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Bindus is a theonym attested in the territory of the Iapodes tribe. According to scholars, the name refers to a water deity worshipped by the Iapodes, since its name is attested next to Roman deity Neptune.[1][2]

Epigraphy

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The name is attested in epigraphic monuments found in Dardanian territory, dated to the 2nd century, near the rivers Ibër and Drin.[3] At least 11 votive documents dedicated to the deity were found in Privilica, Bihac:[4][5][6]

  • Bindo Neptuno sacrum
  • B[i]ndo Neptuno sacr[um]
  • (Bindo Nep)tuno
  • Bindo N[e]ptuno sa[c]r(um)
  • Bindo N(eptuno) s(acrum)
  • [Bi]ndi
  • Bi[ndo].

Out of the available epigraphy, four were dedicated by indigenous Romanized elites (praepositus), dated to Flavian times, and two offered by soldiers (dated to 3rd century).[7]

A personal name Bindho was also found in a Noricum holy spring.[8]

Name and etymology

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Linguists have connected the theonym to Old Cornish banne, Middle Cornish banna and Breton banne (all meaning 'drop'); Middle Irish buine 'water, stream' and Old Indic bindú- 'drop'.[9][10]

Polish linguist Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak also sees some possible cognate relationship between the Illyrian deity and the Lusitanian Bandua.[11]

Etymological connections have also been proposed between the deity's name and a place named fons Bandusiae, mentioned by Horatio in one of his Odes.[12]

Interpretations

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Bindus is interpreted as the name of a deity of seas and waters,[13][14][15] or a deity of sources.[16][17] In this regard, according to Croatian historian Aleksandar Stipčević, this interpretation is supported by the location of their altars at the source of a river in Privilica.[18]

Iconography

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An altar dedicated to Bindus shows its possible symbols: a figure is depicted with an oar and a dolphin on one side, and a triton with an oar on the other side.[19][15][20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wilkes, John J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 0-631-19807-5.
  2. ^ Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815550525. On various inscriptions Bindus is identified as the Roman god of seas and springs, i.e. with Neptune ("Bindo Neptuno sacrum").
  3. ^ Ferri, Naser (2012). "Vjerovanja i štovanje bogova u predkršćanskoj Dardaniji" [Cults and Beliefs in Pre-Christian Dardania]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in Bosnian) (41). Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine: 143.
  4. ^ Wilkes, John J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. p. 238. ISBN 0-631-19807-5. Among the Japodes (sic) around Bihać, altars were dedicated by leaders of the tribe to Bindus Neptunus, deity of the local spring (...)
  5. ^ Huseinović, Edin (2022). "The valley of the Una river, the land of the "Illyrian" Iapodes". Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS "Acta Illyrica". 6: 174–175. doi:10.54524/2490-3930.2022.157.
  6. ^ Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126.
  7. ^ Dzino, Danijel (2009). "Bindus Neptunus: Hybridity, acculturation and the display of power in the hinterland of Roman Dalmatia". Histria Antiqua. 18 (1): 356.
  8. ^ Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126.
  9. ^ Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126–127.
  10. ^ Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491.
  11. ^ Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491.
  12. ^ Mayer, Anton (1936). "O Fons Bandusiae...". Glotta (in German). 25 (3/4): 180, 182. JSTOR 40265469. Accessed 3 June 2023.
  13. ^ Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815550525. [Bindus's identification to Roman Neptune] justifies the conclusion that Bindus and Neptune stand very close together in their attributes as guardians of seas and waters.
  14. ^ Ferri, Naser (2012). "Vjerovanja i štovanje bogova u predkršćanskoj Dardaniji" [Cults and Beliefs in Pre-Christian Dardania]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in Bosnian) (41). Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine: 135, 143. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-40.8.
  15. ^ a b Kurilić, Anamarija (2022). "Acceptance, Imitation and Adaptation: How did the Natives of Roman Dalmatia Respond to Roman Cultural Presence?". In Kresimir Matijevic; Rainer Wiegels (eds.). Kultureller Transfer und religiöse Landschaften: Zur Begegnung zwischen Imperium und Barbaricum in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Akademie Forschung. p. 157. doi:10.1515/9783110716580-007. S2CID 244565777. Both Bindus's connection with Neptune and iconographic features present in several figural images carved on some altars (such as a deity with Neptune's attributes – fish and a scepter, a Triton, a male goat) clearly testify to him being the god of waters.
  16. ^ Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491.
  17. ^ Cambi, Nenad (2022) [2013]. "Romanization of the Western Illyricum from Religious Point of View". Godišnjak Centra Za balkanološka Ispitivanja. 42 (42): 71–88 [74]. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-42.22. ... Bindus, the god of water and fountains, who was assimilated with Roman Neptunus.
  18. ^ Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815550525.
  19. ^ Huseinović, Edin (2022). "The valley of the Una river, the land of the "Illyrian" Iapodes". Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS "Acta Illyrica". 6: 175–176. doi:10.54524/2490-3930.2022.157.
  20. ^ Cambi, Nenad (2022) [2013]. "Romanization of the Western Illyricum from Religious Point of View". Godišnjak Centra Za balkanološka Ispitivanja. 42 (42): 71–88 [75]. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-42.22. The third altar clearly depicts the iconography of Neptune on one and Triton on other side. Obviously, Neptune's iconography (attributes: fish and a scepter) was also well suited to Bindus...

Bibliography

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Further reading

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📚 Artikel Terkait di Wikipedia

Proposed Illyrian vocabulary

"pasture, field", Lat. ager, Gk. agrós, Goth. akrs Bindus "river god"; Old Ir. banne "drop", Skt. bindú, vindú "drops, gob, spot", possibly Lat. fōns Bandusiae

Illyrian religion

Illyrian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the Illyrian peoples, a group of tribes who spoke the Illyrian languages and inhabited

Illyrians

The Illyrians (Ancient Greek: Ἰλλυριοί, Illyrioi; Latin: Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula

Illyrian coinage

Illyrian coinage which began in the 6th century BC continued up to the 1st century of Roman rule. It was the southern Illyrians who minted the first coins

Messapic language

similarities with the Illyrian languages, some scholars contend that Messapic may have developed from a dialect of pre-Illyrian, meaning that it would

Cleitus (son of Bardylis)

was an Illyrian ruler, the son of the King Bardylis and the father of Bardylis II. Cleitus was the mastermind behind the well-structured Illyrian Revolt

List of water deities

controlling a body of water. Bindus, Illyrian deity equated to Poseidon Arno, the personification of the Arno River Finnish Ahti, god of the depths and fish

Dardani

for several centuries. Ancient tradition considered the Dardani as an Illyrian people. Strabo, in particular – also mentioning Galabri and Thunatae as