Etruscan Religion

Etruscan religion is comprised of the stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization. It was heavily influenced by the ancient Greecemythology, and shared characteristics with the mythology and religion of nearby Rome.The first evidence of an Etruscan religion can be traced back to the Villanovan culture (the initial phase of Etruscan civilization and the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy). Greek traders brought their religion and hero figures with them to the coastal areas of the central Mediterranean. In Greek tradition, Heracles wandered these western areas, doing away with monsters and brigands, and bringing civilization to the inhabitants. Over time, both Heracles and Odysseus were regarded as heroic leaders who led the Etruscans to settle the lands they inhabited. In Italy it could give non-Greek ethnic groups an advantage over rival ethnic groups to link their origins to a Greek hero, and establish the legitimacy of Greek claims to newly settled lands. After the Etruscan defeat in the Roman–Etruscan Wars in 264 BCE, the remains of Etruscan culture began to be assimilated into Roman culture. In the last years of the Roman Republic, the religion began to fall out of favor and was satirized by public figures such as Cicero. Based on writings and artifacts that survived, the Etruscans believed in intimate contact with divinity. They did nothing without first consultating the gods and obtaining signs from them, a practice enthusiastically adopted by the Romans. Etruscans believed their religion had been revealed to them by seers. The two main seers were Tages, a childlike figure born from tilled land who was immediately gifted with prescience, and Vegoia, a female figure who authored the Etrusca Disciplina containing the rules and ritual practices of Etruscan religion. Divination was conducted by priests whom the Romans called haruspices or sacerdotes. The Etruscan city Tarquinii possessed a college of 60 diviners. Etruscan belief was polytheistic, and all visible phenomena were considered a manifestation of divine power, and that power was embodied in deities who contolled reality. These actions of these deities could be influenced by human beings. Attested gods of Etruscan origin include Voltumna, or Vertumnus (a primordial god of the underworld), Usil (god, or perhaps goddess of the sun), Tivr (god of the moon), Turan (goddess of love), Laran (god of war), Maris (goddess of childbirth), Leinth (goddess of death), Selvans (god of the woods), Thalna (god of trade), Turms (messenger of the gods), Fufluns (god of wine), Hercle (the Etruscan edition of Greek hero Heracles) and underworld deities such as Catha, Lur, Suri, Thanr, and Calus. Ruling over the gods were higher deities of possible Indo-European origin such as Tin, or Tinia (the sky), Uni (wife of Tin, and comparable to Roman Juno), Nethuns (god of the waters), and Cel (the earth goddess). During the Orientalizing Period of 750/700–600 BCE, Greek gods and heroes were integrated into the Etruscan religion. Etruscans, like the Egyptians, apparently beleived that survival and prosperity in the afterlife depended on the treatment of the deceased's remains. Etruscan tombs were imitations of domestic structures and containedspacious chambers, wall paintings, and grave furniture. In these tomb, especially on the sarcophagus, was a representation of the deceased. Often, the spouse of the deceased was represented as well.