Artio (Dea Artio in theGallo-Roman religion) is aCelticbear goddess. Evidence of her worship has notably been found atBern in Switzerland. Her name is derived from theGaulish word for 'bear',artos.[1]
The GaulishtheonymArtiō derives from the Celtic word for the 'bear',artos (cf.Old Irishart,Middle Welsharth,Old Bretonard), itself fromProto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos ('bear'). A Celtic form reconstructed as *Arto-rix ('Bear-King') could be the source for the nameArthur, via a Latinized form *Artori(u)s. TheBasquehartz ('bear') is also presumed to be a Celtic loanword.[2][3]
A bronze sculpture from theMuri statuette group, found nearBern in Switzerland, shows a large bear facing a woman seated in a chair, with a small tree behind the bear. The woman seems to hold fruit in her lap, perhaps feeding the bear.[4] The sculpture has a large rectangular bronze base, which bears the inscription "Deae Artioni / Licinia Sabinilla" ("To the Goddess Artio" or "Artionis", "from Licinia Sabinilla"). If the name is Gaulish but the syntax is Latin, a dativeArtioni would give an i-stem nominative*Artionis or an n-stem nominative*Artio. That would perhaps correspond to a Gaulish n-stem nominative*Artiu.
Other inscriptions to the goddess have been discovered inDaun (CIL 13, 4203),Weilerbach (CIL 13, 4113),Heddernheim (CIL 13, 7375 [4, p 125]), andStockstadt (CIL 13, 11789).[5]
Artio is a playable character in the video gameSmite.[6]
