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Taranis (sometimes Taranus or Tanarus) is a Celtic thunder god attested in literary and epigraphic sources.
The Roman poet Lucan's epic Pharsalia mentions Taranis, Esus, and Teutates as gods to whom the Gauls sacrificed humans. This rare mention of Celtic gods under their native names in a Latin text has been the subject of much comment. Almost as often commented on are the scholia to Lucan's poem (early medieval, but relying on earlier sources) which tell us the nature of these sacrifices: in particular, that the victims of Taranis were burned in a hollow wooden container. This sacrifice has been compared with the wicker man described by Caesar.
These scholia also tell us that Taranis was perhaps either equated by the Romans with Dis Pater, Roman god of the underworld, or Jupiter, Roman god of weather. Scholars have preferred the latter equation to the former, as Taranis is also equated with Jupiter in inscriptions. Both identifications have been studied against Caesar's lapidary remarks about the Gaulish Jupiter and Gaulish Dis Pater.
The equation of Taranis with Jupiter has been reason for some scholars to identify Taranis with the "wheel god" of the Celts. This god, known only from iconographic sources, is depicted with a spoked wheel and the attributes of Jupiter (including a thunderbolt). No direct evidence links Taranis with the wheel god, so other scholars have expressed reservations about this identification.
Various inscriptions attest to Taranis's worship, dating between the 4th century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Scholars have drawn contrary conclusions about the importance of Taranis from the distribution of these inscriptions.
During the development of Celtic, the word for thunder seem to have undergone a metathesis (transposition of syllables) from tonaro- to torano-. The question of whether the Chester altar (discussed below) should be read as attesting to an unmetathesised form of the god's name, Tanaris, was for a long time controversial. However, the discovery of a dedication to Iovi Tanaro ("Jupiter Tanaris") in Dalmatia confirms that such a form did exist.
The substance of the last few lines is this: unspecified Gauls, who made human sacrifices to their gods Teutates, Esus, and Taranis, were overjoyed by the exit of Caesar's troops from their territory. The reference to "Diana of the Scythians" refers to the human sacrifices demanded by Diana Nemorensis, well known in antiquity. That Lucan says little about these gods is not surprising. Lucan's aims were poetic, and not historical or ethnographic. The poet never travelled to Gaul and relied on secondary sources for his knowledge of Gaulish religion. When he neglects to add more, this may well reflect the limits of his knowledge.
We have no literary sources prior to Lucan which mention these deities, and the few which mention them after Lucan (in the case of Taranis, Papias alone) rely on this passage. The secondary sources on Celtic religion which Lucan relied on in this passage (perhaps Posidonius) have not come down to us. This passage is one of the very few in classical literature in which Celtic gods are mentioned under their native names, rather than identified with Greek or Roman gods. This departure from classical practice likely had poetic intent: emphasising the barbarity and exoticness the Gauls, whom Caesar had left to their own devices.
Some scholars, such as de Vries, have argued that the three gods mentioned together here (Esus, Teutates, and Taranis) formed a divine triad in ancient Gaulish religion. However, there is little other evidence associating these gods with each other. Other scholars, such as Graham Webster, emphasise that Lucan may as well have chosen these deity-names for their scansion and harsh sound.
The first excerpt, about the sacrifice to Taranis, comes from a passage in the Commenta which details the human sacrifices offered each of to the three gods (persons were suspended from trees and dismembered for Esus, persons were drowned in a barrel for Teutates). This passage, which is not paralleled anywhere else in classical literature, has been much the subject of much commentary. It seems to have been preserved in the Commenta by virtue of its author's preference for factual (over grammatical) explanation. The Adnotationes, by comparison, tell us nothing about the sacrifices to Esus, Teutates, and Taranis beyond that they were each murderous.
The Commenta tells us that as sacrifices to Taranis, several people were burned in a wooden alveus. The Latin word alveus is translated above as "tub", but it could applied to any hollow container. In various settings, the term could be used to mean a ship's hull, a bath tub, a drainage basin, a canoe, or a beehive. Miranda Green linked this sacrifice with the wicker man, the well-known wooden figure in which (according to Caesar and Strabo) humans were burned as sacrifices.
