Endovelicus (also Endouellicus, Endovélico in Portuguese, Endovéllico, Enobólico in Spanish), is the best known of the pre-Romans Lusitanian and Celtiberian gods of the Iron Age. He was originally a chthonic god of health, prophecy and the earth, associated with vegetation and the afterlife. Later accepted by the Romans themselves, who assimilated it to Asclepius or to Serapis and made him a relatively popular god.
Endovelicus has a temple in São Miguel da Mota in Alentejo, Portugal, and there are numerous inscriptions and ex-votos dedicated to him in the Museu Etnológico de Lisboa (the Ethnological Museum of Lisbon); possible toponyms include Andévalo in Spain. The cult of Endovelicus prevailed until the 5th century, just when Christianity was spreading in the region.
In the municipality of Alandroal, there is the Santuário da Rocha da Mina (Mina's Rock Sanctuary); some authors classify it as a temple of Endovelicus. It is the only known place of this kind in Southern Portugal. Near the temple, we can find the Lucefecit rivulet that has been associated with Lucifer since the Middle Ages. Lucifer was the name used by the Romans for the Morning star and the goddess Venus. Some authors connect the name of the rivulet with the meaning of the place as being the "Glimpse of Light". A kilometer away, there is a sacred fountain that is said to be more ancient than the temple; its waters are still considered medicinal.
The temple is rocky and hemmed in by a rocky formation that protects the site and the chiselled flooring is often related to Roman sacrificial altars. This sort of monument is not uncommon in the North of Portugal and on the Spanish Meseta.
Leite de Vasconcelos mentions that the site was used by the inhabitants of the Roman empire from all walks of life. Several inscriptions suggest that the temple of Endovelicus was used as an oracle. One of the inscriptions states: EX IMPERATO AVERNO. Leite de Vasconcelos translated this as “segundo a determinação que emanou de baixo" (by the determination that emanated from below) suggesting that there is a similarity to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Steam would emanate from below, deep within the earth, and bestow clairvoyance. Vasconcelos also suggests that believers practiced the incubatio, sleeping at the site, hoping for dreams they could interpret later.
Endovelicus has a temple in São Miguel da Mota in Alentejo, Portugal, and there are numerous inscriptions and ex-votos dedicated to him in the Museu Etnológico de Lisboa (the Ethnological Museum of Lisbon); possible toponyms include Andévalo in Spain. The cult of Endovelicus prevailed until the 5th century, just when Christianity was spreading in the region.
In the municipality of Alandroal, there is the Santuário da Rocha da Mina (Mina's Rock Sanctuary); some authors classify it as a temple of Endovelicus. It is the only known place of this kind in Southern Portugal. Near the temple, we can find the Lucefecit rivulet that has been associated with Lucifer since the Middle Ages. Lucifer was the name used by the Romans for the Morning star and the goddess Venus. Some authors connect the name of the rivulet with the meaning of the place as being the "Glimpse of Light". A kilometer away, there is a sacred fountain that is said to be more ancient than the temple; its waters are still considered medicinal.
The temple is rocky and hemmed in by a rocky formation that protects the site and the chiselled flooring is often related to Roman sacrificial altars. This sort of monument is not uncommon in the North of Portugal and on the Spanish Meseta.
Leite de Vasconcelos mentions that the site was used by the inhabitants of the Roman empire from all walks of life. Several inscriptions suggest that the temple of Endovelicus was used as an oracle. One of the inscriptions states: EX IMPERATO AVERNO. Leite de Vasconcelos translated this as “segundo a determinação que emanou de baixo" (by the determination that emanated from below) suggesting that there is a similarity to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Steam would emanate from below, deep within the earth, and bestow clairvoyance. Vasconcelos also suggests that believers practiced the incubatio, sleeping at the site, hoping for dreams they could interpret later.
Source: Endovelicus - Wikipedia