Etruscan mythology

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The Etruscans were a people of unknown origin living in Northern Italy, who were eventually integrated into Roman culture and politically became part of the Roman Republic. The Etruscans had both a religion and a supporting mythology. Many Etruscan beliefs, customs and divinities became part of Roman culture, including the Roman pantheon.

Polytheistic belief system

The Etruscan system of belief was an immanent polytheism; that is, all visible phenomena were considered to be a manifestation of divine power and that power was subdivided into deities that acted continually on the world of man and could be dissuaded or persuaded in favor of human affairs. Three layers are evident in the extensive Etruscan art motifs. One appears to be divinities of an indigenous nature: Catha and Usil, the sun, Tivr, the moon, Selvans, a civil god, Turan, the goddess of love, Laran, the god of war, Leinth, the goddess of death, Maris, Thalna, Turms and the ever-popular Fufluns, whose name is related in some unknown way to the city of Populonia and the populus Romanus. Perhaps he was the god of the people.

Ruling over this pantheon of lesser deities were higher ones that seem to reflect the Indo-European system: Tin or Tinia, the sky, Uni his wife (Juno), and Cel, the earth goddess. In addition the Greek gods were taken into the Etruscan system: Aritimi (Artemis), Menrva (Minerva;Latin name for Athena), and Pacha (Bacchus;Latin name for Dionysus). The heroes taken from Homer also appear extensively in art motifs.

Religious practices

The Etruscans believed in intimate contact with divinity. They did nothing without proper consultation with the gods and signs from them. These practices were taken over in total by the Romans. A god was called an ais (later eis) which in the plural is aisar. Where they were was a fanu or luth, a sacred place, such as a favi, a grave or temple. There one would need to make a fler (plural flerchva) "offering".

Around the mun or muni, the tombs, were the man or mani (Latin Manes), the souls of the ancestors. A deceased person travels to the underworld called Aita "Hades" and thus may be referred to as a hinthial (literally "(one who is) underneath"). A special magistrate, the cechase, looked after the cecha, or rath, sacred things. Every man, however, had his religious responsibilities, which were expressed in an alumnathe or slecaches, a sacred society. No public event was conducted without the netsvis, the haruspex, or his female equivalent, the nethsra. They read the bumps on the liver of a properly sacrificed sheep. We have a model of a liver made of bronze, whose religious significance is still a matter of heated debate, marked into sections which perhaps are meant to explain what the bump in that region should mean. Divination through haruspicy is a tradition originating from the Fertile Crescent.

Beliefs of the hereafter

Like the Egyptians, the Etruscans believed in eternal life, but prosperity there was linked to funereal prosperity here. The tombs in many cases were better than many houses, with spacious chambers, wall frescoes and grave furniture. Most Etruscan tombs have been plundered. In the tomb, especially on the sarcophagus (examples shown below), was a representation of the dead person in his or her prime, probably as they wanted to be in the hereafter. Some of the statuary is the finest and most realistic of any. We have no problem visualizing the appearance of the Etruscans. They wanted us to see them smiling and intimate with their kith and kin around them, as we do.

Mythology

The mythology is attested by a number of sources.

Mythological systems

The primary trinity included Tinia, Uni and Menrva.

List of Etruscan mythological figures

The names below were taken mainly from Etruscan "picture bilinguals", which are Etruscan call-outs on art depicting mythological scenes or motifs. Several different media provide names. Variants of the names are given, reflecting differences in language in different localities and times.

