Recently, another statuette of Belin came to day light during the archaeological excavations in Celje (Slovenia). As usual, Slovenian archaeologists incorrectly classified it as Hercules. They justify the identification with the "lions hide", that the statuette is holding. In the neighbouring Friuli, in the area of Aquileia, in spite of the "hide", such statuettes are identified with Belin. Its divine nature also depicts the aureole around his head.

Dr. Jožko Šavli

In the area around the upper Soca (Isonzo) Valley, after World War II, there was an old legend about a good (celestial) doctor named Belin, who could give eyesight to the blind with his "key". These are the remnants of the pre-Roman God of Light and Sun, which have been preserved to this day. At the same time, this type of feature proves, that the local people must have settled in this area since time immemorial, just as they did in other parts of Slovenia.

History taught us, that Belin (Belenus) was the highest god of the Carni, a people who descended from the ancient Veneti. They settled, together with the Norici, Taurisci, and the Latobici in the Eastern Alps. There, they formed already in pre-Roman times and later in the Roman period, a kingdom called regnum Noricum (after 200 BC). The area that the Carni inhabited extended from present-day Carinthia (Austria) to Friuli and Trieste. In this area other witnesses have been preserved, which give evidence of Belin's presence. In Slovenian, the meaning of his name is "white", "light".

Tertullian, a Roman writer (*ca. 160 - † 254), mentions Belin and calls him Noricus Belenus, cf. Apologeticum, adv. gent. (24, 7) and Ad nationes (II, 8). In the same Carinthia, the centre of the later Carantania, two inscriptions dedicated to Belin have been preserved from the Roman period: BELINO SACR, found at the ancient castle of Osterwitz - Ojstrovica, and BELINO AVG SACR from Zigguln - Cigole, a suburb of Klagenfurt - Celovec. It seems, that the Roman name Beliandro, which refers to the borough of Feldkirchen - Trg, also contains traces of god Belin.

Norican slab bearing the inscription which attests the sacrifice to the Steinbock (Belin's messenger), 1st century BC, Roman era.

Belin had also a messenger in the animal world, which must have been the Steinbock, or ibex. In the Norican chief town of Štalen (Magdalensberg) in Carinthia, a slab stone was preserved from the 1st century BC, bearing the inscription: sacrificiu(m) Cap(r)icorni C(aio)Vibio Postumo co(n)s(ulle) pr(idie)... Novimb(res) Gallus fec(it) lu(mina) ==, v(inum)==, cru(stum)=, murra= Translated: Sacrifice of the steinbock was carried out by Gallus, under Consul Caius Vibius Postumus.... in November (together 12 onches of wares, expressed with 6 signs of = ). One says, this sacrifice was dedicated to Emperor Augustus, conceived on December 23 in the sign of the Capricornus (Steinbock, from December 22 - Januar 21). But the month of November does not correspond to this event. This sacrifice was evidently made in honour of Belin's messenger, the Steinbock.

Goldenhorn (Zlatorog), the white gold-horned steinbock, was Belin's (or Belen's) messenger in nature. Rudolph Baumbach, a German poet, made this into a famous poem called "Zlatorog" (Leipzig 1877). It is not known, if Belin had an animal messenger in the Celtic world too. - Painting by Ivo Petkovšek. - (for details see article: Goldenhorn - the Steinbock of the Alps)

The common people believed that Belin's steinbock did not have natural features but that he rather appeared as a Goldenhorn, meaning, a white steinbock with golden horns, called Zlatorog in Slovenian. In the Julian Alps his legend has been preserved since ancient times and was finally registered and published by Karl Deschmann in the Laibacher Zeitung (Lublana 1868). After that, Rudolf Baumbach, a German poet, reworked it into a poem, which was translated into several languages and became famous all over Central Europe.

It was still in the Roman era, when god Belin appeared as the protector of the great city of Aquileia. Several inscriptions, about 60 altogether, were found in the vicinity. There were also altars dedicated to him. The nearby site of Beligna still remembers his temple with its name. At the beginning of the 9th century AD, Patriarch Maxentius founded a Benedictine monastery (Turre, 1700) at this place. Other Belin inscriptions were unearthed in nearby Belvedere, Grado and Barbana.

