Pilumnus

"Staker." An Old-Italian rustic deity, a protector of children and, together with his brother Picumnus, a beneficent god of matrimony. A couch was prepared for them in the house of the new-born child. Pilumnus protected the new-born from childhood sufferings with his pilum, with which he taught to pound the grain. A ceremony to honor Pilumnus involved driving a stake into the ground. See also Deverra, Intercidona.

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References

Sources

  • Aken, Dr. A.R.A. van. (1961). Elseviers Mythologische Encyclopedie. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  • Smith, William. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.