Cissonius (also Cisonius, Cesonius) was an ancient Gaulish/Celtic god. After Visucius, Cissonius was the most common name of the Gaulish/Celtic Mercury; around seventeen inscriptions dedicated to him extend from France and Southern Germany into Switzerland.
Name
The name has been interpreted as meaning 'carriage-driver' (from cissum 'carriage'), or 'dream-bringer' (from cit- attached to souno- 'sleep, dream').
A goddess Cissonia is also recorded.
Cult
He was probably a god of trade and protector of travellers, since Mercury exercised similar functions in the Roman pantheon.
In one inscription from Promontogno in Switzerland, Cissonus is identified with Matutinus.
References
- ^ Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl. 2001. Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Editions Errance, Paris. pp.34-5
- J.-J. Hatt (1989), Mythes et dieux de la Gaules, I : les grandes divinités masculines, Paris, p.217. Cited in William van Andringa (2002). La religion en Gaule romaine : Piété et politique (I-III siècle apr. J.-C. Editions Errance, Paris. pp.135,155. Van Andringa thus summarizes Hatt's conclusions: "Cissonius dériverait du gaulois cissum, voiture." ("Cissonius would be derived from the Gaulish cissum, carriage.")
- Delamarre 2003, p. 280.
- Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, Miranda J. Green, Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1997
Bibliography
- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
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