In
Etruscan mythology
Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the Et ...
, Tyrrhenus (in el, Τυῤῥηνός) was one of the founders of the
Etruscan League of twelve cities, along with his brother
Tarchon
In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon and his brother, Tyrrhenus, were culture heroes who founded the Etruscan League of twelve cities, the Dodecapoli. One author, Joannes Laurentius Lydus, distinguishes two legendary persons named Tarchon, the Younge ...
.
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
describes him as the saviour of the Etruscans, because he led them from
Lydia
Lydia ( Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish pro ...
to
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...
; however this Lydian origin is to be debated as it contradicts cultural and linguistic evidence, as well as the view held by both the Etruscans themselves and by other Etrusco-Roman and Greek ancient sources.
[Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend, "Foundation Myths and Legends"; pp. 201-208.
] His name was given to the Etruscan people by the Greeks. The Romans extended this use to the sea west of Etruria: the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
.
References
Mythological archetypes
Etruscan mythology
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