This is a list of deities and legendary figures found in Etruscan mythology.
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 often a topic of debate in the international forum of scholarship.
Unknown character associated with Turan.[2] It may be one of the Samothracian Great Gods or
Cabeiri (Άξίερος, perhaps from *Aχsiver-) according to É. Benveniste.[3]
Etruscan goddess, whose name is identical to Etruscan "willingly".[2]
Aminth
Etruscan winged deity in the form of a child, probably identified with
Amor.[6]
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.[7]
An Etruscan deity, god and goddess, not well represented in the art. She appears in the expression ati cath, "Mother Cath"[11] and also maru Cathsc, "the maru of Cath". The nature of the maru is not known. She is also called śech, "daughter,"[12] 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.[13] Van der Meer considers Cautha/Cavtha/Cavatha to be a separate deity from Cath(a), the former being a kind of Aurora or "eye of the sun" as well as an underworld deity who is paired with
Śuri.[14]
Etruscan god of wine, identified with
Dionysus. The name is used in the expressions Fufluns Pacha (
Bacchus) and Fufluns Pachie.[19][21] Puplona (
Populonia) was named from Fufluns.[22]
Etruscan form of the Greek hero
Hēraklēs, Roman
Hercules.[23] With
Perseus, the main Etruscan
hero, the adopted son of
Uni/Juno, who suckled the adult Hercle. His image appears more often than any other on Etruscan carved hardstones. His name appears on the bronze
Piacenza Liver, used for divination (
hepatoscopy), a major element of Etruscan
religious practice.
Ilithiia
The goddess of childbirth, known to the Greeks as
Eileithyia. Occurs also in the expression flereś atis ilithiial, "statue of mother Eileithyia."[23]
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.[24]
Lasa Vecuvia
Goddess of prophecy, associated with the nymph
Vegoia.[24] See under Begoë.
Underworld deity of prophecy and of war, whose cult may have involved human sacrifice. His name may mean "pale" (in contrast to
Śuri "black]]).[26][27]
Malavisch
Etruscan divinity of the mirrors, probably from malena, "mirror."[28]
Etruscan infernal deity, forming a dyad with Manth (
Latin: Mantus).[29] She went on into Latin literature, ruling beside Mantus and was reported to be the mother of the
Lares and
Manes.[30] Under the Etruscan kings, she received the sacrifices of slain children during the Laralia festival of May 1.[31]
Latin: Mantus. Epithet of
Śuri, Etruscan infernal deity, one of a dyad including Mania.[29] A tradition of
Latin literature[32] names the Etruscan city of Manthua, later
Mantua, after the deity.[22]
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.[28] 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."[33] But L. Bonfane writes: "Mariś is not Mars, but a local divinity who, according to one interpretation, lived for the considerable period of 130 years, and had three lives."[34] The roots of the Italic god end in a -t, while no such ending is visible in the Etruscan form, which instead has in -i not seen in the Italic forms.
The Etruscan original to the Roman
Minerva, made into Greek
Athena.[28]
Munthukh
Goddess of love and health, and one of the attendants of
Turan
Nethuns
Italic divinity, probably
Umbrian, of springs and water,[35] identified with Greek
Poseidon and Roman
Neptune, from which the name comes.[36] It occurs in the expression flere Nethuns, "the divinity of Nethuns."[37]
Goddess of fate and chance. Unattested in Etruscan texts but mentioned by Roman historian
Livy.[38] Her attribute was a
nail, which was driven into a wall in her temple during the Etruscan new year festival as a fertility rite.
God who appears in the expression Selvansl Tularias, "Selvans of the boundaries", which identifies him as a god of boundaries. But also Selvans Calusta (see Calus above).[9] The name is either borrowed from the Roman god,
Silvanus or the original source of the
Roman god's name.[41]
An oracular, chthonic Apollo, probably corresponding to Faliscan Soranus/
Dīs Pater. The name is from Etruscan sur- "black," and may contrast with another deity, Lur whose name probably means "pale."[42] One of his epithets may be Savcne, since the two appear together on a bronze oracle sheet from an are called in ancient times "Sorrina" possibly from Etruscan *Surrina.[43]
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.[41]
Etruscan divine figure of multiple roles shown male, female, and androgynous. They attend the births of Menrva and Fufluns, dance as a
Maenad and expound prophecy. In Greek
θάλλειν "to bloom". A number of divinities fit the etymology: Greek
Thallo and
Hebe, and Roman Iuventas, "youth."[44][45]
Thanr
An Etruscan deity shown present at the births of deities.[44]
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.[47] 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.[48] Unlike Zeus, Tin needs the permission of the Dii Consentes (consultant gods) and Dii Involuti (hidden gods –
Graeae?) to wield the last two categories. A further epithet, Calusna (of Calu), hints at a connection to wolves or dogs and the underworld.[48]
Unknown deity of the
Piacenza Liver, which is not a picture bilingual.[46][50] 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
sancīre, "to ratify an oath."[51]
Etruscan goddess identified with Greek
Aphrodite and Roman
Venus. She appears in the expression, Turan ati, "Mother Turan", equivalent to Venus Genetrix.[52] Her name is a noun meaning "the act of giving" in Etruscan, based on the verb stem Tur- 'to give.'
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."[52]
Turnu
An Etruscan deity, a type of
Eros, child of
Turan.[52]
TV[?]th
Unknown deity of the
Piacenza Liver, which is not a picture bilingual.[46]
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 Greek
Hera and the Roman
Juno, from whose name the name Uni may be derived.
