Baco (god)

Not to be confused with the Roman god Bacchus, greek Dionysus.

Baco (also Bacon) is a Gaulish Celtic god, known from Gallo-Roman inscriptions found in the areas of Chalon-sur-Saône[1] and Eauze.[2] The inscription at Chalon-sur-Saône, dated to 69 to 96 CE, was dedicated by a decurion in the Roman cavalry.[3]

Origin

The god's name (also Gallicized as Bacon) indicates that he was probably a boar-god,[4][5] of whom many are recorded in the Celtic world.[6] An account of Baco is also preserved in the hagiography of a St Marcel de Chalon [fr],[7] martyred in 177 or 179 CE.[8] According to L. Armand-Calliat, the cult of this Baco was inherited by St Anthony the Great, venerated in the Haute-Bourgogne region on 17 January.[9]

References

  1. ^ Mémoires de la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Châlon-sur-Saône. Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Châlon-sur-Saône. 1850. pp. 226–32.
  2. ^ L'Arbre Celtique. Baco.
  3. ^ CIL XIII, 02603
  4. ^ "Recherches archéologiques en Gaule en 1952 (suite) (Période historique)". Gallia. 12 (2): 527–577. 1954. ISSN 0016-4119.
  5. ^ Sayers, Wililam (2013). "Speculations on Substratum Influence on Early English Vocabulary: pig, colt, frog". Medieval and Early Modern English Studies. 21 (2): 159–172. doi:10.17054/memes.2013.21.2.159.
  6. ^ Miranda Green. Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997.
  7. ^ Dinet, Ch.-L. (1861). Saint Symphorien et son culte, avec tous les souvenirs qui s'y rattachent... M. Dejussieu. pp. 143–44.
  8. ^ "Saint Marcel". Nominis.cef.fr. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  9. ^ Armand-Calliat, L. (1941). "A propos du dieu Bacon" (PDF). Annales de Bourgogne. 13: 27–30.