SADRŽAJ

PREDGOVOR ______9 EINE SCHILDAMAZONOMACHIE BY MIRJANA SANADER AUS NASSENFELS ______101 VON GERHARD BAUCHHENSS FOREWORD ______11 BY MIRJANA SANADER BAUPLASTIK AUS DEM BEREICH DES PODIUMTEMPELS VON FUNERARY MONUMENTS FROM DALMATIA, BADENWEILER (D) ______107 ISTRIA AND THE CROATIAN PART VON GABRIELE SEITZ OF PANONNIA. A COMPARATIVE STUDY ______13 BY NENAD CAMBI AUGUSTA RAURICA, EINE STATUETTENGRUPPE LES STELES FUNERAIRES A PERSONNAGES AUS WEISSEM PFEIFENTON ______115 ORIGINE DES THÈMES, MODÈLES ET DATES VON TEODORA TOMASEVIC BUCK À TRAVERS L’EMPIRE ROMAIN ______31 DE FRANÇOIS BRAEMER ATTIS, PARTHER UND ANDERE BARBAREN. EIN BEITRAG ZUM VERSTÄNDNIS FLEXIBLE INTENT: SHIFTING VALUES VON ORIENTALENDARSTELLUNGEN & DISCREPANT MEANINGS IN AUF GRABSTEINEN DER NÖRDLICHEN ROMANO-BRITISH RELIGIOUS SCULPTURE _____ 53 PROVINZEN ______121 BY MIRANDA ALDHOUSE-GREEN VON ALICE LANDSKRON CIVILIAN SCULPTORS AND THE CREATION BEMERKUNGEN ZU DEN FREISTEHENDEN OF ROMANO-BRITISH CIVILISATION IN GRABMEDAILLONS IN NORICUM ______131 SOUTHERN BRITAIN ______59 VON ELISABETH WALDE BY MARTIN HENIG DIE DIONYSISCHEN DREIFIGURENRELIEFS TYPOLOGIE ET DÉCOR DES MONUMENTS VON HARTBERG UND BAD WALTERSDORF FUNÉRAIRES DE L’ARMORIQUE ROMAINE ______65 (STEIERMARK) ______141 DES JEAN-YVES ÉVEILLARD/YVAN MALIGORNE VON ERWIN POCHMARSKI LA TOMBE MONUMENTALE DE NASIUM UND MARGARETHA POCHMARSKI-NAGELE (GAULE BELGIQUE): RÉFLEXIONS SUR LE SPUNTI DI RIFLESSIONE SU ALCUNI SYMBOLISME DES GRANDS MONUMENTS ASPETTI DEL CULTO DI BELENO SÉPULCRAUX DU NORD-EST DE LA GAULE ______75 E DI ANTINOO ______157 DE JEAN-NOËL CASTORIO ANNALISA GIOVANNINI IUPPITERGIGANTENSÄULEN MANI ALZATE, MAINS LEVÉES, IM MUSEUM VON METZ – LA COUR D’OR ______85 VON HANNELORE ROSE UND ISABELLE BARDIÈS ERHOBENE HÄNDE. A PROPOSITO DI UN SARCOFAGO DELLA COLLEZIONE DER SARKOPHAG DER CORNELIA IACAENA. DI FRANCESCO DI TOPPO ______175 EIN FRÜHER GIRLANDENSARKOPHAG BY FULVIA CILIBERTO/FULVIA MAINARDIS IN ARLES ______91 VON STEPHANIE BÖHM CULT AND MYTHOLOGICAL REPRESENTATIONS AS DECORATIVE ÜBERLEGUNGEN ZUR FORTUNA ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS VON BERMEL ______95 IN ROMAN POLA ______185 VON PATRICIA SCHWARZ BY KRISTINA DŽIN RELIEFS AND SCULPTURES OF DEITIES EIN JUPITERTORSO AUS DEM AND MYTHOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION AUXILIARKASTELL IN IŽA (SLOWAKEI) ______293 AS DETERMINING FACTORS OF THE VON KLÁRA KUZMOVÁ SPIRITUAL LIFE IN ANTIQUE ISTRIA ______191 BY VESNA GIRARDI-JURKIĆ RÖMISCHE GÖTTER UND MYTHISCHE GESTALTEN AUS POETOVIO STATUE OF A ROMAN GODDESS AUF STEINDENKMÄLERN FROM THE FORUM OF PULA ______197 IM LANDESMUSEUM PTUJ ______299 BY ALKA STARAC VON MOJCA VOMER GOJKOVIČ

