Nabia (or Navia) was a goddess of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, although she also had an extended cult during the Roman occupation of the peninsula.[1][3]

Diana, the Roman goddess often compared to Nabia.[1][2]

Nabia was worshipped in many places on the Iberian Peninsula, sometimes in very different ways, leading some historians to suggest that "Nabia" was just a common word used by different peoples to refer to their deities (a theory questioned by others).[4][page needed] Due to the uncertainty of her nature, she is sometimes interpreted as a water deity,[1][2] other times she is associated with valleys, forests and hills,[5] and she's further seen as the goddess of fertility, health, and abundance.[1][6]

Her name, including variations, is attested in 28 inscriptions as of 2025.[7]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 Byghan, Yowann (2026-05-14). Goddesses of the World: From Prehistory to Modern Cultures and Religions. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4766-9981-3.
  2. 1 2 Ferreira, Daniela Filipa de Freitas (2022). Os Deuses foram honrados : o contributo da epigrafia votiva para o entendimento das manifestações religiosas no contexto da ocupação romana da Beira Interior Portuguesa (in Portuguese). Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Letras. doi:10.21747/978-989-9082-09-0/deu. ISBN 978-989-9082-09-0.
  3. Estudios sobre la tabula siarensis, Anejos de Archivo Español de Arqueología IX, Madrid, 1988, p. 264.
  4. MELENA, José L. Un ara votiva romana en el Gaitán, Cáceres, 1984.
  5. Los Dioses de la Hispania Céltica, Madrid, 2002.[page needed]
  6. "Um balneário com 3 mil anos". Público (in Portuguese). 2007-03-27. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26.
  7. Ruiz, José María Vallejo; González-Rodríguez, M.ª Cruz (2025). "De dioses y hombres: teónimos, grupos humanos y topónimos en el occidente hispano romano" [About Gods and Men: Theonyms, Human Groups and Place Names in the Roman Hispanic West]. Palaeohispanica (in Spanish). 25: Actas del XV Coloquio de Lenguas y Culturas Paleohispánicas: 581–600 [583]. doi:10.36707/palaeohispanica.v25i1.701.

Further reading

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