Toutatis
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Toutatis can also refer to the asteroid, 4179 Toutatis.
Teutates is the supposed deified spirit of male tribal unity in ancient Celtic polytheism. He is best known, under the name Toutatis (not recorded in Antiquity), through the Gaulish catchphrase "By Toutatis!", invented for the Asterix comics by Goscinni and Uderzo.
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Nature of worship
He was seen as a spirit of war, productivity, constructiveness, and wealth. Teutates is also known under the names of Albiorix ("king of the world") and Caturix ("king of the battle"). Human sacrifices were made to him to redeem, oblige and to appease him. Romans often identified him with Mars, though he seems more to have been a spirit of tribal unity, the role of which in warfare was naturally only one functions. He seems to have represented the unity and the harmony of the tribe (often confused with Ogmios). Each tribe had its own Toutatis. Alternative: Albiorix ("king of the world"), Caturix ("king of the battle"), Rigisamos. He is likely to be different from the lightning god Leucetios ("White-Shining One").
Centres of worship
Teutates was worshipped especially in Gaul and in Roman Britain, altar-stones raised to him having been recovered in the United Kingdom, such as at Cumberland Quarries (1017 [IOM et Mars Toutatis]).
Etymology
Teutates may be derived from the Proto-Celtic *teutāto- meaning 'tribally united' (q.v. [1] [2] [3]). It has been suggested that the name means 'father of the tribe' but if this were the case, the expected name would be *Teutahatres.
Was this god the Celtic Mercury?
The difficulty of working out to which deity inhabitants of Roman Britain are referring when they mention Mercury is profound. A well-known section in Lucan's Bellum civile talks about the gory sacrificial offerings proffered to a triad of Celtic deities: Teutates, Esus, and Taranis. Among a pair of later reviewers on Lucan's work, one identifies Teutates with Mercury and Esus with Mars. The continental Celtic deity “Mars” plainly exemplifies the problem with finding syncretism between Roman and Celtic gods. The likely reason for this ostensible muddle in equating Roman with Celtic gods, occurring in other instances, is that Celtic deities are not constrained to specific functions. The Celtic peoples seem to have believed in immanence, seeing a single divine spirit, character or power as typical of many different aspects of reality, a belief emblematic of animism. So “Mercury” as a spirit of interaction may be a characteristic of the warrior, while “Mars” as the spirit of martial character may serve to shield the tribe from invasion. This is one explanation of how a spirit of transit such as Mercury may have come to be equated with such a spirit of tribal unity as Teutates.
Sources
- British Museum, London, England.
- Lancaster museum, Lancaster, England.
- Newcastle Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
- Penrith Museum, Penrith, England.
- Verovicium Roman Museum, Housesteads Fort, Northumberland, England.
- York Castle Museum, York, England.da:Toutatis
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