AMAZING!
YOU HAVE DISCOVERED A SMALL STATUE!
Up the hill from the Artisan’s Quarters is an old midden-heap. All manner of cracked crockery and failed fibulae have been discarded here. However, a glint of gold catches your eye and you carefully remove a slightly irregular statuette from the rest of the rubble.
This golden figurine seems to represent Taranis, the Thunderer. In one hand he holds a sheaf of thunderbolts and in the other he carries the wheel of the sky, or the wheel of life. He is one of the three mighty Gods worshiped by the Gauls. According to Lucan, sacrifices to Taranis were placed in a hollow tree trunk and then burned. Caesar also made mention of burning criminals in baskets made of wicker or cane.
Taranis is also believed to be the God of the underworld which, according to some, he rules with his wife (or consort) who is called Rigani. He is sometimes equated with Jupiter and with Thor. In battle, he wields a great hammer, as well as his spears of lightning. Mistletoe was sacred to Taranis, and the Gauls would put sprigs of that plant in their thatching to protect against strikes from his mighty bolts.
Well, we’ll just add Taranis to our collection and be moving along. There are two more stops to cover on our tour. A short hike down the hill will take us to the banks of the River Saône. If we are lucky, we may be able to hitch a ride on one of the flatboats which ply the river.
NEXT STOP - - - ALESIA!
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The Green
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