Belenus
In
Celtic mythology,
Belenus (also
Belinus,
Belenos,
Belinos,
Belinu,
Bellinus,
Belus,
Bel) was a
deity worshipped in
Gaul,
Britain and
Celtic areas of
Italy and
Austria. He had
shrines from
Aquileia on the
Adriatic to
Inveresk in
Scotland. His name means "shining one" and he is associated with
fire and
healing. He may be the same deity as
Belatu-Cadros. In the
Roman period he was identified with
Apollo. His consort was
Belisama.
The difficulty of working out to which deity inhabitants of
Roman Britain are referring when they mention
Apollo is profound.In ancient
Gaul and
Ireland,
Apollo may have been equated with fifteen different
Celtic gods. The solar implications of
Belenus ("The Brilliant One") would have encouraged
syncretism with the god
Apollo. Some of the soubriquets of
Belenus, such as
Grannus ("Boiling") and
Borvo ("Heat") link
Belenus with healing, with which
Apollo was also associated. "Boiling Brilliance" (
Belenus Grannus) and "Brilliant Heat" (
Belenus Borvo) would naturally be linked to healing by virtue of the logical connection with the therapeutic capacity of warmth, whether of water, fire or sun.
The
Welsh ancestor-deity
Beli may be derived from Belenus, although his character and attributes are different. The
Irish festival of
Beltaine may also be connected, or may derive from the same
Celtic root,
bel-, "shining". The Irish mythical figure
Bile ("sacred tree") is sometimes linked with Belenus, but neither the linguistics nor the myths match.
19th century attempts to link him with the
Semitic deity
Baal are even more tenuous and are now rejected. The legendary king
Belinus in
Geoffrey of Monmouth's
History of the Kings of Britain are probably also derived from this god. The name of the ancient British king
Cunobelinus means "hound of Belenus".
*
Associations between the Welsh Beli and the Irish Bile
