HORSE

The horse was a cult animal in Europe as far back as the Bronze Age. Rock art in Scandinavia shows horses with sun wheels and boats. The horse and the sun-disk were major symbols in the Urnfield culture, and this Bronze Age association continued into the Iron Age; the two symbols often occur together on Iron Age coins.

By the middle of the Iron Age, horses were ridden as well as being used for pulling carts and chariots. The horse acquired great prestige value by association with its use as a steed by the warrior aristocracy—a special status that went beyond their practical usefulness. This was evident at the terrible siege of Alesia by the Roman army. The Gaulish chief Vercingetorix finally sent away his horses and surrendered to insure their safety; he was to lose his life, but his horses were to be saved. This gesture may have entailed something beyond a sentimental feeling for favorite animals; the horses may have symbolized his kingship. Vercingetorix might be about to surrender to Julius Caesar and be taken off to Rome in chains, but the kingship of his tribe, the Arverni, would go on.

The horse’s central place in Celtic warrior society ensured its central place as a religious symbol. Horse figurines were commonly left as offerings in Britain and Gaul;

To give one example, a small bronze horse was left as a votive offering at Coventina’s Well, near Carrawburgh, on Hadrian’s Wall.

The image of a horseman, a mounted god, appears in Romano-Celtic religious art, especially in Britain, in the lands of the Catuvellauni and Coritani, and related to a local war-god cult.

The horse was closely associated with the goddess Epona, who was the most conspicuous horse deity (see Places: Uffington White Horse; Religion:

Coventina, Epona).