Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

Pu’gu 255abducted as an infant from his cradle by a hugetalon or claw, with the implication that theabduction was instigated by an adversary fromthe underworld, perhaps the family of Gwawl, arejected suitor of Rhiannon. Pryderi was foundin a stable and rescued by Teirnyon, whobrought the child up as his son. Eventually thetrue parents of Pryderi were identified and hewas returned to his family. His consort is Cigfaand he succeeded Pwyll to the title ‘Lord ofDyfed.’PTAHORIGIN Egyptian. Creator god and god ofcraftsmen.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 3000 BC, possiblyearlier, until the end of Egyptian historycirca AD 400. SYNONYMS Ptah-Nun; Ptah-Naunet; Khery-bakef.CENTER(S) OF CULT chiefly at Memphis, but withsanctuaries throughout the Nile valley.ART REFERENCES sculptures, relief carvings, wallpaintings, papyrus illustrations.LITERARY SOURCES Pyramid Texts, etc.; theShabaka Stone.Ptah is the patron deity of Memphis in LowerEgypt at the southerly approach to the Niledelta. With ATUM, the sun god of Heliopolis,he is the main rival claimant to seniority as acreator god in the Egyptian pantheon. His consortis the lion-goddess SAKHMET and, by implicationonly, his son is NEFERTUM, the god of theprimeval lotus flower. Ptah is depicted in humanform wearing a closely fitting robe with only hisarms free. His most distinctive features are theinvariable skull-cap exposing only his face andears, and the was or rod of dominion which heholds, consisting of a staff surmounted by theankh symbol of life. He is otherwise symbolizedby his sacred animal, the bull.According to the genealogy laid down by theMemphis priests, Ptah upstaged Atum as the“father of the gods.” He generated not onlyAtum but the whole Heliopolis pantheon (seeENNEAD) by thinking and speaking the cosmosinto existence. All life and matter was generatedby the heart and the tongue of Ptah. Inthis cosmogony, NUN represents the amorphousprimeval matter out of which Ptah generatedhimself as a bisexual entity, the maleness ofwhich is Ptah-Nun and the femaleness Ptah-Naunet. Ptah is occasionally known by the titleKhery-bakef, meaning “he who is under histree,” suggesting that he was syncretized with aolder local tree god at Memphis whose symbolis the moringa tree.In addition to his role as creator god, Ptah isalso the patron deity of craftsmen and his presenceis often denoted in art by dwarfish craftsmenwho work at various trades includingjewelry. Ptah is envisaged as molding mankindout of base materials. In Greco-Roman times hebecame identified with the Greek god ofsmithies, HEPHAISTOS.Pu MaGeneric name for deities. Polynesian. The titlegiven to any god of high rank.PudicitaGoddess of chastity. Roman. Depicted as amatronly lady, her cult fell from popularity asthe Roman Empire veered increasingly towarddecadence.Pu’guSun god. Yukaghir [eastern Siberia]. A spiritassociated with justice and honorable living whopunishes those who are evil or violent.