Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

SOPHIA 291and the emperor Aurelian elevated Sol tosupreme god in the Roman pantheon whenJupiter Conservator gave way to Sol Invictus (theunconquered sun). Sol may sometimes be linkedwith AURORA, the goddess of dawn.Sol (2)Sun goddess. Nordic (Icelandic). One of theAESIR goddesses. The daughter of Nubdilfaeri(Mundilferi). She drives the horses which drawthe sun chariot across the sky.Soma (essence)Minor god. Hindu (Vedic, Epic and Puranic).The deification of the sacred yellow drink soma.Also the consort of SURYA. Regarded in later Hinduismas the dikpala of the northern direction andas one of a group of VASU deities answering to thegod INDRA. Attributes: hook, lotus and prayerwheel.See also CANDRA.SomaskandaGod. Hindu (Epic and Puranic). Aspect ofthe god ŠIVA. Of uncertain origin, but possiblyrepresenting a composite trio of Šiva withhis consort UMA (PARVATI) and his son SKANDA (asa boy). Four-armed. Attributes of Šiva: ax, corpseand hatchet. Attribute of Uma: lotus. Attributesof Skanda: book, headdress, mango fruit andornament.SomnusMinor god of sleep. Roman. He equates withthe Greek god HYPNOS. According to legendhe is one of the two sons of NYX, goddess ofnight, and lives in a remote cave beside theLethe river. He is depicted by Ovid dressed inblack but with his robe scattered with stars,wearing a crown of poppies and holding a gobletof opium juice. His attendant is MORPHEUSand he oversees the spirits of dreams and nightmares.Particularly noted from the art of theLacedaemonians who placed statues of Somnusand MORS side by side.SomtusSee HARSOMTUS.SopeduGuardian deity. Egyptian. A god who protects theeastern border, usually depicted as a falcon or aBedouin with a headdress of tall plumes. His cultwas followed chiefly at Saft el-Henna in the Niledelta. Sopedu is linked in Pyramid Texts with thehawk god HORUS. He also acted as a patron deityof the turquoise mines in the Sinai with inscriptionsat Serabit el-Khadim. Also Sopdu.SOPHIA (wisdom)ORIGIN Greek principle adopted by GnosticChristians. Primordial female force in thecosmos.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP unknown originsto circa AD 400.SYNONYMS PISTIS SOPHIA.CENTER(S) OF CULT undefined cells within thearea of early Christian influence.ART REFERENCES none.LITERARY SOURCES Plato and other Greekphilosophers; Nag Hammadi codices.According to the Gnostic Christian writers whosethoughts were a syncretization of Jewish, ancientNear Eastern and Greek philosophical elements,SOPHIA descended from PISTIS (faith) before the