In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was the goddess of horses and ponies. She was also a fertility and mother goddess, and was frequently depicted in art and sculptures either mounted on a horse, etc., (usually in sidesaddle position) or sitting on a throne with foals, or standing beside a foal.
She is typically depicted holding a patera, cornucopia,, Summary VIII, listing Nos. 2, 4, 28, 30 with both patera and cornucopia, other examples show one or the other. fruit, bread, (wheat, grain); or accompanied by a foal, Summary XI, listing Nos. 8, 9, 15, 26, 28 as examples with . or foals.
She may have had a death goddess's aspect, and it is speculated that She (and her horses) might have been regarded as escorting souls to the world of the afterlife.
Various scholars also point to the parallel between Epona and the Welsh legendary figure Rhiannon (also closely associated with horses), and in the first branch of the Mabinogion (Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed), Rhiannon rides up to the tower to meet the title hero Pwyll who is not only lord of Dyfed, but the "Head of Annwn (the Ohterworld/Underworld)".
Epona's worship as the patroness of cavalry was widespread in the Roman Empire between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. While adopted Celtic deities were usually only associated with specific localities, Epona was "the sole Celtic divinity ultimately worshipped in Rome itself."Phyllis Pray Bober, reviewing Réne Magnen, Epona, Déesse Gauloise des Chevaux, Protectrice des Cavaliers in American Journal of Archaeology 62.3 (July 1958, pp. 349–350) p. 349. Émile Thevenot contributed a corpus of 268 dedicatory inscriptions and representations.
Etymology The name Epona ('Great Mare') originates from Gaulish, an extinct Celtic language. It is derived from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word for horse: *éḱwos, which appeared in the reconstructed Proto-Celtic language as *ekʷos ('horse'), and later became the Celtic Gaulish epos ('horse'). The word is paired with the augmentative suffix -on which is frequently, although not exclusively, found in theonyms (ex. Sirona, Matrona) and the usual Gaulish feminine singular -a. Alternately, scholars have suggested that the -ona (or -ana) suffix references sacred water, specifically springs or other water sources. The word survives in modern Welsh as 'Ebol' and in Welsh placenames such as Ebbw Vale.https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fun-stuff/unique-origins-most-well-known-24720317
Literary attestations
A number of Roman writers allude to Epona's cult, and it is rare for a Celtic deity be found in so many instances of mention in classical literature, though the amount of information that can be garnered is still scarce, despite the roster of authors.
One of the earliest attestations to Epona as a goddess is the Satires (100–127 CE) of Juvenal, which links the worship and iconography of Epona to stables.Satire VIII lines 155–57, where the narrator derides a consul for his inappropriate interest in horses: Epona is mentioned in The Golden Ass (2nd century CE) by Apuleius, where in a scene set in northern Greece (Thessaly, famed for horse-breeding), an aedicular niche with her image on a pillar in a stable has been garlanded with freshly picked roses:
As the two above literary instances suggest, Epona artefacts have been discovered at stable sites (cf. )
A euhemeristic account of Epona's origin is found in the Parallela Minora, attributed to Pseudo-Plutarch:
Fulvius Stellus hated women and used to consort with a mare and in due time the mare gave birth to a beautiful girl and they named her Epona. She is the goddess that is concerned with the protection of horses. So Agesilaüs in the third book of his Italian History.Pseudo-Plutarch, Parallela Minora 29, also found cited as 312e (= Agesilaus FGrHist F 1). The tale was conveyed in Giambattista Della Porta's edition of Magia naturalis (1589), erroneously citing Plutarch's Life of Solon. It may represent some recollection of ancient Indo-European horse sacrifice— such as the Vedic ashvamedha or the Irish ritual described by Giraldus Cambrensis— both of which are related to kingship. In the Celtic ritual, the king mates with a white mare thought to embody the goddess of sovereignty.M.L. West, Indo-European Poetry and Myth (Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 418.Miriam Robbins Dexter, "Horse Goddess," in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (Taylor & Francis, 1997), p. 280.
Pausanias relates a similar Greek myth regarding Demeter Erinys ('Vengeful Demeter'), who, in the form of a mare, was raped by Poseidon in the form of a stallion.Pausanias, viii.25.5, 37.1 and 42.1 The myth was noted in Bibliotheke 3.77 and reflected also in a lost poem of Callimachus and in Ptolemy Hephaestion's New History.Karl Kerenyi, The Gods of the Greeks (1951) pp 184ff "Demeter and Poseidon's stallion-marriages". Demeter was venerated as a mare at Lycosoura in Arcadia.
Functions and worship Epona likely embodied the domesticated aspects of the horse— representing fertility, abundance, reproduction, and protection. She was likely also viewed as a protectress of not just horsemen (including cavalry soldiers, charioteers, s), but of horse-breeding, and venerated by the related professions, such as stable hands, grooms, as well as anyone engaged in any sort of transit or commerce relating to horses, including travellers on horseback.
The attestation in the Roman work by Apuleius (cf. ) leads to the supposition that altars dedicated to the goddess were commonly placed in stables wherever in the Roman empire. While she was later associated with the cavalry due to the circumstance of Gaul being subjugated under Rome (and many Celts were hired as cavalrymen for the auxilary), iconography indicates that prior to Roman contact she was likely a peaceful divinity, associated with fertility and protection rather than war.
