaos of Damascus (Ἀδιάτομος; Adiátomos) (FGrH II A 80 [89]) recorded by At…

[German version] Nervian noble (Nervii) who defected to the Roman side and helped Q. Tullius [I 11] Cicero during the siege of his winter camp  in 54 BC to send reports to Caesar (Caes. Gall. 5,45; 5,49). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography Evans, 385 f.

[German version] (Druides, Druida). Latinization of the Celtic stem *drui(d), ‘the very wise’; the ambiguity with the Greek δρῦς ( drys) ‘oak’ was apparently intentional (cf. Plin. HN 16,249) [1. 1321f.; 2. 430]. They were first referred to by the Peripatetic Sotion 200/170 BC (Diog. Laert. 1,1,6f.), later references are based at least in part on the lost historical work by Posidonius. According to them, the druidae formed, together with the bardi and   vates , a hierarchically organized branch of the Celtic priestly caste, with an orally-transmitt…

(Βρέννος; Brénnos). Celtic titular name, from the Breton brennin ‘King’ [1. 105-108]. [German version] [1] Gallian prince, defeated the Romans at the Allia, 390 BC In the Roman annalistic tradition, prince of the Gallic  Senones, who in 390 BC decisively defeated the Romans at the Allia and occupied and pillaged Rome. When the Romans besieged on the Capitol tried to negotiate the withdrawal of the Gauls for 1,000 pounds of gold, B. threw his sword on the scales as well, saying vae victis (Liv. 5,38-49; Plut. Camillus 18-30). Rome's destruction created the bogey of ‘barbaric …

[German version] Celtic compound name from -ico- [1. 330-331]. Son of Catamantaledes, king of the Sequani, ‘the one who defeats the enemy in battle’ [1. 66-69; 2. 166-167]. C. was persuaded by  Orgetorix in 59 BC to seize royal power in his house as his father had apparently died. The triple alliance between C., Orgetorix and  Dumnorix failed because of the death of Orgetorix (Caes. B Gall 1,3,4). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans. 2 Schmidt. H. Bannert, s.v. C., RE Suppl. 15, 84-87.

[German version] Compound name of unclear origin with the Celtic prefix Ad-. Prince of the Chatti, who in a letter to the Roman senate offered to poison  Arminius (Tac. Ann. 2,88). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography Evans, 128-130. E. Koestermann, Tac. ann. 1, 1963 A. v. Rhoden, s. v. A. RE 1, 359 Schmidt, 112.

[German version] Celtic compound name (‘rich in land’?) [1. 48-49; 2. 124]. Prince of the  Eburones, freed by Caesar from the rule of the  Aduatuci and at first ally of the Romans. In 54 BC he destroyed together with Catuvolcus 15 newly recruited Roman cohorts under the legates Q. Titurius Sabinus and L. Aurunculeius Cotta on the march to the encampment of Q. Tullius  Cicero by convincing Sabinus to leave the secure winter encampment in the Eburonian territory (Caes. B Gall. 5,27,2-11). A. therefo…

[German version] Germanic female seer who played a significant part in the Batavian Revolt in AD 69/70 ( Iulius [II 43] Civilis). According to Tacitus, she was part of the Bructeri tribe and lived in a high tower on the River Lippe ( Lupia; Tac. Hist. 4,61,2; 5,22,3). Among the tribes to the east of the Rhine, she was worshipped as divine and was invoked as an arbiter (Tac. Germ. 8,2 f.; Tac. Hist. 4,65). Petillius [II 1] Cerialis made her a secret offer of peace. Tacitus gives a satirical account of how some of the Batavi in oppositio…

[German version] (Ὀρτιάγων; Ortiágōn). In 189 BC, he was the prince of the Galatian Tolistobogii tribe and husband of Chiomara (cf. [1. 151]). Together with Comboiomarus and Gaulotus, O. was defeated by Cn. Manlius [I 24] Vulso on the mountains of Magaba and Olympus [10]. He was able to escape and then clearly aspired to rule over the whole of Galatia in the Hellenistic manner. Polybius (22,21) praises O. as a generous, noble, intelligent and brave man. In 184/3 BC, Eumenes [3] II of Pergamon appea…

