Gontia (deity)

Gontia (/ˈɡɒntiə/) was a Celtic goddess. She was the tutelary deity of the river Günz,[1] near Günzburg in Germany. She is known from an inscription on a Roman-era altar at Günzburg (Latin: Guntia[2]) that reads Gontiae / sac(rum) / G(aius!) Iulius / Faventianus / |(centurio) leg(ionis) I Ital(icae),[3] or ‘Gaius Julius Faventianus, centurion of the Legio I Italica, (made) this offering to Gontia’.

She also appears to be connected with the Belgian city Ghent.[4]

Notes

  1. Lauren Adams Gilmour, Pagans and Christians, Archaeopress, 2007, p. 24.
  2. Otto Klaus Schmich (2004-06-27). "Römische Ortsnamensreste in germanischen Nachfolgernamen" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  3. Année Epigraphique 1930, 74.
  4. Adrian Room, Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites, McFarland, 2006, p. 144.

References


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