6

I'm looking for the exact name and possible etymology of an ancient celtic-iberian deity roughly named "Pecosuosucivo", as I can faintly recollect. Probably linked with the town Úbeda in the province of Jaén. Any suggestions are welcome!

exp8j
  • 221
  • 1
  • 5
  • Are their any other details about this figure you can remember? – Dan Feb 26 '20 at 16:32
  • @Dan no that's all I can say. – exp8j Feb 26 '20 at 18:35
  • 1
    But you're sure it refers to a "Celtic" deity? I ask because this particular region is historically associated with non-"Celtic" peoples, who assimilated much from other Mediterranean cultures. – Dan Feb 26 '20 at 22:16
  • @Dan you're right, it must be Iberian. I added "Celtic" in case there might be a connection with "Celtiberians". – exp8j Feb 27 '20 at 10:09
  • Well, it might still be "Celtic." I'm just offering suggestions. How sure are you on the spelling/pronunciation? And is there anything at all you can remember associated with him/her/it? An animal? A holiday? Was it tied in some way to a river/mountain/etc? – Dan Feb 27 '20 at 10:36
  • 1
    This question is driving me crazy. How sure are you about the spelling? Can you spell it out phonetically? – Dan Mar 02 '20 at 02:35
  • @Dan not sure about the spelling, but what I've written can't be totally misleading. Maybe something relevant exists in Úbeda museum, which I haven't found online yet. – exp8j Mar 05 '20 at 08:09
  • @Dan as I also recall it may be a kind of guardian deity. – exp8j Mar 05 '20 at 08:13
  • Yeah, the museums in Andalucía could stand to be more informative on their websites. (Very nice museums from the look of it, though.) – Dan Mar 05 '20 at 19:08
  • I've exhausted everything I could think of. If it's Celtic, I'd guess the name contains the elements -keldos or kel- and *su-, which might suggest Sucellus. The second part of the word is more obscure to me (whether I take the [v] as a /v/ or a /b/). – Dan Mar 05 '20 at 19:12
  • The [uo] cluster is tricky, too. Honestly, this word could arguably be said to show influence from Phoenician or Greek or Aquitanian (all very possible given the region) before reaching the "Spanish" form we're working with here; I wasn't able to find anything definite. Given the length of the word, I'm wondering if it's an epithet rather than a proper name, in which case @Codosaur might be on the right track, or at least have the right idea. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can help you out! :( – Dan Mar 05 '20 at 19:25
  • 2
    @Dan you should not :( but :) as it's always a joy to engage in earnest inquiry! – exp8j Mar 06 '20 at 12:03
  • Is this deity human-shaped or a being like a dragon or something ? – ralf htp Mar 31 '20 at 06:17

2 Answers2

3

This name doesn't seem Celtic. It could be derived from vulgar Latin based on:

Pecus (guard) suos (acc. plural oneself) succentīvus ([those]around)

or

Pecus (guard) suos (acc. plural oneself) su (over, on, regarding) cibo (food)

Pecus can also derive from the Indo-European root for "livestock" but that doesn't seem to make much sense here.

Codosaur
  • 5,368
  • 6
  • 16
  • 1
    In fact, the livestock connection could be very relevant here. No reason this figure can't be associated with cattle (a chiefly important resource) given the information we have. – Dan Mar 05 '20 at 19:30
1

The highest deity in the male trias in various Indo-European mythologies has a similar name :

, the female trias is always the Fates (nornir, horae, parcae, ...)

The problem is that the mythological function of these highest male deities is massively tainted by later christian influence so it is hard to tell if any mythological tradition about these deities is native (original) or not (modified later)

ralf htp
  • 211
  • 1
  • 6
  • 1
    Interesting links, and what a bold attempt at linking them with "Pecosuosucivo" based only on "Pe"! – exp8j Apr 02 '20 at 07:00
  • If the exact name is unknown, look for similar names . i do not know the etymology of these deity names, i will check this – ralf htp Apr 02 '20 at 14:43