THE ICONOGRAPHY OF INDIGENOUS JÜNGLINGSGESTALTEN MIT WAFFE CULTS IN NORTHERN LIBURNIA ______201 AUF PANNONISCHEN GEMMEN ______305 BY ROBERT MATIJAŠIĆ VON TAMÁS GESZTELYI

AFTERLIFE IDEAS ON MILITARY MACHTSPLITTER – ARCHITEKTURTEILE MONUMENTS IN NARONA HINTERLAND _____ 205 AUS DER KAISERRESIDENZ SIRMIUM BY RADOSLAV DODIG (SREMSKA MITROVICA) ______311 VON CHRISTINE ERTEL RELIGION AND MYTH ON MONUMENTS FROM ZADAR AND SURROUNDINGS EINE NEUE BILDHAUERWERKSTATT IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM IM OBERLAND DES BALATON IN ZADAR ______213 (PLATTENSEE)? ______319 BY KORNELIJA A. GIUNIO VON SYLVIA PALÁGYI

KULTSKULPTUREN DIE GIGANTEN VOM PFAFFENBERG AUS DER ANTIKEN STADT SENIA ______223 BEI CARNUNTUM ______329 VON MIROSLAV GLAVIČIĆ VON GABRIELLE KREMER

RELIEFS OF THE LABOURS OF HERACLES DURCHBROCHEN GEARBEITETE ON A ROMAN “SARCOPHAGUS” WEIHRELIEFS AUS DAKIEN ______337 IN THE CHURCH OF ST CAIUS IN SOLIN ______229 VON ALFRED SCHÄFER BY JASNA JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ CULT SYMBOLS AND IMAGES RELIGIOUS TESTIMONIES FOUND ON FUNERARY MONUMENTS ON ROMAN GEMS FROM DALMATIA OF THE ROMAN PERIOD KEPT IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IN THE CENTRAL SECTION MUSEUM IN VENICE ______237 OF DARDANIA ______343 BY BRUNA NARDELLI BY EXHLALE DOBRUNA-SALIHU

HVCVSOVE – “THIS IS WHERE SACRIFICES DIE PLASTISCHE AUSSTATTUNG WERE OFFERED” – ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS VON HEILIGTÜMERN DES THRAKISCHEN IN THE SUBSTRUCTIONS REITERS IM TERRITORIUM OF DIOCLETIAN’S PALACE IN SPLIT ______243 VON PHILIPPOPOLIS (PLOVDIV) ______351 BY TAJMA RISMONDO VON MANFRED OPPERMANN

SOME EXAMPLES OF LOCAL PRODUCTION NOVAE – STELES OF MITHRAIC RELIEFS FROM ROMAN WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF BIRDS ______363 DALMATIA ______249 BY PIOTR DYCZEK BY GORANKA LIPOVAC VRKLJAN PAST AND PRESENT: DIANA AND THE FAWN ______259 NOTES ON THE IDENTITY BY MARINA MILIĆEVIĆ BRADAČ OF ROMAN IMPERIAL SMYRNA ______373 TYPOLOGY OF MITHRAIC CULT RELIEFS BY CARLO FRANCO FROM SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE ______269 OMNIPOTENS ET OMNIPARENS DEA SYRIA. BY ŽELJKO MILETIĆ ASPECTS OF HER ICONOGRAPHY ______381 THE ANCIENT CULTUAL UNITY BETWEEN BY ILONA SKUPINSKA-LOVSET THE CENTRAL ADRIATIC LITTORAL ANTAIOS, AN EGYPTIAN GOD AND THE DELMATIAN HINTERLAND ______275 BY MARIN ZANINOVIĆ IN ROMAN EGYPT: EXTRACTING AN ICONOGRAPHY ______389 EINE UNVERÖFFENTLICHTE GRABSTELE BY DONALD BAILEY AUS TILURIUM ______281 VON DOMAGOJ TONČINIĆ THE PAMPHILI OBELISK: TWO NOTES ON PHARAONIC ELEMENTS FORTUNA-NEMESIS STATUES IN AQUINCUM __ 287 IN DOMITIAN IDEOLOGY ______399 BY KRISZTINA SZIRMAI BY EMANUELE M. CIAMPINI ROMANIZING BAAL: RÖMISCHE STEINDENKMÄLER THE ART OF SATURN WORSHIP IN DER WEB-PLATTFORM IN NORTH AFRICA ______403 WWW.UBI-ERAT-LUPA.ORG ______441 BY ANDREW WILSON VON FRIEDERIKE HARL UND KURT SCHALLER

