2024 Olympics: What does the rider who crossed the Seine symbolize (video)

A touching image that will surely go down in history. From the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, this was the moment when the rider crossed the Seine with her horse.

However, few know what it really symbolizes for Parisians.

The name Seine comes from the Latin word Sequana, which has Celtic roots and means “sacred river”.

The river that runs through Paris is named after the Gallo-Roman goddess Sequana. She is believed to be of Celtic origin and was worshipped as a healing deity after the Roman conquest of Gaul in the 1st century BC.

Archaeologists believe that the Celts made offerings to the river goddess to ask for healing or to thank them for wishes granted – a practice that developed into the Gallo-Roman era with a vast complex of stone temples, the remains of which are still visible today.

As they conquered peoples, the ancient Romans adopted local gods and incorporated them into their pantheon. Sequana also represents a mixture of cultures.

Today the River Seine is a major attraction of the city. There are thirty-seven bridges in Paris across the Seine (the most famous of which are the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont Neuf) and dozens more outside the city.

One notable bridge, and also the last bridge along the river, is the Normandy Bridge, the ninth longest cable-stayed bridge in the world.