Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

92 ErebosART REFERENCES stone and bronze statuettes(mainly Luxembourg and Côte d’Or); variousmonumental carvings.LITERARY SOURCES inscriptions.A popular equestrian goddess closely allied withthe Celtic trade in, and domestic use of, horses.Concerned with healing and with the fertility ofdomestic animals. The cult probably originatedfrom Alesia in the heartland of Gallic resistanceand location of Vercingetorix’s final stand againstJulius Caesar. She is arguably the only Celtic goddessto have been worshiped in Rome itself andher popularity was spread throughout the regionsof Roman occupation (see also MORRIGAN). Herfestival was celebrated on December 18.Epona is typically depicted with mares andfoals, usually riding side-saddle or merely in associationwith horses. She also holds cornucopiae,sheaves of corn and other fruits suggesting anancillary role as a vegetation goddess. Epona isalso, on occasion, linked with dogs and birds.Votive inscriptions have been found at Allerey,Armançon and Essay (Côte d’Or), Jabreilles,Luxeuil, Santanay and others where sometimes sheis alone with horse(s) and sometimes is depictedwith the “mothers” (see MATRES). She was particularlyworshiped by Roman cavalry regiments. AtArmançon she rides in a cart reminiscent of the“tour” of other northern fertility goddesses (seeNERTHUS). In other circumstances Epona figurinesare found associated with burial grounds such as LaHorgue au Sablon illustrating the common link,well attested in ancient and modern cults, betweenfertility and death. Epona may also be enshrinedclose to thermal springs under which circumstanceshe often appears naked like a water nymph e.g.Allerey and Saulon-la-Chapelle.ErebosPrimordial deity. Greco-Roman. Engendered byCHAOS and NYX, he formed an incestuous liaisonwith his mother to create the first elements of thecosmos, AETHER (light) and Hemera (day), in pre-Homeric mythology.EREŠKIGAL (the great below)ORIGIN Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Babylonian-Akkadian)[Iraq]. Chthonic underworldgoddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 3500 BC orearlier to 200 BC or later.SYNONYMS ALLATU(M).CENTER(S) OF CULT none.ART REFERENCES plaques, votive stelae, glyptics,etc.LITERARY SOURCES creation epics and other textsincluding Inana’s Descent and the Death ofDumuzi.Ereškigal is the consort of NERGAL and queen ofthe underworld. She is also the mother ofNINAZU. According to some texts she was oncea sky goddess who was abducted by the monstrousdeity Kur. She lives in the palace ofGanzir and equates with the Greek PERSE-PHONE. Arguably, Ereškigal may be seen as adark alter ego of the goddess INANA and is identifiedin some texts as her elder sibling. Her consortis also identified as GUGULANA. In legendEreškigal is challenged by Inana but after judgmentby the seven Annunaki, the underworldgoddess renders her a corpse for three days untilshe is revived through the intervention of ENKI,the god of wisdom. In western Semitic pantheonsEreškigal becomes Allatu.Erh Lang (master)Tutelary deity. Chinese. Associated with a celestialdog, Erh Lang was once honored with asanctuary in Beijing (Peking). According to traditionhe and the dog saved the city from flooding.His attributes include a bow which he is