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Etruscan Mythology
 
The Etruscans were a people of unknown origin who lived predominantly in Etruria and the Po valley, an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria in central and northern Italy. The Etruscans were eventually integrated into Rome and many of their deities became part of the Roman pantheon.

Much of what we know of Etruscan culture has stemmed from the writings of other cultures, mostly that of the Greeks and the Romans, and directly from archaeological evidence. There are no Etruscan literary works or historical accounts. However, there are many writing samples carved on tombs, and although the Etruscan writing system uses the Greek alphabet, its grammatical structure is unlike any other European language.

The Etruscan's myths were heavily influenced by the Greeks, and indeed many of their gods and mythological charatcers come directly from the Greek pantheon even though many of the names are different. Their gods possessed human attributes and dispositions, just as the Greeks did. Although the Etruscans often combined Greek influences with stories of their own, there is also mythology that is purely Etruscan.

The primary trinity included Tinia, Uni and Menrva.

 
Alphabetical List of Etruscan Gods
 
 
Name Alternate
Name/Spelling		 Roman Equivalent Greek Equivalent Description
Achle Achilles Legendary hero of the Trojan War.
Aita Eita Pluto Hades God of the underworld and ruler of the dead.
Aivas Aivas Tlamunus
Aivas Vilates
Eivas
Evas		 Ajax Etruscan equivalents of the Greek heroes Ajax, son of Telamon and Ajax, son of Oileus
Alpan Alpanu Persephone A Goddess of love and one of the Lasas, and a ruler of the underworld. In art, she was usually depicted as a nude or semi-nude winged maiden.
Ani God of the sky who lived in the highest level of the heavens.
Apulu Aplu Apollo Sun god, often depicted in art with a staff and laurel branches.
Artume Artumes
Artimi
Artames		 Artemis Goddess of the night, the moon, and death, as well as nature, forests, and fertility.
Atunis Atuns Adonis A life-death-rebirth deity. He is a consort for Turan.
Cautha Cath
Catha		 Sun goddess. She is also believed to be a goddess of beginnings and the dawn and was also shown rising from the ocean.
Celu Cel
Celens
Cilens		 Gaia Earth deity.
Charontes Demons of death. The name suggests a connection with Charun/Charon
Charun Karun Charon A psychopomp who delivered dead souls into the underworld, as well as the guardian of the entrance to the underworld. He was commonly depicted as a blue fiend with a vulture's nose, pointed ears, red hair, and feathered wings, and carried a double-headed mallet-style hammer. He was also sometimes depicted as a man with red hair and a beard.
Culsans Janus God of doors and doorways.
Culsu 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 Goddess of personal immortality. One of the Lasa
Easun Jason Etruscan version of the Greek legendary hero Jason
Ethausva Winged Lady in service to Tinia
Februs Purification,Initiation and the Dead, Associated with February
Feronia Goddess who protects freedmen, associated with woodlands, fire and fertility.
Fufluns Puphluns
Pacha		 God of plant life, happiness, health, and growth in all things. He was the son of Semla and was worshipped in the Fufluna or Pupluna, which the Romans called the Populonia. He was briefly adopted by the Romans, but soon replaced by other Italic fertility gods. He may have been equivalent to Bacchus (Dionysus) under the name Pacha.
Heracle Herc
Horacle
Hercle		 Hercules Heracles Legendary hero, associated with strength and water.
Horta Goddess of agriculture.
Laran God of war. In art, he was usually portrayed as a naked young man with a helmet and spear. Laran's consort was the love goddess Turan, mirroring the relationship of Ares, the deity from the Greek pantheon who Laran would later be merged with, and Aphrodite, Turan's equivalent. Laran was also fused with his companion, Veive, in the process.
Lasa(s) The gods and goddesses who accompanied Turan, goddess of love, and served as guardians of graves.Thier attributes were mirrors and wreaths.
  • Alpan
  • Evan
  • Racuneta
  • Vecu
Lasa Vecu Goddess of prophecy, associated with the nymph Vegoia
Leinth Faceless goddess who waited at the gates of the underworld with Aita.
Lethans Letham Protector goddess of the underworld.
Lusna Losna Goddess of the Moon