Many of the names are Etruscan spellings (and pronunciations) of Greek names. The themes may or may not be entirely Greek. Etruscans frequently added their own themes to Greek myths. The same may be said of native Italic names rendered into Etruscan. Some names are entirely Etruscan. Which is which is often a topic of debate in the international forum of scholarship.Achlae: Greek river god, Achelous.Achle, Achile: Legendary hero of the Trojan War, from the Greek Achilles.Achmemrun: Legendary king of Mycenaean Greece, from the Greek Agamemnon.Achrum, Acharum: Legendary Greek river of the underworld, the Acheron.Achvizr, Achuvesr, Achuvizr, Achviztr: Unknown character associated with Turan.Aita, Eita: Greek god of the underworld and ruler of the dead, Hades.Aivas Tlamunus, Aivas Vilates: Also Eivas or Evas. Etruscan equivalents of the Greek heroes Ajax, son of Telamon and Ajax, son of Oileus.Alchumena: The Greek legendary character, Alcmena.Alcstei, Alcsti: The Greek legendary character, Alcestis.Alichsantre, Alechsantre, Alcsentre, Elchsntre, Elachśantre, Elachśntre, Elcste: The Trojan legendary character, Alexandrus, otherwise known as Paris.Alpan, Alpanu, Alpnu: Etruscan goddess, whose name is identical to Etruscan "willingly."Althaia: The Greek figure Althaea, mother of Meleager.Ani: Divinity named on the periphery of the Piacenza Liver as dominant in that section. It seems to correspond to Martianus Capella's Templum I, north, ruled by Janus, for which Ani appears to be the Etruscan word.Aminth: Etruscan winged deity in the form of a child, probably identified with Amor.Amuce, Amuche, Amuke: The Greek legendary figure Amycus of the Argonauts myth.Apulu, Aplu: The god, Apollo.Areatha: The mythological figure, Ariadne.Aril: Etruscan deity identified with Atlas.Aritimi, Artumes: The goddess Artemis.Ataiun: The mythological figure, Actaeon.Athrpa: The deity, Atropos.Atlenta, Atlnta: The mythological person, Atalanta.Atmite: The legendary character, Admetus.Atunis: The mythological figure, Adonis.Aturmica: The mythological figure, Andromache, the Amazon.Aulunthe: Etruscan, the name of a satyr.Calaina: The Greek Nereid, Galena.Calanice: A Greek name of Hercle, Kallinikos.Calu: Etruscan infernal god of wolves, represented by a wolf.Capne, Kapne: The legendary hero, Capaneus.Caśntra: prophetess, Cassandra, of the Trojan War.Castur: legendary figure, Castor.Catha, Cavtha, Cath: An Etruscan deity, god and goddess, not well represented in the art. She appears in the expression ati cath, "Mother Cath" and also maru Cathsc, "the maru of Cath"; however, the nature of the maru is not known. She is also called śech, "daughter, which seems to fit Martianus Capella's identification of the ruler of Region VI of the sky as Celeritas solis filia, "Celerity the daughter of the sun." In the Piacenza Liver the corresponding region is ruled by Cath.Catmite: The mythological figure, Ganymede, from an alternative Greek spelling, Gadymedes. From the Etruscan is Latin Catamitus.Cel: Etruscan goddess, probably identified with Ge, as she had a giant for a son. Her name occurs in the expression ati Cel, "Mother Cel."Celsclan: Etruscan Gigas, "son of Cel", identifying her as "Earth", as the giants in Greek mythology were the offspring of the earth.Cerca: enchantress of the Odyssey, Circe.Chaluchasu: Translation of Greek panchalkos, "wholly of bronze", perhaps the robot of Crete, Talos.Charun, Charu: The mythological figure, Charon.Chelphun: An Etruscan satyr.Cilens: Also Celens.Cluthumustha, Clutmsta: The female legendary character, Clytemnestra.Crapsti: Umbrian local deity, Grabouie.Crisitha: The heroine of the Trojan War, the Greek name Chryseis.Culsans: God of doors and doorways, corresponding to the two-faced Roman god Janus.Culsu: Also Cul. A female underworld demon who was associated with gateways. Her attributes included a torch and scissors. She was often represented next to Culsans.Easun, Heasun. Heiasun: Etruscan version of the mythological hero Jason.Ecapa: The tragic heroine of the Trojan War, Hecuba.Ectur: Hero of the Trojan War, Hector.Elinei, Elinai, Elina: The character Helen of Trojan War fame.Enie: Greek Enyo, one of the Graeae.Epiur, Epeur: Greek