Bellovesus
Bellovesus was a legendary Gallic king. He lived around 600 BCE and is remembered for
invading northern Italy with his people during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, although archeology would associate Gallic expansion into Italy to around 500
BCE.
The historical writer Livius marks that he was the son of the sister of the king Ambigatus. His family belonged to the tribe of Bituriges, which were at this time the most powerful Gaulic tribe and in each case placed therefore the king of all Gaul. In this time the Gaulish people were suffering from overpopulation, so that it became necessary to open new settlement areas. Bellovesus and his brother Segovesus were entrusted with this task. While Segovesus was chosen by the gods — that is, by lot, got an indication to look in the Hyrcinian Forest for new areas to settle — Bellovesus was led to upper Italy.
Bellovesus led allegedly a group of six surplus tribes forward over the alps: Bituriges, Arverner, Senonen, Haeduer, Ambarrer, Karnutes and Aulerci.[1] The alps represented an insurmountable hurdle for the course however first. Only after Bellovesus received support from the Greeks, who in the area of the Salyer had landed and established the port-city of Massilia (Marseille) in c. 600 BCE, did Bellovesus follow a divine sign and succeed in the crossing of the alps through a pass in the area of Tauriner. Having arrived in Italy, the Gauls defeated the Etruscans at the river Tessin and settled in an area, which was called Insubrian . Here Bellovesus created the city Mediolanum, today Milan.
The name Bellovesus seems to prove that already by 600 BCE, the Celts worshipped Ba'al (cf. Belus, Beltaine).
References
Sources
- Livius, ab urbe condita, 5,34.
Secondary literature
- Hans Georg Gundel: Bellovesus . In: Der Kleine Pauly. Lexikon der Antike in fünf Bänden. Volume 1, frame 859.
External links
- description of the people migration under Bellovesus. In: Miranda Green: The Celtic World .
- description of the people migration under Bellovesus. In: Henri Hubert: The Rise OF the Celts .
notes
- ^ The Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde marks: „ [...] Livius has the names of the tribes involved probably out in the 1. Jh. current names freely arranged, them did not hist [orischen] Qu [inches] worth (13, 345 FF.). “, p. 275, [1].
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