THE SYNCRETISM OF BELIFES ‘STEIN – RELIEF- INSCHRIFT'. KONTUREN AS EXPRESSED IN ROMAN EINES FORSCHUNGSPROJEKTES ______449 PROVINCIAL SCULPTURE ______409 VON CH. HEMMERS, ST. TRAXLER, CH. UHLIR BY CLAIRE K. LINDGREN UND W. WOHLMAYR ÜBERALL (GÖTTER)GLEICH? – THEOMORPHE BILDNISSE EIN NEUFUND AUS DER STEIERMARK ______455 DER FRAUEN VON BERNHARD HEBERT DES RÖMISCHEN KAISERHAUSES ______415 VON ANNETTA ALEXANDRIDIS

‘DIE TREFFLICHE GRUPPE DER FLUCHT DES ÄNEAS’. EIN TROIANISCHES THEMA IN DER PROVINZ: DIE AENEAS-GRUPPE IN STUTTGART UND VERWANDTE DARSTELLUNGEN. ZU IKONOGRAPHIE UND BEDEUTUNG. ______423 VON JUTTA RONKE

DIE BEFRACHTUNG GÄNGIGER GRIECHISCH-RÖMISCHER SYMBOLE PROGRAM KOLOKVIJA MIT NEUEN RELIGIÖSEN INHALTEN (PROGRAMM, PROGRAM, PROGRAMME) ______457 AUF DEN RELIEFS DER MITHRASMYSTERIEN ______433 SUDIONICI (TEILNEHMER, VON MARIA WEISS PARTICIPANTS, PARTICIPANTS) ______459 THE SYNCRETISM OF BELIFES AS EXPRESSED IN ROMAN PROVINCIAL SCULPTURE

BY CLAIRE K. LINDGREN

he number three and depictions in threes pos- life, birth, death and rebirth; or most probably a com- sessed unprecedented importance for ancient bination of the two, the life cycle within the material TEuropean peoples. From the Mediterranean to world. Curiously, the ancient Greeks also used a styl- the northernmost areas threes are omnipresent in the ized triskelion and in Mediterranean regions it was asso- traditions of this formerly barbarian, primarily Celtic ciated with competition or progress, sometimes deline- world. I have chosen here to use the words three or threes ated as three attached running legs or as an abstraction rather than triplication or triune or triad because of the of those three legs, a completely different meaning for implications inherent in those words. The word tripli- a visually similar icon. Moreover, Greek thought was cation suggests one form or symbol for a form repeated more pragmatic with regard to the material world; to three times, the word triune indicates a group of three the ancient Greek there were four elements earth, air, things united as one, and the word triad indicates the fire and water and no cycle of reincarnation. combination of separate and essentially individual enti- Thus, It seems surprising to find atriskelion in re- ties. Initially then, three or threes seem to be a more gen- poussé technique on a Celtic roundel of silver from eral connotation to employ when first considering ques- Brescia, Italy (Fig. 1) This work, the largest of several tions which arise when this affinity for threes is found in silver discs (3 large discs were found with 14 smaller the context of the religious art of the Roman provinces. discs or portions thereof), is 19.2 cm. in diameter and Namely, is the use of three or threes an expres- was considered by Jacobsthal to be an ornamental at- sion of a trinitarian concept (a triad) and indicative tachment for clothing rather than a phalera and is dated of a possible syncretism of beliefs, illustrated by either to the III or II century BCE. Decoration consists of a the Romanization or provincialization of form, or, as central Greek triskelion within a circle of 20 identical T.G.E. Powell stated years ago, “It is not a tendency to decapitated heads. A slightly smaller disc of a similar trinitarian concepts, or of the union of three distinct design consists of 18 heads surrounding a triskelion. The supernatural beings. It is, in fact, an expression of the smaller discs approximately 9 cm. in diameter show 8 extreme potency of anyone deity. It maybe likened ‘to heads of a similar type but no similar central design, the power of three’ and this number was sacred, and simply a raised hemisphere. The importance of the- hu auspicious” (Powell p.124). Thus, he contended it was man head in Celtic religion and art is undisputed, a not necessarily indicative of a conflation of religious symbol of divinity and power. Do these works then in- concepts by virtue of being either triune or a trinity. dicate a conflation of beliefs or is the answer simpler, Moreover, if a tripled deity is indigenous to the Celtic the borrowing of a similar form for the central design; cultural horizon can this be interpreted as tacit resist- the Greek triskelion mistakenly believed by the artist/ ance to Romanization? creator to mean a triskele. An impossible question to One of the earliest representations of the symbolic definitively answer, however in the larger discs, the syn- use of three found in the Celtic culture is the triskele thesis achieved by the uniting of the icon for competi- possibly associated with three aspects of the material tion or progress with the symbol of supreme divinity or world as understood by the Celts, land, sea and sky; or power in an emblem to be worn, perhaps by a cham- perhaps another Celtic belief, the reincarnate cycle of pion, seems plausible for an iconographic conflation. 410 CLAIRE K. LINDGREN

