Celtic Gods: The Brythonic Goddess, Andante, Great of Tooth

Andante
A Brythonic goddess: Great of Tooth

This deity is known from of the Roman author, Dio Cassius and is described as the cognate of the roman goddess 'Victory', which would make her a goddess of success in battle.


Synonyms: ?Andraste
Bryth: Great of Tooth

Andante is a goddess mentioned only once by Dio Cassius in the surviving Excerpta Vaticana fragments of his eighty-volume Histories where she is described as: 'their name for Victory'. That is, Andante was equated with the Roman goddess Victoria.

Andante's name may be derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic roots: *an-danto- 'Great of Tooth', always assuming that Dio Cassius was correct in his assignment and interpretation of the name. Of course, it is entirely possible that the goddess referred to as Andante is in fact Andraste; the similarities in the names are certainly striking enough that this possibility cannot be easily dismissed.

As a goddess cognate with Roman 'Victory', Andante would have been a battle goddess; specifically the embodiment of 'Victory in Battle'. The 'tooth' referred to in Andante's name being 'battle teeth' (spears).



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