epiouros, "guardian", a boy presented to Tinia by Hercle, possibly Tages.Ermania: legendary character Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen.Eris: divinity Eris.Erus: divinity Eros.Esplace: legendary healer, Asklepios.Ethausva, Eth: Etruscan goddess, attendant at the birth of Menrva.Etule: Greek Aitolos, confused with his brother, Epeios, who built the Trojan horse.Euturpa, Euterpe: The Greek divinity, Euterpe.Evan: An attendant on Turan, sometimes male, sometimes female.Evtucle, [Ev]thucle: The hero, Eteocles.Feronia: An obscure rural goddess primarily known from the various Roman cults who worshipped her.Fufluns: Etruscan god of wine, identified with Dionysus. The name is used in the expressions Fufluns Pacha (Bacchus) and Fufluns Pachie. Puplona (Populonia) was named from Fufluns.Hamphiare, Amphare: Legendary seer, Amphiaraus.Hathna: Etruscan satyr.Hercle, Hercele, Herecele, Herkle, Hrcle: Etruscan form of the legendary hero known to the Greeks as Hēraklēs and the Romans as Hercules.Hipece: The magic spring, Hippocrene, represented in Etruscan art as a water spout in the form of a lion's head.Horta: Goddess of agriculture (highly conjectural).Ilithiia: The goddess of childbirth, known to the greeks as Eileithyia. Occurs also in the expression flereś atis ilithiial, "statue of mother Eileithyia."Iynx: An Etruscan mythological creature, a bird of love.Laran: Etruscan God of war.Lasa: One of a class of deities, plural Lasas, mainly female, but sometimes male, from which the Roman Lares came. Where the latter were the guardians of the dead, the Etruscan originals formed the court of Turan. Lasa often precedes an epithet referring to a particular deity: Lasa Sitmica, Lasa Achununa, Lasa Racuneta, Lasa Thimrae, Lasa Vecuvia.Lasa Vecuvia: Goddess of prophecy, associated with the nymph Vegoia.Latva: The mythological person also known as Leda.Leinth: Etruscan divinity, male and female, possibly related to lein, Etruscan word for "to die", but does not appear in any death scenes.Letham, Lethns, Letha, Lethms, Leta: An Etruscan infernal goddess.Letun: The goddess known to the Greeks as Leto.Lunc, Lnche: The legendary figure, Lynceus.Malavisch: Etruscan divinity of the mirrors, probably from malena, "mirror."Man, Mani: Etruscan class of spirits representing "the dead and yet not the same as a hinthial, "ghost." From the Mani came the Latin Manes, which are both "the good" and the deified spirits of the dead.Mania: Etruscan infernal deity, one of a dyad including Mantus. She went on into Latin literature, ruling beside Mantus and was reported to be the mother of the Lares and Manes. Under the Etruscan kings, she received the sacrifices of slain children during the Laralia festival of May 1. She continued to survive in post-classical Tuscan folklore as Mania della Notte, a nocturnal spirit bringing nightmares.Mantus: Etruscan infernal deity, one of a dyad including Mania. A tradition of Latin literature names the Etruscan city of Manthua, later Mantua, after the deity.Mariś: A class of divinity used with epithets: mariś turans, mariś husurnana, mariś menitla, mariś halna, mariś isminthians. The appearances in art are varied: a man, a youth, a group of babies cared for by Menrva. The Roman god, Mars, is believed to have come from this name. Pallottino refers to the formation of a god by "... fusing groups of beings ... into one." Of Mars he says "... the protecting spirits of war, represented as armed heroes, tend to coalesce into a single deity, the Etrusco-Roman Mars, on the model of the Greek god Ares.Mean, Meanpe: Etruscan deity, equivalent of Nike or Victoria.Meleacr: The legendary figure,known to the Greeks as Meleager.Memnum, Memrum: Memnon, a Trojan saved from Achle by his mother, Thesan.Menerva, Menrva: The Etruscan original to the Roman Minerva, made into Greek Athena.Menle: The hero Menelaus, of Trojan War fame.Metaia, Metua, Metvia: The mythological character, Medea.Metus: The Gorgon, Medusa. The head appears on the Aegis of Menrva as a Gorgoneion.Mlacuch: A young Etruscan woman kidnapped by Hercle.Nestur: The legendary hero, Nestor.Nethuns: Italic divinity, probably Umbrian, of springs and water, identified with