Balum ('jaguar') is one of the oldest of the Olmec deities, and was later adopted by the Mayan culture as well. The jaguar god was a god of fertility and rain, but also a symbol of royalty, bravery and rebirth. Residing in the underworld at night, Balum is said to travel the sky as the sun in the daytime, only to return to the land of the dead at sunset.

  Eventually, the worship of other gods and the advent of Christianity forced Balum into dormancy. Wonder Woman encountered a revived Balum early on in her career, when she accompanied her friend, Professor Julia Kapatelis, to an archaeological dig at the site of the ancient Maya city Tzichilan. Attacked by the Cheetah, who was looting the artefacts of Tzichilan, Wonder Woman called upon the Greek goddess Artemis for help. Artemis then awakened a statue of Balum with a magic arrow, and Wonder Woman had to stop the jaguar god from killing the Cheetah. Balum finally agreed to go back to his rest, but cursed the Cheetah.

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