The well-known Greek geographer Strabo (ca. 64 BC - 19 AD) reports, that east of Aquileia there was a grove and a temple at the outflow of the Timava River and the Adriatic Sea, where the Veneti regularly sacrificed a white horse to Diomed (V, 8). But the latter was not a Venetic divinity, and one has to consider, that the very god, to which the horse was sacrificed, could only have been Belin.

In 238 AD, Aquileia was besieged by Maximinus, who was proclaimed emperor by the Roman legions in Thrace. On his march to Rome, Aquileia was the greatest obstacle in his way. In the so-called bellum aquileiense, as the city was about to surrender, the commander of the city gave orders to display Belin's image above the walls. Maximinus' soldiers lost courage, because they saw God's image in the air, as they later declared (Herodian VIII, 2). Aquileia was not captured, and Belin received the new protective epithet Beleno defensor Avg(ustus).

In the Roman era, beside the territory of the Carni, the worship of Belin extended also over Venetia (the present-day Veneto), to which many inscriptions bear witness. They were found in the ruins of ancient towns, particularly in Altinum and Concordia. Italian experts are of the opinion (cf. Dizionario... 1990) that the name of the city Belluno, situated in the large basin of the Piave River, descends from God Belenos (Belin), too. In Roman times it was called Belenum (cf. Pliny, nat. hist. III, 130). Here and there, inscriptions about him appear also in the Appennines, for example in Rimini, Rome and Tivoli... I think, these inscriptions could have been a legacy of the Veneti. Later, worship of Belin was also taken over by the Celts.

Belin was also compared with the Roman sun god, who was identified with Apollo, to which some inscriptions, like Apollini Beleno Augusto, bear witness. Even emperors, like Diocletian and Maximinus, dedicated to him votive inscriptions, which in some cases bear the epithet Deus Soli (God of the Sun). The identification with Apollo was reinforced by the votive inscription Fons Beleni (Belin's spring), because Apollo, as it is well known, also appears as the god of Health.

Kresnik, Belin's son

As we know, Belin arrived as a non-Roman god, the god of light and sun. He entered the pantheon of the people, who had settled in the territory between the Eastern Alps and Northern Italy, the descendants of the ancient Veneti. Like all the mythological figures in the solar deity that carry on the role of the celestial father, the Veneti god Belin also had a consort. She was the divine Mother Earth, who was also the mother of the individual nations and bore their names: Noreia (in Noricum), Reitia (in Rezia and Venetia), Histria (in Istria) and so on.

Each divine couple had a son, therefore Belin and his consort must have had one too. But he has not been mentioned directly in the rare remainders of the ancient Venetic mythology. However, a figure has been preserved in the Slovenian oral tradition, which speaks of the sunny son. His name is Kresnik and he could only have been the son of Belin.

His name derives from the Slovenian verb kresati "excudere ignem" (to strike fire by means of a flint, to strike sparks); kres means bonfire, with the prefix "iz" (is) appears the word iskra (spark). Thus, Kresnik as son of the god of light and sun was a sparkling or shining figure. Such a denotation corresponds perfectly to that of Fetonte (Phaéton, in Greek), a figure in classical stories. This figure, albeit in a somewhat Hellenized story, does not belong to either Greek or Roman mythology. It was evidently taken over from the Venetic tradition. Fetonte, meaning "splendid" (sparkling), could only have been identical with Kresnik, Belin's son, and the story has been handed down as follows:

Norican stelae of Roman period. It depicts the scenes from the fable of Fetonte (Kresnik), Belin's son. On the right we see two enlarged scenes, in which Cygnus, Fetonte's friend, is trying to keep him away from the fateful sunny carriage.

