The Pillar of the Boatmen () is a monumental Roman column erected in Lutetia (modern Paris) in honour of Jupiter by the guild of boatmen in the 1st century AD. It is the oldest monument in Paris and is one of the earliest pieces of representational Gallo-Roman art to carry a written inscription .
The Roman name for the monument is Nautae Parisiaci (the sailors of the Parisii, who were a tribe of Gauls). It was found re-used in the 4th century city wall on the Île de la Cité and is now displayed in the frigidarium of the Thermes de Cluny.
Description
The pillar is made of a type of limestone called "pierre de Saint-Leu-d'Esserent", from Saint-Leu, Oise, France. The original pillar would have been 5.24m high, 91 cm wide at the base and 74 cm wide at the top (Saragoza 2003). It is likely to have been formed in four tiers and although the order from top to bottom is reasonably certain from the relative sizes of the blocks, we do not know the rotational order in which the blocks were arranged; there are 64 possibilities. However, there is no proof that they were stacked and could also have been two pairs of altars.
The guild was for relatively wealthy shipowners or traders. An indication of the power of the guild is shown by one of the sculptures of the pillar where they parade in arms with shields and spears, a privilege granted by the Romans, which is exceptional in less than half a century after the conquest of Gaul. The guild was also the first known society of Paris.
Inscription
Written in Latin with some Gaulish language features, the inscription mingles Roman deities with gods that are distinctly Gallic. The pillar is dated by a dedication to Tiberius Caesar Augustus, that is Tiberius who became emperor in 14 AD. It was set up publicly (publice posierunt) by the guild of sailors of Lutetia, from the civitas of the Parisii (nautae Parisiaci). These sailors would have been merchants who travelled along the Seine.
The main dedication is to Jupiter in the form of Iovis Optimus Maximus ("Jove Best and Greatest"). The names of the emperor and the supreme deity appear in the dative case as the recipients of the dedication. The remaining theonyms are nominative legends that accompany individual depictions of the gods. These are (in the order they appear below) Jove, Tarvos Trigaranos (the Bull with three Cranes), Volcanus (Vulcan), Esus, Cernunnos, Castor, Smertrios, and Fortuna.
The dedication (; RIG L2-1) is as follows: Tib(erio) Caesare / Aug(usto) Ioui Optum[o] / Maxsumo / nautae Parisiaci / publice posierunt // Eurises // Senan[t] U[s]e[t]lo[n] [-] // Iouis // Taruos Trigaranus // Volcanus // Esus // [C]ernunnos // Castor // [---] // Smer[---] // Fort[una] // [--]TVS[--] // D[--]
The pillar provides the only undisputed instance of the divine name Cernunnos . The Gaulish theonyms are presented as deity names in their own right, and not as epithets for Roman gods (by contrast, see the many Celtic gods syncretized with Mars). Other figures appear on the pillar without legible inscriptions, including the Roman gods Mars and Mercury, who can be identified by their conventional iconography, and other unidentified figures, mainly female.
Deities
The top tier, of which only the top half remains, depicts Cernunnos, Smertrios, and Castor and Pollux. Cernunnos has stag's antlers from which hang two torcs. From the amount of the body in the top half, Cernunnos is assumed to have been depicted in a cross-legged seated position as is typical of other Cernunnos depictions ; there is insufficient room for him to be seated on a chair or standing . Smertrios is shown kneeling, brandishing a club and attacking a snake. Castor and Pollux are shown standing beside their horses, each holding a spear .
The second tier, which is complete, shows Jupiter, Esus, Tarvos Trigaranos and Vulcan. Jupiter is shown standing, holding a spear and a thunderbolt. Esus is shown standing beside a willow tree, which he is cutting down with an axe. Tarvos Trigaranus is depicted as a large, heavy-set bull standing in front of a willow tree. Two cranes stand on his back and a third on his head. Vulcan is shown standing, with hammer and tongs .