The interpretatio romana of Taranis as Jupiter, given by all three commentaries, is otherwise attested in epigraphy, and agrees with our understanding of Taranis as a thunder god. By contrast, the interpretatio of Taranis as Dis Pater, which only the Commenta gives, is quite obscure. It is not given in any inscription, and we do not know what Taranis had to do with the underworld. Manfred Hainzmann points out that Dis was associated in Latin literature with the night sky and night thunderstorms. Statius, for example, refers to Dis Pater as the "thunderer of the underworld" ( Thebaid, 11.209).
In the course of giving the interpretatio of Taranis as Jupiter, the scholiast of the Commenta mentions that Taranis was "leader of wars". This is an unusual trait to associate with Jupiter rather than Mars (Roman god of war), though the Romans occasionally gave Jupiter martial functions. Hofeneder has associated the comment that Taranis was "appeased with human heads" with this martial function, as the (pre-Roman) Celtic custom of carrying off their foes' heads in battle is well-attested. The scholiast describes a transition from human to animal sacrifice, probably connected to the suppression of human sacrifice in Gaul in the Imperial period.
Caesar states in his Commentaries on the Gallic War that the Gauls regarded a Gaulish god (whom Caesar equated with Dis Pater) as their ancestor. As Taranis is the only Celtic god equated with Dis Pater in ancient literary sources, Taranis has often been a cited as a candidate for Gaulish Dis Pater. On the other hand, Caesar also briefly refers to an unnamed Gaulish god who "rules over all the gods" (imperium caelestium tenere), and whom he equates with Jupiter. It has been suggested that Taranis is behind this description. The similarity between Caesar's description of Gaulish Jupiter, and the Commenta description of Taranis as "chief of the heavenly gods" (caelestium deorum maximum), has been noted, though this may reflect reliance on Caesar's text or a routine characterisation of the Roman god Jupiter.
Because both were identified with Jupiter, Taranis has been repeatedly equated with the wheel god (for example, by Pierre Lambrechts, , and Anne Ross). However, nothing connects the gods directly. No inscription links Taranis with wheel iconography. Some scholars have rejected this equation. Green rejects it, and argues that the wheel god was a solar deity; naturally identifiable with Jupiter, but distinct from the thunder god Taranis. and both express scepticism in their studies of Jupiter columns in Germany. Árpád M. Nagy described the equation as "probable, but not binding".
In any case, the combination of the thunderbolt and wheel as attributes is not unique to one deity: Hercules is occasionally depicted with these attributes in the Latin West, and a female deity with a thunderbolt and wheel is known from a statue in Autun.
A few different forms of the god's name are known from epigraphy. The spelling Taranus, which is much more common than Taranis in epigraphy, is an older form than Taranis. There is the above-discussed un-metathesised form Taranus. There is also Taranuc(n)us ("son/descendant of Taranus"), known from two inscriptions of Germania Superior, which attaches a patronymic suffix to Taranis's name.
Different scholars have drawn different conclusions about Taranis's importance and the geographical extent of his worship from his epigraphic attestations. Marion Euskirchen calls the epigraphic evidence "scanty and altogether not unambiguous", which "suggests a rather limited significance of the god within a number of tribal federations". Hofeneder, on the other hand, states that Taranis is "attested surprisingly often" for a Celtic god, a fact which "clearly indicates that he must have been a deity worshipped in large parts of and over a long period of time".
Thunder god
The association with thunder, suggested by the etymology of Taranis's name, is confirmed by his equation with Jupiter. Taranis's name corresponds etymologically to that of the Germanic god Donar (i.e., Thor). Peter Jackson has conjectured that the theonyms Taranis and Donar (as well as perhaps the epithet Jupiter Tonans of Jupiter) originated as a result of the "fossilization of an original epithet or epiklesis" of the proto-Indo-European thunder god *Perkʷūnos. Calvert Watkins compared Taranis's name with the name of the Hittites weather god Tarḫunna. However, John T. Koch pointed out that an etymology linking the two theonyms would reverse the order of the metathesis (so that Taranis precedes Tanaris) and therefore compromise the proto-Indo-European etymology.
