Alcis (gods)
The Alcis or Alci (
Name
According to some scholars,
Other scholars propose to link *alhiz to the Germanic root *alh- (cf. Goth. alhs 'temple', Old English ealgian 'to protect'; further Lith. alkas 'holy grove'), and thus to interpret the Alcis as 'protective' deities.[7][8][b]
Attestation
According to
Among these last is shown a grove of immemorial sanctity. A priest in female attire has the charge of it. But the deities are described in Roman language as Castor and Pollux. Such, indeed, are the attributes of the divinity, the name being Alcis. They have no images, or, indeed, any vestige of foreign superstition, but it is as brothers and as youths that the deities are worshipped.
— Tacitus. Ch.43.interpretatio romana of the Alcis as equivalent to Castor and Polux was probably done by someone from the Graeco-Roman world.[10]Scholarly reception
The Alcis are generally regarded in scholarship as a reflex of the Divine Twins, a pair of Indo-European youthful horsemen.[14][15][16] Tacitus identifies the Alcis with the Graeco-Roman Castor and Pollux,[11][12] another probable reflex of the Divine Twins (along with the Ashvins, Ašvieniai, and Dieva Dēli).[16] Despite the lack of pictorial representation, the Roman historian (or his source) probably did this "translation" based on reported attributes of the Alcis, who are described are divine young men and brothers.[11][12]
This origin may give support to the interpretation of the Alcis as elk-shaped or elk-gods,[15] even though the widespread description of the Divine Twins as rescuers, healers and protectors in other Indo-European mythologies does not rule out the second proposition either.[7] A speculative relation of the cult with the Germanic rune Algiz (ᛉ) which is interpreted in the later Old Norse Sigrdrífumál as laeknishendr ('healing hands'), may be significant in our understanding of the etymological issue.[14]
See also
- Grevensvænge figurines
- Hengist and Horsa
- Haddingjar
- Divine twins
Aśvinsbrothers of Hindu mythologyFootnotes
Grimm's Law, the Proto-Indo-European sound */k/ turned into Proto-Germanic /h/ ([x]). This sound correspondence led Latin authors to render the Germanic aspirate /h/, unknown in their native language, as a velar plosive/k/.- ^ On a related note, alkas designates "sacred sites of the Balts" where "sacred offerings" were made. These sites include bogs ('alka (os)/aukos'), rivers ('alkupiai') and islets ('alkos salos').[9]
References
- ^ Lund 2007, p. 289.
- ^
Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. elk, n.1; alce, n.- ^ a b c Lurker 2004, p. 8.
- ^ Rübekeil 2017, p. 990.
- ^ Orel 2003, p. 14.
- ^ Kroonen 2013, p. 21.
- ^ a b Ström & Biezais 1975, pp. 87–89.
- ^ Simek 1984, p. 11.
ISSN 1392-5520.- ^ a b Rives 2011, pp. 165–167.
- ^ a b c Lund 2007, pp. 297–298.
- ^ a b c Rives 2011, p. 169.
- ^ Tacitus 1916, p. 22.
- ^ a b Rosenfeld & Hauck 1984.
- ^ a b Simek 1984, pp. 11, 67.
- ^ a b West 2007, p. 190.
Bibliography
- Kroonen, Guus (2013). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic. Brill.
ISBN 9789004183407.- Lund, Allan A. (2007). "Zur interpretatio Romana in der ,Germania' des Tacitus". Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte. 59 (4): 289–310.
ISSN 0044-3441.- Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons. Routledge.
ISBN 978-0-415-34018-2. ISBN 978-90-04-12875-0.- Rives, James B. (2011). "Roman Translation: Tacitus and Ethnographic Interpretation". In Harland, Philip A. (ed.). Travel and Religion in Antiquity. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press.
ISBN 978-1-55458-240-2.- Rosenfeld, Hellmut; Hauck, Karl (1984). "Dioskuren". Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Vol. 5 (2 ed.). De Gruyter.
ISBN 978-3110096354. ISBN 978-3-11-054243-1. ISBN 3-520-36801-3. ISBN 978-3-17-001157-1. ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.Primary sources
- Tacitus, Cornelius (1916), Reed Staurt, Duane (ed.), Tacitus - The Germania, with introduction and notes (in Latin and English), Macmillan.
Further reading
ISSN 0068-6360.