Fetonte (Phaétôn) was the son of Helios (Apollo) and the nymph Klimene. Cygnus, the Ligurian king, was his caring friend. One day, Fetonte boasted himself to have the most brilliant of the gods as father. Then, his playmate Epaphus, wickedly merely said, that his mother told him lies, and in reality his father is a common mortal. Fetonte asked his mother for explanations, but she did not have enough arguments to re-assure him. Therefore, she sent him to Helios, so that he would verify her words.

Helios tried to calm him down and to re-assure him, but Fetonte asked, as proof of the veracious paternal love, that god should grant him whatever he is asking for. Incautiously, Helios promised and swore. Fetonte requested, that the father should let him lead his sunny carriage, as to circle around the Earth with its team of horses. But the divine horses soon felt his inexperience, and he lost control over the reins. So, he came with the sunny carriage so close to Earth, that he could have set it ablaze.

At that time, Jupiter, who heard the frightened cries of the people, struck Fetonte with his lightening and let him precipitate into the river Eridanus. Fetonte's sisters Egle, Lamecia, and Featus buried their brother's corpse and mourned. After four months the deities had pity, they transformed them into poplars and the tears of their inconsolable crying into amber drops. Fetonte's friend Cycnus, king of the Ligurians, was also shocked by his death, and he was transformed into a water bird, that since then bears the name cygnus (swan).


	Another enlarged scene from the Norican stelae: Fetonte is sitting on the sunny carriage. Above him we see Belin Zeus (Zeus) and Hermes, as they appear in the Grecized legend of Fetonte.

This mythical story is not of Greek origin, but is handed down in a Grecized form. It has to be mentioned here, that the ancient Greeks also called their supreme god Bélos or Zeus-Bélos. Thus, there is a very close similarity of names between them and the ancient Veneti. The Fetonte-story therefore certainly pertains to the Venetic mythology. It captured people's attention in the 19th century AD, when the public showed an interest for cultural legacies from the classical world. Fetonte's story was summed up with the following words: The existence of the Veneti in Venetia intervened with the myths created by the Greeks... who also invented the precipitous fall of Fetonte in Eridanus. Berosus of Chaldea, who lived in the 4th century BC, wrote, that the Veneti descended from Fetonte, the son of Ligure... (Molon, 1881). Berosus (340 - 290 BC) was a Chaldean priest, historian and astronomer. The word Ligure is associated with the Ligurian king in the story, and in this way with the Ligurians, who, in my opinion, are descendants of the ancient Veneti. Consequently, several authors, who are not familiar with the Venetic origin and their identity, assume that at one time Europe was populated by the "Ligurians".

The river Eridanus is often identified with the Po River. But Hesiod (ca. 700 BC), the author of "Works and Days", who was the first to tell Fetonte's story, only says that Eridanus is a river "with deep whirlpools", which flows in the extreme north. It flows there, where the frontiers of the world come to an end, and where the stock of the Hyperborean settled, who were well skilled in taming horses. Euripides (ca. 480 - 406 BC) in his "Hippolytus" says, that Eridanus is a river at the Upper Adriatic. Evidently, the Eridanus in the Grecized Fetonte story was never identified, and this river could have been also the Adige, Piave, or even the Isonzo (Soca). For the Greeks, the Hyperboreans were an unidentified race of the north. But their knowledge and skilfulness of horse training shows clearly, that Euripides meant the Veneti, the well-known horse breeders from the Antiquity.

Several Kresnik stories are preserved in the Slovenian popular tradition: ... Kresnik is a golden-haired and golden-handed son of the celestial god... When he was still young, he tended cows on an Alpine meadow, and when he fall asleep for a short while, the snake king Babylon stole from him the cows... Kresnik's castle is located far in the Orient, on a golden mountain... One day, the snake king was about to steel also his he-goat, but Kresnik ran after it and killed the snake. Then he put the he-goat in front of the carriage. Whereever he carted it, rain started to fall and irrigated the earth, and that year the golden wheat started to grow big and plentiful... (cf. Kelemina, 1930). In the continuation of this article, we will see several hard to imagine coincidences of Kresnik's feature.