Lucan and the scholia
Lucan
Lucan's Pharsalia or De Bello Civili ( On the Civil War) is an epic poem, begun about 61 CE, on the events of Caesar's civil war (49–48 BCE). The passage relevant to Taranis occurs in "Gallic excursus", an epic catalogue detailing the rejoicing of the various Gaulish peoples after Caesar removed his legions from Gaul (where they were intended to control the natives) to Italy. The passage thus brings out two themes of Lucan's work, the barbarity of the Gauls and the unpatriotism of Caesar.
Scholia
Lucan's Pharsalia was a very popular school text in late antiquity and the medieval period. This created a demand for commentaries and scholia dealing with difficulties in the work, both in grammar and subject matter. The earliest Lucan scholia that have come down to us are the Commenta Bernensia and Adnotationes Super Lucanum, both from manuscripts datable between the 9th and 11th centuries. Also important are comments from a Cologne codex (the Glossen ad Lucan), dating to the 11th and 12th centuries. In spite of their late date, these scholia are thought to incorporate very ancient material, some of it now lost. The Commenta and Adnotationes are known to contain material at least as old as Servius the Grammarian (4th century CE). Below are excerpts from these scholia relevant to Taranis:
Commenta Bernensia ad Lucan, 1.445 Taranis Ditis pater hoc modo aput eos placatur: in alveo ligneo aliquod homines cremantur. Taranis Dispater is appeased in this way by them: several people are burned in a wooden tub. Commenta Bernensia ad Lucan, 1.445 item aliter exinde in aliis invenimus. ... praesidem bellorum et caelestium deorum maximum Taranin Iovem adsuetum olim humanis placari capitibus, nunc vero gaudere pecorum. We also find it depicted differently by other authors. ... the leader of wars and chief of the heavenly gods, Taranis, they to be Jupiter, who was once accustomed to be appeased with human heads, but now is to delight in those of animals.Translation after the German in Adnotationes super Lucanum, 1.445. Taranis Iuppiter dictus a Gallis, qui sanguine litatur humano. Taranis is called Jupiter by the Gauls, to whom sacrifices are made with human blood.Translation after the German in Glossen ad Lucan, 1.445 Tharanis Iuppiter. hi omnes in Teutonicis partibus colebantur a Taranu. ut feria teutonice dicitur. Tharanis Jupiter. All of these were worshipped in the Teutons regions at Taranus (?), as a day of the week is called in Teutonic.Translation after the German in
Taranis and the wheel god
The wheel god (Radgott) is a figure of Celtic religious iconography, a god wielding a spoked wheel. The wheel god is often depicted with the attributes of Jupiter: thunderbolt, sceptre, and eagle. The spoked wheel was an important religious motif for the Celts. Metal votive wheels (known as ) are known from Iron Age Europe. The Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae lists 15 depictions of the wheel god. Some are statuettes of the god dressed in Gaulish garb, with a wheel in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. A mosaic from Saint-Romain-en-Gal shows a woman and a man leaving sacrifices to such a statuette. An obscure scene on the Gundestrup cauldron perhaps shows a leaping devotee offering a wheel to the wheel god. The so-called , religious monuments widespread in Germania, are frequently crowned with an equestrian god, who sometimes wields a wheel.
