A sky god of the Lusitanian and Gallaecian peoples of the western Iberian Peninsula, attested on votive inscriptions across the region under a range of local epithets, among them Reve Anabaraeco, an epithet linked to river sources, and Reve Reumiraego. Several inscriptions pair him with wording close to the Latin deo maximo, greatest god, suggesting worshippers already read him as the chief figure of the pantheon before any Roman equation was made, and he appears by name, alongside Trebaruna and other native deities, in the Cabeco das Fraguas sacrifice inscription, one of the longest surviving texts in the extinct Lusitanian language. As with the region's other deities, no narrative myth about Reve survives; the record is entirely epigraphic.
Facts
Function
Domain / Function Origins
Origin of the NameLinguists generally trace his name to the same Proto-Indo-European root behind Zeus and the Latin Jupiter's own underlying epithet Diespiter, dyeus, sky or shining god, a rare and direct survival of the inherited Indo-European sky-father figure this far into the western edge of the language family's range. 1 Attributions
Mythic AssociationThe formula close to the Latin deo maximo on several Reve inscriptions has led scholars to compare him functionally to Jupiter as a supreme sky god of the Lusitanian pantheon, though, unlike Bandua, no inscription equates him outright with a named Roman god. 1 Cult
Attributes and IconographyHe is attested only on votive inscriptions under a range of local epithets and in the Cabeco das Fraguas sacrifice inscription, none of which is accompanied by a carved figure or any account of his appearance. 1 Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayHistorically attested; no continuous cult 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 A Lusitanian and Gallaecian sky god named beside Trebaruna in the Cabeco das Fraguas inscription, part of the same described native pantheon. Reve
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Correspondences & Relations
Connections
Associated With
This source names The Pantheon directly: "read him as the chief figure of the pantheon before any Roman equation was made, and he appears by name, alongside Trebaruna and other native deities, in the Cabeco das Fraguas sacrifice..."
Source Jose d'EncarnacaoJose d'Encarnacao
This source names Trebaruna directly: "and he appears by name, alongside Trebaruna and other native deities, in the Cabeco das Fraguas sacrifice inscription, one of the longest surviving texts in the extinct Lusitanian language."
Source Jose d'EncarnacaoJose d'Encarnacao
This source names Reve directly: "by name alongside offerings made to Reve and other native figures."
Source Jose d'EncarnacaoJose d'Encarnacao
Worshipped In
Source Jose d'EncarnacaoJose d'Encarnacao
Sources
1. Jose d'Encarnacao
Jose d'Encarnacao, Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, Lisbon, 1975
2. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia
John T. Koch (ed.), ABC-CLIO, 2006Reve, Lusitanian Roman-era inscriptionsView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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