River Gods have been present in mythology since the birth of civilisation.  Going back to the grass roots of human existence; rivers, seas and oceans were a life line to people.  To put things into perspective, even today some of the world’s greatest cities are located next  to or in the middle of a body of water.  Rivers are important for survival.

What is a River God?
In generic  terms Water Gods are deity’s which are associated heavily with bodies of water.  The mythology of river gods spreads across Europe with the help of people with the Roman Empire and Celtic Culture.

During the Iron Age people worshipped a number of Gods.

Abandinus was a River God worshipped around Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire.  Abandinus is represented in Britain on a single altar-stone. He was unknown throughout the Roman Empire and is thought to have been a local god of the Roman fort at Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire, possibly associated with either a natural spring or a stream in the town.

Arausio was a local Celtic water god who gave his name to the town of Arausio (Orange) in southern Gaul.  Gaul corresponds to modern France.  Interestingly the word Orange is a compound of Ore (Fire or Sun or Nar in Arabic) and Rang (Colour).

Denny Bradbury’s latest hero “Borvo” was named after a God of Warm Springs.

Variant forms of Borvo’s name include Bormo and Bormanus (in Gaul) and Bormanicus (in Portugal). The names Bormanus, Bormo and Borvo are found on inscriptions as names of river or fountain gods.

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