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The Galatian Zeuses.

This article will extrapolate the meanings of three Zeuses found in Galatia and worshipped by the Galatians. The first two have Gaulish names, whereas the final Zeus has a Greek name, which may have been initially a Hittite name. Then context for the number of Zeuses in Galatia will be given.

Firstly, Zeus Bousourigios may be a Greco-Gallo theonym, bouso, comes from the Greek βουσός meaning 'path for cows', or 'pasture for cows' (Beekes, 2009, pp.233). However, there are alternative spellings of the first-word compound, including bussu-. Rigios comes from the Celtic word for 'kingly' (Koch, 2006). Strobel (2006) suggests that Bousourigios/Bussurigios comes from a sub-group of the Galatians called the Boussourigioi. This would indicate that it is the theonym is purely Gaulish. Therefore bousou, or bussu, means lips and may also have an alternative meaning of penis (Matasović, 2009). The dual meaning may have a sexual connotation, or relate to the legitimacy conferred by both fertility and words. The likelihood then is that this theonym means something like Zeus of “the royal lips/mouth” or “royal penis” and could have been a patron Deuos of the Boussourigioi. More information has been found from inscriptions, namely that Bussurigios was worshipped alongside Kybele and that the Archangel Michael was the cultic successor of Bussurigios (Strobel, 2006). The succession by Michael may illuminate some of the areas Bussurigios was associated with. Archangel Michael held the secret of the ‘word’ of God, which was uttered to create the world, and it was him who spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai (Britannica, n.d.). This suggests that Bussurigios is associated with holy and powerful words and speech. The worship with Kybele could suggest fertility associations; hence the “royal penis” meaning has merit. Therefore, Zeus Bousourigios/Bussurigios is a theonym that associations Them with kingly power and legitimacy through kingly words and fertility, which may refer to the fertility of the land and fertility of the kings themselves. Darbyshire et al. (2000) reinforced this, who suggests that "the wealth of the Galatian aristocratic elite…  was based primarily upon control of settled, agro-pastoral regimes and consumption of their produce".

Secondly, Zeus Souolibrogenos is a Galatian theonym, souoli meaning sun, brog meaning country or borderland in Gaulish or the Galatian variant (Koch, 2006). Unfortunately, the author does not give a meaning for the ‘enos’ at the end. However, it could have come from Gaulish ‘genos’, meaning son of, born from, sprung from (Delamarree, 2003) or *genos meaning family, and ‘to be born’ (Matasović, 2009). ‘Brogenos’ originally may have been a double g or one left out. Further, Eichner (1994) interprets ‘brog-‘ as a theonym belonging to deities of borders. This etymology may be suggestive of the geography of Galatia, which was largely treeless and sunny  and had many nations surrounding it. Therefore, a God of borders and solar associations fits the scene. Further supporting this, solar deities are often believed to have the gift of far-sight; for example, Grannus’ epithet Amarcolitanos meaning "The one with a piercing or far-reaching look" (Hofeneder, 2010). Or Apollo “whose light-producing eye views all within, and all beneath the sky” (Orphic Hymn 34). Therefore the meaning of the theonym or epithet Souolibrogenos may be a kenning meaning "one who dwells in the sun's territory, sky dweller", “one who is born of the sky/sun”, “of the suns horizon” or “one who dwells at the sunny borders”. Zeus Souolibrogenos could have been called to watch and defend the border, either as one who dwells at the border or who watches the borders from the sky.

And finally, Zeus Tavianos, the protector God of Tavium, which was the town of the Trokmoi (one of the three Galatian tribes). Tavianos was the Greek name for the Hittite God Teššop, who was then recontextualised by the Galatians (Strobel, 2009). Tavianos was given a large bronze statue in the middle of Tavium, and His presence granted asylum, as seen by Strabo here (12.5.2):

“The Trocmi possess the parts near Pontus and Cappadocia. These are the most powerful of the parts occupied by the Galatians. They have these walled garrisons: Tavium, the emporium of the people in that part of the country, where are the colossal statue of Zeus in bronze and his sacred precinct, a place of refuge…” Strabo, Geography, 12.5.2, (Loeb trans).