Epigraphy
ṣ aarani[?} Inscribed on an object (perhaps a keyhandle) made from staghorn. Found in Sottopedonda, in the Fiemme Valley, Italy. Raetic FI-1 The god Taranis (in the form Tarani) is invoked twice in this obscure (perhaps magico-religious) Raetic inscription. Simona Marchesini has argued that the absence of the Celtic final -s suggests "the god's name was well integrated in the Rhaetian people". ΟΥΗΒΡΟΥΜΑΡΟΣ / ΔΕΔΕ ΤΑΡΑΝΟΟΥ / ΒΡΑΤΟΥΔΕΚΑΝΤΕΜ (translit. ) Inscribed on a small cippus. Found in Orgon, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Gaulish RIG I G-27 Lejeune offers the translation "Vebrumaros offered Taranus in gratitude (?) the tithe (?)".RIG I G-27 via Recueil informatisé des inscriptions gauloises. Accessed on 16 January 2025. IOVI TAN(ARO) / ]S APER[ Inscribed on an altar. Found in Bribir, Dalmatia, Croatia. AE 2010, 1225 Latin AE 2010, 1225 TARANUOS Inscribed on a terracotta jug. Found near Amiens, Somme, France. AE 1966, 269 Latin Another inscription found nearby () suggests the find-spot was originally a place of religious significance. PATE]RNIANUS(?) / V(IVUS) / ALUMNO(?) SUO / PIO(?) POSUIT / 3EMIO // ]O3 / 3M SA3 / UXORI / TARANUTIUS(?) / COMATUL[LUS(?) Found in Caesarodunum (Roman Tours), Indre-et-Loire, France Latin Taranu[ is a personal name. IOVI TA/RANUCO / ARRIA SUC/CESSA V(OTUM) S(OLVIT) Found in Scardona (Roman Skradin), Dalmatia, Croatia Latin EIMO / ESOET IVTRABAVTIO / RVTI DVO ESANA / TARAINI PANOV / DIR FONT MEM / MIDR.MARMAR / EVI IABO . VIII . MV / MVLCOI CARBRVX Inscribed on a gold lamella. Found in Baudecet, Gembloux, Belgium. RIG II.2 L-109 in Lambert, Pierre-Yves (2002). Recueil des inscriptions gauloises. II, fasc. 2, Textes gallo-latins sur instrumentum. Paris: Éd. du CNRS. pp. 310-312. Latin (perhaps with Gaulish, Greek or Germanic elements) RIG II.2 L-109 This magico-religious inscription from Belgic Gaul is difficult to interpret. Several lines appear to be meaningless ephesia grammata. In arguing that the inscription has Gaulish elements, and Patrizia de Bernardo proposed that line 4 invokes the god Taranis. However, Pierre-Yves Lambert proposed the tablet is an Totenpass, and reads this line as an Orphic formula in Greek. NUM(INI) AUG(USTI) / ET I(OVI) O(PTIMO) M(AXIMO) / TARANUEN / D(E) S(UO) P(RO) P(IETATE) P(OSUIT) Inscribed on an altar. Found in Thauron, Creuse, France. AE 1961, 159 Latin It is uncertain whether Taranuen is a god name or a personal name. I(OVI) O(PTIMO) M(AXIMO) TANARO / L(UCIUS) ELUFRIUS(?) GALER(IA) / PRAESENS CLUNIA / PRI(NCEPS) LEG(IONIS) XX V(ALERIAE) V(ICTRICIS) / COMMODO ET / LATERANO CO(N)S(ULIBUS) V(OTUM) S(OLVIT) L(IBENS) M(ERITO) Inscribed on an altar. Found in Chester, England. Latin = This votive inscription to Jupiter Tanarus, by one Lucius Elufrius Praesens from Clunia, was one of the Arundel marbles. The inscription is now badly weathered and illegible, but was read and recorded in the 17th century. The unusual form of the god's name here (Tanarus) has led to repeated suggestions of a misspelling on the part of the engraver or misreading in the original autopsy. However, the discovery of a dedication to Iovi Tanaro in Dalmatia has somewhat obviated these concerns. IN H(ONOREM) D(OMUS) D(IVINAE) DEO / TARANUCNO // ET RAVINI / QUIBUS EX / COLLATA STIPENDIA / IUL(IUS) IUL3 / C(AIUS?) COPIUS(?)? / IUSSU Inscribed on an altar. Found in Godramstein, Germany. Latin DEO / TARANUCNO / VERATIUS / PRIMUS / EX IUSSU Inscribed on an altar. Found in Böckingen, Germany. Latin r\ ... VALE(N)S TARANIS ... Inscribed on a tablet. Found in Nicopolis ad Istrum, Bulgaria. Latin = = Vale(n)s Taranis is a personal name.
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