Fig. 1 Celtic Roundel of Silver, Museo Civico, Fig. 2 Bronze Disc from Antrim, Ulster Museum, Brescia. Belfast.

Another bronze disc 10.5 cm in diameter from power of the other world, this triplication of the head River Bann. Co. Antrim Ireland (Illustration 2), dated produces a tricephalos, a three faced head, a supremely I century CE was probably also used as an ornamental powerful image. Tricephaloi appear to be mostly male as breastplate attachment or phalera because of the holes a work from Corleck, Cavan, Ireland together with an and one extant suspension ring, is decorated with a image on a terra cotta vase from Bavay, France suggest. triskele joining a central spiral which itself contains a The first of these tricephaloi, has no attribute whatso- triskele incorporating three individual crested bird heads ever except triplication and it seems correct to assume, at the center of each spiral. Birds, “figure throughout as Powell did, that this triplication illustrates the unre- the entire Celtic tradition as symbols of divinity and stricted power of a deity within the Celtic belief system. as servants and messengers of the gods” (Ross p.234). Other examples of this type have been found in Denmark This is a more abstract evocation of the power of three and the British Isles at Guernsey, Wroxeter, Sutherland. with no indication whatsoever of stylistic conflation in Moreover, as Bober has shown in an extensive study, the form with any Mediterranean icon. In these decorative tricephalic image was assimilated to more than one deity. adornments the power of three manifest in the triskele With regard to formal design, these tricephaloi are or triskelion may have been perceived as being inherent very different; the Corleck example exhibits the facial in the metal talisman conceivably worn to protect and characteristics usually associated with Celtic art. The likewise imbue the wearer with superhuman attributes, Bavay terra cotta relief is Romanized, the hair and as a magico-religious icon. beard, although subjected to Celtic abstract pattern- Larger sculptural works which combine the impor- ing in the form of whorls, are characteristics associated tance of the head with the number three are the tri- with the major, most powerful god of the Roman pan- cephaloi. Since as Jacobsthal. Powell, Ross, Green and theon, Jupiter. This conflation echoes both the Celtic others have shown, among the Celts the human head belief in the power of the head, and the majesty of the was venerated above all else as the seat of the soul, center chief deity in the Roman pantheon which becomes an of the emotions, as well as life itself, and a symbol of the even greater symbol of power by triplication suggesting THE SYNCRETISM OF BELIFES AS EXPRESSED IN ROMAN PROVINCIAL SCULPTURE 411 that this depiction might indicate syncretism of beliefs, to victory. Quirinus, an old Sabine deity, is sometimes that of Jupiter and the cult of the head. Other examples identified with Romulus, the founder and by extension, of tricephaloi with mixed attributes can be found e.g., patron of the Roman people responsible for Rome’s well a tricephalic cippus from Reims again complete with being and nourishment. Moreover identification with beard which suggests conflation of imagery and iconog- Romulus, son of the war god Mars. insinuates that it is raphy and possible syncretism of beliefs. Triplication is through conquest that the Roman people achieve this not limited to tricephaloi but is found in depictions well being, the father son relation ship being a metaphor of other distinct deities, such as the genii cucullati at for that idea. Thus, with this archaic triad the combina- Housesteads, and the mother goddesses at Cirencester tion of individual entities forms an omnipotent whole, and Vertillum in Burgundy. Sometimes, these examples, which may be reflective of the early development of the as in the case of the mother goddesses, have attributes Roman belief system which rationalized tribal activity, which emphasize their