This might set a record for obscurity, but - by what name did the Etruscans call their underworld?
I know that their equivalent for the god Hades was named Aita or Eita. I’ve seen a fleeting reference (in a list with no more info attached) that they might also have called their underworld after Eita just as the Greeks did with Hades.
But I can’t find a solid cite for this either on the Internet or in books on Etruscan life. They speak of the “Etruscan underworld” using those two words. They list the many gods and goddesses they had guarding it. But they never actually come out and say, “they guarded Eita”, or “they went into Hades”, or “the Etruscan underworld was named Seymour”.
Any ancient scholars out there with a clue?
From what I can find Aita/Eita was the name of the Etruscan underwolrd )described as the personification of the underworld at this site:
http://www.mysteriousetruscans.com/religion.html
Also I’ve seen other refeences that call the Etruscan underworld Eita.
Yes, that is the exact page I found the “fleeting reference” in. There’s also “Protector, lives in Eita (underworld)” after Letham/Lethans in that list.
[Phew. I don’t have to shell out the big prize bucks for you. :)]
It makes sense that they would do this; their pantheon paralleled the Greek one almost god for god. But it just bothered me that I couldn’t nail this down. Thanks.
Hey, as long as I’m asking, let me throw this one in.
There is a huge tomb near the Etruscan city of Vulci that is today called the Cucumella (sometimes spelled Cuccumella). This is Italian for “little coffee pot” so it’s obviously not the original name.
Does anyone know what the Etruscan name was or, for that matter, who is buried in it?
Just wanted to mention, from looking at Etruscan list of gods, were the Etruscans the most cthonic group of people out there, or is it just me? It seems like half of their gods are gods of the underworld.
Gesundheit.
Seriously, Googling I see that Avernum is some kind of RPG set in the underworld. What I can’t find is any Etruscan connection. Unless it’s in the couple of sites that Google thinks is in Portuguese instead of Latin.
A bit more info, please?
P.S. Captain Amazing, the Etruscans were grave-happy. About 99% of what we know about them comes from graves, not houses or temples or public buildings. There are around 20,000 grave sites around Vulci.
Their tombs have lots of drawings and sculptures of husbands and wives in happy embrace, though, so their view of death was far different than the Greeks.
my stupid. I meant “Avernus,” which, I discovered after a little googling is of Roman origin:
from
http://www.pantheon.org/cgi-bin/search/search.pl?Realm=mythica&nocpp=1&Match=1&Terms=avernus
Oh, I thought you meant the Mafia!
And Avernum is probably derived from Avernus. I get it now.
I have the Encyclopedia Mythica bookmarked. It’s a great site.
This bit is good-
http://www.mysteriousetruscans.com/charun.html
'The last rites performed by Etruscan priests included tapping the forehead of the deceased with a small hammer. This ritual is carried on to this day in the Vatican. On the death of a pontiff, his forehead is tapped three times with a small silver hammer.
Who’d a thunk it?
SF worldbuilding at
http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html