Editing Belenus (section)

=== Consort ===
Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, perhaps the Gaulish deity [[Belisama]].<ref name="Koch">Koch, John T. (2006). ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.'' Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}.</ref> The river name ''[[Bienne (river)|Bienne]]'' (''Biena'' in 1337 AD), present-day eastern France, and the place name ''[[Biel/Bienne|Bienne]]'' (''apud Belnam'' in 1142 AD), modern Switzerland, also attest to the existence of a feminine form *''Belenā''.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=72}}

In Noricum, Belenus may also have been accompanied by an otherwise unknown female deity named ''Belestis'' (or ''Beléna, Beléstis Augústa, Beléstris, Belínca''), possibly worshipped as a goddess of nature and fertility.{{sfn|Kropej|2012|p=217}}{{Sfn|Šašel Kos|2022|p=228}} Two shrines dedicated to the goddess were found in [[Podljubelj]] in the [[Karawanks]].{{sfn|Kropej|2012|p=217}}