Grannus (alsoGranus,Mogounus,[1] andAmarcolitanus[2]) was a Celtic deity ofclassical antiquity. He was regularly identified withApollo asApollo Grannus and frequently worshipped in conjunction withSirona, and sometimes withMars and other deities.[3]
ThetheonymGrannus is a latinized form of GaulishGrannos.[4] The same stem appears in the personal namesGrania,Grannia,Grannicus, andGrannica, as well as in the place namesGrignols (from an earlier *Granno-ialon 'Grannus' clearing'),Aquae Granni (>Aachen), andGranéjouls.[5]
Its etymology remains debated. The name could be connected toProto-Celtic *grand-/grend-, meaning 'beard' (cf. Middle Irishgrend, Middle Welshgrann 'chin, beard, cheek', Middle Bretongrann 'eyebrow'), although some scholars have pointed that the god is never actually portrayed with a beard. Old Frenchgrenon ('small beard'), Old Spanishgreñon ('beard') and Occitangren ('moustache') are derived from an earlier *grennos, that is supposed to be Gaulish, but the vocalism is difficult to reconcile with the other forms.[5][6][7]
An alternative etymology connects the name to a reconstructed form *gra-snó- (< *gwhr-snó-), which could be related to Proto-Celtic*gwrīns-/gwrens-, meaning 'heat' (cf. Middle Irishgrīs 'heat, glow, embers', Middle Welshgwres 'heat [of the sun, fire], passion, lust').[4][8] Scholar Jürgen Zeidler contends that this would be a "probable reference to the sun's heat and its healing properties".[9] In early twentieth century scholarship, the theonym was often compared with the Old Irishgrían ('sun'),[5] which, according to linguistRanko Matasović, should be derived from Proto-Celtic *gwrensā (>Primitive Irish*gwrēnā).[8]
AtMonthelon, Grannus is calledDeus Apollo Grannus Amarcolitanus[2] ("The one with a piercing or far-reaching look"[10]), and atHorbourg-WihrApollo GrannusMogounus.[3][1]
In all of his centres of worship where he is assimilated to aRoman god, Grannus wasidentified withApollo,[3] presumably in Apollo's role as a healing or solar deity. InTrier, he is identified more specifically withPhoebus as Apollo Grannus Phoebus.[11][3]
One of the god's most famous cult centres was at Aquae Granni (nowAachen, Germany). Aachen means ‘water’ inOld High German, acalque of the Roman name of "Aquae Granni".[12] The town's hot springs with temperatures between 45 °C and 75 °C lay in the somewhat inhospitably marshy area around Aachen's basin-shaped valley region.[12] Aachen first became acurative centre inHallstatt times.[12]
According toCassius Dio, the Roman EmperorCaracalla (188 AD to 217 AD) unsuccessfully sought help from Apollo Grannus—as well asAesculapius andSerapis—during a bout of physical and mental illness, visiting the god's shrine and making manyvotive offerings; Dio claims that the gods refused to heal him because they knew Caracalla's intentions to be evil.[13] Caracalla's visit to the shrine of ‘the Celtic healing-god’ Grannus was during the war with Germany in 213.[14][citation needed]
A 1st century AD Latin inscription from a public fountain inLimoges mentions a Gaulish ten-night festival of Grannus (lightly Latinized asdecamnoctiacis Granni):
Translation: "Thevergobretus Postumus son of Dumnorix gave from his own money theAqua Martia ("Water of Martius [or Mars]", an aqueduct[16]) for the ten-night festival of Grannus".[citation needed]
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The name Grannus is sometimes accompanied by those of other deities in the inscriptions. InAugsburg, he is found with bothDiana andSirona;[17] he is again invoked with Sirona atRome,[18]Bitburg,[19]Baumberg,[20][3]Lauingen,[21] andSarmizegetusa (twice).[22] AtEnnetach he is withNymphs,[23] atFaimingen withHygieia and theMother of the Gods,[24] and atGrand withSol.[3] A votive altar atAstorga invokes him after "holySerapis" and "the many-namedIsis", and before "the unvanquishedCore andMarsSagatus".[25][3]
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