The Epidii (Greek: Επίδιοι) were a people of ancient Britain, known from a mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. Epidion has been identified as the island of Islay in modern Argyll.Watson (1926) p. 37 Ptolemy does not list a town for the Epidii, but the Ravenna Cosmography (RC 108.4) mentions Rauatonium, which is assumed to be Southend.Fitzpatrick-Matthews (2013) p. 69
Etymology The name Epidii includes the P-Celtic root epos, meaning "horse" (cf. Welsh ebol, "a foal")., Dictionnaire de la Langue Gauloise The Q-Celtic equivalent would be *ekwos, which became Old Gaelic ech. It is suggested that they were named after a horse god, whose name could be reconstructed as *Epidios.Woolf, Alex. Ancient Kindred? Dál Riata and the Cruthin . 2012. The Q-Celtic equivalent would be *Ekwidios, which may be the origin of the Old Gaelic name Eochaid.
The Dagda, a Gaelic god, is often referred to as Eochaid Ollathair.Gods in Scotland . Tairis.
Language Although their name is almost certainly Brittonic/P-Celtic, Dr Ewan Campbell suggest they were Goidelic/Q-Celtic speakers. He says "Ptolemy's source for his Scottish names was probably from the Scottish Central Lowlands, and may have transmitted the Brittonic form of a Goidelic tribal name, or even the external name given to the tribe by Brittonic speakers"., Were the Scots Irish?; cf. Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots, pp. 9 – 10 and Armit, Celtic Scotland, pp. 21 – 24 Their territory later became the heartland of the Goidelic kingdom of Dál Riata. Alex Woolf suggests that the Epidii became the Dál Riata, but argues that they were Brittonic-speaking in Ptolemy's time. He also suggests that the Hebrides, called the Ebudae by Ptolemy, were named after the Epidii. __NOTOC__
See also Britons (historic) Picts Scottish people Dál Riata
References
Sources
Armit, Ian, Celtic Scotland, (2nd ed.) London: B.T. Batsford/Historic Scotland, 2005.
Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Keith (5 August 2013) "Britannia in the Ravenna Cosmography: a reassessment." (pdf) Academia.edu. Retrieved 23 January 2015. Foster, Sally M., Picts, Gaels, and Scots (2nd ed.) London: B.T. Batsford/Historic Scotland, 2005.
The British Section of the Ravenna Cosmography in Archaeologia 93 (1949), 108.4 Watson, W. J. (2004) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. . First published 1926.
External links The circumnavigation of Scotland compares Ptolemy and the Ravenna Cosmography for the south west coast of Scotland