Another translation is slightly different;

“They have three walled fortresses, Tavium, a mart for the people in that quarter, where there is a colossal statue of Jupiter in brass, and a grove, which is used as a place of refuge…” Strabo, Geography, 12.5.2, (Bell & Sons).

But either way, Tavianos was associated with asylum and may have had himself a sacred grove in which people would shelter and was worshipped. Tavianos was of supra-regional importance through His giving of the right to asylum (Strobel, 2009). Tavianos, as Tessup/Tessub (or any number of variations), was a storm God of the Hittites and later Anatolians, who was associated with bulls and kingship (Wilhelm, 2013). Tessup, in one myth, may have destroyed the city he was the patron of due to their disobedience, which led him to move to the Underworld as his abode was destroyed. This is a mythic perspective of the movement of the Anatolian Gods, who would often be given offerings to return to their temples after going away someplace else. This was perhaps the Anatolians' understanding when prayers were not being answered (Wilhelm, 2013). Whether or not Tavianos retained any of Tessups mythos or nature is unknowable, but it perhaps points to Tavianos being the God very specifically of Tavium. However, as we will see below, Tavianos does travel with his worshipers to Dacia later on.

The association of these Gods with Zeus speaks firstly to the Hellenisation of the Galatians, but also the spheres of influence They had. Weather, especially storms and rain, mountains, kingship, and law are common threads between these Gods (Dowden, 2006). The name, title or epithet Zeus became common for any Gods with Zeus like qualities or imagery (Dowden, 2006). In addition, there were many other Zeuses worshipped by the Galatians, including but not limited to Sabazius, Anpeleites, Masphaltënos, Bennios, Akraios, Bussumaros, Casios, Narenos, Olympios, Sarnendenos, Mykaleus, Taenos, Taouianos.

The ‘Zeus’ epithets, including those expanded upon above, many had their origin in Galatia and were spread out from there by the movement of Galatians, who would set up groups such as the ‘Galatae consistentes’ in Dacia, and would dedicate altars to their native Gods (Güney, 2019).

In conclusion, the Galatians worshipped many ‘Zeuses’ or Gods called such. Tavianos, Souolibrogenos and Bussurigios were just three of the dozens they worshipped throughout the pre-Christian period, and there are many more to be reconstructed. These ‘Zeuses’ likely had similar iconography and associations as the classical Greek Zeus. Still, these Zeuses likely had attributes unique to the Galatians' cultural, linguistic, and geographic context.

And a big thanks to all those that helped with the etymology! Cassanâ, Ressagnos, Kaz and adrexia.

Bibliography:

Beekes, R., 2009. Etymological dictionary of Greek (2 vols.). Brill.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Michael". Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Michael-archangel. Accessed 29 July 2021.

Darbyshire, G., Mitchell, S. and Vardar, L., 2000. The Galatian Settlement in Asia Minor. Anatolian Studies, 50, pp.75-98.

Dowden, K., 2006. Zeus. Routledge.

Eichner, H., Istenič, J. and Lovenjak, M., 1994. Ein römerzeitliches Keramikgefäß aus Ptuj (Pettau, Poetovio) in Slowenien mit Inschrift in unbekanntem Alphabet und epichorischer (vermutlich keltischer) Sprache.

Güney, H., 2019. The sanctuary of Zeus Sarnendenos and the cult of Zeus in northeastern Phrygia. Anatolian Studies, 69, pp.155-174.

Hofeneder, A., 2010. Vestiges of sun worship among the Celts. Sun worship in the civilisations of the world Pandanus, 10, pp.85-107.

Koch, J.T., 2006. Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia. Oxford: Abc-Clio.

Matasovic, R., 2009. Etymological dictionary of proto-Celtic. Brill.

Orphic Hymn 34 to Apollo (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.).

Strabo, Geography, 12.5.2. Bell and Sons translation. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D12%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D2

Strabo, Geography, 12.5.2. Loeb translation. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/12E*.html

Strobel, K., 2009. The Galatians in the Roman Empire. Historical tradition and ethnic identity in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor. Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity, the role of power and tradition, pp.117-144.