Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

EPONA 91EnneadThe Heliopolis pantheon. Egyptian (Lower). Thenine major deities enumerated and given theirgenealogy by the priesthood of Heliopolis, thecenter of the sun-worshiping cult in Lower Egypt.Comprising the sun god ATUM (or Atum-Re) andhis offspring, ŠU, TEFNUT, GEB, NUT, OSIRIS, ISIS,SETH and NEPHTHYS. Other Egyptian cult centerspossessed similar pantheons though not necessarilyincluding the same list of deities. Thus, forexample, the god PTAH presided at Thebes.EnnugiGod. Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Babylonian-Akkadian). The attendant and throne-bearer ofENLIL (ELLIL).EntenFertility god. Mesopotamian (Sumerian). Createdby ENLIL as a guardian deity of farmers alongsidethe minor god EMEŠ, Enten was given specificresponsibility for the fertility of ewes, goats, cows,donkeys, birds and other animals. He is identifiedwith the abundance of the earth and with the winterperiod.EnunduPlague god. Gishu [Uganda, East Africa]. A godidentified with smallpox and propitiated with thesacrifice of a goat.EnzuGod. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian). Thename is a corruption, apparently a misreading ofSuen, the archaic form of SIN.EosSky goddess. Hellenized Indo-European. Thespirit of the dawn. She is the daughter ofHYPERION and THEA, and the sister of HELIOS(sun) and SELENE (moon). The consort of AEO-LOS, the storm god son of POSEIDON, she bore sixchildren who represent the various winds. Hesiodaccounts her as the consort of Astraeos. In separatetradition she is the mother of Memnon whowas slain at Troy, and her tears are the morningdew.See also AURORA.EostreFertility goddess of spring. Anglo-Saxon. Thederivation of “Easter.” Probably a number of theobscure folk customs surrounding Easter and stillpracticed in England trace back to her worship.EpimetheusMinor creator god. Greek and Roman. Oneof the four sons of IAPETOS and Klymene(Titan), and the brother of PROMETHEUS.Jointly responsible for the creation of mankind.Epimetheus’ strongest claim to fame lies in hisliaison with the first mortal woman, Pandora,whom the gods had cautioned him to avoid.Her curiosity caused her to open the boxbelonging to JUPITER in which he had placed allthe vices, diseases and sufferings of humanity,but which also included the benevolent spiritof hope.EPONA (mare)ORIGIN Celtic (Gallic). Horse goddess with fertilityconnotations.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 400 BC andprobably earlier until Christianization (circaAD 400).SYNONYMS none.CENTER(S) OF CULT probably originating fromAlesia in Gaul but spreading extensively,including Rome.