Mercurius Cimbrianus orCimbrius is a Germanic god mentioned in seven Roman dedicatory inscriptions. These inscriptions are from the territory of the Roman province ofGermania Superior from the second to third centuries CE.
Three inscriptions were found in a Roman cult complex on theHeiligenberg, near present-dayHeidelberg, which was used until late Antiquity.[1] Two finds from the vicinity ofMiltenberg[2] and two inscriptions from near Mogontiacum (present-dayMainz[3]) make up the remainder of the documentation on this god.
The name ‘Cimbrianus’ is derived from that of theGermanic tribe[4] ofCimbri, whose homeland is placed in theJutland peninsula by ancient sources such asStrabo andTacitus,[5] and who began migrating southward in the late 2nd century BCE.[6]From this it has been conjectured that the cult of Mercurius Cimbrianus was established in theOdenwald by some detachments of such Cimbri. Also near Miltenberg, another inscription mentions the presence of Teutons,[7] who were associated with the Cimbri in their great 2nd-century BCE migration. As the god isidentified with the RomanMercury, this ‘Mercury of the Cimbri’ is generally thought to represent the Germanic godOdin or *Wōđanaz.