I believe that Fetonte's, or better, Kresnik's story is also confirmed by archaeological finds, for example by a certain stone which was excavated in the ruins of Virunum, the chief town of Noricum during the Roman period (cf. Jabornegg - Altenfels, 1870, CVIII). It is a Roman stone showing engraved scenes in which a figure with a shining nimbus appears. It is true that at several sites the statuettes of this figure were excavated, albeit elaborated with a horse feature, and ascribed to Belin (or some times, incorrectly, to Hercules). But in this case the scenes display the picture in which the figure of the shining nimbus stays on a carriage with a team of horses, holding a whip. The coincidence with Fetonte - Kresnik is more than evident.

St. Belin

During Christianization and in early Christianity, the ancient god of the sun, Helios, frequently appeared in comparison with Christ. Helios' familiar image was adopted as an allegory of Christ's triumph. Some shapes of the divine Helios (Christ) appear in the form of a Winner and a Driver of the Universe. The excavation in the Vatican's basilica discovered close to St. Petrus' grave a mosaic, showing Helios with a shining nimbus on a triumph carriage.

In the present-day region of Carnia, north of Udine (Friuli), in the locality of Zuglio, at one time called Julium Carnicum during the Roman period, the remaining foundations of a temple, which was dedicated to Belin, are still visible. In 1870, a statuette of Belin was unearthed in the proximity of Cividale (Cedad, in Slovenian). In the surroundings of the same city, near Gagliano, there is a small church, that still today carries the name San Bellino. It seems, that his figure entered early Christianity as Sol salutis (Jesus, the son of divine salvation) in the same way Helios did.

Votive inscription of "Belino Sancto" from Aquileia, where god was the divine protector of the town (3rd century AD). In distinction to prior inscriptions of "Belino Avgustus", this one must be considered as an homage to the Christianized shape of Belin. After Christianization, it became a Sol salutis (Helios), an allusion of a victorious Christ, which this inscription very probably reflects.

Belin evidently replaced Helios in the ancient Venetic territory of northern Italy, which later was largely invaded by the Celts. Even today we can find several villages and sites with his name that continued to exist during the Christian era, because Belin (Helios) personified the triumphant Christ. It is not a coincidence that I am referring to some cases in the province of Piemont (Italy). This province is situated in the hinterland of the Ligurian Sea, it reveals even today several names, the meaning of which can be identified in the Slovenian (the modern Venetic) language. For example: Mte. Viso (2640 m) - viš (highest peak, paramount), Mea (2931 m) - meja (boundary), Malinvern (1939 m) - melni vrh (cliff with steep slope of debris), Lobbie (3015 m) - lobje (rocky head), little town Vinadio, Mellea - mela (torrent, bringing rubble)...

These names prove to me that the Ligurians were part of the ancient Veneti. One example in their Belin tradition is the name San Benigno, which is in the vicinity of Turin. In 1306, this name was still written as Sanctus Balinus, and researchers of the Italian nomenclature associated it with Belenus, i.e., Belin, whom they considered a "Celtic" god (cf. Dizionario... ). I think they are wrong, because they don't take into consideration Belin's identification with Helios (Christ). Near the city of Cuneo there is a site called San Benigno, also known as San Belegno, and near Borgaro, a suburb of Turin, we find a place called San Balen. In the upper Varaita Valley there is a small town named Bellino (cf. Dizionario...).

The statuette of Belin, found in Kobarid, upper Isonzo (Soca) Valley, 3rd century BC. With his raised hand he is showing the path to the sun.

Belin, or Belenos, was originally an ancient Venetic god and not a Celtic one. Very early on, however, he entered into Celtic mythology. Because the Venetic and the Celtic languages were almost identical on the European continent, it gives me to think that this could have been the case already after 400 BC, when the Celts invaded extensive areas of Europe, and superimposed themselves over the older substrate of the Veneti. This took place mainly in Gaul (France), with the exception of Armorica (Brittany), where the Veneti continued to maintain their identity.

