# Suleviae

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{{Short description|Celtic goddess of law and justice}}
In [ancient Celtic religion](/source/Celtic_polytheism), '''Sulevia''' was a goddess worshipped in [Gaul](/source/Gaul), [Britain](/source/Roman_Britain), and [Gallaecia](/source/Gallaecia),<ref>Votive inscription to SULEIS NANTUGAICIS, found in [Paderne de Allariz](/source/Paderne_de_Allariz). Cf. {{cite journal|last=Luján Martínez|first=Eugenio R.|title=The Language(s) of the Callaeci|journal=E-Keltoi|date=3 May 2006|volume=6|page=722|url=http://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ekeltoi/volumes/vol6/6_16/lujan_6_16.pdf|access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref>  very often in the plural forms '''Suleviae''' or (dative) '''Sule(v)is'''. Dedications to Sulevia(e) are attested in about forty inscriptions, distributed quite widely in the Celtic world, but with particular concentrations in [Noricum](/source/Noricum), among the [Helvetii](/source/Helvetii), along the [Rhine](/source/Rhine), and also in [Rome](/source/Rome). Jufer and Luginbühl distinguish the Suleviae from another group of plural [Celtic goddesses](/source/Celtic_goddesses), the [Matres](/source/Matres), and interpret the name Suleviae as meaning "those who govern well".<ref name="Jufer">Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Editions Errance, Paris. pp.15,64. In the original: ''"Celles qui gouvernent bien"''.</ref> In the same vein, [Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel](/source/Patrizia_de_Bernardo_Stempel) connects Suleviae with [Welsh](/source/Welsh_language) ''hylyw'' 'leading (well)' and [Breton](/source/Breton_language) ''helevez'' 'good behaviour'.<ref>Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia de; Hainzmann, Manfred, and Mathieu, Nicolas. “Celtic and Other Indigenous Divine Names Found in the Italian Peninsula.” In: ''Théonymie Celtique, Cultes, Interpretatio - Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio''. Edited by Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel and Andreas Hofeneder, 1st ed. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2013. p. 88. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8mdn28.8.</ref>

==Epigraphy==

The Suleviae have been identified in one inscription with the [Junones](/source/Junones), but mostly with the Matres, for example on an inscription from [Roman Colchester](/source/Roman_Colchester), as well as on most of the inscriptions from Rome. The Colchester inscription reads:

::::MATRIBVS SVLEVIS SIMILIS ATTI F CI CANT VSLM
::(Translated: ''To the Sulevi mothers, Similis the son of Attius, of the [Civitas Cantiacorum](/source/Durovernum_Cantiacorum), willingly and deservedly fulfills his vow.'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roman-britain.org/places/camulodunum.htm |title=Roman Britain |website=www.roman-britain.org |access-date=2014-07-21}}</ref>

In another inscription, the dative singular ''Suleviae Idennicae'' is attested in conjunction with Roman goddess Minerva.<ref>Allmer, Auguste. "Les dieux de la Gaule. I. - Dieux de la Gaule celtique (suite: Inscriptions 1254 à 1263)". In: ''Revue épigraphique du Midi de la France'', tome 3, N°90, 1898. pp. 548-549. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/repig.1898.1357; www.persee.fr/doc/repig_1259-6736_1898_num_3_90_1357</ref><ref>Lambert, Pierre-Yves. Hainzmann, Manfred, and Mathieu, Nicolas. “Le Statut Du Théonyme Gaulois.” In: ''Théonymie Celtique, Cultes, Interpretatio - Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio''. Edited by Andreas Hofeneder and Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel, 1st ed. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2013. p. 118. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8mdn28.11.</ref>

== Relation to other deities ==
Van Andringa interprets the Suleviae as "native domestic divinities honoured at all social levels".<ref>William van Andringa (2002). ''La religion en Gaule romaine: piété et politique (I<sup>er</sup>-III<sup>e</sup> siècle apr. J.-C.'' Editions Errance, Paris {{ISBN|2877722287}} p. 275. In the original: ''"divinités domestiques indigènes honorés dans tous les milieux sociaux"''.</ref> For the theory that the Suleviae were a [triune](/source/Triune_deity) version of Sulis Minerva, see [Sulis](/source/Sulis). This theory is disputed by some researchers who find no direct links with Sulis, and suggest instead that the similarity in names is coincidental.<ref name="Jufer"/> Another theory connects the Suleviae with the [Xulsigiae](/source/Xulsigiae), known from a site at [Trier](/source/Trier);<ref name="Wightman">Edith Mary Wightman (1970). ''Roman Trier and the Treveri.'' Rupert Hart-Davis, London.</ref> but this suggestion has also been contested.

==See also==
* [Triple Goddess](/source/Triple_deity)

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

{{Celtic mythology (ancient)}}

Category:Celtic goddesses
Category:Gaulish goddesses
Category:Gallaecian goddesses
Category:Goddesses of the ancient Britons

{{celt-myth-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Suleviae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suleviae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suleviae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.