Paganism an overview introduction - South African Pagan Council

A number of objets d’art, coins, and altars may depict scenes from lost myths, such as
the representations of Tarvos Trigaranus or of an equestrian “Jupiter” surmounting a
snake-legged human-like figure. The Gundestrup cauldron has been also interpreted
mythically.
The Gundestrup cauldron
The Gundestrup cauldron is a richly-decorated silver vessel, thought to date to the 1st
century BCE It was found in 1891 in a peat bog near the hamlet of Gundestrup, in the
Aars parish in Himmerland, Denmark, and it is now housed at the National Museum
of Denmark in Copenhagen.The Gundestrup cauldron is the largest known example of
European Iron Age silver work (diameter 69cm, height 4cm). The style and
workmanship suggest Thracian origin, while the imagery seems Celtic. This has
opened room for conflicting theories of Thracian vs Gaulish origin of the cauldron,
some suggesting even influence by Indian iconography. For many years scholars have
interpreted the cauldron's images in terms of the Celtic pantheon. The antlered figure
has been commonly identified as Cernunnos, and the figure holding the broken wheel
is more tentatively thought to be Taranis. There is no consensus regarding other
figures. The elephants depicted have been explained by some Celticists as a reference
to Hannibal's crossing of the Alps.
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundestrup_cauldron
Along with dedications giving us god names, there are also many deity
representations to which no name has yet been attached. Among these are images of a
three headed or three faced god, a squatting god, a god with a snake, a god with a
wheel, and a horseman with a kneeling giant. Some of these images can be found in
Late Bronze Age peat bogs in Britain, indicating the symbols were both pre-Roman
and widely spread across Celtic culture. The distribution of some of the images has
been mapped and shows a pattern of central concentration of an image along with a
wide scatter indicating these images were most likely attached to specific tribes and
were distributed from some central point of tribal concentration outward along lines
of trade. The image of the three headed god has a central concentration among the
Belgae, between the Oise, Marne and Moselle rivers. The horseman with kneeling
giant is centered on either side of the Rhine. These examples seem to indicate regional
preferences of a common image stock.
The classic entry about the Celtic gods of Gaul is the section in Julius Caesar’s
“Commentarii de Bello Gallico” (52–51 BC; The Gallic War). In this he names the
five principal gods worshipped in Gaul (according to the practice of his time, he gives
the names of the closest equivalent Roman gods) and describes their roles. Mercury
was the most venerated of all the deities and numerous representations of him were to
be discovered. Mercury was seen as the originator of all the arts (and is often taken to
refer to Lugus for this reason), the supporter of adventurers and of traders, and the
mightiest power concerning trade and profit. Next the Gauls revered Apollo, Mars,
Jupiter, and Minerva. Among these divinities the Celts are described as holding
roughly equal views as did other populations: Apollo dispels sickness, Minerva
encourages skills, Jupiter governs the skies and Mars influences warfare. In addition
to these five, he mentions that the Gauls traced their ancestry to Dis Pater.
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