In Gaul, today's modern France, the name Saint Bonnet appears frequently, which is considered a possible Christianization of the Celtic toponyme dedicated to Belénos. Again, we find more familiar names like Blin, Belin and Blain, and even Sain Bel near Lyon (Sambael, in 1061). The records even mention Belenatensis mons (Belin's mountains), which supposedly is preserved in the name Saint Bonnet (Puy-de-Dome). One could assume that names like these escaped Christianzation. In fact, the same Belin in the signification of Helios (Christ) was Christianized.

The veneration of Belin or Belenos was particularly wide-spread in Burdigala (Bordeaux). A temple of Belin was found in the city's proximity, as the teacher Decimus Magnus Ausonius (*310 - † ca. 394) reported in his memoirs. Ausonius had a friend called Delphidius, whose paternal father Phoebicius was a Beleni aeditus (guardian of Belin's temple). The question of whether this temple was consecrated to the pagan god Belin - Belenos or already to the Christianized Belin - Helios (Christ), is justified. At that time the Christian faith was already widespread in Burdigala. Orientalis, the first bishop of that city, has been already mentioned in 314 AD at the Council of Arles.

Today, a site called Belin - Beliet is found south-west of Bordeaux. It is possible, that it has a link to the Belin tradition. Another site, which certainly remembers Belin, is Bélingard, a castle 80 km east of Bordeaux. The word gard means "castle". In Pomeranian the word gard still exists in several names, like Stargard, while in Slovenian language the word has changed to grad. These words descend from the Venetic "ograditi" (to fence in), from which the word garden also derives. Nevertheless, in this case we do not talk about "le jardin du dieu Belin, dieu du soleil" as the local spot says, but it is rather about a place on a promontory with precipitous rocks, on top of which, we imagine stood Belin's one-time temple.

Further Gallic inscriptions that refer to Belenus were found in Aquitaine, Provence, Burgundy, and other places. The inscriptions were carved on sculptures and votive objects dedicated to Belenus, especially at healing shrines. The Roman-Celtic healing shrine at Sainte-Sabine in Burgundy was dedicated to Apollo Belenus. The former name Belenton for Bérenton, in Brittany, may indicate a one-time connection with Belenos. At Bourbon-les-Bains in north-eastern France, the healing waters were also associated with Belenos.

On the continent, Belenus was associated with all the functions the Celts expected of solar gods: protection, fertility, healing, and regeneration after death. The horses, solar symbols, probably symbolized Belenos himself (cf. Green J. Miranda, 1997, 2003).

The Celtic Belen

In Gaul, Belin's name and surrounding circumstances show, that in the late Roman era this god probably was Christianized. In Britain, however, he was preserved in the people's tradition as a pagan deity of the Celts. I suppose, the Veneti could have introduced him in this area already in the pre-Celtic period, when they invaded the Isles during the Hallstatt era (ca. 800 - 400 BC). Several names, like Venedotia (Wales) and others, bear witness, that the Venetic ethnic entity there was preserved for a longer period. In the La Téne era (ca. 400 - 15 BC) the incursions of the Celts into Britain and Ireland from the European continent followed. The Veneti and the Celts from the continent spoke almost the same language, but in the course of time the language of the local autochthone population, the Atlantic culture, prevailed. In this way the (Insular) Celts were formed, whose language still has been preserved.

Until now, no one imagined and researched the possible share of the continental Veneti in the Britannic Celtic tradition. In this connection I have to state, that in Britain, too, Belin preserved his original name. In Slovenian, the modern Venetic language, bel or beli stands for "white, "light", in the meaning of day light, which origins from the sun. In Irish, his name form Beli, beside Bel and Bile, was preserved in the meaning of "father-god of light, healing, warmth and the Otherworld". There, he is also known as the god of death, who accompanies the souls to the Otherworld, where he rules. The latter characteristic may have played a role in his primordial meaning.

