Onomaris
NationalityCeltic
Erac. 4th century BCE

Onomaris was a Celtic queen regnant. She is described in the anonymous collection of Greek stories known in Latin as Tractatus De Mulieribus Claris en Bello.[1] She is the first celtic woman mentioned in classical records.[2]

According to this text source, her people, suffering from scarcity and needing to flee their land, offered to obey anyone willing to lead them. When no man accepted the offer, Onomaris pooled their resources and led the emigration into southeastern Europe.[3][4] Onomaris crossed the Ister and ruled over the land after defeating the local inhabitants in battle.[5] She is estimated to have lived at around the 4th century BC.[2] She was honored by the Galatians for her feats.[3] However, the historical circumstances of her life are unknown, so it is unclear if she was a real person or a legendary character.[6]

Name

The name Onomaris sounds like a Greek word[7] but it appears to be a compound, with the second element “-maris” reflecting a Celtic root that meant “great”.[8] It may also mean “mountain ash”,[9] or possibly “like a great mountain ash or rowan tree”.[10][11] It is also suggested that the on or on(n)o in her name meant “river,” aligning with her story leading a river crossing. Another possible etymology is comes the element "-ris", which could be related to "-rix," meaning "king".[5]

References

  1. ↑ Freeman, Philip (2006). The Philosopher and the Druids: A Journey Among the Ancient Celts. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 206. ISBN 0-7432-8906-4.
  2. 1 2 Freedman, Phillip (2006). The Philosopher and the Druids: A Journey Among the Ancient Celts. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 115–116. ISBN 0-7432-8906-4.
  3. 1 2 Koch, John (2006). Celtic Culture: A-Celti, Volume I. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 1396. ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
  4. ↑ Rankin, H. D. (1996). Celts and the classical world. London. ISBN 0-203-27860-7. OCLC 52059285.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. 1 2 Gera, Deborah (1997). Warrior Women: The Anonymous Tractatus De Mulieribus. E.J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands. p. 10-11. ISBN 90-04-10665-0.
  6. ↑ Kazakevych, Gennadii (2021-12-30). "Horse-Rider Image on the Coins of the Eastern Celts and the Cult of Celtic War Goddess". The Ukrainian Numismatic Annual (5): 81–92. doi:10.31470/2616-6275-2021-5-81-92. ISSN 2616-6275. S2CID 245600751.
  7. ↑ Gera, Deborah (2018). Warrior Women: The Anonymous Tractatus De Mulieribus. Leiden: BRILL. p. 220. ISBN 978-90-04-32988-1.
  8. ↑ Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia. Vol. 1-, Volume 2 edited by John T. Koch, p.1396
  9. ↑ Ereira, Alan; Jones, Terry (2009-05-27). Terry Jones' Barbarians - Alan Ereira, Terry Jones. Random House. ISBN 9781409070429. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  10. ↑ Ellis, Peter Berresford (1943-03-10). Celt and Greek: Celts in the Hellenic World - Peter Berresford Ellis. Constable. ISBN 9780094755802. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  11. ↑ Ellis, Peter Berresford (1943-03-10). Celtic women: women in Celtic society and literature - Peter Berresford Ellis. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802838087. Retrieved 2015-07-10.



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