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Virotutis
A Gaulish god: Protector of Humanity
Virotutis is a Gaulish god known from two inscriptions, both found in France; in one of which he is invoked with Roman Apollo. He appears to have been a healer deity, assocated with a local healing spring. |
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Gaul: Protector of Humanity
Virotutis is a Gaulish deity, known from two inscriptions. The first of these (CIL XIII 3185) was discovered at Jublains in the Mayenne, France and invokes Virotutis. The second inscription (CIL XII 2525) comes from Les-Fins d'Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France and Reads: Apoll(ini) Virotuti T(itus) Rutil(ius) Buricus [ (To Apollo Vitotutis, Titus Rutilius Buricus [offers this]). The linking of Virotutis with Apollo by Interpretato Romano is interesting especially as there is a healing spring at Les-Fins d'Annecy which indicates that Virotutis was considered a healer deity.
The deity's name can be interpreted on the basis of the reconstructed proto-Celtic lexicon as being derived from the elements *wiro- (man) and -tūti- (a suffix for abstract concepts) and is generally interpreted as 'He who stands for all men' or less abstractly 'Protector of Humanity' which probably refers to the deity's healing cult.
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