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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Pomona

The Goddess Pomona-

I thought I would continue with different Gods & Goddesses
of different Counties. I find them all very fascinating and so very
different and similar in many ways. I hope you all my dear 
Friends and Follower will find these new Post interesting too.
YOUR WENDY!

'I am the ancient Apple Queen, 
As once I was so am I now.
For evermore a hope unseen,
Betwixt the blossom and the bough.
Ah, where's the river's hidden Gold!
And where the windy grave of Troy?
Yet come I as i came of old,
From out the heart of summer's joy.'
by William Morris

 Pomona was a Roman Goddess of the Ancient times,
and she was known as the ancient Apple Queen.
Pomona name was derived from the Latin word pomum,
which means fruit or apple.
In the time of the beautiful Pomona Goddess,
she loved all trees in ancient Rome, but the apple trees were
by far her favorite.

Pomona Goddess of Rome ruled over all gardens,
orchards, all types kinda trees that would bear fruits & nuts.
According to the Poet Ovidius, Pomona was said to be a wood Nymph. 
Now for all of you that having read my post of Nymphs I thought I might 
give you a brief narrative about what a Nymph/wood is. 
The Nymph - nymphe in Greek mythology & in Latin mythology to is a 
minor female of nature deity who is typically associated with a particular 
location or landforms.. There are five different varieties of Nymphs: 
1. Celestial Nymph 2. Water Nymphs 3. Land Nymphs 4. Plants Nymphs and finally the 
5. the Underworld Nymphs. 
Now from all the different Goddesses, nymphs are generally
regarded as divine spirits who animate nature and are usually depicted as 
beautiful young maidens who love to dance and sing
.
Being a Natural deity spirit as that of a Nymph has an amorous amount of freedom,
which truly sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughter of the

Greek Gods and Goddesses. 
So of these beautiful Nymphs are believed to dwell in the ancient Mountains, Groves
Cool springs, rivers, trees, lust valleys, hot springs and even cool grottoes which 
have been known to be a favorite of the Nymphs.

Although these beautiful nature spirit and divine Nymphs would never die of 
old age nor an illness. Plus they can also give birth to fully immortal children if they mate with

an god. They themselves are not necessarily immortal and can be 
beholden to death in various forms.

I hope this helps in the understanding to the nature of the 
Nymph.
Now as I said before earlier in my post of Pomona of Rome, 
she was said to be a wood nymph. How I found  found this is by the Poet Ovid, who I will cover
in this post too. I feel that he is very important in the live of Pomona . Anyway
It is said that Ovid In the myth that was narrated by the Poet Ovid, Pomona scorned the love 
of the woodland gods Silvanus and Picus, but she married Vertumnus after he tricked Pomona,
disguised as an old woman.
So Pomona and Vertumus shared a festival that was held on August 13. Her priest was 
called the flamen Pomonalis.
The pruning knife as Pomona is seen is some of the famous paintings was her attribute.

There is a grove that is sacred to her, which they called the Pomonal, it is located not far from Ostia, in the 
ancient port of Rome.
In this Sacred Grove Pomona was the Goddess of fruit trees, all the gardens and orchards. Unlike
many other Roman Goddesses and Gods, she doesn't have a Greek counterpart. Pomona watched 
over and protected all the fruit trees and she cared for their cultivation too.
She was not actually associated with the harvest of fruit  itself, but with the flourishing of the 
fruit trees.
According to the Poet Ovid, in his writings Pomona is a virginal wood nymph who rejected 
several suitors before she finally married Vertumnus. And the only reason that she would marry

Vertumnus was because he disguised himself as an old woman who offered Pomona advice on who she

should marry.  Unfortunately Vertumnus turned out to be quite a lusty fellow, and 
so the two of them are responsible for the prolific nature of apple trees. Even though 
Pomona does not often appear in mythology she is depicted quite often in many of the great 
artist of that of Rubens and Rembrandt and quite a number of sculptures who typically represent her
Rembrandt Painting
as a lovely maiden with a armful of fruit.
Rembrandt Painting

I thought I would talk a bit about the poet Ovid who was a Roman whose writings seemed to influence and
understand the goddess Pomona. 
Publius Ovidius Naso - was his full name, but he was mostly known as Ovid the poet in Rome.
Ovid the Poet 

