In Celtic mythology, Belenus (also Belinus, Belenos, Belinos, Belinu, Bellinus, Belus, Bel) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Celtic areas of Italy, Austria and northern Spain. He had shrines from Aquileia on the Adriatic to Inveresk in Scotland. His name means "shining one"^{[citation needed]} or "henbane god"^[1] and he is associated with heat and healing. He may be the same deity as Belatu-Cadros. In the Roman period he was identified with Apollo. His consort was Belisama. Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Celts redirects here. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... Aquileia (Friulian Aquilee, Slovene Oglej) is an ancient Roman town of Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. ... The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. ... Inveresk is to the south of Musselburgh in East Lothian, Scotland. ... Motto: (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I 843  Area    - Total 78,772 km... Binomial name Hyoscyamus niger L. Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) is a plant of the family Solanaceae that originated in Eurasia. ... In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is defined as energy in transit. ... Healing is the process whereby the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area. ... In Celtic mythology, Belatu-Cadros, or Belatucadros (fair shining one or the fair slayer), was a deity worshipped in northern Britain, particularly in Cumberland and Westmoreland. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a statue of a male youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery... In Celtic mythology, Belisama (also Belesama, Belisma) was a goddess worshipped in Britain. ...

Was this god the British Apollo?

The difficulty of working out to which deity inhabitants of Roman Britain are referring when they mention Apollo is profound. In ancient Gaul and Ireland, Apollo may have been equated with fifteen different Celtic gods. The solar or healing implications of Belenus (“The Brilliant One”^{[citation needed]} or “Henbane God”^[1]) would have encouraged syncretism with the god Apollo. Some of the soubriquets of Belenus, such as Grannus (“Boiling”) and Borvo (“Heat”) link Belenus with healing, with which Apollo was also associated. “Boiling Brilliance” (Belenus Grannus) and “Brilliant Heat” (Belenus Borvo) would naturally be linked to healing by virtue of the logical connection with the therapeutic capacity of warmth, whether of water, fire or sun. Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a statue of a male youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery... Principal sites in Roman Britain Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a statue of a male youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a statue of a male youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery... The gods and goddesses of Celtic mythology are known from a variety of sources. ... Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a statue of a male youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery... In Celtic mythology, Grannus (also Gramnos, Gramnnos) was a god of healing and mineral springs. ... In Celtic mythology, Borvo (to boil), also Bormo, Bormanus, was a deity worshipped in Gaul. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros (a statue of a male youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery... In Celtic mythology, Grannus (also Gramnos, Gramnnos) was a god of healing and mineral springs. ... In Celtic mythology, Borvo (to boil), also Bormo, Bormanus, was a deity worshipped in Gaul. ...

Continuity in Welsh and Irish Mythology

The Welsh ancestor-deity Beli may be derived from Belenus, although his character and attributes are different^{[citation needed]}. The Irish festival of Beltaine may also be connected, or may derive from the same Celtic root, bel-, "shining"^{[citation needed]}. The Irish mythical figure Bile ("sacred tree") is sometimes linked with Belenus, but neither the linguistics nor the myths match^{[citation needed]}. 19th century attempts to link him with the Semitic deity Baal were even more tenuous and are now rejected. The legendary king Belinus in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain is probably also derived from this god. The name of the ancient British king Cunobelinus means "hound of Belenus". This article is about the country. ... Beli Mawr (Beli the Great) was a Welsh ancestor deity. ... A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community. ... This article is about the Gaelic holiday. ... The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, spoken by ancient and modern Celts alike. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical Shem, Hebrew: שם, translated as name, Arabic: سام) was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. ... For other uses, see Baal (disambiguation). ... Belinus the Great was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. ... Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniæ (English: The History of the Kings of Britain) was written around 1136. ... Cunobelinus (also written Kynobellinus, Cunobelin) was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe of pre-Roman Britain. ...

References

External links

• Associations between the Welsh Beli and the Irish Bile