[German version] Celtic name; prince of the Insubres. In 194 BC, D. led an army over the Po, but then endured a crushing defeat by the proconsul L.  Valerius Flaccus at Mediolanum (Liv. 34,46,1). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] (Celtic compound name: 'the one who fights all (enemies)'). King (?) of the Nitiobroges and father of Teutomatus, who had received the title 'friend' from the Roman Senate (Caes. B Gall. 7,31,5). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography Evans, 106.

[German version] ( Toutomatus; Celtic name: 'one who is good for his tribe' [1. 117 f.]). King of the Nitiobroges, son of Ollovico. T. supported Vercingetorix at Gergovia in 52 BC, but was able to escape a surprise attack by the Romans only by fleeing (Caes. Gall. 7,31,5; 7,46,5). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans.

[German version] Celtic name, see Diviciacus [1]. Commanded the  Helvetii when they defeated L.  Cassius [I 11] Longinus in 107 BC. In 58 BC he was spokesman for the embassy sent to Caesar to make terms for ending the war after the defeat on the Saône (Caes. B Gall. 1,13-14). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] Tacitus describes the cult of the mother deity N., adding as his own interpretation: id est terra mater (Tac. Germ. 40,2). He states that N. is venerated by seven tribes (the so-called Nerthus peoples), whom he includes among the Suebi living to the east of the Elbe. They probably lived in western Mecklenburg and were part of the Ingaevones [3. 460]. On an island (probably in the Danish Baltic Sea) he locates a sacred grove containing a cultic wagon concealed by covers. Only one priest ( sacerdos) is allowed to touch it. The goddess’s solemn procession, linked to …

[German version] (Λουτάριος; Loutários also Λουτούριος; Loutoúrios). Galatian tribal prince with a Celtic name, as the leader of the Trocmi he was co-commander with Leonnorius. At the Hellespont the two princes parted. Leonnorius moved back to Byzantium and L. crossed over to Asia Minor with the aid of captured ships. Nicomedes I of Bithynia's offer then led to the reunification of the two Celtic groups (Liv. 38,16,5-9). Galatia Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography K. Strobel, Die Galater, vol. 1, 1996, 236-257.

[German version] Compound Celtic name, ‘descendant of the (god) Camulus’ [1.60-61; 2.160]. An Aulercan, who in 52 BC lead the  Parisii and their neighbouring tribes against T.  Labienus, but fell in a battle at the Seine (Caes. B Gall. 7,57-62). A gold coin of the  Arverni was possibly dedicated to him [3.419, fig. 454; 4.726-727]. Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans 2 Schmidt. 3 A. Blanchet, Traité monn. gaul., 1905 4 Holder, 1.

[German version] Cicero (Brut. 46,172) mentions a T. from Placentia, who sought to outdo his friend Q. Granius [I 2] with his wit. The cognomen is probably borrowed from the Celtic [1]. Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Holder, vol. 2, 1851 f.

[German version] (Ἐποσόγνατος; Eposógnatos). Celtic name; pro-Roman tetrarch of the Galatian Tolistobogii [1. 155]. E. remained loyal to Eumenes II of Pergamum and did not support Antiochus [5] the Great. For that reason, C.  Manlius Vulso asked him during his campaign against the Galatians in 189 BC to talk the Tolistobogii into voluntary submission, but without success (Pol. 21,37; Liv. 38,18).  Tolistobogii Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 L. Weisgerber, Galatische Sprachreste, in: Natalicium. FS J. Geffken, 1931.

