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Nehalennia

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

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Nehelamite

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a pagan goddess, the origin of whose name it is difficult to trace, was worshipped in ancient Gaul and Germany. An image of this female deity was first discovered in 1646 in Zealand, among some ruins which had long been covered by the sea. Several images have since been discovered in France, Germany, and Italy. Youth seems to have been one of her attributes. She is sometimes represented sitting and sometimes standing. Montfaucon, in his Antiquities, gives seven pictures of this goddess. She is represented carrying a basket of fruit, with a dog at her side. The resemblance of her name with the Greek νέα σελήνη (new moon) may trace a connection to the goddess Diana; others think her an ocean deity. See Bescherelle, La Mythologie I/lustree, page 78; Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, s.v.; Mallet, Northern Antiquities.