Cocidius
Romano-British war god equated with Mars and Silvanus.
In northern Britain during the Romano-British period, Cocidius was a god worshipped by lower-ranked Roman soldiers and local Britons. The Romans linked him to Mars, the god of war and hunting, and to Silvanus, the god of forests and wild fields. For the Britons, he likely served as a tribal god and genius loci, much like Belatucadros.
Quick Facts
- Equated with
- Mars and Silvanus
- Worshipped by
- Lower-ranked Roman soldiers and Britons
- Region of worship
- Northern Britain, around Hadrian's Wall and Cumbria
- Known dedications
- At least 25 inscriptions
- Known representations
- At least nine representations in the Hadrian's Wall corridor
- Place-name derived from
- Fanum Cocidii (temple of Cocidius), identified with Bewcastle
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The name Cocidius may be related to British Celtic cocco-, meaning 'red', suggesting statues might have been painted red.
- A figure discovered in the 1980s in the Otterburn Training Area is known as the Red One.
Representations and dedications
The place-name Fanocodi, recorded in the Ravenna Cosmography near the Solway Firth, likely comes from Fanum Cocidii, meaning temple of Cocidius, and is thought to be modern-day Bewcastle. Cocidius was honoured with inscriptions around Hadrian’s Wall and Cumbria, notably at the forts of Birdoswald and Bewcastle. At Ebchester, an inscription calls him Cocidius Vernostonus, or Cocidius of the alder tree. A carving from around 2000 years ago, found in 2006 near Chesters Fort, shows a figure with arms spread wide and legs planted firmly.
Though its gender is unclear, its shape and gear appear male, with a shield in the left hand, a sword in the right, and a scabbard at the belt. This carving, nicknamed the little man, is one of at least nine known images in the Hadrian’s Wall area, alongside roughly 25 inscriptions. Most of these cluster along the western part of the Wall, with the most striking example at Yardhope: a bas-relief figure holding a spear and shield, carved into a vertical rock face at the entrance to a small shrine.
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