[German version] According to Caes. B Gall. 1,16,5 the highest magistrate of the Haedui, who was elected annually by the nobility and, as the senior judge, held authority over life and death. Caes. B Gall. 7,32,3 characterizes his power as 'royal' ( regia potestas). He was not allowed to leave the tribal territory. If there was an interregnum, the priests presided over the election of the new V., but another member of the same family could not be elected during the lifetime of a V. (Caes. Gall. 7,33,2-3). There was also a council of nob…

[German version] (Dubnoreix; Celtic composite name: ‘world king’ [1. 85-86]). Prince of the Haedui, brother of Diviciacus and son-in-law of Orgetorix, with whom he is supposed to have planned the conquest of the whole of Gaul (Caes. B Gall. 1,3). D. was the most powerful man in the tribe; he possessed his own mounted troop, and by means of gifts and matrimonial connections enjoyed great influence among foreign tribes, so that in 58 BC he was able to help the Helvetii to cross the territory of the S…

[German version] (Albrinia, Aurinia). Germanic compound name (‘the one furnished with the secret knowledge of the albs’?) [1. 553], probably not a personal name, but rather a designation for a visionary woman. According to Tac. Germ. 8, A. was worshipped almost as a god by the Germans together with others even before  Veleda. Several such visionaries are transmitted in literature; thus Ganna,  Waluburg and other women who are not named (Suet. Vit. 14; Cass. Dio 55,1). Their meaning is often overstated; they had sooner a low function in cult and in society [2. 151-162]. Spickermann, Wol…

[German version] Celt whose name is a compound from boduo and -gnatus ‘he who was born of the battle crow’ [1.461; 2.60; 3.152]. Commander-in-chief of the Nervii in the Belgian tribes' battle against Caesar in 57 BC (Caes. B Gall. 2,23,4). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Holder, 1 2 Evans 3 Schmidt E. Klebs, s.v. B., RE 3, 594 Whatmough, 214.

[German version] Celtic name compound with mall-, ‘slow [1. 236]. Together with Verritus, M. asked in Rome in AD 58 as king (?) of the Frisii for permission to resettle the tribe in Roman territory, took a seat in the theatre of Pompey among the senators and was given presents by Nero along with citizenship (Tac. Ann. 13,54; Suet. Claud. 25). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Schmidt.

Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) [German version] A. Druids in History (CT) The druid figure best known at present, Getafix (Fr. Panoramix; Ger. Miraculix), is distinguished by the fact that he does not divulge any of his secret teachings. And not only that - - apart from the traditional cutting of mistletoe with a golden sickle passed down to us in Pliny (nat. 16,95) - - Getafix is never observed indirectly or directly during a cult activity, nor does he function as a judge in his village. Clad in white an…

[German version] ( Toutomotulus). King of the Celtic Salluvii, who fled to the Allobroges in 121 BC. They supported him against his tribe, but were defeated by Cn. Domitius [I 3] Ahenobarbus (Liv. Per. 61). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] Celtic (?) name of a leader of the Suebi who commanded a large tribal army together with his brother  Nasua in 58 BC [1. 438-440]. The attempt to cross the Middle Rhine and to aid  Ariovistus against Caesar failed because Ariovist was defeated in Alsace and subsequently fled across the Rhine (Caes. B Gall. 1,37,3; 1,54,1). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans. H. Bannert, s.v. C., RE Suppl. 15, 88-89 G. Walser, Caesar und die Germanen, 1956, 49.

Celtic composite name from cot -- ‘old’ (Evans, 340-342). [German version] [1] Leader of an army of Carnutes Leader of an army of Carnutes, who in 52 BC attacked and murdered Roman merchants in Cenabum together with Conconnetodumnus. As a deterrent, Caesar had him cruelly executed (Caes. B. Gall. 7,3; 8,38). Conconnetodumnus Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] (Βρογίταρος; Brogítaros). Celtic compound name from brogi ‘land’ and taros ‘bull’ [1. 276f.; 2. 159]. Tetrarch of the Galatian  Trocmi (OGIS 349), husband of Adobogiona II, daughter of  Deiotarus I. P. In 58 BC, as people's tribune,  Clodius [I 4] Pulcher sold him for a great deal of money the priestly office of Magna Mater of  Pessinus and the title of king, which he had accepted in a plebiscite (Cic. Sest. 26,56; Har. resp. 28-29; Dom. 50,129; Ad Q. fr. 2,7 (9); Str. 12,5,2). The title …

[German version] (Greek Μάγιλος; Mágilos). Celtic name from maglo-, ‘prince’ [1. 234]. Chief of the Boii who offered himself to Hannibal [4] in 217 BC as an ally and leader for the crossing of the Alps (Pol. 3,44,5; Liv. 21,29,6). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Schmidt.

