Epona

Also known as Deanism

Key facts

Deity.type: Celtic
Deity.image: Engraving of Epona in the stable of a circus. Engraved from a (lost) wall painting in the Circus of Maxentius.jpg
Deity.caption: Epona surrounded by four foals in the stables of a circus, engraved from a lost wall panting in the Circus of Maxentius
Deity.deity_of: Gallo-Roman Horse Goddess
Deity.mount: Mare
Deity.venerated_in: Roman Empire
Deity.symbols: Foal, patera, corn, fruit, cornucopia
Deity.gender: Female
Deity.ethnic_group: Gauls
Deity.day: December 18

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Wikidata facts

Image: Epona.jpg

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Commons category: Epona

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~15 min read

Article

18 sections

Contents

Etymology
Origins
Functions and worship
Evidence
Epona in Gaul
Roman Epona
Epona in Hispania
In Britain
Rhiannon
Iconography
In literature and art
Today
See also
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading

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 with a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain, and foals. She and her horses might also have escorted souls in the afterlife, as seen in later literary parallels such as the character Rhiannon from the Welsh Mabinogion.

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."