Aita

Aita (ett: 𐌀𐌕𐌉𐌀), also spelled Eita (ett: 𐌀𐌕𐌉𐌄), is an epithet of the Etruscan chthonic fire god Śuri^[1][2][3][4] as god of the underworld, roughly equivalent to the Greek god Hades (Epic Greek: Ἄϊδης).^[5]

Images

Aita is a relatively late addition to the Etruscan pantheon, appearing in iconography and in Etruscan texts beginning in the 4th century BC, and is heavily influenced by his Greek counterpart, Hades.^[6][7] Aita is pictured in only a few instances in Etruscan tomb painting, such as in the Golini Tomb from Orvieto and the tomb of Orcus II from Tarquinia.^[8] In these tomb paintings, he is shown with his consort Persipnei (ett: 𐌉𐌄𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌐), also spelled Phersipnai (ett: 𐌉𐌀𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌘), the Etruscan equivalent of the Greek Persephone.^[9]

Although Aita is very rarely depicted, he may appear enthroned and sometimes wears a wolf cap, borrowing a key attribute from the earlier Etruscan underworld wolf deity, named Calu.^[10] Other examples of Aita in Etruscan art depict his abduction of Persipnei. Aside from tomb painting, Aita may be identified in a few examples in other media, including a 4th-century painted vase from Vulci, two 2nd-century alabaster ash urns from Volterra, and a red-figure 4th–3rd century Oinochoe.^[11]

References

1. ^ Servius 380b, 11.785.
2. ^ De Grummond 2004, p. 359.
3. ^ National Etruscan Museum.
4. ^ Maras 2010.
5. ^ De Grummond 2006, p. 231.
6. ^ Jannot 2005, pp. 153–154.
7. ^ Helmut Rix, 1991. Etruskische Texte. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
8. ^ De Grummond 2006, pp. 229–231.
9. ^ Jannot 2005, pp. 66–67, 153–154.
10. ^ Elliott 1995, pp. 17–33.
11. ^ Krauskopf 1988, pp. 394–399.

Bibliography

• De Grummond, Nancy Thomson (2004). "For the Mother and for the Daughter: Some Thoughts on Dedications from Etruria and Praeneste". Hesperia Supplements. 33: 351–370. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. ISBN 9780876615331. JSTOR 1354077
• De Grummond, Nancy Thomson (2006). Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. ISBN 9781931707862.
• The Religion of the Etruscans. Austin: University of Texas Press. 2006. ISBN 9780292782334.
• Elliott, John (1995-01-01). "The Etruscan Wolfman in Myth and Ritual". Etruscan Studies. 2 (1): 17–33. doi:10.1515/etst.1995.2.1.17. S2CID 194102662
• Jannot, Jean-René (2005). Religion in Ancient Etruria. Translated by Whitehead, J.K. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299208448.
• Lecce, Vittoria. "Novembre e il dio Suri - Il Nero Signore" (in Italian). Museo Nazionale Etrusco
• Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae. Vol. I–VIII. Zurich, Munich, Düsseldorf: Artemis & Winkler Verlag. 1981–1999. ISBN 3-7608-8751-1.
  • Krauskopf, Ingrid (1988). "Aita/Calu". 'In LIMC. Vol. IV. pp. 394–399.
• Maras, Daniele F. (2010). "Suri. Il nero signore degli inferi" (in Italian). Archeo. No. 305. Archived 2014-12-10 at the Wayback Machine.
• Servius (380). Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil (in Latin). Vol. I–XII. Georgius Thilo. – via Perseus Digital Library.
  • Servius (380a). Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil (in Latin). Vol. X. 199. – via Perseus Digital Library.
  • Servius (380b). Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil (in Latin). Vol. XI. 785. – via Perseus Digital Library.