Maximius Flavius scripsit

Please, let me go on with some more questions, as this cult is not familiar to me. Are there certain "ethnic" groups with which the cult spread in Roman empire?

Origins

Due to somewhat disparaging classical or early Christian references to Epona along with other minor deities, Epona was thought up to the mid nineteenth century to be a minor Roman deity. For example, taken from the early fifth century Apotheosis of Aurelius Clemens Prudentius:

Nemo Cloacinae aut Eponae super astra deabus dat solium, quamuis olidam persoluat acerram sacrilegisque molam manibus rimetur et exta.

Nobody gives a throne to the goddesses Cloacina or Epona above the stars, even though he opens an oiled incense-box and investigates grains of spelt and entrails with sacrilegious hands

With the increased understanding of continental Celtic languages, it became very clear that the name Epona is entirely Gaulish - Epos is a male horse, Epa a mare, -on- is a common addition to divine names as seen in for example Maponos (divine child) - thus, the name Epona is simply Gaulish for 'divine mare' [Delamarre pp.137-138].

Most researchers nowadays conclude that the origin of the deity Epona is from some part of the Gaulish peoples [Hornblower p.549]. This is the simplest assumption and quite likely correct.

It is also frequently assumed that this deity must predate the Roman conquest of Gaul in the 50s bce. So far I am unaware of any evidence for this, however. Furthermore, one of the earliest Epona representations is from Pompei in Southern Italy [Jordan], and is clearly very securely dated as it cannot be later than the volcanic eruptions of 79ce. Another early example is an inscription from Entrains-sur-Nohain, which is dated on epigraphic grounds (by its use of ''good first century characters") to the end of the first century or the start of the second [Magnen & Thevenot, pp.39-40].

Spread

The distribution map shows a strong concentration in that part of the Gauls which Caesar referred to in 58 bce as Gallia Celtica, bounded by the Garonne to the south west and the Seine and Marne to the north east; Gallia Belgica is much less represented and Aquitania hardly at all. The later boundary revisions under Augustus that took Aquitania northwards to the Loire, and created Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, correspond less well to the distribution. There are also no Epona finds in the area between the Rhine and the Elbe, which would have corresponded to the attempts to capture further Germanic territory up to 9ce. Its possible that this tells us something about the origins and early spread.

There is a clustering of Epona artefacts right up to the limes, but none at all outside the borders of the Roman empire at its widest extent. (T.Attius, this is why there are no Epona representations in Ireland - it was never part of the Roman Empire). This clustering at defended borders, plus the unit designations on Epona inscriptions such as altar dedications, tells us that the Roman military were including Epona among the deities to whom they gave worship, made vows, and so on. Dedications by military personell have also been foundon or near Hadrians wall (as has already been noted with the Maryport Epona), the Antonine wall (altar dedication at Auchendavy), the Danube bend, and other border areas.

Naturally, Epona as a protector of horses was more popular among the cavalry alae than among infantry. Also, because at all periods of the Roman empire the cavalry was primarily auxiliaries the ethnic composition of these cavalry units was quite mixed. Most were not Roman citizens, although they would gain the citizenship after 25 years of service. Some units however did hold the citizenship. Gauls are not especially prominent in these units, but tropers from Germania Inferior are strongly represented [Dixon] although the map shows few Epona representations in the province of Germania Inferior itself. This is an important finding, and seems to indicate that Epona was worshipped, not because she was a native Goddess familiar from before joining the army, but because she formed part of the cultic esprit du corps of some of the Roman Army units.

This aspect is especially notable in the case of the emperors mounted bodyguard, originally called the Germani Corporis Custodesand later reformed as the Equites Singulares Augusti. The latter were so much associated with a Germanic origin that they were frequently called the Batavii. Ex members of this unit would emphasise their high status and level of access to the Emperor by dedicating altars to the group of deities of the Equites Singulares Augusti, including Epona, the Campestres, and the Matres Suleviae, and by using particular loyal phrases in inscriptions such as domini nostri (our lord, a reference to the Emperor) [Speidel].

In summary, we have a goddess of Gaulish origin being worshiped by Germanic horsemen in a purely Roman context. This context was frequently, but not exclusively, military.

References