Lugus

The etymology of Lugus's name has been the subject of repeated conjecture, but no single etymology has gained wide acceptance. and Erich Hamp have proposed that the name derives from a proto-Celtic word meaning "oath" (either or ). John T. Koch has taken this hypothesis up, and proposed that the early Irish oath tongu do dia toinges mo thúath is a suppressed oath to Lugus. Minority etymologies derive "Lugus" from the name of the Norse god Loki, and supposed Gaulish ("raven"). ==Linguistic evidence==

Epigraphy A number of dedications to Lugus, dating between the 1st century BCE and 3rd century CE, have been found in Continental Europe. only a small number of inscriptions are known from Gaul, and none are known from Britain or Ireland. There is consensus that a Celtiberian inscription from Peñalba de Villastar features the singular. The nature of the Lugoves, and their relationship to Lugus, has been much debated. The epigraphic record is equivocal as to the gender of these deities. The epithet (attested at San Martín de Liñarán) has masculine gender, whereas the epithets (attested on an altar from Lugo) and possibly indicate the feminine. Krista Ovist argues against this point.), Luguqritt (perhaps, "poet like Lugus" The name of Luguvalium (modern-day Carlisle) is sometimes glossed as "wall of Lugus", but may instead derive from a personal name. The place-name Lugdunum is attested, in its cognate forms, as the name of as many as twenty-seven locations. and two cities of unclear location in North East England and Germania Magna. The wide range and abundance of these place-names has been used to argue for the importance of Lugus. Whatever the etymology, not all of these place-names must owe themselves a Celtic root. Lugdunum/Lyon was a major city, and other locations may have borrowed the name. Some two-thirds of the cognate place-names are attested only from the 10th century on; we know that Lugdunum Remorum had an older, native name ("Bibrax") which was displaced in the 6th century. ==Caesar and Gaulish Mercury==

to Apollo, Cernunnos, and Mercury Commentaries on the Gallic War is Julius Caesar's first-hand account of the Gallic Wars (58 to 50 BCE). In giving an account of the customs of the Gauls, Caesar wrote the following: Caesar here employs the device of interpretatio romana, in which foreign gods are equated with those of the Roman pantheon. With very few exceptions, Roman writings about Celtic and Germanic religion employ interpretatio romana, but the equations they made varied from writer to writer. This makes identifying the native gods behind the Roman names very difficult. Indeed, if their information was confused or their intention was propagandistic, reconstruction of native religion is next to impossible. Archaeological evidence of anthropomorphic cult images is scant before the Roman conquest of Gaul. An inscription from Langres attests to a Mercur(io) Mocco ("Mercury of the Swine"), perhaps Lugus. Other epithets—connecting Mercury with heights, particular Gaulish tribes, and the emperor Augustus—have been thought to be suggestive of Lugus. The epigraphic record has not produced any epithets portraying Mercury as inventor or master of arts. ==Depictions==

No images of Lugus are known. However, a number of figures have been proposed to represent Lugus. A Gallo-Roman silver cup from Lyon is decorated with a number of figures, including a human counting money next to a raven. Pierre Wuilleumier identified the human figure as Mercury/Lugus, whereas identified the raven as Apollo/Lugus. Paula Powers Coe argued that the depiction of Mercury on an altar from Reims could be Lugus, as a rat (Gaulish ) is depicted above Mercury, perhaps punning on Lugus's native name. Arguing from an association between Irish Lugh and pigs, has proposed that the Euffigneix statue (of a Gaulish boar-god) is a representation of Lugus. ==Later mythology==

Lugh in Irish mythology Lugh Lamfhota (literally, "Long-armed Lugh") is an Irish mythological figure of the Mythological Cycle and the Ulster Cycle. He is portrayed as a leading member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a supernatural race in medieval Irish literature often thought to represent euhemerized pre-Christian deities. Alongside Fionn mac Cumhaill and Cú Chulainn (Lugh's supernatural son), he is one of the three great heroes of the Irish mythological tradition. The Irish celebrated Lughnasa, a harvest festival which fell on 1 August and which, according to Irish tradition, was established by Lugh in honour of his foster mother. Arbois de Jubainville made the connection between Lugh and Lugus. Maier has pointed out that the Continental Celts used a lunar calendar, whereas the Irish used a solar calendar, so continuity of a seasonal festival would be unlikely. Though not depicted as other than human, Lleu is depicted with extraordinary or magical skills, like many other characters in Welsh mythology. Jan de Vries concurred with Rhys, and further hypothesised that the "Lugoves" in this inscription were Lleu and Gwydion. Lugus, Lugh, and Lleu Though the stories told of Lleu and Lugh do not show many similarities, ==Reconstruction==

The god Lugus was first hypothesised by Arbois de Jubainville in his monumental (1884). Arbois de Jubainville linked together Irish Lugh, Caesar's Gaulish Mercury, the toponym Lugdunum, and the epigraphic evidence of the Lugoves. By 1888, Sir John Rhys had linked Lugus with Welsh Lleu. Over the 20th century, the theory mainly saw further elaboration. Early doubts about Lugus were raised by Pierre Flobert (in 1965) and Stephanie Boucher (in 1983). Scepticism about the existence of Lugus has not become consensus. The strength of the epigraphic and toponymic evidence has been marshalled in defense of the hypothesis by scholars such as Ovist and Zeidler. ==Notes==