[German version] Celtic name compound from cavar ‘powerful, strong’ [1. 331-332]. Noble Aeduan, as a successor of  Litaviccus in 52 BC commander of an infantry contingent of his tribe for Caesar. C. defected to Vercingetorix and was captured in battle together with Cotus and  Eporedorix (Caes. B Gall. 7,67,7). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 Evans. H. Bannert, s.v. C., RE Suppl. 15, 87-88.

[German version] (Λεωννώριος/ Leōnnṓrios; Λεωννόριος/ Leōnnórios; Latin Lonorius). Galatian tribal prince; his name is Celtic. As leader of the Tolistobogii along with Lutarius, L. led a nomadic group of c. 20,000 people, who had broken away from the army of Brennus [2] in 279/278 and moved through Thrace and the Propontis and pressed Byzantium. The Celts were able to force many of the cities of the Propontis and the Thracian Chersonesus [1] to pay tributes, but were then taken on as mercenaries by Nicomedes I of Bithyni…

[German version] Celtic name compound (see Cavarillus). King of the Senones, appointed by Caesar as a successor to his brother Moritasgus. In 54 BC, condemned to death by his own tribe, he had to flee. A year later he did, however, again lead a Senonian cavalry contingent on Caesar's side against  Ambiorix (Caes. B Gall. 5,54,2; 6,5,2). Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] SR is the English term for the Romanisation of German scholarship, whereas in its original sense English Romanization is Romanisierung in German. While the latter emphasizes an active and intentional policy of the Romans in respect of peoples they ruled over, SR describes a dynamic process also implying that socially significant groups in Roman provinces have the desire to adopt the Latin language and the culture, lifestyles and religious practices of the Romans [1. 147 ff.]. The concept of SR refl…

[German version] A Boian; in AD 69, as ‘self-styled saviour and divine protector’ of Gaul, he instigated an uprising in the territory of the Haedui; this was put down by Vitellius. M. was executed (Tac. Hist. 2,61). Haedui; Boii Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)

[German version] Celtic name containing the morpheme sego-, 'power, strength, audacity' (cf. also CIL II 2871: Secovesus [1. 254-255; 2. 1452]). Brother of Bellovesus and son of Ambigatus' sister. According to the Celtic migration legend recorded in Livy (5,34,3-6), it fell to S.' lot to advance with his group eastwards into the Hercynian Forest (Hercynia silva) in about 600 BC. According to ancient tradition, modern southern Germany was as a consequence settled by Celts. The historical content of this legend is highly disputed. Celts Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography…

[German version] Celtic name of a young nobleman of the Haedui [2. 360-362] who was persuaded by the vergobretus Convictolitavis in 52 BC to desert Caesar. Through lies, L. then got a contingent of 10,000 men under his command to join the Arverni. However, Caesar pre-empted L.'s military campaign with four legions and cavalry and was able to drive the rebels back to the Roman camp. L. then fled to Gergovia (Caes. B Gall. 7,37-40; 54,1; 55,4; 67,7; Cass. Dio 40,37,1-3). Coins [1. 436-437]. Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) Bibliography 1 J. R. Colbert de Beaulieu, Les monnaies gauloises au …

[German version] (Draptes). Celtic or pre-Celtic name; leader of the Senones (Evans, 445-446). Together with the Cadurcian Lucterius, D. tried to invade the Gallic provincia in 51 BC. Pursued by Roman forces, the Gallic troops entrenched themselves at Uxellodunum. In an attempt to resupply the city, D. was blocked and captured by C. Caninius Rebilus. He thereupon committed suicide (Caes. B Gall. 8,30-36; 44,2; Oros. 6,11,20-22).  Senones;  Uxellodunum Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)