Born on March 20, 43 B.C in Sulmo [modern Sulmona Italy]. To an equestrian family. His father took him and his one -year old er brother to Rome to study so that they might become public speakers and politicians.
Yet, it seemed that the brothers had other ideas then what their father choose for them. 
Instead of following the father dream, they went their own path as most children do. Even back in the 
ancient times children were just as they are now in the 21th century. 
So Ovid made good use of what he'd learned in the city of Rome, but he put his rhetorical 
education to work in his poetic writing.  Ovid wrote his Metamorphoses in the epic 
meter of dactyllic hexameters. So if you don't understand what this means it was the 
time of when he told his stories about the transformations of mostly humans and nymphs into
animals, plants and many other things. At the time Ovid, was kinda way ahead of his time
if you kinda get what I am trying to say. And he mostly loved to write about 
Pomona.
It was said that the the Roman Goddess Pomona was an honored as the spirit of 
fresh fruit, mainly the Apples and apple trees. And according to the Poet Ovid, she was most 
happiest spending her days nurturing her orchards of apple trees.
A little bit more about her Husband that she was trick into marry. 
Her consort was that of Vertumnus, the God of the Garden and the Field produce. He

represents the year in its guise as a shape-shifter and personifies the change of seasons. The change of 
seasons is a symbolized in the myth of Vertumus and Pomona as he changes into different forms in 
order to gain her affection.. 
In my opinion he probably had to this for all eternity with the 
beautiful Pomona for the trickery that he did to get her to agree to marry him. 
But that's just my own opinion...
As I come to the ended part of my post on the beautiful Pomona, there are 
a few more things about this goddess/Nymph that I would like to included. 
For one - Pomona was a Goddess of the Harvest. And her festival  was celebrated
throughout Greece in Autumn. 
There are some that believe that several of our modern day holiday harvest customs, 
are remants of Pomona old Roman feasts. In the classical Rome times, Pomona was 
worshipped with a special altar set up in a grove of fruit trees called a Pomonai, 
which had been painted outside the gates of Rome and dedicated to Pomona. 
I thought I would end this post with another of 
Willaim Morris  poems Enjoy!

'First see those ample melons-brindled o'er
With mingled green and brown is all the rind;
For they are ripe, and mealy at the core,
And saturate with the nectar of their kind.

And here their fellows of the marsh are set,
Covering their sweetness with a crumple skin;
Pomegranates next, flame-red without, and yet
With vegetable crystals stored within.

Then mark these brilliant oranges, of which 
A by-gone Poet fancifully said,
Their unplucked globes the corchard did enrich
Like Lolden lamps in a green nilht of shade.

With thise are lemons that are even more 
Golden than they, and which adorn our Rhyme,
As did rough pendants of barbaric ore
Some pillared temple of the olden time.

And here are peaches with their ruddy cheeks
And ripe transparency. Here nectarines bloom, 
All mottled as with discontinuous streaks.
And spread a fruity fragrance through the room.

With these are cherries mellow to the stone;
Into such ripeness bath the summer nursed them,
The velvet pressure of the tongue alone
Against the palate were enough to burst them.

Here too are plums, like edible rubies glowing,
the language of lush summer's Eden theme:
Even through the skin how temptingly keeps showing 
Their juicy comfort, a rich-clouded gleam!

Here too are figs, pears, apples [plucked in haste
Our summer treat judiciously to vary]
With apricots, so exquisite in taste,
And yellow as the breast of a canary. 

And luscious strawberries all faceted
With glittering lobes and all the lovelier seen
In contrast with the loquat's duller red,
And vulgar gooseberry's unlustrous green.

And lastly, bunches of rich blooded grapes
Whose vineyard bloom even yet about them clings.
Though ever in the handling it escapes 
Like the fine down upon a moth's bright wings.

Each kind is piled in order in the Basket, 
Which we might well imagine now to be
Transmuted into a great golden casket
Entreasuring Pomona's jewelry.

Charles Harpur I am the anciet Apple Queen,
As once I was so am I now. 
For evermore a hope unseen,
Betwixt the blossom and the bough. 
Ah, where's the river's hidden Gold!
And where the windy grave of Troy?
Yet come I as i came of old,
From out the heart of summer's joy." 
by William Morris

I hope you all Enjoyed Pomona as much
as I have my dears Friends & Followers 
I love you all! Your Wendy. 


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