Ethausva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | Etruscan |
| Known for | Female birth deity |
Ethausva is an Etruscan divine figure that appears in a few Etruscan inscriptions . She is depicted as a winged female richly robed and wearing a jeweled crown on her head. Her lack of mention on Etruscan artwork and inscriptions suggest that she was not very common, but she was considered canon to the Etruscan Pantheon so she was still known during the time of the Etruscans.
It is not likely that Ethausva was a major figure in the religious practices of the Etruscans due to there being other deities that serve similar purposes, namely Thanr and Thalna. Thanr and Thalna are both goddesses who are attributed to birth. They both appear in several scenes on Etruscan Bronze Mirrors such as the birth of Fufluns and the presentation of Epiur, for Thalna, and the Birth of Menerva for Thanr. They were both clearly important and likely had a cult dedicated to them. There is not much evidence of there being a cult dedicated to Ethausva, however her name is included on the Bronze liver of Piacenza. [1] This bronze diagram of a sheep liver has the names of many Etruscan deities etched onto it. They are either named in their entirety or named using a short hand. Ethausva's inclusion on this piece (pictured below at marker 5) is abbreviated as EO and could show that she had a cult status in Etruscan religious communities. Ethausva appears on the Liver with Thalna, but Thanr is not included. Thanr's association with Thalna that she is more visible in Etruscan art than Ethausva.
Ethausva's only appearance in physical form is in the Bronze mirror from Praeneste, ca. 400-300 BCE. [2] This mirror shows Ethausva being involved in the birth of Menerva (the Etruscan equivalent to Athena). In this scene, she is positioned to the right of Tinia (the Etruscan equivalent to Zeus). She is caressing his head with her right hand, and supporting him by his shoulder with her left hand. To the left of Tinia is Thanr. Thanr is another goddess attributed to child birth. She is bandaging up Tinia's head with her right hand and is holding up Menerva with her left. Menerva is positioned on top of Tinia. She is fully clothed wearinga robe, plumed helmet, and brandishing a shield. Menerva, Thanr, and Ethausva are all winged. Tinia is shown holding his iconic lightning bolt.
Sources that mention Ethausva include the bronze mirror from Praenste. [2] She is also mentioned on the bronze liver from Piacenza. [1] The bronze mirror where she appears alongside Thanr, Tinia and Menerva show Ethausva as a midwife assisting in the birth of a child. This is depiction serves as evidence of her being attributed to childbirth. Her inclusion on the Bronze liver could mean that she did have a cult of followers. Being included on this artifact likely means that she was of some importance. However, there are some gods missing from the liver, like Aplu (the Etruscan equivalent to Apollo) and Artumes (the Etruscan equivalent to Artemis). These two gods definitely were important in Etruscan religion as they appear much more often than Ethausva. That could mean that the inclusion of Ethausva on the mirror was just a touch by the artist and has little to no relevance on her importance in Etruscan religion.
Ethausva's Greek equivalent is a birth goddess called Eileithya. This is not certain, but the similarities in their names and the similar nature of their spheres of influence lead to that conclusion. Eileithyia is the daughter of Zeus and Hera born on Crete, her main place of worship, specifically the city of Knossos. She is known as a goddess of childbirth and midwifery. This is similar to Ethausva who is also a goddess of childbirth and midwifery. Eileithyia was a more prominent figure in Greek religion than Ethausva was for the Etruscans. With Eileithyia, there were shrines to her, and she is related to other cults in the Greek religious. Ethausva is not as common in the Etruscan world. She is mentioned in very few places and has less of a chthonic nature.
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear.
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with Selene, the personification of the Moon, and Hecate, another lunar deity, and was thus regarded as one of the most prominent lunar deities in mythology, alongside the aforementioned two. She would often roam the forests of Greece, attended by her large entourage, mostly made up of nymphs, some mortals, and hunters. The goddess Diana is her Roman equivalent.
In ancient Greek religion, Hera is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus, and daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. One of her defining characteristics in myth is her jealous and vengeful nature in dealing with any who offend her, especially Zeus' numerous adulterous lovers and illegitimate offspring.
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. She is the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria.
Eileithyia or Ilithyia was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera. In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) she was related with the annual birth of the divine child, and her cult is connected with Enesidaon, who was the chthonic aspect of the god Poseidon. It is possible that her cult is related with the cult of Eleusis. In his Seventh Nemean Ode, Pindar refers to her as the maid to or seated beside the Moirai (Fates) and responsible for the creation of offspring. Her son was Sosipolis, who was worshiped at Elis.
In Greek mythology, Galanthis or Galinthias was the woman who interfered with Hera's plan to hinder the birth of Heracles in favor of Eurystheus, and was changed into a weasel or cat as punishment for being so insolent as to deceive the goddesses of birth that were acting on Hera's behalf.
Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the Etruscan civilization was gradually assimilated into the Roman Republic from the 4th century BC, the Etruscan religion and mythology were partially incorporated into ancient Roman culture, following the Roman tendency to absorb some of the local gods and customs of conquered lands. The first attestations of an Etruscan religion can be traced back to the Villanovan culture.
In Etruscan religion, Fufluns or Puphluns was a god of plant life, happiness, wine, health, and growth in all things. He is mentioned twice among the gods listed in the inscriptions of the Liver of Piacenza, being listed among the 16 gods that rule the Etruscan astrological houses. He is the 9th of those 16 gods. He is the son of Semla and the god Tinia. He was worshipped at Populonia and is the namesake of that town.
