View source for Artaius

{{Short description|Celtic epithet of Mercury}}
{{for|the racehorse|Artaius (horse)}}
'''Artaius''' is a [[Celt]]ic epithet<ref name="delamarre">Xavier Delamarre (2003). ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise.'' Paris: Editions Errance, p.56</ref> applied to the Roman god [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] during the [[Gallo-Roman religion|Romano-Celtic]] period. It is known from a single inscription from [[Beaucroissant]] in the [[Isère]]:
::<small>MERCVRIO</small>
::<small>AVG ARTAIO</small>
::<small>SACR</small>
::<small>SEX GEMINIVS</small>
::<small>CVPITVS</small>
::<small>EX VOTO</small><ref>''[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum]]'' XII: 2199.</ref>
:''"To the august Mercury Artaius, Sextus Geminius Cupitus (has dedicated this) sacred (stone) [[ex-voto|in fulfillment of a vow]]."''
In [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]], the word ''artos'' means ‘bear’, and ''artaios'' would have been a derivative<ref name="delamarre"/> (meaning something like ‘ursine’). [[Miranda Green (academic)|Miranda Green]] considers Mercury Artaius to have been a [[bear worship|bear-god]].<ref>Miranda Green (2004). ''The gods of the Celts.'' Sparkford, UK: Sutton Publishing, p.174.</ref> It is also possible that Artaius is derived from a place name (so that, as an "Artaian Mercury", he would only indirectly have any association with bears). Based on the inscription found at Beaucroissant, Auguste Longnon surmised that the location was once called Artay; there is a similarly named town, [[Artaix]], in Saône-et-Loire.<ref>Longnon, Auguste, ''Les noms de lieu de la France'', Paris, 1920, p. 114.</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Gaulish gods]]
[[Category:Votive offering]]
[[Category:Mercurian deities]]
[[Category:Bear deities]]
{{Celtic mythology (ancient)}}