sphere of influence, but these reinforcing the king’s ultimate control. attributes do not necessarily suggest a Celtic-Roman Dumézil discounts a “direct cultic influence from conflation either of beliefs or imagery. Some seem to Greece” for the more familiar later Roman triad of Ju- be exclusively connected to a region for they appear to piter, Juno and Minerva, observing that the grouping of be personifications of natural topographical features, Zeus, Hera and Athena is “indicated only once in the e.g. springs and woods essentially local in character, as whole Greek world in Phocis” (Dumézil p. 306). Al- the water goddess, Coventina, from Carrowburgh on though the evidence to connect this second triad with Hadrian’s wall. Triplication in these instances serving to an Etruscan origin is sparse, Vitruvius (1.7) states that emphasize the power of the deity. he takes his information from Etruscan writing and By far the most complex use of threes is in triads separates these three from all others deities stating that where the relationship of the entities portrayed is the de- their temples be built IN EXCELSISSIMO LOCO. termining factor as to whether the work is an example of That Jupiter, as Jupiter Optimus Maximus, was the syncretism or not. As Dumézil has theorized, the triad, preeminent Roman deity is established in literature by a religious concept common in Indo-European popula- quotations from Livy cited by Dumézil together with tions consists of a structure which he calls “the ideol- his belief that it was took some time for the two sup- ogy of the three functions” and is explained as follows porting goddesses to “acquire some permanent stabil- ity on either side of the god” (Dumézil p. 291). The “The principal elements and the machinery of the archaeological evidence affirms the literature. world and of society are here divided into three har- The major god of the first triad became themajor moniously adjusted domains. These are, in descend- god of the Capitoline triad. Second in importance was ing order of dignity sovereignty with its magical and Minerva, whose origin as an Italic cult goddess of arts juridical aspects and a kind of maximal expression and trade was later eclipsed by her identification with of the sacred; physical power and bravery, the most the Greek Athena whose sphere of influence also in- obvious manifestation of which is victory in war, cluded crafts but was more extensive with her major fertility and prosperity with all kinds of conditions association as chief goddess of war, born armed from and consequences” (Dumézil p. 161) the head of Zeus. In the Capitoline triad, she sup- Prior to the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Juno and planted the archaic triad’s Mars. Juno, the other god- Minerva in the Roman belief system there was an ini- dess of the later triad, whose functions were facilitated tial, archaic triad on the Italic peninsular consisting of by association with the Greek Hera, was hailed as Juno Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. According to Dumézil , Ju- Regina, Jupiter’s queen, and was mainly associated with piter with the features of the Greek Zeus was the most life of women and the nourishment and preservation of august of divinities, the celestial king whose conceptu- family and nation. It is reasonable to assume that Ju- alized function was primary, that of sacred power and no’s maternal sphere of influence can be understood as knowledge. Mars, even though he is identified as the a metaphor for the well being of the state supplanting father of Rome’s founding twins, his sphere of influ- similar functions of the archaic triad’s Quirinus. ence was not lovingly paternal but rather consistently Thus, it appears that a syncretism of the theology of bellicose fulfilling the second conceptualized function the early tribes on the Italic peninsular with the theol- of physical power and bravery i.e., attack and war lead ogy of the Greek Olympic system formed the basis for 412 CLAIRE K. LINDGREN