Greek Poseidon and Roman Neptune, from which the name comes. It occurs in the expression flere Nethuns, "the divinity of Nethuns.Nortia: Goddess of fate and chance. Unattested in Etruscan texts but mentioned by Roman historian Livy. Her attribute was a nail, which was driven into a wall in her temple during the Etruscan new year festival as a fertility rite.Pacha: Greek Bacchus, an epithet of Fufluns.Palmithe, Talmithe: The hero, Palamedes.Pantasila, Pentasila: The Greek name, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons.Patrucle: Patroclus, of Trojan War fame.Pava Tarchies: Etruscan Tarchies in an expression: "boy Tarchies." See under Tarchies.Pecse, Pakste: The name of the legendary winged horse, Pegasus, assigned by the Etruscans to the Trojan Horse.Pele: The hero Peleus.Pemphetru: Greek Pemphredo, one of the Graeae.Perse, Pherse: The mythological hero, Perseus.Phaun, Faun, Phamu: The mythological character, Phaon.Phersipnai, Phersipnei, Proserpnai: Queen of the underworld, equivalent to the Greek Persephone and Roman Proserpina.Phersu: A divinity of the mask, probably from Greek prosopon, "face". The god becomes adjectival, *phersuna, from which Latin persona.Phuinis: The Greek Phoinix, friend of Peleus.Phulsphna: The legendary figure Polyxena.Prisis: The Greek Briseis mentioned in the Iliad.Priumne: Priam king of Troy.Prumathe: The Greek mythological figure Prometheus.Puanea: Etruscan name of a satyr.Pultuce, Pulutuce, Pulutuke, Pultuke: One of the mythological twins, known to the Greeks as Pollux.Rath: Etruscan deity identified with Apollo. Tarquinia was his sanctuary.Rathmtr: The Greek mythological character, Rhadamanthys.Satre: Etruscan deity, source of the Roman god, Saturn.Sime: An Etruscan satyr who has a Greek name.Selvans: God who appears in the expression Selvansl Tularias, "Selvans of the boundaries", which identifies him as a god of boundaries. The name is borrowed from the Roman god, Silvanus.Semla: The Greek goddess, Semele.Sethlans: Etruscan blacksmith and craftsman God, often wielding an axe. Equivalent to the Greek Hephaistos and Roman Vulcanus. See also under Velchans below.Sispe, Sisphe: The legendary king, Sisyphus.Svutaf: A winged Etruscan deity whose name, if from the same Latin root as the second segment of persuade, might mean "yearning" and therefore be identifiable with Eros.Taitle: The Etruscan form of the mythological figure Daedalus.Tarchies: Occurs in Pava Tarchies, label of a central figure in depictions of divination, who, along with Epiur, a divinatory child, is believed to be the same as Tages, founder of the Etruscan religion, mentioned by Roman authors.Tarchon: An Etruscan culture hero who, with his brother, Tyrrhenus, founded the Etruscan Federation of twelve cities.Tecum: God of the lucomenes, or ruling class.Techrs: From the Greek, the Trojan War hero, Teucer.Telmun, Tlamun, Talmun, Tlamu: A legendary Argonaut, Telamon.Teriasals, Teriasa: Legendary blind prophet, Tiresias.Thalna, Thalana, Talna: Etruscan divine figure of multiple roles shown male, female and androgynous: it attends the births of Menrva and Fufluns, dances as a Maenad and expounds prophecy. In Greek thallein, "to bloom". A number of divinities fit the etymology: Greek Thallo and Hebe and Roman Iuventas, "youth."Thanr: An Etruscan deity shown present at the births of deities.Thesan: Etruscan goddess of the dawn. She was identified with the Roman Aurora and Greek Eos.These: A hero who is the equivalent of Theseus.Thethis: nymph Thetis, mother of Achilles.Thetlvmth: Unknown deity of the Piacenza Liver, which is not a picture bilingual.Thufltha: Unknown deity of the Piacenza Liver, which is not a picture bilingual.Tinia, Tina, Tin: Chief Etruscan god, the ruler of the skies, husband of Uni, and father of Hercle, identified with the Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter well within the Etruscan window of ascendance, as the Etruscan kings built the first temple of Jupiter at Rome. Called apa, "father" in inscriptions (parallel to the -piter in Ju-piter), he has most of the attributes of his Indo-European counterpart, with whom some have postulated a more remote linguistic connection. The name means "day" in