Epithet of
Śuri, Etruscan deity identified with Greek
Helios, Roman
Sol.[49]
Vea
Etruscan divinity, possibly taking its name from the city of
Veii or vice versa.[53]
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.[54]
Epithet of
Śuri, Etruscan infernal deity whose temple stood at
Rome near the
Capitoline Hill.[53] 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.[55]
Etruscan nymph believed to have power over lightning. She was also said to have composed a tract known as Ars Fulguritarum ("Art of the Thunderstruck"), which was included in the Roman pagan
canon, along with the Sibylline Books. These are merely versions of the Latin names for the Etruscan nymph Lasa Vecuvia (see below).[58]
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.
Evan
An attendant on Turan, sometimes male, sometimes female.[19]
Farthan
spirit, genius (used in
Liber Linteus in phrases like farthan in Crapsti "the spirit which (is) in Craps"[59]
An Etruscan mythological creature, a bird of love.
Man, Mani
Etruscan class of spirits representing "the dead"[60] 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.[61]
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.[49][53][62]
The Trojan legendary character, Alexandrus, otherwise known as
Paris.[2][22]
Alpunea
Prophetess, probably equivalent to the Latin Sybil Albunea, whose oracular sanctuary was in Tivoli, just east of Rome. She is sometimes pictured with the seer Umaele (on whom see below).[64]
The Etruscan form of the mythological figure
Daedalus.[44]
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.[41]
An Etruscan culture hero and twin brother of
Tarchon.
Umaele
A seer, associated with Alpunea (see above), with no clear connection with any known Latin or Greek figure. He carries a bag with a head in it that tells him prophesies, and is also seen on mirrors with one knee up and left arm extended apparently examining a liver for prophesy, that is
haruspex.[66]
Son of Taitle, the mythological figure of
Icarus.[67] The name is found inscribed once, on a golden bulla dating to the 5th century BCE now housed at the Walters Art Museum.[68]
^
abcL. Bouke van der Meer's review of Il liber linteus di Zagabria: testualità e contenuto: (Biblioteca di “Studi Etruschi” 50, by
Valentina Belfiore, Pisa/Roma: Fabrizio Serra editore, 2010. ISBN 9788862271943) in Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2011) 1.36.
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2011/2011.01.36/
^Rykwert page 140. The liver and a list of names is depicted in Hooper & Schwartz page 223.
^de Grummond, N.T. & Simon, E. (eds). (2006). The Religion of the Etruscans. Austin, TX. University of Texas Press.
^
abcBouke van der Meer, Lammert "The Lead Plaque of Magliano," in: Interpretando l'antico. Scritti di archeologia offerti a Maria Bonghi Jovino. Milano 2013 (Quaderni di Acme 134) pp. 323-341 (327)
^Bouke van der Meer, Lammert "The Lead Plaque of Magliano," in: Interpretando l'antico. Scritti di archeologia offerti a Maria Bonghi Jovino. Milano 2013 (Quaderni di Acme 134) pp. 323-341 (328)
^L. B. van der Meer Liber linteus zagrabiensis. The Linen Book of Zagreb. A Comment on the Longest Etruscan Text. Louvain/Dudley, MA 2007 pp.99-11
^De Grummond, Nancy Thomas "The cult of Lur : prophecy and human sacrifice?" in Mediterranea : quaderni annuali dell'Istituto di studi sulle civiltà italiche e del Mediterraneo antico del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche, già Quaderni di archeologia etrusco-italica : XI, 2014, pp. 153-162
^For a summary of her classical life, see Seyffert's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities under "Mania", online at
[1]Archived 2007-09-06 at the
Wayback Machine ancientlibrary.com.
^Summers, page 24, quotes
Macrobius, Saturnalia I vii on this topic.
^VirgilAeneid Book X lines 199–200 says that it was named after the prophetess
Manto, but
Servius' gloss on Line 199 says that the city was named after Mantus and that he was
Dispater, which corresponds to
Aulus Caecina's view that
Tarchon dedicated all the Etruscan cities of the
Po valley to Dispater. De Grummond, pages 141, 205.
^Bouke van der Meer, Lammert "The Lead Plaque of Magliano," in: Interpretando l'antico. Scritti di archeologia offerti a Maria Bonghi Jovino. Milano 2013 (Quaderni di Acme 134) pp. 323-341 (335)
^van der Meer, L. B. (2014) "Some comment on the Tabula Capuana", in Studi Etruschi 77, 149-175, p. 153.
^Bornhard, Allan R.; Kerns, John C. (1994). The Nostratic Macrofamily: A study in distant linguistic relationships. Walter de Gruyter. p. 304.
ISBN3-11-013900-6. – previewed on Google Books.
^Schmitz, Leonhard (1870).
"Manes". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. ancientlibrary.com. Archived from
the original on 2008-06-06.
De Grummond; Nancy Thomson (2006). Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History and Legend: An Introduction. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology.
ISBN1-931707-86-3.
Harmon, Daniel P. (1986). "Religion in the Latin Elegists". In Haase, Wolfgang (ed.). Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischenwelt. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 1961–1965.
ISBN3-11-008289-6.
Hooper, Finley & Schwartz, Matthew (1991). Roman Letters: History from a Personal Point of View. Wayne State University Press.
ISBN0-8143-1594-1.