Abellio

Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshipped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges.[1] He may have been a god of apple trees.[2]

For the bus and train operator, see Abellio (transport company). For other uses, see Abellio (disambiguation).

Drawing of a Gallo-Roman votive altar dedicated to Abellio, found in the village of Garin, Haute-Garonne, France

Some scholars have postulated that Abellio is the same name as Apollo,[1] who in Crete and elsewhere was called Abelios (Greek Αβέλιος), and by the Italians and some Dorians Apello,[3] and that the deity is the same as the Gallic Apollo mentioned by Caesar,[4] and also the same as the Belis or Belenus mentioned by Tertullian[5] and Herodian.[6]

Other scholars have taken the reverse position that Abellio might have been a similar solar deity of Celtic origin in Crete and the Pyrenees, but the Cretan Abellio may however not be the same god as the Celtic one, but rather a different manifestation, or dialectal form, of the Greek god Apollo or his name.

In his attempt to connect the Grail legends to the Cathars, Otto Rahn identified the worship of Abellio in the Pyrenees with the Latinized form of Belenus-Apollo who he equated with Lucifer.[7][8]

References

Footnotes

1. Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Abellio", in Smith, William (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1, p. 2
2. Jordan, Michael (1993). Encyclopedia of gods : over 2,500 deities of the world. Internet Archive. New York : Facts on File. pp. 1.
3. Fest. s. v. Apellinem; Eustath. ad II. ii. 99
4. Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico vi. 17
5. Tertullian, Apologeticus 23
6. viii. 3; comp. Capitol. Maoeimin. 22
7. Rahn, Otto (2008-02-28). Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781594777370.
8. Rahn, Otto (2006-09-22). Crusade Against the Grail: The Struggle between the Cathars, the Templars, and the Church of Rome. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781594777219.

Other sources

• Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology(Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN 0-19-508961-8
• Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN 0-00-764059-5
• Proto-Celtic — English lexicon

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Abellio". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.