Mania Mania Goddess of the dead, not to be confused with the Greek goddess of insanity, Mania. She ruled beside Mantus and was said to be the mother of the Lares, Manes, ghosts, and other spirits of the night.
Mantus God of the underworld and husband of Mania. He is associated with the city of Mantua.
Maris Mars God of agriculture and fertility, and a savior deity.
Menerva Menrva Minerva Athena Goddess of wisdom, war, art, schools, and commerce. Menrva was born from the head of her father, Tinia. Menrva, Tinia and Uni were part of a ruling triad of gods.
Nethuns Neptune Poseidon God of the sea.
Nortia Fortuna Tyche Goddess of fate, fortune and chance. Her attribute was a nail, which was driven into a wall in her temple during the Etruscan new year festival as a fertility rite.
Persipnei Ferspnai Proserpina Persephone Queen of the underworld.
Satres Saturn God of time and necessity. Depicted as an old man carrying a sickle and an hourglass. Associated with sand.
Selvans Selva Silvanus God of woodlands, an earth god.
Semla Simula
Stimula		 Semele Earth goddess and mother of Fufluns (some sources cite her as being the mother of Atuns).
Sethlans Velchans Vulcan Hephaestus God of fire and the forge, often depicted wielding an axe.
Silenus The Satyr of Wild Nature
Tarchies Tages God of wisdom. He commonly appeared at ploughing-time and taught Etruscans divination. He is either the son or grandson of Tinia, or he was born directly from a freshly-plowed field. He was depicted as having two snakes for legs, and some sources claimed that he was a daemon.
Taitle Daedalus A skilled artificer, creator of the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was kept.
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).
Thalna Goddess of childbirth and wife of Tinia. She was depicted in art as a youthful woman with wings.
Thesan Aurora Eos Goddess of the dawn associated with the generation of life. Her name literally means "dawn".
These Theseus A hero.
Thethlumth God of fate and the underworld.
Thufltha(s) A fury, inflicting punishment on behalf of Tinia.
Tinia Tins Jupiter Zeus Supreme god, the ruler of the skies with Uni and Menrva, husband of Uni, and father of Hercle.
Tiur Tiv
Tivr		 Moon deity. The word tiur literally means "moon".
Tluscva A pair of earth deities Tellus and Tellumo, representing mother and father of the earth
Tuchulcha A grotesque demon. Deity residing in the underworld. Depicted in art as part human and part donkey, with horses ears, hair made of snakes, and a vulture's beak and snakes in it's hands. Scholars do not agree on the gender of this deity, some seeing a beard where others see beastly neck; some seeing breasts while others see a male chest.
Turan Venus Aphrodite Goddess of love and vitality and patroness of the Etruscan city of Vulci. She was usually depicted as a young winged girl in art. Pigeons and black swans were her sacred animals, and her retinue was called the Lasas. She was also the wife of Maris. Her name is a noun meaning "the act of giving" in Etruscan, based on the verb stem tur- 'to give'. She was the only Etruscan deity known to have a cult around her.
Turms Mercury Hermes God of trade and merchandise, and messenger of the gods. One aspect of his, Turns Aitas (literally "Turms of Aita"), was the leader of the dead. Commonly depicted with winged shoes and a herald's staff.
Turns Aitas Hermes Leader of the Dead
Tvath Demeter Goddess of resurrection and love for the dead.
Tyrrhenus An Etruscan culture hero and twin brother of Tarchon.
Uni Juno Hera Supreme goddess. Goddess of the cosmos, wife of Tinia, mother of Hercle, and patron goddess of Perugia. With Tinia and Menrva, she was a member of the ruling triad of Etruscan deities.
Usil Sun god.
Vanth Underworld demoness of death, with eyes on her wings. She was the omniscient herald of death, assisted ill people on their deathbeds. In later times, she represented justice. In art, she was depicted with imagery such as snakes, torches and keys.
Vegoia Vegontici A nymph and prophetess
Veive God of revenge and an associate of Maris. In art, he was depicted as a youth holding a laurel wreath and arrows in his hand, a goat stands next to him.
Veltha Veltune
Voltumna		 Vertumnus God of change and the seasons. Chthonic (earth) god of Etruscan myth, who later became the supreme Etruscan god. Patron of the Etruscan League centred on the Fanum Voltumnae in Volsinii.
Vetis Underworld god of death and destruction.
Vicare Icarus Son of Taitle.
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