Fig. 3 Stele of Cernunnos, Apollo and Mercury, Musée a St. Remi, Reims.

the Roman state cults with the triad assuming a princi- Republic” (Dumézil p.310). In most instances the Ro- pal position in the Roman System. This iconographical man deities who constituted the triad were individually syncretism extended as well to the formal depiction of depicted, that is, while the importance of the Capito- the deities, e.g. depictions of the Roman Minerva re- line triad is unquestioned, composite depictions of the sembles the Greek Athena complete with aegis, shield deities in a single work is unusual. This differs from and spear, Juno resembles the Greek Hera and Jupiter the inclusive depiction of triads in Roman provincial the Greek Zeus. So complete was the visual conflation art which frequently include deities and their attributes that it is sometimes difficult to decide whether a de- from both the Roman and Celtic belief systems. The piction is of the Greek or Roman deity It is likewise well known Gallo-Roman columned, pedimented important to emphasize as Dumézil did that “Jupiter is stele from Reims (Fig. 3), unearthed in 1837, 1 me- in fact the sole active element of the Latinized triad, the ter 30 cm. in height has been dated to the second cen- sole master of the capital and sole patron of the Roman tury. It features a Celtic god, a Cernunnos or horned THE SYNCRETISM OF BELIFES AS EXPRESSED IN ROMAN PROVINCIAL SCULPTURE 413 one, whose typology had been formed as early as the and prosperity achieved through worship of Cemun- La Tène period placed in a central position flanked by nos and his supporting classical deities whose spheres provincialized classical depictions of Apollo and Mer- of influence coincide, parallel, and amplify those of the cury. All three are readily identified by their attributes. premier Celtic god. Mercury, was, according to Caesar, The Cernunnos sits enthroned in the Celtic meditative most widely venerated by the Celts as the inventor of or shamanic position wearing the torc, emblematic of all arts, guide of commerce and travelers, and as Livy warrior nobility, an armlet and has a sling or drape over stated connected with the administration of the corn his left shoulder. He has horns springing from his head supply, as well as establishment of the merchants’ guild and is bearded, in his lap over his covered legs (he wears (2.27.5), here is subsidiary to Cernunnos, standing to bracae) he holds a cornucopia or large sack overflow- his left holding his money bag. ing with a substance identified as either coins or grain Apollo, God of light, god of the sun, god of proph- which he pours out to the bull and stag directly beneath esy, was frequently assimilated with native healing gods his throne. Directly above his head in the pedimented as dedications and inscriptions attest e.g., with the area is a depiction of a single burrowing rat. To the Celtic healer Belenus. Apollo stands to right of Cer- left of Cernunnos stands Mercury wearing a chlamys nunnos with his lyre prominent, perhaps a reference and winged petasos. He holds his money bag in his to the importance of music, chanted incantations and left hand and his caduceus in his right hand behind supplications in the worship of deities. As with the his head while gazing at Cernunnos. Apollo, standing Capitoline Triad, the central god is the sovereign sup- to the right of Cernunnos has a long drapery stream- ported by the flanking gods whose spheres of influence ing from behind his left shoulder to over his right leg. are subsumed by the central god. In this instance that He leans on his lyre balanced on the arm of Cernun- central figure is a decidedly non-Roman deity, resulting nos throne. He also gazes at Cernunnos. Both Apollo in a syncretism which emphasizes the supremacy of the and Mercury are smaller figures than Cernunnos, who Celtic component, a squatting seated figure bearded as would tower over them if he were to stand. was Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The representations of Clearly by the dominant central placement given the Roman deities are balanced by the Romanized de- to the him and his size Cernunnos, possibly the only piction of the Celtic deity resulting in a syncretism that pan-Celtic deity, is of greatest importance in this sculp- is both formal and iconographic reflecting Dumézil’s tural triad. Caesar equated Cemunnos with Dis Pater, theory of “the ideology of the three functions”. Here divine ancestor and god of the underworld having fertil- the first “sovereignty” is found in the Cernunnos as it ity and chthonic associations (Gallic Wars 6.18). In was found in Jupiter. The second “physical power and Rome, Dis Pater had a sanctuary near the altar of Sat- bravery” is found in the provincial Apollo (physical urn belonging to the temple whose subterranean cave power is the result of health, a gift of the god) and the was given over to the custody of the Roman state treas- third “fertility and prosperity” is found in the provin- ury. The pedimental rat above Cernunnos may repre- cial Mercury. To summarize, it would appear that the sent a burrow or underground chamber, the place for identity of the deities portrayed in triads is the deter- storage of treasure. Beneath the throne a stag and bull mining factor as to whether the triad is an example of guard the wealth pouring from Cemunnos’ cornucopia the syncretism of beliefs or not, simple triplication of The stag, the most important attribute of- Cernnun the form of a deity such as the mother goddesses or nos, the companion with whom he shares his horned the genii cucullati who are essentially native having no symbol, had been part of solar therapeutic bronze age specific Roman counterparts cannot be considered an cults. The bull as a symbol of power and virility alsowas expression of iconographic conflation or syncretism repeatedly used during the bronze age and the impor- of belief regardless of how extensively they have been tance of this symbolism extended into the later periods subjected to formal stylistic Romanization. When only when bulls, according to some legends, were ritually one deity is tripled as with the genii cucullati or tri- slain presumably for purposes of prognostication and cephaloi there does not appear to be syncretic intent divination. The bull was also an attribute associated rather an emphasis and magnification of the power of with Jupiter, dominant god of the Capitoline triad. the individual Celtic deity, which could be understood The coins or grain pouring on these magico-religious as a tacit resistance to imported beliefs and the rein- sacred animals may allude to present and future health forcement of indigenous religious concepts.. Moreover, 414 CLAIRE K. LINDGREN

