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Mogetius
A Gaulish God: The Greatest/The Most Powerful
Mogetius is a Gaulish god known from two inscriptions in France and two in Austria. He would seem to be a martial deity, as evidenced by his linkage with Roman Mars. |
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Gaul: The Greatest/The Most Powerful
Mogetius is a god known from four inscriptions. These are derived from Bourges, in the Cher region of France (CIL XIII 01193) where he is assimilated by Interpretato Romana as Mars Mogetius and Orléans in France (CIL XIII 11280) where he is invoked as [di]vo Aug[usto] Mogetio (The Great God Mogetius). Two further inscirptions come from Sackau in Austria. In the first of these (CIL III 05320) he is invoked as Mars Mogetius. However, the second inscription reads: MARTI LATOBIO MARMOGIO SINATI TOUTATI MOG[et]IO C[aius] VAL[erius] [v]ALERINVS EX VOTO (To Mars Latobius, Marmogius, Sinatis, Toutatis, Mogetius. Caius Vaerius Valerinus [offers this] in fulfilment of his vows). This inscription equates Mogetius with Roman Mars and several native Gaulis deities, namely Latobius, Marmogius, Sinatis and Toutatis.
No iconography dedicated to Mogetius has been found thus far, so we are left with his name and the list of his fellow gods to derive some information about his cult. Mogetius' name can be derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements: *magyo- (great) and *eti- (beyond, also) s well as the Latinized masculine ending -us. Thus the name can be rendered as 'The Greatest' or 'The Most Powerful' (literally 'He Who is Beyond Greatness'). With his syncretization into the Roman cult of Mars, Mogetius would seem to be a martial deity, which is entirely in keeping with the interpretation of his name.
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