Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

Penates 245Pavana (purifier)God of the winds. Hindu. His consort is Anjana.Also VAYU.goddess, HINA, since one of her alternativenames is Hina-Ai-Malama (Hina who devoursthe moon).PaxSpirit of peace. Roman. Became well-known asPax Romana and Pax Augusta from the secondcentury BC and was accorded a shrine onthe Field of Mars. Depicted as a young womanbearing a cornucopia, an olive branch and asheaf of corn.PeithoGoddess of persuasion. Greek. A minor attendantof the goddess APHRODITE.Peju’lpeGuardian spirits. Yukaghir [southeastern Siberia].Attendant deities who look after the well-being ofanimals in their care. They are benevolent towardthe hunter so long as he observes certain regulationsand kills only when necessary.PekkoGod of cereal crops. Pre-Christian Finnish andBaltic regions. In Finland he is PELLON PEKKOand specifically a god of barley used in brewingbeer. In Estonia he is a corn god whose image,made of wax, was kept in the corn chest. He wasoriginally honored on a day taken over by aChristian festival for St. Peter.PeleVolcano goddess. Polynesian [Hawaii]. Accordingto tradition she arrived in Hawaii in a canoe,having sailed from Tahiti. She may derivelocally from the more familiar Polynesian moonPellon PekkoVegetation god. Pre-Christian Finnish. The deityresponsible for the germination and harvestingof barley used to make beer. The first brewing isdedicated to Pellon Pekko. He may have largelybecome syncretized with St. Peter under Christianinfluence.See also PEKKO.Pemba (great thing)Creator god. Bambara and Mande [Mali, WestAfrica]. He was created out of the empty or Fuand his first task was to form the egg of theworld. He descended to earth as an acacia seed(Acacia albida) which first grew to a mighty treeand then died. From the wood Pemba generatedhuman souls and a female being whom heimpregnated to engender all human and animallife. His brother is the god FARO, creator of theriver Niger.Pen AnnwenUnderworld god. Celtic (Welsh). Virtually synonymouswith PWYLL and PRYDERI.PenatesHearth deities. Roman. These gods are a peculiarlyRoman innovation, unknown to the Greeks.The penates, chosen individually by the head ofthe household, oversaw the domestic affairs ofmost Roman families. They were considered sufficientlyimportant that, if a move was anticipated,they were taken to and established in the new residencea priori. They are represented in the form