In Etruscan mythology and religion, Laran is the god of war. In art, he was portrayed as a naked youth wearing a helmet, a cuirass and carrying a spear, shield, or lance. Laran also appears to be an underworld god. Among his attributes is his responsibility to maintain peace. According to some scholars, he also seems to have been the guardian of boundaries as shown by the boundary cippi found in Bettona with the inscriptions tular Larna and tular larns. Along with eight other Etruscan gods, he can wield lightning. Due to the Tabula Capuana we know that the Laran festival was celebrated on the Ides of May. Laran is the Etruscan equivalent of the Greek Ares and the Roman Mars. Like many other Etruscan gods, his name is gender neutral.
Menrva was an Etruscan goddess of war, art, wisdom, and medicine. She contributed much of her character to the Roman Minerva. She was the child of Uni and Tinia.
Nortia is the Latinized name of the Etruscan goddess Nurtia, whose sphere of influence was time, fate, destiny, and chance.
In Etruscan religion and myth, Thalna was a divine figure usually regarded as a goddess of childbirth. Determinate gender, however, is not necessarily a characteristic of Etruscan deities, and Thalna is also either depicted as male, or seems to be identified as a male figure because of the placement of names around a scene. Her other functions include friendship and prophecy. Her name may mean "growth, bloom." She appears in Etruscan art in the company of Turan, Tinia, and Menrva.
In Etruscan religion and mythology, Tinia was the god of the sky and the highest god in Etruscan mythology, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. However, a primary source from the Roman Varro states that Veltha, not Tins, was the supreme deity of the Etruscans. This has led some scholars to conclude that they were assimilated, but this is speculation. He was the husband of Uni and the father of Hercle. Like many other Etruscan deities, his name is gender neutral.
In Etruscan Religion and mythology, Thesan is the Etruscan goddess of the dawn, divination, and childbirth and was associated with the generation of life. Romans identified her with their Aurora and Mater Matuta and Greeks with Eos and Leucothea. In Etruria, she received offerings together with the sun god Usil in the liber linteus. She was especially worshipped at Caere's harbour of Pyrgi, where a temple was dedicated to her and a singular series of ‘‘daybreak antefixes’’ was excavated.
In Etruscan religion, Hercle, the son of Tinia and Uni, was a version of the Greek Heracles, depicted as a muscular figure often carrying a club and wearing a lionskin. He is a popular subject in Etruscan art, particularly bronze mirrors, which show him engaged in adventures not known from the Greek myths of Heracles or the Roman and later classical myths of Hercules.
Uni is the ancient goddess of marriage, fertility, family, and women in Etruscan religion and myth, and was the patron goddess of Perugia. She is identified as the Etruscan equivalent of Juno in Roman mythology, and Hera in Greek mythology. As the supreme goddess of the Etruscan pantheon, she is part of the Etruscan trinity, an original precursor to the Capitoline Triad, made up of her husband Tinia, the god of the sky, and daughter Menrva, the goddess of wisdom.
In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory in any field including art, music, war, and athletics. She is often portrayed in Greek art as Winged Victory in the motion of flight; however, she can also appear without wings as "Wingless Victory" when she is being portrayed as an attribute of another deity such as Athena. In Greek literature Nike is described as both an attribute and attendant to the gods Zeus and Athena. Nike gained this honored role beside Zeus during the Titanomachy where she was one of the first gods to offer her allegiance to Zeus. At Athens, Nike became a servant to Athena as well as an attribute of her due to the prominent status Athena held in her patron city. The fusion of the two goddesses at Athens has contributed to the ambiguity surrounding Nike's origins. It is unclear whether she originated from a character trait of the Greek goddess Athena or has always existed as an independent deity. Her origin story in Greek mythology is also slightly ambiguous, with the Theogony claiming Nike to be the daughter of Styx and Pallas while the Homeric Hymns describe Ares as being Nike's father. Her Roman equivalent was Victoria.
Leinth is an Etruscan deity. Within Etruscan iconography, it is difficult to distinguish mortals from divine figures without inscriptions. Inscriptions to the god Leinth have only been identified on two bronze mirrors and a single fragment of ceramic, found within an artisan’s zone on an Etruscan site in Italy. It is difficult, with such little evidence, to determine what may seem to be even the most rudimentary qualities of the deity, because the Etruscans did not consistently assign specific genders or attributes to their gods. Leinth appears both as a male and a female on two different bronze mirrors, and aside from the inscription, there seem to be no distinguishing traits to connect the figures.
Epiur is an Etruscan mythological figure that appears on bronze Etruscan engraved mirrors. He is shown as an infant that has the face of a young man. He is also often winged and being held by Hercle or Menrva, who are charged with the protection and care of infants. He is also often shown to be presented to other gods.
Lur is an Etruscan underworld deity with not much known history. Lur does not have many depictions but the ones that have been found show the deity as a male. He has been noted to be associated with a prophetic nature, while also bearing oracular and martial characteristics. He has been linked to another deity by the name of Laran, which, it has been suggested, is where Lur derives his name from. The context of the name has been associated with darkness and the underworld. A fifth century vase found near a sanctuary in San Giovenale bears an inscription that translates: "I am Lurs, that of Laran." Another inscription has been found with the spelling lartla, noting relations to a Lar, which gives a label to Lur that describes features of protection. The name may be related to Latin luridus "pale".
