Nantosuelta! – Who’s that?

You might have seen my blog entry about the Celtic god of the vintners, Sucellus. Guess what? He’s got a ‘wife’ or should I better say, a companion? A consort seems to be the right word.

I do not know how gods treat their wifes/consorts and how it all works out but according to Gaulish religion, Nantosuelta is the goddess of nature, earth, fire and fertility.

She is usually depicted with holding a pole with a model of a house to indicate a domestic function (sometimes a bee hive). Also in Lusitanian mythology she is the goddess of nature.

Her symbol is the raven which links her to the dead and the underworld. Often she is depicted holding a ‘cornucopia’, a hollow, horn shaped wicker basket (also called ‘horn of plenty’ or ‘horn of Amalthea’) and a symbol of food and abundance. The ‘cornucopia’ is often associated with the harvest season and, suprise surprise, with Thanksgiving.

A couple of reliefs and statues have been found near Metz/France and in Alsace. They usually show her with Sucellus. Whereas there are many images of Sucellus found on the internet, there are only very few available for Natosuelta.

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Nantosuelta and Sucellus (source: wikipedia)

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Nantosuelta and Sucellus (Source: http://www.cetnet.org.uk)

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Nantosuelta and Sucellus (Source: http://www.crdp-strasbourg.fr)

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This is the ‘modern’ Nantosuelta in bronze.

Source: “Nantosuelta”, bronze H 40 cm by Claudine Leroy-Weil (born 1950 at Neuilly-sur-Seine), at http://www.galeriedessablons.com

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One Response to Nantosuelta! – Who’s that?

  1. I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Perfectly written!

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