Nehalennia: Divine Lady of Prosperity, Trade and Safe Crossings

The desire for prosperity and protection from the destructive forces of nature is of all times. Some two thousand years ago, on the North Sea coast in the south of what is now the Netherlands, a Goddess was worshiped who was held responsible for both of these desires. Nehalennia, or She, who lives on the coast, had her temples there, in which people of Germanic, Celtic and Roman origin promised to grant her an offering, if under her protection they had returned safely from the dangerous crossing to England, and, in most cases, had also done good business. A rich treasure trove of votive stones engraved with the donors’ thanks to Nehalennia demonstrate this abundantly. This book shows and describes many of those altar stones and paints a picture of the practice in this frontier area of the Roman Empire.