Celtic Gods: The Gaish goddess, Inciona (She who gives birth from Fire)

Inciona
A Gaulish Goddess Inciona: She who gives birth from Fire

Inciona is a Gaulish goddess known from inscriptions found in Luxembourg where she forms half of a sacred couple with Veraudunus. She seems to have been a local goddess associated with smithcraft.



Synonyms:
Gaul: She who gives birth from Fire

Inciona is a goddess known from two inscriptions from Widdenberg in Luxemburg (IAL 136) where she is associated with a god named Veradunus. She is also known from an inscription found at Mensdorf in Luxembourg (F 69) she is also associated with Mars Lenus. The first of the Widdenberg inscriptions reads: [ LE]NO.MARTI VERAVDVN. °E°T INCIONE. MILITIVS. PRISCINVS. EX°V°OT (To Mars Lenus, Veradunus and Inciona the soldier, Priscinius, offers this in fulfilment of a vow) and the second: IN.H.D.D.DEO.VERAVDVNO / ET. INCIONAE M.PL.RESTITVTVS/ EX.VOTO ALPINIAE / LVCANAE. MATRIS (In honour of the houses of the gods Veraudunus and Iconia M. Pl. Restitutus faithfully offers this in fulfilment of a vow too his mother Alpina Lucana) it would seem therefore that Inciona was part of a sacred couple formed with Veraudunus.

As they are known only from Widdenberg and the environs they were probably local deities and their association with Mars Lenus may have meant that they were divinities of smithcraft. Indeed, one possible interpretation for the name Inciona has it being derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic: *ind- (fire) and *ken-o (come into being, be born) *on- (pronoun, 'she') giving an interpretation of 'She who gives birth from Fire'.



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