Mars Belatucadros

Mars Belatucadros
Mars, the "Fair Shining One"
Romano-British Pantheon.

The Romans equated him with the war god Mars, as seen in five inscriptions which call him "Mars Belatucadros." The majority of these inscriptions occure near Hadrian's Wall, and so it seems that Belatucadros was worshipped by the more northern tribes, like the Votadinii.

I have seen references to Belatucadros as being a horned god; however, I have not found evidence for this, nor for his identification with the god Cernunnos. However, as said, he does seem to be a god of war, and possibly of fertility, as he is equated with Mars.

His consort was Belisama, goddess of the Mersey. As she is also said to be consort to Belenus, it is likely that Belatucadros is another form of Belenus, the (somewhat hypothetical) god of light. This brings up the problems encountered when the Romans decided to equate foreign gods with their pantheon. Belenus is usually equated with Apollo, as both are gods of light. However, Belatucadros is eqated with Mars. Moreover, Belenus wasn't the only god equated with Apollo; that designation also fell to Maponos.