Damona

In Gallo-Roman religion, Damona was a goddess worshipped in Gaul as the consort of Apollo Borvo and of Apollo Moritasgus. Mary Jones interprets Damona's name as "Divine Cow" based on its resemblance to damos or "cow".^[1] She has sometimes been linked with the Irish goddess Boand on the basis of this bovine association. Van Andringa describes Damona and Bormana as the patron deities of the hot springs at Bourbonne-les-Bains and Saint-Vulbas, respectively.^[2] Some seventeen inscriptions dedicated to Damona have been recovered, including nine from Bourbonne-les-Bains and four from Bourbon-Lancy, both spa towns in eastern France. In one inscription from Saintes, she has the epithet Matubergini.^[3]

References

1. Mary Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia. Cf. also the Proto-Celtic—English lexicon, which glosses damos as "cow".
2. William van Andringa (2002). La religion en Gaule romaine : Piété et politique (I^er-III^e siècle apr. J.-C.) Editions Errance, Paris. p.165
3. Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Editions Errance, Paris. pp.36-7.