Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

POSEIDON 249PolerammaPlague goddess. Telegu [India]. Associated withsmallpox and offered blood sacrifices.PolluxHorse god. Roman.See also POLYDEUKES.PoluknalaiGoddess of animals. Kafir [Afghanistan]. Locallyrevered, with the goddess DISANI, among Askunvillages in the southwest of Kafiristan.SYNONYMS Pon-yu’lec (something got dark);Pon-o’moc (something has become good);Pon-ti’boi (something makes rain); Cu’kun.CENTER(S) OF CULT no fixed sanctuaries.ART REFERENCES none known.LITERARY SOURCES Jochelson Memoirs of theAmerican Natural History Society Vol. 10 (1905).Pon is a vague and indefinite creator spirit who controlsall visible phenomena of nature. As far as canbe ascertained, no specific cult was ever addressed tothis deity; he seems to be a remote figure, largely outof touch with everyday life. No invocations orprayers are addressed to Pon, nor are sacrifices.PolydeukesHorse god. Greek. One of the Dioskouroi twins;the other is Kastor. According to tradition, theyare together associated with a Spartan cultwhence they originated. The pair probably derivefrom the Indo-European model of the ASVINS inVedic mythology. Kastor is mortal while Polydeukesis immortal. Thus, during battle, Kastor ismortally wounded but, even in death, the twobrothers remain inseparable. They rescue individualsfrom distress and danger, particularly atsea, and are thought to be embodied in the electricaldischarges known as St. Elmo’s Fire. AlsoCastor and POLLUX (Roman).PomonaGoddess of orchards and gardens. Roman. Consortof VERTUMNUS generally represented by gardenimplements and offered fruits and flowers.PON (something)ORIGIN Yukaghir [central Siberia]. Supreme creatorgod.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP from prehistorictimes until circa AD 1900.PontosGod of the sea. Greek. His mother and consort isGAIA and he is the father of the sea gods NEREUSand PHORKYS.PoreCreator god. Guyanan Indian [South America].Engendered the earth and all living things. AlsoPura.PortunusGod of passage. Roman. The deity responsiblefor guarding the entrance of the city and thehouse alike. He was celebrated in the Portunaliafestival, held annually on August 17, when keyswere thrown into a fire to bless them. He is alsothe guardian of the Tiber estuary, the main accessby sea to the city of Rome.POSEIDONORIGIN Greek. God of the sea and mariners.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP from circa 1600 BCthrough Minoan Crete (art evidence only) until