For other uses of Epona, see Epona (disambiguation) Epona can refer to Epona, a Celtic goddess Epona, the main character Links horse The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask Epona, an IRC services package This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

In Gaulish and (later) Roman and Gallo-Roman mythology, Epona was the goddess of horses, donkeys, mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, and the presence of foals in some sculptures (Reinach, 1895). Unusually for a Celtic deity, most of whom were associated with specific localities, the worship of Epona was widespread between the first and third centuries CE. Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... Gallo-Roman religion was a fusion of Roman religious forms and modes of worship with Gaulish deities from Celtic polytheism. ... Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture A goddess is a female deity, in contrast with a male deity known as a god. A great many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both of the conventional genders and in some cases... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 nugget For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 For other uses, see Donkey (disambiguation). ... For other uses of the word mule, see mule (disambiguation). ... Fertility is the ability of people or animals to produce healthy offspring in abundance. ... The word patera has various meanings: A patera was a broad, shallow dish used for drinking, primarily in a ritual context such as a libation. ... The cornucopia (Latin Cornu Copiae), also known as the Horn of Plenty, is a symbol of food dating back to the 5th century BC. In Greek mythology, Amalthea raised Zeus on the milk of a goat. ... A foal is a young horse of either gender; a female foal is called a filly, while a male foal is called a colt. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... The 3rd century is the period from 201 - 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ...

Etymology of the name

Although only known from Roman contexts, the name Epona is from the Celtic language Gaulish; it is derived from epos, horse or epa, mare (compare Latin equus, Greek hippo) together with the -on- frequently, but not exclusively, found in theonyms (for example Sirona, Matronae), and the usual Gaulish feminine singular -a. (Delmarre, 2003 pp.163-164). For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, spoken by ancient and modern Celts alike. ... Gaulish is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became dominant in Roman Gaul. ... In Celtic mythology, Sirona was a goddess worshipped predominantly in East Central Gaul and along the Danubian limes. ... In Roman mythology, the Matronae (Latin for important mothers/ladies) were three mothering fertility goddesses of peace, children and serenity. ...

Evidence for Epona

Although the name is in origin Gaulish, dedicatory inscriptions to Epona are in Latin or, rarely, Greek and were made not only by Celts but also Germans, Romans and other inhabitants of the Roman Empire. Her feast day was December 18 as shown by a rustic calendar from Guidizzolo, Italy (Vaillant, 1951). According to the French historian Benoît (1950), she was also a psychopomp, accompanying souls to the land of the dead, although this interpretation is disputed. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... A Celtic cross. ... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Many sets of religious beliefs have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. ...

The cult of Epona was spread over much of the Roman Empire by the auxiliary cavalry, alae, especially the Imperial Horse Guard or equites singulares augustii recruited from Gaul, Lower Germany, and Pannonia. A series of their dedications to Epona and other Celtic, Roman and German deities was found in Rome, at the Lateran (Spiedel, 1994). As Epane she is attested in Cantabria, northern Spain, on Mount Bernorio, Palencia (Simón). Ala, Alares, Alarii. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin Gallia, Greek Galatia) was the region of Western Europe occupied by present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... The Roman province of Germania Inferior, 120 AD Germania Inferior (in English: Lower Germany) was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in todays southern Netherlands and western Germany. ... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ...

Sculptures of Epona fall into two types. In the Equestrian type, common in Gaul, she is depicted sitting side-saddle on a horse or (rarely) laying on one; in the Imperial type (more common outside Gaul) she sits on a throne flanked by two or more horses or foals (Nantonos, 2004). Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin Gallia, Greek Galatia) was the region of Western Europe occupied by present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ...

Epona is mentioned in The Golden Ass by Apuleius and the Satires by Juvenal. The Metamorphoses of Lucius, referred to as The Golden Ass (Asinus aureus) by Apuleius, is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety. ... Lucius Apuleius (c. ... Note: This article is about the Roman poet, who is the most famous person by this name. ...

The giant chalk horse carved into the hill at Uffington, in what is now southern England, is believed by some to be associated with her, although the probable date of ca. 1400 BCE makes this unlikely. As seen from an altitude of 2000 feet, from the cockpit of a glider The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised hillfigure, 374 feet (110m) long, cut out of the turf on the upper slopes of Uffington Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near The Ridgeway, in southern England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... (Redirected from 1400 BCE) (15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC - other centuries) (1400s BC - 1390s BC - 1380s BC - 1370s BC - 1360s BC - 1350s BC - 1340s BC - 1330s BC - 1320s BC - 1310s BC - 1300s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1344...

References

• Benoît, F. (1950). Les mythes de l'outre-tombe. Le cavalier à L'anguipède et l'écuyère Épona. Bruxelles, Latomus Revue d'études latines.
• Delamarre, X. (2003). Dictionaire de la Langue Gauloise. 2nd edition. Paris, Editions Errance.
• Nantonos & Ceffyl (2004) Epona.net, a scholarly resource
• Reinach, Salomon (1895). Épona. Revue archéologique 1895, part 1, 113, 309
• Francisco Marco Simón, "Religion and Religious Practices of the Ancient Celts of the Iberian Peninsula" in e-Keltoi: The Celts in the Iberian Peninsula, 6 287-345, section 2.2.4.1 (on-line)
• Speidel, M. P. (1994). Riding for Caesar: the Roman Emperors' Horse Guards. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.
• Vaillant, Roger (1951), Epona-Rigatona, Ogam, Rennes, pp190-205.

See also

• Celtic mythology