Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

BES 49BellonaMother goddess and goddess of war. Roman. Shebecomes syncretized with the Cappadocianmother goddess MA. The first known templededicated to Ma-Bellona by the Romans is datedto 296 BC. Bellona was attended by Asiatic priestswho performed frenzied dances and gashedthemselves with swords, offering the blood on thegoddess’s altars. Because of its violent nature,Rome refused officially to recognize the cult untilthe third century AD.Beltiya (my lady)Generic title of goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian).ZARPANITUM (SARPANITUM),the consort of the Babylonian god MARDUK, isoften addressed as Beltiya.BendisMother goddess. Thracian. Hellenized and linkedstylistically with ARTEMIS as a huntress. Appearedin Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Attributes:boots, torch and pointed cap.Benten-SanGoddess of luck. Shinto [Japan]. One of sevendeities classed as gods of fortune and the only goddessin the group. A popular deity with many sanctuariesdedicated to her, she is a patron of musicand holds a biwa instrument in her hand. Snakes,believed to stand for jealousy, are often coiledaround her statues. Because of this, married couplesare reluctant to visit her shrines together. Herpriesthood is both Shinto and Buddhist and she isclosely linked with the goddess SARASVATI.BenuTransmuted bird-like form of a sun god. Egyptian(Upper). A deity mentioned in Pyramid Texts(circa twenty-fifth century BC) and linked withthe sun god of Heliopolis, ATUM. He is also saidto have been self-created from the primeval oceanand is sometimes a symbol of rebirth in the afterlife.Benu may have augmented the Greek classicaltradition of the Phoenix. He appears in theOld Kingdom as a yellow wagtail but laterbecomes a heron, wearing the conical whitecrown of Upper Egypt with two slender featherspointing backwards from its crest.Bera PennuVegetation goddess. Northern Indian. Worshipedby the Khonds in Bengal. She was therecipient of human sacrifice to ensure good harvest,particularly of the spice turmeric, and as aprotection against disease and infirmity. The sacrificialvictim or meriah was youthful, often keptfor years as a holy person before death and wasalways either the offspring of a previous sacrificialvictim, or purchased from impoverished familiesfor the purpose. He or she was generallystrangled, sometimes in the fork of a tree, afterdays of festivities. In other instances the victimwas cut up alive.BESORIGIN Egyptian. Guardian deity of women inlabor.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP appearing in artfrom circa 1500 BC and probably earlier, untilthe end of Egyptian history circa AD 400.SYNONYMS none.CENTER(S) OF CULT no specific sanctuaries, but ahousehold god and generally associated withbirthplaces, including those of royalty.ART REFERENCES walls of temples at Thebes;curved ivory batons from Middle Period; wallsof birth houses.LITERARY SOURCES none significant.