Epona

Romanesque star of the centuryIIId. C.

Epona or Épona is the Celtic goddess of horses, fertility and nature, associated with water, healing and death interchangeably, comparable to Greco-Roman Cybele.

It originates from Gallic mythology, and in Ireland it is known as Edain. Her equivalent in Welsh mythology is Rhiannon, wife of Pwyll, forced to lead her husband's visitors in the form of a mare into the palace. She is also known as Rosette. Her association with death is due to the ancient Celtic belief that horses were guides of souls, from one world to the other. Sometimes, also because of this association, she is represented with a key, a map or a plan, to guide the dead to the afterlife.

She is depicted seated on horseback, standing in the midst of a herd of horses or feeding foals, and in Gaul sometimes as a water nymph or undine. Her attire is long robes, covered with a cloak over her head and a headband, although she can sometimes go naked. The name Epona derives from the Celtic word Epos , horse, and she was identified with the deity Iccona. She can take on the appearance of a mare. Her main attributes are a patera (a shallow bowl used in ancient sacrifices to offer libations), baskets of fruit or cereal, and the Cornucopia or horn of plenty in her hands, possibly a Roman addition to the iconography. her.

Her cult spread from Rome to the Danube, particularly in Gaul, Thrace, Pannonia, Dacia, the Rhineland, Brittany, Dalmatia, and Rome. The goddess Epona was also venerated in Spain, as witnessed by an existing inscription on the doorway of the church of Paramio de Zamora, which reads: "... DVERIA EPPONE RITIS", possibly from the s. II of our era, and that could refer to the contributions that the people of the Duero lands had to make to pay for the rites in honor of the goddess. This inscription has the particularity that it presents the name of the goddess with a double P, which does not happen with other inscriptions in the Iberian Peninsula. She is also documented as Epona in Lara de los Infantes, Burgos, and in the form Epane among the ancient Cantabrian people as witnessed on Mount Bernorio in Palencia.

She became the preferred deity of Roman cavalry, and in fact there are known coins showing the goddess with the head of a horse and images of her that adorned the stables and stables. In addition to being venerated in the army, she was a domestic divinity, as a goddess of abundance or prosperity.

She was the only Gallic goddess integrated into the Roman pantheon. There was a festival in her honor on December 18, in Rome itself.

In popular culture

Epona represented with two horses and with a basket of fruits in the lap (Germany, c. 200 d.C.)

Epona has made several appearances in modern popular culture, with references to her in video games, or songs where she is mentioned and narrate stories linked to her myth:

• In the video game saga The Legend of Zelda the protagonist character usually used to travel a mare called Epona. Makes his appearance The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild through Amiibo.

• The song "A Rose for Epona" by the metal folk band Eluveitie tells the story of a woman who asks for help from the goddess for the war of the Galias. They then launched a song entitled "Epona" as part of their new album, in which they excel the figure of this striking goddess.

• The song "The Crines of Epona" by the band of folk metal Salduie, belonging to his album We'll see.He speaks of the story of a horse named by the goddess, and his rider.