Editing Cernunnos (section)

===Attributes and associations===
[[File:Roquepertuse. Statue de guerrier.jpg|thumb|A seated figure from [[Roquepertuse]]]]
The cross-legged pose of Cernunnos has occasioned much comment. Elaborate [[Cultural diffusion|diffusionist]] theories have been proposed to explain the origin of this particular motif.<ref name=Bober/>{{rp|22–25}} A popular theory proposes that the pose represents the transmission of a Buddhist motif (the [[lotus pose]]) from India via Greco-Egyptian work.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|842}} Against a diffusionist hypothesis, [[Robert Balmain Mowat|Robert Mowat]] argued that this pose reflected the normal sitting position of the Gauls; he cited the testimony of [[Strabo]] and [[Diodorus]] that the Gauls sat on the floor for meals.<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|92}}<ref name=Bober/>{{rp|21}} In religious iconography, the position does not seem to have been exclusively associated with Cernunnos. Statues from the pre-Roman Gaulish sanctuary of [[Roquepertuse]] assume the same pose; though clearly of religious significance, they are not representations of Cernunnos.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|842}} Representations of Cernunnos standing are known (such as the early example from Val Camonica).<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|839}}

Cernunnos is often depicted with torcs adorning his body. Most commonly he grasps one, and wears another around his neck. Sometimes he holds another on his chest.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}} The torc is a ubiquitous feature of Celtic art and garb. They seem to have been a symbol of religious significance in Celtic art and, after the Roman conquest, perhaps a symbol of native identity.<ref name=Kiernan/>{{rp|81}}

[[File:Gundestrup cauldron, plate C, horned serpent.jpg|thumb|Ram-horned serpent on the Gundestrup cauldron (plate C)]]
The ram-horned (or ram-headed) serpent is a [[Hybrid beasts in folklore|hybrid beast]] peculiar to the Celts.<ref name=Duval/>{{rp|38}} The creature, which is associated with Cernunnos early as Val Camonica, appears to have had a significance independent of Cernunnos. In Gaul, ram-horned serpents are depicted alone or accompanying [[Mars (god)|Mars]] or [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]. Ram-horned serpents also feature on two other plates of the Gundestrup cauldron (C and E). Cernunnos is also sometimes accompanied by serpents without the attributes of a ram, as on the [[Vendœuvres]] relief.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}} The ram-horned serpent has been suggested to have a chthonic significance.<ref name=Bober/>{{rp|26}}

Some scholars, such as Miranda Green, have connected Cernunnos with the [[Lord of the Animals]] motif through such depictions as the [[Gundestrup cauldron]], where Cernunnos is placed centrally around a number of animals.<ref name=Bober/>{{rp|19}}<ref name=GreenSymbol>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Miranda |title=Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art |publisher=Routledge |date=1989 |location=London / New York |isbn=978-0-415-03419-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/symbolimageincel0000aldh |url-access=registration }}</ref>{{rp|93–94}} The closest parallel to the Gundestrup scene is given on the [[Lyon cup]], where Cernunnos is surrounded by a deer, a hound, and a (hornless) snake.<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|87}}

On various depictions, Cernunnos is associated with other deities. The significance of these associations is unclear.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}} On three depictions, Cernunnos is paired with Mercury and [[Apollo]]; on the Lyon cup, he is paired with Mercury alone. Cernunnos is also depicted twice with [[Abundantia]], Roman god of prosperity, and twice with [[Hercules]].<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|102}}<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|841}} Three images of Cernunnos (among them, the Condat tricephal and [[Étang-sur-Arroux statuette]]) give Cernunnos three heads or faces.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|844}} Bober argued that these images represent the syncretisation of Cernunnos with the (poorly understood) tricephalic god of Gaul.<ref name=Bober/>{{rp|34}}