What is "artaius"

Artaius is a Celtic epithet applied to the Roman god Mercury during the Romano-Celtic period. It is known from a single inscription from Beaucroissant in the Isère:

MERCVRIO AVG ARTAIO SACR SEX GEMINIVS CVPITVS EX VOTO "To the august Mercury Artaius, Sextus Geminius Cupitus (has dedicated this) sacred (stone) in fulfillment of a vow."

In Gaulish, the word artos means ‘bear’, and artaios would have been a derivative (meaning something like ‘ursine’). Miranda Green considers Mercury Artaius to have been a bear-god. It is also possible that Artaius is derived from a place name (so that, as an "Artaian Mercury", he would only indirectly have any association with bears - if at all) - the inscription above was discovered at a location that was once called Artay and there is a similarly named town, Artaix, in Saône-et-Loire.

Artaius (foaled 1974) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a brief racing career which lasted from the autumn of 1976 until August 1977 he ran seven times and won three races. In 1977 he was one of the leading three-year-old colts in Europe, recording Group One successes in the Eclipse Stakes and Sussex Stakes. He was retired to stud at the end of the season and had limited success as a breeding stallion.