Artaius

Artaius is attested only as a Latin-script epithet on a votive inscription reading MERCVRIO / AVG ARTAIO / SACR / SEX GEMINIVS / CVPITVS / EX VOTO from Beaucroissant in the Romano-Celtic period. Scholarly discussion (e.g., Miranda Green) reads the Gaulish root artos 'bear' in Artaios/Artaius, suggesting an ursine attribute applied to Mercury; an alternative hypothesis (Auguste Longnon) proposes derivation from a local place-name (e.g., Artay/Artaix), making the epithet a toponymic localization of Mercury. The inscriptional context shows syncretism between Roman Mercury and a local Celtic aspect named Artaius, but the sources do not provide an independent origin myth.

No iconographic or descriptive depiction of Artaius is preserved in the cited inscription or sources. Any visualization (for example, an anthropomorphic Mercury with ursine attributes) is interpretive; Miranda Green's characterization of a 'bear-god' is a scholarly inference from the etymology rather than a description based on attested imagery.

The sources do not record specific powers, behaviors, or mythic actions for Artaius beyond the fact of cultic devotion: the inscription is a votive dedication (EX VOTO) to Mercury Artaius, indicating worshippers made and fulfilled vows to this epithet. Suggestions of ursine qualities or local functions are etymological or toponymic interpretations and are not attested as discrete abilities in the evidence provided.