In British and Irish territories numerous names were given to Belin - Belenos, which reflect several of his characteristics, like Beli Mawr, Beli the Great, Beal, Grannos, Bolur, and so on. One of his many names, Heli, has been explained as a "transcription error" (in Geoffrey of Monmouth's history). In my opinion, Heli could have been Belin's link to Helios, and an indication for the beginning of Belin's Christianization, even in Britain. Thus, he was thought to ride the Sun across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot. Another indication could be the name Billingsgate (Belin's gate), the well-known fish market in London. Before that, it was also known as Blynesgate and Byllynsgate.

One supposes, that in early Christianity in Britain, Belin's figure was amalgamated with some saintly features. I researched several sources and came to the conclusion that one of them could have been the Archangel St. Michael "defeating the Devil", which is a classic depiction of this figure. The devil is represented by the dragon. Sacred pagan hills associated with Belenos are thought to have had their dedications transferred to this Saint (or sometimes to St. George) by the early Christians. Well known examples include St. Michael's Mount (Cornwall) and the churches of St. Michael on Brent Tor (Devon), Burrow Mump and Glastonbury Tor (Somerset).

In the antiquity, Belenos was a pan-Celtic god; he was worshipped from Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) to the Shetlands. The festival of Beltane is Beli Mawr's or Belenos', and was celebrated by lighting huge bonfires to welcome the summer months and to encourage the Sun's warmth. Held on May 1st, it is remembered today in many cultures as part of May Day Festivities.

Sumerian Bel

Sumerians were the first known people of Mesopotamia. At a very early period - prior to 3000 BC - their holy city called Nippur, became the centre of a political district of considerable extent. The chief deity of the religion there was Bel, which later became the most important god of the Babylonian and also of the Assyrian religion. Its name signifies "lord" or "master", as historians explain. His real name is accordingly to be sought in En-lil, of which the first element again has the force of a "lord" and the second presumably of "power" and the like.

Bel or En-lil originally was the patron of Nippur. Inscriptions found there show that he was in fact regarded as the head of an extensive pantheon. Among the titles accorded to him are "king of heaven and earth" and "father of the gods". His chief temple in Nippur, known as E-kur, signifying mountain house, was his sanctuary. Babylonian and Assyrian rulers vied with one another to embellish and restore Bel's seat of worship.

I believe, however, that the Sumerians, who must have arrived from a mountain region, called him first Bel, and that this name signified "white, light". Thus, he was originally the god of light. Thereafter, the original signification of Bel was amalgamated with En-lil, the "master", and because he was the chief god of the pantheon, only such a meaning was preserved.

When Babylon became the centre of a great empire, god Marduk presided over the holy city of Nippur, and the titles of En-lil were transferred to him. He was also the "lord", but known under the name Bel Marduk. We find Bel as a factor in the religion of Babylonia and Assyria to the latest days. His animal messenger was the Hawk, which still today is the symbol of Iraq.

Bel (En-lil) of the Sumerians held the insignia of royalty which he dispensed to the person of his choice. Earthly kings, then, were only his representatives or vicars. In order to raise them above other men, it was enough that god should pronounce their name, for the word Bel was all-powerful (Larouse Encyclopedia of Mythology, p. 54 - 55).

Since Mesopotamia has no mountains, En-lil would appear to be a god whose worship was carried into Mesopotamia by a wave of migration from the mountain country. One might think of settlers, for example, that were arriving from the nearby region of Elam (Persia). Nevertheless, in distinction to the Accadians, who arrived later from the Arabian Peninsula, the Sumerians themselves, who were the earliest people of the Fertile Crescent, at one-time must have arrived in Mesopotamia from the mountain areas. Only this could explain the Sumerian imagination of a "sacred mountain", the dwelling place of God, and of gods in the following time.

