Nemetona
Sign in to saveright|300px|thumb|The Rhine at Altrip in the former territory of the [[Nemetes, where an inscription to Nemetona was found.]] Nemetona, or 'she of the sacred grove', is a Celtic goddess with roots in northeastern Gaul. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the Germano-Celtic people known as the Nemetes; evidence of her veneration is found in their former territory along the Middle Rhine as well in the Altbachtal sanctuary in present-day Trier, Germany. She is also attested in Bath, England, where an altar to her was dedicated by a man of the Gallic Treveri people.
Article
5 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Inscriptions
- Notes
- References
- External links
right|300px|thumb|The Rhine at Altrip in the former territory of the [[Nemetes, where an inscription to Nemetona was found.]] Nemetona, or 'she of the sacred grove', is a Celtic goddess with roots in northeastern Gaul. She is thought to have been the eponymous deity of the Germano-Celtic people known as the Nemetes; evidence of her veneration is found in their former territory along the Middle Rhine as well in the Altbachtal sanctuary in present-day Trier, Germany. She is also attested in Bath, England, where an altar to her was dedicated by a man of the Gallic Treveri people.
== Etymology == Nemetona's name is derived from the Celtic root nemeto-, referring to consecrated religious spaces, particularly sacred groves. She has been considered a guardian goddess of open-air places of worship. The same root is found in the names of the Romano-British goddess Arnemetia and the Matres Nemetiales (known from an inscription in Grenoble).