Ritona
Encyclopedia
Ritona, also known as Pritona, is a Celtic goddess
chiefly venerated in the land of the Treveri
in what is now Germany
. Her cult is attested at Pachten and at Trier
, where she "had a carefully built little temple" in the Altbachtal complex (Wightman, p.217). At Pachten her temple also had a theatre, presumably dedicated to performances of a religious nature. A single inscription (CIL
XII:02927) also honours her at Uzès
in southern France
.
Her name, related to the same root as Welsh
rhyd ‘ford’, suggests that she was a goddess of fords. The variant ‘Pritona’ is directly attested twice: on the goddess's only inscription at Pachten (PRITONAE DIVINAE SIVE CA[...]IONI, AE 1959:00076) and in conjunction with ‘Ritona’ on an inscription from Trier (DEA RITONA PRITONA, AE 1928:00185). ‘Pritona’ is also restored in a further, more fragmentary inscription from Trier (RITO/[NAE] SIVE EX IU[SSU PR]/ITONI[AE?], AE 1989:00547).
Lothar Schwinden characterizes her as a mother goddess on the basis of the statue of a seated goddess found at Pachten, which he connects with the well-known local type of seated mother goddesses with dogs or babies on their laps (cf. Aveta
).
The Pachten inscription specifies that the goddess was invoked by an individual "for the well-being of the townsfolk of Contiomagium" (PRO SALVTE / [V]IKANORVM CONTI/OMAGIENSIVM). On two of the inscriptions from Trier, Ritona is invoked in conjunction either with the numines
of the Augusti
(see imperial cult
) or in honour of the divine house (the imperial family).
Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
chiefly venerated in the land of the Treveri
Treveri
The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, at the latest, until their eventual absorption into the Franks...
in what is now Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Her cult is attested at Pachten and at Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, where she "had a carefully built little temple" in the Altbachtal complex (Wightman, p.217). At Pachten her temple also had a theatre, presumably dedicated to performances of a religious nature. A single inscription (CIL
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life and history...
XII:02927) also honours her at Uzès
Uzès
Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It lies about 25 km north-northeast of Nîmes.-History:Originally Ucetia, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum, or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first...
in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Her name, related to the same root as Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
rhyd ‘ford’, suggests that she was a goddess of fords. The variant ‘Pritona’ is directly attested twice: on the goddess's only inscription at Pachten (PRITONAE DIVINAE SIVE CA[...]IONI, AE 1959:00076) and in conjunction with ‘Ritona’ on an inscription from Trier (DEA RITONA PRITONA, AE 1928:00185). ‘Pritona’ is also restored in a further, more fragmentary inscription from Trier (RITO/[NAE] SIVE EX IU[SSU PR]/ITONI[AE?], AE 1989:00547).
Lothar Schwinden characterizes her as a mother goddess on the basis of the statue of a seated goddess found at Pachten, which he connects with the well-known local type of seated mother goddesses with dogs or babies on their laps (cf. Aveta
Aveta
In Gallo-Roman religion, Dea Aveta was a mother goddess, also associated with the fresh-water spring at Trier in what is now Germany. Aveta is known mainly from clay figurines found at Toulon-sur-Allier in France and at Trier. These figurines show the goddess with infants at the breast, small...
).
The Pachten inscription specifies that the goddess was invoked by an individual "for the well-being of the townsfolk of Contiomagium" (PRO SALVTE / [V]IKANORVM CONTI/OMAGIENSIVM). On two of the inscriptions from Trier, Ritona is invoked in conjunction either with the numines
Numen
Numen is a Latin term for a potential, guiding the course of events in a particular place or in the whole world, used in Roman philosophical and religious thought...
of the Augusti
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
(see imperial cult
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority of the Roman State...
) or in honour of the divine house (the imperial family).