Pomona (mythology)

Pomona, by Nicolas Fouché, c. 1700

Vertumnus and Pomona by Peter Paul Rubens, 1617-1619, private collection in Madrid.

Pomona (/pəˈmoʊnə/;^[1] Latin: Pōmōna [ˈpoːmoːna]) was a goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion and myth. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. She was said to be a wood nymph.

Mythology

In the myth narrated by Ovid, she scorned the love of the woodland gods Silvanus and Picus, but married Vertumnus after he tricked her, disguised as an old woman.^[2] She and Vertumnus shared a festival held on August 13. Her priest was called the flamen Pomonalis. The pruning knife was her attribute. There is a grove that is sacred to her called the Pomonal, located not far from Ostia, the ancient port of Rome.

Pomona was the goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards. Unlike many other Roman goddesses and gods, she does not have a Greek counterpart, though she is commonly associated with Demeter. She watches over and protects fruit trees and cares for their cultivation. She was not actually associated with the harvest of fruits itself, but with the flourishing of the fruit trees. In artistic depictions she is generally shown with a platter of fruit or a cornucopia.

A statue of Pomona a set atop the Pulitzer Fountain in Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza in New York. There is a statue of Pomona in Reykjavik, Iceland: just north of the BSI Bus Station, in the little park bordered by Gamla Hringbraut and Laufasvegur streets. Pomona is briefly mentioned in C. S. Lewis's children's book Prince Caspian.

See also

• The ballet Pomona, with music by Constant Lambert, choreography by Frederick Ashton and scenery and costumes by Vanessa Bell, first performed by the Vic-Wells Ballet at the Sadler's Wells Theatre on 17 January 1933.^[3]

References

1. "Pomona". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
2. Duckworth, George E (1976). "Pompona". In William D. Halsey. Collier's Encyclopedia 19. Macmillan Educational Corporation. p. 232.
3. Arthur Haskell (ed.) 'Gala Performance' (Collins 1955) p206.

External links

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pomona". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.