Nehalennia

Common card · No. 406427

Nehalennia (also Nehalenia, Nehalaenniae, Nehalaenia, Nehellenia) is a tutelary goddess who was worshipped in 2nd- and 3rd-century Gallia Belgica by travelers, especially sailors and traders, at the mouth of the Scheldt. Her origin is unclear, perhaps Germanic or Celtic. She is attested on and depicted upon numerous votive altars discovered around what is now the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands, where the Schelde River flowed into the North Sea. Worship of Nehalennia dates back at least to the 2nd century BC and veneration of the goddess continued to flourish in northwestern Europe in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Nehalennia has experienced a modern-day revival, particularly within Dutch paganism.

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