Monday, March 7, 2016

Pomona and Vertumnus

Pomona (Latin "pomum" meaning orchard fruit), was one of the Roman Numina, a group of guardian spirits who watched over homes, special locations, and people. Pomona herself was a goddess/wood nymph who watched over orchards and gardens. She watched over and protected fruit trees and gardens, and assured fruitful abundance, and proper cultivation. She was not, however, strongly linked to the harvest of the fruit itself.

Pomona is often associated specifically with apples, and one of her symbols is a pruning knife. She is also shown holding a cornucopia, or a basket/platter of fruit.

In Rome Pomona was said to be served by priests known as Flamen Pomonalis, and there was a grove sacred to her, the Pomonal.

Pomona was one of the virginal goddesses, she rejected the advances of many, including the woodland gods Silvanus and Picus. Pomona was not interested in love, only in tending to her gardens. She eventually built a wall around her garden to keep suitors out. However, the god Vertumnus often visited her in many different guises, such as a fisherman, a solder, and an ox-herd.

Pomona and Vertumnus
One day he visited her in the guise of an old woman. As the old woman, he told her about the joys of love, of marriage, how even her garden showed the importance of such bonds with the grapes growing on the elm tree. He told her stories of the importance of not having a hard heart. Tells her of how much Vertumnus loves her, and how alike they are. Some say this was enough to win her over, but in most retellings of the story it is not until he drops his disguise and shows his radiant true form that she falls in love with him.

Vertumnus is quite similar in many ways to Pomona. He is a god of the seasons, plant growth, fruit trees, and gardens. A statue of him was erected in Rome, and was said to be decorated with the changing seasons. He is also a god of change, and as noted above, was able to take on many different forms - whatever he wanted to be, whenever he liked.

It is likely that Vertumnus came to the Roman pantheon from the Etruscan pantheon, where he was likely Voltumna, a chthonic deity who was considered supreme god of the pantheon. Neither Vertumnus nor Pomona have a direct corresponding deity in the Greek pantheon (as say, Venus does to Aphrodite). Their myth is one that is truly Roman in origin, where many myths were brought in from other pantheons.

Vertumnus had a festival on the 13th of August, called the Vertumnalia. Pomona was also honored on this feast day along with her husband. It is likely they were offered first fruits of the harvest.

Pomona possibly also has another feast day on November 1st (Pomonalia?), but it is possible this is just a misunderstanding of the date of the Vertumnalia. It would seem she was offered apples and nuts at this time.

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