triskele design in silver dated to early eighth century from county Sligo (Fig. 4) attests to that fact. As does a carpet page from the Book of Durrow from the early seventh century as well as that great example of slightly later Celtic art, the CHI RHO Monogram page from the Book of Kells dated to the late eighth century and even later sculptural example, the High Cross of Muire- dach from Monasterboice, Co. Leath Ireland, dated either to the ninth or tenth century. The Roman and Romano-Celtic belief system had disappeared but the power associated with threes persisted as another be- lief system itself associated with a trinitarian concept of a Triune God whose nature was defined in the fourth century wrings of a Gaul, Hilary of Poitiers (315-367), gradually dominated the former western provinces. Hilary’s work DE TRINITATE is the earliest latin ex- planation/defense of Christianity’s Nicene Triune Theol- ogy, which from that point onward, inspired religious art as illustrated by the books of Durrow and Kells as Fig. 4 Ornament from County Sligo, National Museum, Dublin. well as the numerous medallions and stone sculptures whose distinct Celtic design motifs incorporating the love of threes can be traced far back into prehistory.

LIST OF REFERENCES the syncretism evident in the sculpture of the Reims P. P. Bober. Cernunnos: Origin and Transformation of a Celtic Divinity. Am. Journal Arch. 55, 1951, 13-51. triad of Cernunnos, Mercury and Apollo may be a nat- B. Cunliffe. The Celtic World ( London 1979). ural step in the evolution of a belief system, similar to J. De Vries. Keltische Religion (Stuttgart 1962). the way in which the archaic Roman triad developed G. Dumézil. Archaic Roman Religion (Chicago 1970). into the Capitoline triad. Syncretism of beliefs, Roman M. Green. Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art (London 1989). and Celtic appears to be the dominating factor in this F. Henry. Irish High Crosses ( Dublin 1964). provincial triadic representation. P. Jacobsthal. Early Celtic Art ( Oxford 1969). Finally, it must be noted that the religious conno- C. Lindgren. Classical Art Forms and Celtic Mutations tation associated with threes persisted long after the (Park Ridge 1980). Capitoline triad, provincialized Romano/Celtic triads, J. V. S. Megaw. Art of the European Iron Age (New York 1970). S. Moscati (Ed.), The Celts (New York 1991). tricephaloi and tripled deities ceased to have follow- T. G. E. Powell. The Celts (. New York 1958). ers. A bronze and enamel medallion with a central A. Ross. Pagan Celtic Britain ( New York 1967).

Prof. Dr. Claire K. Lindgren Dept. of Fine Arts/Art History/Humanities, Calkins Hall, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549-1070 USA [email protected]