Epona in Gaul In regional cults in Roman-occupied Gaul, Epona was worshipped as a mother goddess who oversaw the welfare of horses, donkeys, mules, and their riders. Horses were a key component of Pre-Roman Gallic life; Gallic soldiers held their horses in high regard, as seen by Vercingetorix sending away his horses rather than letting them be captured or killed.
Some objects dedicated to the goddess also suggest that she played a funerary role; additionally, horses were believed to guide the soul into the afterlife in some ancient cultures. suggested that images of Epona, in addition to those of the serpent-tailed ("anguiforme") daemon, symbolized a theme of victory over death; he found both images to be manifestations of Mediterranean symbolism, which reached Gaul through contacts with Etruria and Magna Graecia.
Roman Epona When Romans came into contact with Celtic deities, they often interpreted the new deity through existing Roman models in a process known as interpretatio romana. As Gaul was Romanized under the early Empire, Epona's sovereign role evolved into a protector of cavalry.Oaks 1986:79–81. Local Gallic customs and Epona's cult were spread across the Roman Empire by the auxilia, alae, numeri, and equites singulares, military units that were primarily recruited from Gaul, Lower Germany, and Pannonia. Due to the modest nature of the goddess' extant offerings and inscriptions, scholars have suggested that Epona may have retained her rustic qualities and focus on healing and fertility even as she was adopted by the Romans.
Epona's feast day in the Roman calendar was given as December 18 on a rustic calendar from Guidizzolo, Italy,Vaillant, 1951. although this may have been only a local celebration. She was incorporated into the Roman imperial cult and invoked on behalf of the emperor as Epona Augusta or Epona Regina ('queen').Spickermann, Wolfgang. "Keltische Götternamen als Individuelle Option?" Akten des 11. Internationalen Workshops "Fontes Epigraphici Religionum Celticarum Antiquarum" vom 19-21. Mai 2011 an der Universität Erfurt.
Epona in Hispania Evidence of Epona's cult has been found as far west as the Roman province of Hispania, in the Iberian Peninsula. The core of the cult was likely centered around Celtiberia, a region populated by Hispano-Celtic speakers that was later absorbed into the Empire. She is attested to in Cantabria and Palencia in modern-day Spain, where she was known as Epane.
Generally, in art from this region, Epona is depicted riding a horse, standing among a herd of horses, or feeding foals. A small stone altar dedicated to the goddess was found in Andújar, Andalusia, likely dating to the late 1st or early 2nd centuries CE. The goddess herself is not depicted, but a mule is carved into the surface. The expansion of her cult outside of Celtiberia and into cities along the Sierra Morena is likely due to the vast network of copper mines in the region; her worshippers likely worked at or owned these mines.
In Britain In the West Country, specifically Padstow and Minehead, the tradition of May Day hobby-horse parades survived into the 20th century; at the end of the festivities in Padstow, the hobby-horse was formerly ritually submerged into the sea.Theo Brown, "Tertullian and Horse-Cults in Britain" Folklore 61.1 (March 1950, pp. 31–34) p. 33.Herbert Kille, "West Country hobby-horses and cognate customs" Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society 77 (1931) Folklorists have claimed the festival has roots in the ritual worship of Epona. However, there is no firm evidence of the festival existing before the 18th century. A southern Welsh folk ritual called Mari Lwyd (Grey Mare) is still undertaken in December. Some folklorists have likewise claimed the event descends from the veneration of Epona. However, there is no firm evidence to support this claim.
Rhiannon In the medieval Welsh collection of stories known as the Mabinogion, the regal figure of Rhiannon rides a white horse, whose slow, effortless gait supernaturally outpaces all pursuit. Wrongly accused of killing her offspring, Rhiannon has to live as a horse for seven years as punishment, offering to carry travellers to the court and telling them her story; she also wears the work-collar of an ass.
She and her son, who is fathered by the sea-god (cf Romano-Greek Poseidon, god of horses and the sea), are sometimes described as mare and foal.Ford, Patrick K., The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales, 2008, University of California Press, pp. 12, 26, 36, 75, . See also Sioned Davies (translator), The Mabinogion, Oxford 2007, p. 231. Ronald Hutton is skeptical of connections claimed between Epona and Rhiannon; the latter is a much later, literary creation, though it also draws on oral traditions now lost.
Archaeological evidence The majority of artifacts related to and dedicated to Epona have been found in what was eastern and northeastern Roman Gaul and around the Roman limes in the German Rhineland, which were garrisoned by cavalry. The historian claimed that the earliest Epona worship occurred in the Roman Danubian provinces, and asserted that she has been introduced to the Gallic limes by horsemen from the east; however, this suggestion is not widely accepted. The extant evidence for Epona's cult and worship primarily consists of votive objects, inscriptions, and small statues typically created from stone or clay. Objects dedicated to Epona are often found around sacred water— specifically wells, springs, and the Moselle— indicating that she was likely seen as a healer.: "powers of Epona to regenerate life"; also cited by