# Who/What is your favorite small god? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590 "2020-05-11T17:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/41 "2020-05-12T16:41:23Z")
It’s hard not to be impressed by the pair of sexual gods, **Baubo** and **Priapus** Baubo was represented as a naked female torso with a face in the center, the mouth usually near or coincident with the vulva. She was the Goddess of Mirth, and followers worshipped her by telling dirty jokes. In her myth, she cheered up the goddess Demeter after her loss of Persephone with her bawdy humor: > **[Baubo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baubo)** > > Baubo (Ancient Greek: Βαυβώ) is an old woman in Greek mythology which appears particularly in the myths of the early Orphic religion. Known as the goddess of mirth, she is depicted as bawdy and sexually liberated, and is said to have jested with Demeter when that god was mourning the loss of her daughter, Persephone. > In The Greek Myths (1955), Robert Graves writes that when the disguised Demeter was the guest of King Celeus in Eleusis, the king's lame maid Iambe: > ... tried to console Demeter wi... Priapus was represented with a hugely oversized penis. Greek and Roman statues tended to have small penes, but images of Priapus, Mercury Hermes (sometimes) and Satyrs tended to have huge ones, as if to compensate. Images of Priapus appeared in gardens as scarecrows. This may seem absurd, but I do believe there was a reason behind it, which I hope to write about someday. > **[Priapus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapus)** > > In Greek mythology, Priapus (/praɪˈeɪpəs/; Ancient Greek: Πρίαπος, Príapos) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He became a popular figure in Roman erotic art and Latin literature, and is the subject of the often humorously obscene collection of verse called the Priapeia. > Priapus was described in varying sources as the son of Aphrodi... ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/42 "2020-05-12T17:02:55Z")
So many lovely gods. And, yes, gargoyles count. > [@Sunspace](#): > > . . . . So if you have a heart attack while opening a door, is that a Cardeac arrest? 🙂 Ouch! The pain! > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Dachshund. Sorry, Dyslexic. They only think they’re gods. > [@Colibri](#): > > I rather like Cloacina, the goddess of the Cloaca Maxima, the Roman sewer system, who you might try praying to when your plumbing backs up. Sounds good. > [@gkster](#): > > Is Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess, small enough for this category? > [Bastet - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet) She’s rather large for this thread, but I’ll make an exception for cats. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > The Roman god Tinytus. He is the god of atoms (they didn’t know about fundamental particles back then because it was the old age). I went looking for him. Google won’t let go of tinnitus. Is he new? > [@CalMeacham](#): > > . . . Images of Priapus appeared in gardens as scarecrows. This may seem absurd, but I do believe there was a reason behind it, which I hope to write about someday. . . I’m looking forward to it. Thanks, guys. I’m really enjoying this. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/43 "2020-05-12T17:14:41Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I came in to mention Cloacina! From Horrible Histories’ [Rotten Romans](https://www.schooltube.com/media/Horrible+HistoriesA+Appease+Roman+Gods/1_e9eun9g3): A relation of the Porcelain God? It says eg [here](https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Sacrum_Cloacinae.html) that Cloacina (ie “the purifier”) was an appellation of Venus, or at least someone at some point thought so. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/44 "2020-05-12T17:21:24Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I went looking for him. Google won’t let go of tinnitus. Is he new? You realise that’s a joke? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/45 "2020-05-12T18:20:07Z")
\ ***Lycus:** This I swear by the great Necrophytes, god of pimps, panderers and go-betweens. [Exits scene, returns] **Lycus:** A new god, but a very hard worker!\* ---
**Author:** ![Mirtha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@Mirtha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirtha)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/46 "2020-05-12T18:31:31Z")
Legal Tender god - her trustworthiness varies ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/47 "2020-05-15T16:13:10Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > You realise that’s a joke? You never can tell with gods. For example: > [@silenus](#): > > \ ***Lycus:** This I swear by the great Necrophytes, god of pimps, panderers and go-betweens. > > [Exits scene, returns] > > **Lycus:** A new god, but a very hard worker!\* I’m pretty sure this god is new - and well named. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/48 "2020-05-15T21:02:34Z")
Edisia is the Roman goddess of feasting. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/49 "2020-05-15T21:09:43Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > Um, Pomona is bigger here in California than in New York, probably. She’s the goddess featured on the state’s shield, recognized as the goddess of harvests, not just flowers. Oh yeah, there’s also a local city _named_ Pomona. I should have said “flowers and fruit orchards, respectively.” Obviously Flora is the demigoddess of flowers, and of spring. Pomona represents “fruitful abundance.” > **[Pomona (mythology)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona_(mythology))** > > Pomona (/pəˈmoʊnə/ ⓘ, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Latin: \[poːˈmoːna\]) was a goddess of fruitful abundance and plenty in ancient Roman religion and myth. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit", specifically orchard fruit. > Pomona was said to be a wood nymph. Pomona does not have a clear counterpart in Greek mythology, ... ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/50 "2020-05-16T02:54:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s hard not to be impressed by the pair of sexual gods, **Baubo** and **Priapus** > Baubo was represented as a naked female torso with a face in the center, the mouth usually near or coincident with the vulva. She was the Goddess of Mirth, and followers worshipped her by telling dirty jokes. In her myth, she cheered up the goddess Demeter after her loss of Persephone with her bawdy humor: > > [Baubo - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baubo) Any relation to the the Torso-Face monster in this German Woodcut? [![](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/1552-munster-cosmographia-monster-people-paul-d-stewartscience-photo-library.jpg) ](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/1552-munster-cosmographia-monster-people-paul-d-stewartscience-photo-library.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bibliothecarius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bibliothecarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliothecarius)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/51 "2020-05-16T06:40:52Z")
Do obscure small time demons count? I am fond of [Titivillus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titivillus), the demon responsible for typos and [Šulak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0ulak), the toilet demon. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/52 "2020-05-16T14:46:12Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Any relation to the the Torso-Face monster in this German Woodcut? > [https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/1552-munster-cosmographia-monster-people-paul-d-stewartscience-photo-library.jpg](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/1552-munster-cosmographia-monster-people-paul-d-stewartscience-photo-library.jpg) That is a [Blemmye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_men). Also from Greco-Roman myth, but not really connected. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590/53 "2020-05-16T15:41:01Z")
I didn’t remeber if she was a god or not and looked it up and she was apparently wasn’t, just a god’s Special Friend, but I quite like [Ina from](https://www.fijianmermaid.com/ina-and-the-shark-cook-islands.html) [the Cook Islands](http://www.cookislandsnews.com/item/76714-the-famous-3-note-ina-rides-her-shark-into-the-sunset), who convinced a shark to give her a ride, then peed on it and bopped it on the head with a coconut. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-is-your-favorite-small-god/853590.md?page=2)