Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

CERNUNNOS 61CauthaSun god. Etruscan. Attributes include a sun disccrown and fire in each hand. He is depicted risingfrom the sea.Ce AcatlMinor creator god. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. One of the deities collectivelyclassed as the QUETZALCOATL complex. Also (1)Acatl.Cenkalaniyammal (lady of the red paddyfield)Local goddess. Hindu-Dravidian (Tamil).Guardian of paddyfields in southern India.CenteocihuatlMaize goddess. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. Represented at various sites includingTula [Hidalgo]. According to the codices Borgia,Cospi and Fejervery-Mayer she is also one of fourtemple deities. Also Centeotl.CERESORIGIN Roman. Mother goddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 400 BC to AD400.SYNONYMS DEMETER (Greek).CENTER(S) OF CULT throughout Roman world.ART REFERENCES sculptures and reliefs.LITERARY SOURCES Aeneid (Virgil), etc.Ceres is arguably the most recent model of the“great mother” whose predecessors include INANA,IŠTAR, ARTEMIS, KYBELE and Demeter on whomshe is directly modeled. She is the daughter ofKRONOS (Cronus) and RHEA and one of the moreimportant consorts of JUPITER. Her daughter inthe upper world, KORE, is the goddess of theunderworld PROSERPINA who was abducted byPLUTO. She became foster-mother to Triptolemus,an ill-fated king in the mold of theMesopotamian Dumuzi, depicted in the classicalGreek Eleusinian Mysteries. As the embodiment ofvegetation, Ceres neglects the natural world duringthe period that her daughter remains belowground with Pluto (winter), but restores natureannually when Proserpina is returned to her.Ceres was worshiped through the festivals ofThesmophoria and Cerealia in sanctuaries throughoutthe Greco-Roman empires.CeridwenGoddess of inspiration. Celtic (Welsh). Depictedas the hag-aspect of the mother goddess, she isthe consort of TEGID FOEL. Her children areCreirwy (daughter) and Afagddu (son). Sheallegedly prepares the caldron of knowledge.CERNUNNOSORIGIN Celtic (mainly Gallic). Fertility andchthonic god.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP prehistoric timesuntil circa AD 1000.SYNONYMS none.CENTER(S) OF CULT none.ART REFERENCES Gundestrup Bowl; monumentalstone work and relief carvings.LITERARY SOURCES votive inscriptions.Cernunnos appears to have been recognized inthe region of Gaul which is now central France.He is typically drawn as a man bearing the antlersof a stag, not necessarily representing an animalspirit but a deity closely involved with animals andone which can transform instantly into animalshape. In the Celtic world, horns and antlerswere generally regarded as symbols of virility andfertility. On the Celtic Gundestrup Bowl from