Etruscan. He is the god of boundaries and justice. He is depicted as a young, bearded male, seated or standing at the center of the scene, grasping a stock of thunderbolts. According to Latin literature, the bolts are of three types: for warning, good or bad interventions, and drastic catastrophes. Unlike Zeus, Tin needs the permission of the Dii Consentes (consultant gods) and Dii Involuti (hidden gods) to wield the last two categories. A further epithet, Calusna (of Calu), hints at a connection to wolves or dogs and the underworld. In post-classical Tuscan folklore he became an evil spirit, Tigna, who causes lightening stikes, hail, rain, whirlwinds and mildew.Tinas cliniar: Etruscan expression, "sons of Tina", designating the Dioscuri, proving that Tin was identified with Zeus.Tiur: Etruscan deity identified with Greek Selene and Roman Luna (goddess).Tlusc, Tluscv, Mar Tlusc: Unknown deity of the Piacenza Liver, which is not a picture bilingual. The corresponding region in Martianus Capella is ruled by Sancus, an Italic god and Sabine progenitor, who had a temple on the Quirinal Hill, and appears on an Etruscan boundary stone in the expression Selvans Sanchuneta, in which Sanchuneta seems to refer to the oaths establishing the boundary. Sancus probably comes from Latin sancire, "to ratify an oath.Truia, Truials: Troy, Trojan, the city of the Iliad.Tuchulcha: An Etruscan demon.Tuntle: The legendary figure, known to the Greeks as Tyndareus.Turan: Etruscan goddess identified with Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus. She appears in the expression, Turan ati, "Mother Turan", equivalent to Venus Genetrix. Her name is a noun meaning "the act of giving" in Etruscan, based on the verb stem tur- 'to give.'Turms, Turmś: Etruscan god identified with Greek Hermes and Roman Mercurius. In his capacity as guide to the ghost of Tiresias, who has been summoned by Odysseus, he is Turms Aitas, "Turms Hades."Turnu: An Etruscan deity, a type of Eros, child of Turan.Tusna: Perhaps from *Turansna, "of Turan." The swan of Turan.Tute: The Greek hero, Tydeus.Tv[?]th: Unknown deity of the Piacenza Liver, which is not a picture bilingual.Tyrrhenus: An Etruscan culture hero and twin brother of Tarchon.Uni: Supreme goddess of the Etruscan pantheon, wife of Tinia, mother of Hercle, and patroness of Perugia. With Tinia and Menrva, she was a member of the ruling triad of Etruscan deities. Uni was the equivalent of the Roman Juno, whose name Uni may be derived from, and the Greek Hera.Urphe: The mythological figure, Orpheus.Urusthe: The homeric legendary character, Orestes.Usil: Etruscan deity identified with Greek Helios, Roman Sol.Vanth: Etruscan winged demon of the underworld often depicted in the company of Charun. She could be present at the moment of death, and frequently acted as a guide of the deceased to the underworld.Vea: Etruscan divinity, possibly taking its name from the city of Veii or vice versa.Vecu, Vecui, Vecuvia: The prophetic nymph, Vegoia. See under Lasa Vecuvia.Veltha, Velthume, Vethune, Veltune: Etruscan deity, possible state god of the Etruscan league of Etruria, the Voltumna in the Latin expression Fanum Voltumnae, "shrine of Voltumna", which was their meeting place, believed located at Orvieto. The identification is based on reconstruction of a root *velthumna from Latin Voltumna, Vertumnus and Voltumnus of literary sources, probably from Etruscan veltha, "earth" or "field." Representations of a bearded male with a long spear suggest Velthune may be an epithet of Tinia.Veiove, Veive, Vetis: Etruscan infernal deity whose temple stood at Rome near the Capitoline Hill. The identification is made from the deity's Latin names related by a number of ancient authors over the centuries: Vēi, Vēdi, Vēdii, Veiovis, Vediovis, Vediiovis, Vedius.Velparun: The Greek hero, Elpenor.

'Vesuna: Italic goddess mentioned also in the Iguvine Tables.Vikare: Son of Taitle, the mythological figure of Icarus. The name is found inscribed once, on a golden bulla dating to the 5th century BCE now housed at the Walters Art Museum.Vile, Vilae: Greek Iolaos, nephew of Hercle.

Notes

Bibliography

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