Bel's Origin

If Genesis (5, 32) says, that Noah became the father of Shem, Ham and Japhet, and if with these names are meant the peoples of Semites, Hamites and Aryans (Indo-Europeans), then I consider the Sumerians as Japhet's successors, too. That was the case, when, in earlier times, they venerated Bel (Belin) as the "All-powerful", the "Master", the "Father"... In origin he must have been the unique God, whose worshipping gradually degraded after the adoption of agriculture. His name, it is true, was handed down into the mythology of several peoples, such as Baal of the Semites or Bel-Hammon of Carthago. In Palymira (Syria) he was still worshipped as Bel in the1st century BC, but not anymore as the one and unique God.

In the Fertile Crescent area such a degradation of worshipping must have happened already in the early Bronze Age (ca. 3000 - 2000 BC), when Abraham (Genesis 11, 31) with his family abandoned his native Ur, a Sumerian city in the southern part of Mesopotamia. First he moved to Haran located about 600 miles north on the plain, where the Euphrates is leaving the mountain region. From there, his clan moved finally 400 miles south-west to Canaan. Why did Abraham and his family leave Ur?

They would have preserved the right creed in a unique God, the Omnipotent, Father and Master of the All (Universe), who at first evidently was called, Bel. First he was the God of the Aryans (Indo-Europeans), the part of which, as mentioned above, must have been in their origin Sumerians, too. But in Mesopotamia, after the adoption of agriculture, they began to worship other gods, in first place the goddess Mother of Earth... In this way, the name Bel did not correspond anymore to its original meaning and therefore, Abraham did not make further use of it. So, only the name Jehovah, the "most sacred" name given to God, has been preserved among Abraham's descendants, the Jewish people.

Anyway, the first and the original name of Abraham's God evidently was Bel, Belin, Bel'n (Belen). He was the Unique and the Omnipotent, whose image has been preserved in Christianity.... The Aryans, the people of the steppe, knew only one God, the One, who is giving light, the day-light, that brought life and the existence of the All. He was imagined to be the God of heaven, King of the world, enthroned high above the earth, from where he directed the destinies of men. His hand, raised high into the air, indicated the path to the sun.

Such an image of God was introduced by the Aryans to Middle Europe in ca. 2000 BC (string ceramics). Thereafter, this God was associated with the divine forces of Nature of the neolithic farmers. First in line was the goddess Mother of Earth, who took a part of his leading position away from Him. In the following period it was also the creed of the Veneti (after 1200 BC), in which God's original name, Belin, had been preserved. His original name was also preserved in the people's tradition of Slovenians. It must be considered a remnant of their pre-Christian mythology, which, by the way, coincides with that of the ancient Veneti. The mythology of the "ancient Slavs", who did not exist at all as a people, is evidently an academic construction only. Therefore, its application to Slovenian traditions must be seen as a forced introduction of a useless Slav ideology.

In the Slovenian people's tradition the figure of Bel, Belin, Belen was eliminated by Christianity in virtually every aspect. Surprisingly, the figure of Kresnik, Belin's son, has been preserved up to the present day. From the stories about Kresnik we can reconstruct some of the Slovenian features of Belin. These features resemble much of anything, that is found in the historical records.

Selected Bibliography:

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Bezlaj France: Etimološki slovar slovenskega jezika II (kres), Lublana 1982-

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Dizionario di toponomastica. Stora e significato dei nomi geografici italiani, UTET, Turin 1990

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Forstner Dorothea: Die Welt der christlichen Symbole (Helios), Innsbruck 1982

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Green J. Miranda: Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, London - New York 1997

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Green J. Miranda: The Gods of the Roman Britain, Princes Risborough 2003

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Jabornegg - Altenfels Marcus Freiherr von: Kärntens Römische Altertümer, Klagenfurt - Celovec 1870

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Kelemina Jakob: Bajke in pripovedke slovenskega ljudstva, Celje 1930

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Mikhailov Nikolai: Baltoslovanska mitologija - baltska in slovanska mitologija - slovenska mitologija. Nekaj terminoloških pripomb, SAZU Traditiones 26, Lublana 1997, 77 ff.

