Bindus (Illyrian god)

Bindus is a theonym attested in the territory of the Iapodes tribe. According to scholars, the name refers to a water deity worshipped by the Iapodes, since its name is attested next to Roman deity Neptune.^[1]^[2]

Epigraphy

The name is attested in epigraphic monuments found in Dardanian territory, dated to the 2nd century, near the rivers Ibra and Drina.^[3] At least 11 votive documents dedicated to the deity were found in Privilica, Bihac:^[4]^[5]^[6]

Bindo Neptuno sacrum
B[i]ndo Neptuno sacr[um]
(Bindo Nep)tuno
Bindo N[e]ptuno sa[c]r(um)
Bindo N(eptuno) s(acrum)
[Bi]ndi
Bi[ndo].

Out of the available epigraphy, four were dedicated by indigenous Romanized elites (praepositus), dated to Flavian times, and two offered by soldiers (dated to 3rd century).^[7]

A personal name Bindho was also found in a Noricum holy spring.^[8]

Name and etymology

Linguists have connected the theonym to Old Cornish banne, Middle Cornish banna and Breton banne (all meaning 'drop'); Middle Irish buine 'water, stream' and Old Indic bindú- 'drop'.^[9]^[10]

Polish linguist Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak also sees some possible cognate relationship between the Illyrian deity and the Lusitanian Bandua.^[11]

Etymological connections have also been proposed between the deity's name and a place named fons Bandusiae, mentioned by Horatio in one of his Odes.^[12]

Interpretations

Bindus is interpreted as the name of a deity of seas and waters,^[13]^[14]^[15] or a deity of sources.^[16]^[17] In this regard, according to Croatian historian Aleksandar Stipčević, this interpretation is supported by the location of their altars at the source of a river in Privilica.^[18]

Iconography

An altar dedicated to Bindus shows its possible symbols: a figure is depicted with an oar and a dolphin on one side, and a triton with an oar on the other side.^[19]^[15]^[20]

References

^ Wilkes, John J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 0-631-19807-5.
^ Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815550525. On various inscriptions Bindus is identified as the Roman god of seas and springs, i.e. with Neptune ("Bindo Neptuno sacrum").
^ Ferri, Naser (2012). "Vjerovanja i štovanje bogova u predkršćanskoj Dardaniji" [Cults and Beliefs in Pre-Christian Dardania]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in Bosnian) (41). Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine: 143.
^ Wilkes, John J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. p. 238. ISBN 0-631-19807-5. Among the Japodes (sic) around Bihać, altars were dedicated by leaders of the tribe to Bindus Neptunus, deity of the local spring (...)
^ Huseinović, Edin (2022). "The valley of the Una river, the land of the "Illyrian" Iapodes". Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS "Acta Illyrica". 6: 174–175. doi:10.54524/2490-3930.2022.157.
^ Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126.
^ Dzino, Danijel (2009). "Bindus Neptunus: Hybridity, acculturation and the display of power in the hinterland of Roman Dalmatia". Histria Antiqua. 18 (1): 356.
^ Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126.
^ Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126–127.
^ Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491.
^ Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491.
^ Mayer, Anton (1936). "O Fons Bandusiae...". Glotta (in German). 25 (3/4): 180, 182. JSTOR 40265469. Accessed 3 June 2023.
^ Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815550525. [Bindus's identification to Roman Neptune] justifies the conclusion that Bindus and Neptune stand very close together in their attributes as guardians of seas and waters.
^ Ferri, Naser (2012). "Vjerovanja i štovanje bogova u predkršćanskoj Dardaniji" [Cults and Beliefs in Pre-Christian Dardania]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in Bosnian) (41). Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine: 135, 143. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-40.8.
^ a b Kurilić, Anamarija (2022). "Acceptance, Imitation and Adaptation: How did the Natives of Roman Dalmatia Respond to Roman Cultural Presence?". In Kresimir Matijevic; Rainer Wiegels (eds.). Kultureller Transfer und religiöse Landschaften: Zur Begegnung zwischen Imperium und Barbaricum in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Akademie Forschung. p. 157. doi:10.1515/9783110716580-007. S2CID 244565777. Both Bindus's connection with Neptune and iconographic features present in several figural images carved on some altars (such as a deity with Neptune's attributes – fish and a scepter, a Triton, a male goat) clearly testify to him being the god of waters.
^ Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491.
^ Cambi, Nenad (2022) [2013]. "Romanization of the Western Illyricum from Religious Point of View". Godišnjak Centra Za balkanološka Ispitivanja. 42: 71-88 [74]. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-42.22. ... Bindus, the god of water and fountains, who was assimilated with Roman Neptunus.
^ Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815550525.
^ Huseinović, Edin (2022). "The valley of the Una river, the land of the "Illyrian" Iapodes". Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS "Acta Illyrica". 6: 175–176. doi:10.54524/2490-3930.2022.157.
^ Cambi, Nenad (2022) [2013]. "Romanization of the Western Illyricum from Religious Point of View". Godišnjak Centra Za balkanološka Ispitivanja. 42: 71-88 [75]. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-42.22. The third altar clearly depicts the iconography of Neptune on one and Triton on other side. Obviously, Neptune's iconography (attributes: fish and a scepter) was also well suited to Bindus...

Bibliography

Cambi, Nenad (2022) [2013]. "Romanization of the Western Illyricum from Religious Point of View". Godišnjak Centra Za balkanološka Ispitivanja. 42: 71–88. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-42.22.
Dzino, Danijel (2009). "Bindus Neptunus: Hybridity, acculturation and the display of power in the hinterland of Roman Dalmatia". Histria Antiqua. 18 (1): 355–362.
Ferri, Naser (2012). "Vjerovanja i štovanje bogova u predkršćanskoj Dardaniji" [Cults and Beliefs in Pre-Christian Dardania]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in Bosnian) (41). Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine: 135–158. doi:10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH-40.8.
Huseinović, Edin (2022). "The valley of the Una river, the land of the "Illyrian" Iapodes". Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS "Acta Illyrica". 6: 157–189. doi:10.54524/2490-3930.2022.157.
Katičić, Radoslav (1972). "Drei Altbalkanische Nomina Sacra" [Three Old-Balkan Nomina Sacras]. Godišnjak Centra za balkanološka ispitivanja (in German) (9): 126–127.