Voltumna

In Etruscan mythology, Voltumna or Veltha was one of the principal deities of the Etruscan pantheon, associated with the underworld, vegetation, and possibly war. His cult was centered at the Fanum Voltumnae, the sacred federal sanctuary of the Etruscan cities.

Deity and Interpretations

According to Varro, Voltumna became the supreme god of the Etruscan pantheon, the deus Etruriae princeps. ^[1]

Voltumna has been interpreted by scholars in contrasting ways: as a maleficent monster, a chthonic vegetation deity of ambiguous gender, or a mighty war god. ^[2] According to Pallottino, he is “a typical example of the process of the individualization and the transformation of a local earth spirit... into a superior divinity.” ^[3]

Cult and Political Function

The bond of the twelve Etruscan populi was renewed annually at the sacred grove of the Fanum Voltumnae, which was located near Volsinii (present-day Bolsena), and mentioned by Livy. ^[4] At the Fanum Voltumnae, ludi were held, though the nature of these games—whether athletic, artistic, or religious—is unknown.

Voltumna's elevated status likely reflected his role as a unifying figure among the Etruscan city-states. While Tinia is often equated with the Etruscan sky god, Voltumna held political and religious primacy in his capacity as the central deity of the federal sanctuary. ^[5]

Archaeological Evidence

Recent archaeological excavations near Orvieto, led by Simonetta Stopponi, have identified a likely candidate for the site of the Fanum Voltumnae. Findings at the Campo della Fiera include Etrusco-Roman sacred structures, suggesting long-term cultic use and potential federal importance. ^[6]

Voltumna in Rome

A shrine dedicated to Voltumna also stood in the Roman Forum, near the Temple of Castor and Pollux, in the Vicus Tuscus. ^[7]

Voltumna is generally considered the Etruscan counterpart of the Roman god Vertumnus, who inherited many of the deity’s attributes related to seasonal change, fertility, and transformation. ^[8]

See also

• Tinia

References

1. Varro, Marcus Terentius. "46". De lingua Latina. Vol. 5.
2. Corbeill, Anthony (2015). Sexing the World: Grammatical Gender and Biological Sex in Ancient Rome. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press. pp. 104–142.
3. Pallottino, Massimo. "The Religion of the Etruscans". AncientWorlds. Archived from the original on 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
4. Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Vol. 4. pp. 23, 25, 61, 5.17, 6.2, 9.39.
5. Briquel, Dominique (2003). "Le Fanum Voltumnae: remarques sur le culte fédéral des cités étrusques". In André Motte; Charles Ternes (eds.). Dieux, fêtes, sacré dans la Grèce et la Rome antiques. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 133–159.
6. Stopponi, Simonetta (2011). "Orvieto and the Fanum Voltumnae: New Excavations and Interpretations". Etruscan Studies. 14.
7. Alföldi, Andreas (1963). "Die Etrusker in Latium und Rom". Gymnasium. 70: 204.
8. de Grummond, Nancy Thomson (2006). Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend. University of Pennsylvania Museum. pp. 72–74.

Further reading

• Turfa, Jean MacIntosh, ed. The Etruscan World. Routledge, 2013.
• Fontana Elboj, Gonzalo. Ager: estudio etimológico y funcional sobre Marte y Voltumna. Zaragoza: University of Zaragoza, 1992. ISBN   84-600-8279-2 (Spanish)
• Hederich, Benjamin. Gründliches Mythologisches Lexikon. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1996 [orig. 1770].
• Mommsen, Theodor. Römisches Staatsrecht, vol. 3, p. 666.
• Müller-Deecke, Die Etrusker, vol. 1, p. 329.
• Niebuhr, Barthold Georg. Römische Geschichte, vol. 2, p. 216.
• Pliny the Elder. Natural History, book 8, chapter 20. Translated by H. Rackham. Harvard University Press, 1938.