Puemonus Popricus

Puemonus Popricus belongs to the oldest layer of the Iguvine Tablets: he and Vesuna appear together in Tabulae III and IV and nowhere else in the series. The two share a victim, portions of one sheep being assigned to each, and it is this ritual fact — together with the derivation of both names from roots meaning 'to pasture' — that gives them their pastoral character. The epithet Popricus, Latin publicus, makes him a god of the community at large, which has invited comparison with Liber as a general god of increase. His name resembles that of Pomona, but resemblance is not identity and the registry keeps them apart.

Variant accounts

• The name has been compared with that of Roman Pomona.The resemblance between Puemonus and Pomona is regularly noted. The census disposition for this candidate is explicit that identity must not be inferred from the name resemblance, and the registry keeps Roman Pomona as a separate figure: the two records are not linked as one being, and the comparison is recorded here only.Reference discussion noting that the name of Puemonos seems related to that of the Roman goddess Pomona. (secondary)

Domains

• pastoralism
• fertility

Powers

• to prosper the flocks and increase of the community as a whole, as the epithet Popricus declares

Epithets

• PupřikeIguvine Tablets, Tabula III 26-35 (puemune pupřike, dative). (primary)

Relations

• ally: VesunaJointly worshipped with Vesuna, who receives portions of the same victim. The inscriptions pair the two in cult; they do not state that they are married, and no marriage is asserted here.Iguvine Tablets, Tabula III 26-35; IV 1-33 — jointly worshipped, with portions of one sheep divided between them. (primary); Reference discussion: Puemonos Popricos and Vesuna appear as a divine pair only in Tabulae III and IV, the oldest of the Tablets. (secondary)

Sources

• Puemonus Popricus (Umbrian puemune pupřike) is worshipped jointly with Vesuna in Tabulae III and IV of the Iguvine Tablets, receiving portions of the same sheep; the epithet Popricus renders Latin publicus, and the pair's names have been referred to roots meaning 'to pasture'.: Iguvine Tablets, Tabula III 26-35; IV 1-33. (primary); Reference discussion of Puemonos Popricos and Vesuna as a divine pair restricted to the oldest tablets, with the *po(i)- / *ues- pastoral etymology and the shared sheep offering. (secondary); J. W. Poultney, The Bronze Tables of Iguvium (American Philological Association, 1959) — the English translation from which these tablet references were recorded; see data-sources/audits/lane-1/umbrian-census.tsv. (secondary)