Toutatis or Teutates is a Celtic god[1][2][3][4] who was worshipped primarily in ancient Gaul and Britain.[5] His name means "god of the tribe",[3] and he has been widely interpreted as a tribal protector.[2][6] According to Roman writer Lucan, the Gauls offered human sacrifices to him.[1]
Teutates (later form: Toutates). Name of a Celtic god [...] T. is mentioned by the Roman authors Lucan (Pharsalia 1,444-446) and Lactantius (Divinae Institutiones 1,21,3). According to Lucan the Gauls made human sacrifices to him. The Berne Scholia, commenting on Lucan, add that the victims were put head-first in a tub full of water and thus drowned...
What the Romans may have met in Celtic lands are tribal protector-gods with a war-role. In this connection Lucan's comment on Teutates, who was one of three Celtic gods said to have been encountered by Caesar's army in Gaul, may be relevant...
Lucan, who, in Pharsalia, names three Celtic deities, Teutates, Taranis, and Esus. All were propitiated by human sacrifice: the victims of Teutates were to be drowned, those of Taranis burnt, and those sacrificed to Esus hanged. The Celtic names are informative. Teutates means 'the god of the tribe' from the Celtic teutā 'tribe'...
Celtic god, who, along with Esus and Taranis (according to Lucanus 1,443-446), was allegedly worshipped by human sacrifice.
Teutates (also Toutatis, Tūtuates, Tūtatus, Toutorix), Taranis, and Esus form Lucan's trinity of Gaulish gods (Pharsalia 1.444–6) to which Gauls near Massalia sacrificed their prisoners of war. The name Teutates occurs alone or as a secondary theonym in combination with Mars, Apollo (see Belenos), and Mercurius in texts and inscriptions, including sites now in Austria, England, France, Germany, and Italy...