Albiorix
"King of the World"

Continental Celtic deity

Judging by an inscription found in Avignon, the Romans refered to him as "Mars Albiorix," which would then put him in the same category of the Gallic god Teutates, who was (it is believed by scholars) refered to by the Romans as the god Mars.

As Teutates' name means "the god of the people" and Albiorix's name "king of the world" one can see that this god of war was probably also the protecting god of the tribe. This is in fact the case--Albiorix was protector of the Albici tribe in southern Gaul (from which they took their name, or vice versa).

Now, let us not forget that Mars was not only a god of war, but was originally a god of fertility, and that sacrifices of grains were brought to his temple. With this in mind, the role of a god called Mars as King of the World and God of Our Tribe becomes clearer, for not only is he a protector willing to go to war, but he is Lord over all Life itself. As such, he is also likely equivalent to the Irish god Nuada, High King of the Tuatha Dé Dannan.

It is unknown whether one can connect his name to Albion, one of the older names for Britain, or whether Albion comes from alba, "white", refering to the White Cliffs of Dover. However, if Albiorix and Albion are related, this would simply add to the theory that Albiorix and Albion are perhaps not only gods, but founders of the "tribe"--the Celts. This would make Albiorix, Albion, and Teuates not only Mars, but also Dis Pater, from whom the Celts (according to Caesar) claim descendence.

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