Faces of the Goddess Magazine SGC 21

Exploring the symbols and realms of Nehalennia
Bela Siol
Nehalennia is a not well-known Dutch
goddess who was worshipped by Romans
crossing the region in the first centuries of
the Common Era. She is a protectress of
the travelers, traders, and their wealth. She
is a matron goddess related to the ocean,
land, and sky. Sometimes it's speculated
she is related to the underworld as a guide
to the souls.
Despite Nehalennia not having
any mythology, it was through the
archaeological finds we could know about
her.
In 1647, dozens of pieces of her worship
were discovered, which revealed her name,
many of her symbols. The archaeological
finds also allowed them to estimate when,
how, and by who she was worshiped.
The worship of Nehalennia flourished
during the first centuries of the Common
Era. She was a local deity worshiped by
the local people whose origin can be
Celtic, Saxon, or Germanic. However, all
the existing elements of the worship of
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Nehalennia are of Roman origin, which
proves how important she was in the
region, leading the Romans to adopt her as
a deity.
The archaeological finds reveal that the
Romans built temples and dedicated votive
stones to her in exchange for her protection
during the voyages across the North Sea for
trade in the UK. Dozens of these stones are
exposed permanently in The Rijksmuseum
in Leiden in The Netherlands.
At least two temples were dedicated to
Nehalennia. They were located on the
coast of the province of Zealand in the
Netherlands. It’s believed that before being
adopted by the Romans, Nehalennia was
worshipped in groves and the original
temples were built in those groves.
In 2005, a replica of a Gallo-Roman temple
in honor of Nehalennia was built in
Colijnsplaat.
Temple of Nehalennia in Gallo-Roman
style, built in 2005 in Colijnsplaat.