Maponos

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In

ancient Celtic religion, Maponos or Maponus ("Great Son") is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul. In Roman Britain, he was equated with Apollo.[1]

The Welsh mythological figure Mabon ap Modron is apparently derived from Maponos,[1] who by analogy we may suggest was the son of the mother-goddess Dea Matrona. The Irish god Aengus, also known as the Mac Óg ("young son"), is probably related to Maponos, as are the Arthurian characters Mabuz and Mabonagrain.

Etymology

In

Gaulish, mapos means a young boy or a son.[2] The suffix -onos is augmentative. Besides the theonym Maponos, the root mapos is found in personal names such as Mapodia, Mapillus, and Maponius; mapo is also found in the Carjac inscription (RIG L-86). The root is Proto-Indo-European
*makʷos. (Delamarre 2003 pp. 216–217).

In

Common Brythonic *mapos (identical to Gaulish). In Old Irish, macc also means son; it is found in Ogham
inscriptions as the genitive maqui, maqqi, maqui (Sims-Williams 2003 pp. 430–431) with a geminative expressive doubling *makʷkʷos. (This is the source of Scottish and Irish names starting Mac or Mc as well as Welsh or Cornish names Ap, often shortened to just 'P-).

He therefore personified youthfulness, which would explain the syncretism with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo.

Evidence for Maponos

Epigraphy

The evidence is mainly epigraphic. Maponos (“Great Son”) is mentioned in

Chesterholm (in antiquity, Vindolanda). Some inscriptions are very simple such as Deo Mapono ("to the god Maponos") from Chesterholm (AE 1975, 00568). At Corbridge are two dedications (RIB 1120 and RIB 1121) Apollini Mapono ("to Apollo Maponos") and one (RIB 1122) [Deo] / [M]apo[no] / Apo[llini] ("to the god Maponos Apollo"). The inscription at Brampton (RIB 2063) by four Germans is to the god Maponos and the numen
of the emperor:.

Deo / Mapono / et n(umini) Aug(usti) / Durio / et Ramio / et Trupo / et Lurio / Germa/ni v(otum) s(olverunt) l(ibentes) m(erito)
"To the god Maponos and to the

Numen of Augustus, the Germani Durio, Ramio, Trupo and Lurio have fulfilled their vow
willingly, as is deserved."

tribus Oufentina, from Saena [and] prefect of the camp, Legio VI Victrix Pia Fidelis, has dedicated this gift"[3]

This inscription (RIB 583) by a unit of

two consuls
).

Deo san(cto) / [A]pollini Mapono / [pr]o salute d(omini) n(ostri) / [et] n(umeri) eq(uitum) Sar/[m(atarum)] Bremetenn(acensium) / [G]ordiani / [A]el(ius) Antoni/nus |(centurio) leg(ionis) VI / vic(tricis) domo / Melitenis / praep(ositus) et pr(aefectus) / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito) / [de]dic(atum) pr(idie) Kal(endas) Sep(tembres) / [Im]p(eratore) d(omino) n(ostro) Gord[i]/[ano A]ug(usto) II e[t] Pon[peia]no(!) co(n)s(ulibus)

The preceding inscriptions are all in Latin. The name is also found on the inscription from Chamalières, which is a relatively long magical text (12 lines) written in

Gaulish
on a rolled lead sheet. The second line calls for the help of Maponos (here in the accusative singular, Maponon: artiu maponon aruerriíatin (RIG L-100).

Iconography

There are at least three statues to Maponos. In one, he is depicted as a harper and stands opposite a Celtic Diana huntress figure. A sketch of this image appears in Ann Ross' Pagan Celtic Britain.[4]

Toponymy

Two items of place-name evidence also attest to Maponos in Britain. Both are from the 7th-century

Birrens in Scotland (RIB-3, 3482 / AE 1968, 254) mentions a lo(cus) Mabomi, which is often regarded as a stone-cutter's error for locus *Maponi.[1]

Coligny Calendar

The fifteenth day of Riuros on the Coligny calendar is marked with the name Mapanos, which might be a reference to a festival for Maponos.[4]

Celtic epithets of Apollo

In Britain, dedications to Apollo have been found with the following epithets:

  • Apollo Anextiomarus
  • Apollo Anicetus Sol
  • Apollo Grannus
  • Apollo Maponus (shows a Latinising influence, -os becoming -us).

It can thus be difficult to tell from a simple dedication to Apollo whether the classical deity is meant or whether a particular Celtic deity is being referred to under a classical name. The situation in Gaul is even more complicated, with at least twenty epithets being recorded. (Jufer & Luginbühl pp. 94–96).

Later tradition

Welsh mythology

Maponos surfaces in the

Gaulish
theonyms has been examined by Hamp (1999), Lambert (1979), and Meid (1991). Mabon apparently features in the tale of a newborn child taken from his mother at the age of three nights, and is explicitly named in the story of Culhwch ac Olwen.

His name lives on in

Arthurian romance in the guise of Mabon, Mabuz, and Mabonagrain
.

Irish mythology

His counterpart in

chambered tomb. Irish mythology portrays him as the son of the Dagda, a king of the Irish gods, and of Boann, a personification of the River Boyne. In Irish mythology
, the Macc Óc frequently features as a trickster and a lover.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781851094400
    .
  2. ^ Matasović, Ranko. Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, page 253. 2009. Brill.
  3. ^ CIL VII 1345 = RIB 1, 1120: Apollini/ Mapono/ Q(uintus) Terentius/ Q(uinti) f(ilius) Ouf(entina)/ Firmus Saen(a)/ praef(ectus) castr(orum)/ leg(ionis) VI v(ictricis) p(iae) f(idelis)/ d(onum) d(edit)
  4. ^ a b Jones, Mary. "Apollo Maponos". Jones's Celtic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

Bibliography

External links

Look up Maponos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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