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Molon Francesco: Sui popoli antichi e moderni dei sette comuni del Vicentino, Vicenza 1881

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Turre (Filipo della Torre), Dissertationes de Beleno... in Monr. veteris Antii, 1700, p. 281

(cf: The Vends and the Slavs)
(cf: World Slovenian Congress - article Vindia)
(cf: Heraldry of Carantania/Slovenia - article Counts and Princes of Khevenhüller - Metsch)
(cf: Our Castles Part I - article Lublana Castle)

Belin's Stone

Close to the village of Krkavce (pron. k'rkauthce) above the Dragonja Valley, 17 kilometres away from Koper - Capodistria, there on the side of the road stands a prehistoric stone, depicting an engraved figure. The head of the figure is wreathed with sunrays. The archaeologists ascribe a Celtic origin to the stone and date it in the 2nd/1st century AD. Nevertheless, such a statement is rather an expression of Celtic mania promoted by the academic world in the last times. Indeed, the "Celtic" origin of this stone, regarding the historical circumstances, does not appear very likely. First, it is possible that, for a certain time, the Celts controlled Istria together with Krkavce. But there are no proofs that they also colonized this territory. In the 2nd century BC, after many battles, the Romans conquered Istria. At that time, the Istrian people were not of Celtic but of Venetic origin.

The above mentioned figure encircled by rays, is very similar to Belin (Belen), the god of light and of the ancient Veneti. Its veneration was still preserved during the Roman period. Moreover, he continued to be the protecting god of Aquileia, which grew into a very large Roman centre. Istria, too, pertained to the cultural area of Aquileia. In early Christianity, Belin's veneration in some localities passed over to Christ and also to St. Michael Archangel. In Friuli, not far from Aquileia, Belin's name has been preserved on a little church near Gagliano (Cividale). At a nearby hill, the present-day Mary's pilgrimage church of Stara gora (Castelmonte) was first dedicated to St. Michael Archangel. The parish church of Krkavce has also been consecrated to St. Michael Archangel. Thus, there are too many similarities to call it only a coincidence.

An inscription dedicated to God Belin

by Dr. Jožko Šavli

The above-reproduced Venetic inscription (Pa 25) originated in Padova, and reading from right-to-left it spells TIVALEIBELLENEI. Scholars interpreted it as a funeral inscription. But they could not decipher it with accuracy. The well-known Venetologist, A. L. Prosdocimi from Venetia (Italy), explains it in an unconvincing way as »il nome di uno straniero«, i.e., the name of a stranger (cf.I Veneti antichi, Padova 1988, p. 291). On the other hand, the Slovenian Venetologist, Matej Bor, explains the inscription with help of the Slovenian language as: Ti valej be llenej, spelling: Ti - you, valej (pron valey), today: veljak - a man of mark, be (aorist) - was, llenej (pron. lyney) - gentel. Thus: You, a man of mark, were gentle.

However, I think that Matej Bor was wrong in this case. It is true, on hand of the Slovenian language (and other Slav words), descendants of the ancient Venetic language, numerous Venetic inscriptions can be explained. But in the above inscription the word Bellenei, which remembers god Belin (Belen), has been clearly pointed out. In my opinion, this way of spelling would explain its meaning: TI VALLEJ BELLENEJ (pron. ti valey belleney). Anyway, the meaning of these words in Slovenian language, and especially because they talk about a funeral inscription, should be interpreted as follows: ti (you), valej (today: veljaj, imperative of to be worth, destined), Bellenej (dative: to Belene, i.e., to Belin). Thus, one wished for the defunct: You, belong to Belen. - Still today, the Slovenian dialect of the Vipava Valley has the ending - ej (-ei) for the dative singular case, in particular for the declination of feminine and neutrum nouns. Further on, I think, in the above inscription »god« was rather visualized in a more vast imagination, i.e., as a deity (božanstvo, in today's Slovenian). And again, if the name of god Veles (Eastern Slav pantheon) shows a reflexive betatism (b > v), then the probability exists, that this god has to be identified with Belen, Belin (Veles - Beles, or Belec »white«)? -

(cf. article: God Belin and Echo I, letter dated August 7, 2004 "In consideration of..."