A large number of images of an antlered figure, similar to that depicted on the Pillar of the Boatmen, have been found. These depict a male figure, often aged, with crossed legs, with antlers atop his head, who is associated with ram-horned (or ram-headed) serpents, torcs, symbols of fertility, and wild beasts (especially deer). At least twenty-five images have been connected with Cernunnos in this way. Some, such as William Sayers and
T. G. E. Powell, have questioned whether the name given on the Pillar (which is so rare in epigraphy) is appropriate to apply to these images.
Pierre Lambrechts and Michael Altjohann have even argued that no such well-defined cluster of attributes exists in the archaeological record. Engraved onto a rock at the prehistoric site of
Val Camonica is a tall figure with antlers atop his head, arms in
orans position, and a torc around his right arm. Besides him, on his right, are a ram-horned serpent and a smaller man (ithyphallic, arms in orans position). The archaeological evidence for images of deities in Gaul is scant before the Roman conquest. The drawing from Valcamonica dates to 4th century BCE. José Maria Blázquez has argued that a painted vase, dating to the 2nd century BCE, from the
Celtiberian site of
Numantia, gives another early representation of Cernunnos. After Christianisation, images of Cernunnos were the subject of
iconoclastic destruction. A statue of Cernunnos from
Verteuil (
Charente, France) was beheaded and the horns of Cernunnos on the Reims altar seem to have been purposefully chipped off. The figure identified as Cernunnos on the 9th-century Clonmacnoise north cross appears to have horns and crossed legs; Fickett-Wilbar argues that these are misidentified ornamental motifs.
Attributes and associations The cross-legged pose of Cernunnos has occasioned much comment. Elaborate
diffusionist theories have been proposed to explain the origin of this particular motif. The closest parallel to the Gundestrup scene is given on the
Lyon cup, where Cernunnos is surrounded by a deer, a hound, and a (hornless) snake. On various depictions, Cernunnos is associated with other deities. The significance of these associations is unclear. On three depictions, Cernunnos appears with Mercury and
Apollo; on the Lyon cup, he is paired with Mercury alone. Cernunnos is also depicted twice with
Abundantia, Roman god of prosperity, and twice with
Hercules. Three images of Cernunnos (among them, the Condat tricephal and
Étang-sur-Arroux statuette) give Cernunnos three heads or faces. Bober argued that these images represent the syncretisation of Cernunnos with the (poorly understood) tricephalic god of Gaul.
Interpretation Because of his persistent association with the natural world (for example, on the Gundestrup cauldron, where he is surrounded by various beasts), some scholars describe Cernunnos as the lord of animals or wild things.
Miranda Green describes him as a "peaceful god of nature and fruitfulness". Cernunnos is also associated with fertility and fecundity. Blazquez points out that the stag is a symbol of fertility across the Mediterranean. The association of Cernunnos with fertility is emphasised by other attributes. He is variously provided with a basket of fruit (as on the Étang-sur-Arroux statuette), a cornucopia (as on the Lyon cup), and a bag of coins (as on the Reims altar). It has been suggested that Cernunnos carried a chthonic significance. Bober's study of the god concluded that Cernunnos was god of the underworld. She analyses the ram-horned serpent as the synthesis of two animals (the snake and the ram) of chthonic significance to the Celts. The rat above Cernunnos on the Reims altar and the association of Cernunnos with Mercury (guide of souls to the underworld) on several representations have also been thought to suggest an association with the underworld. Fickett-Wilbar, in a recent study, has proposed that Cernunnos was a god of bi-directionality and mediator between opposites.
Gallery ==Cernunnos and
interpretatio romana==