Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

298 Surya (2)across the sky by up to seven horses. He bearsfour arms. In northern India he is usually foundwearing knee-length boots. In the south he goesbarefoot. Attributes: band, club, conch, knife, twolotuses, prayer wheel, staff with lion, trident andwar drum. May be three-eyed.Surya (2)Sun goddess. Hindu (Vedic, Epic and Puranic).The daughter of the sun god SURYA. Accordingto legend she was courted by all the gods,but won finally by the twin ASVIN gods withwhom she rides in a chariot. Other legendsaccount her consorts to include SOMA andPUSAN. She is the essence of the cosmos. AlsoSavitr.SUSANO-WOORIGIN Shinto [Japan]. Chthonic andweather god.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 600 andprobably earlier until present.SYNONYMS none.CENTER(S) OF CULT throughout Japan.ART REFERENCES sculptures and paintings.LITERARY SOURCES Nihongi and Kojiki texts.The brother of the sun goddess AMATERASU, hewas born from the nose of the primordial creatorgod IZANAGI and represents the physical, materialworld. His consorts include the goddessInada-Hime, by whom he fathered a son, Ya-Shima-Ji-Nu-Mi, the eight-island ruler, and thegoddess Kamu-O-Ichi-Hime. His offspring byher include the great harvest god O-TOSHI-NO-KAMI.The appearance of Susano-Wo and Amaterasuin the creation account marks the final separationof the ethereal cosmos into a vast multiplicity ofmaterial objects. The god and goddess areobliged to join each other in order to survive,but while Susano-Wo recognizes the necessityfor this union, Amaterasu finds his excessesrepugnant. When he tries to enter her house inthe heavens she hides herself away in a cave fromwhich she emerges only after considerable effortand ruse on the part of the other members of thepantheon. Susano-Wo is expelled from heavenand takes up residence on earth where he first hasto beg food from the goddess O-Ge-Tsu-Hime-No-Kami.See also AMATERASU.SusinakLocal god. Elamite [Iran]. The patron deity ofSusa.ŠutekhWeather god. Hittite and Hurrian. Of Hurrianorigin, but incorporated into the Hittite statepantheon. Identified on the seal of a Hittite/Egyptian treaty between Hattusilis II and RamesesII in 1271 BC. Probably another name for thegod TEŠUB.Svadha (invoked with offerings)Minor goddess. Hindu. The daughter of DAKSAand PRASUTI. Sometimes identified as a consort ofRUDRA or AGNI.SvantevitGod of war. Pre-Christian Latvian. Mentionedby the author Saxo Grammaticus as riding upona white horse and holding a cornucopia, he isknown locally from the island of Rügen. Also aguardian deity of crops.