Etruscan religion 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 in ancie ...

, Fufluns () or Puphluns () was a god of plant life, happiness, wine, health, and growth in all things. He is mentioned twice among the gods listed in the inscriptions of the

Liver of Piacenza The Liver of Piacenza is an Etruscan artifact found in a field on September 26, 1877, near Gossolengo, in the province of Piacenza, Italy, now kept in the Municipal Museum of Piacenza, in the Palazzo Farnese. It is a life-sized bronze model of ...

, being listed among the 16gods that rule the Etruscan astrological houses. He is the 9th of those 16gods.Thomson, De Grummond Nancy, Myth and Sacred History, 2006, p.113 He is the son of Semla and the god

Tinia Tinia (also Tin, Tinh, Tins or Tina) was the sky god and the highest deity in Etruscan religion, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. However, a primary source from the Roman Varro states that Veltha, not Tins, was the sup ...

. He was worshipped at

Populonia Populonia or Populonia Alta ( Etruscan: ''Pupluna'', ''Pufluna'' or ''Fufluna'', all pronounced ''Fufluna''; Latin: ''Populonium'', ''Populonia'', or ''Populonii'') today is a of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As of 2009 its ...

(Etruscan ''Fufluna'' or ''Pupluna'') and is the namesake of that town. His Greek equivalent is Dionysos (Latin Dionysus), whereas his Roman equivalent is

Liber In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion and Roman mythology, mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron de ...

. For this reason he was also called Fufluns Pachies or Pacha. He was adopted by the Romans but was quickly meshed with Dionysus and his rituals were changed heavily by the influence of Dionysian frenzies.

Iconography

Fufluns is usually depicted as a beardless youth, but is sometimes rarely shown as an older, bearded man. Fufluns was shown in art with the

thyrsus In Ancient Greece a ''thyrsus'' () or ''thyrsos'' (; ) was a wand or staff of giant fennel ('' Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with '' taeniae'' and topped with a pine cone, artichoke, fennel, or by a ...

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. ...

maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the '' thiasus''. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angr ...

s, and other apotropaic symbols. Fufluns is associated with several other deities in art, including Apulu (

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

) who is considered his brother and his mother Semla. In association with them, Fufluns was sometimes seen as a

chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

deity associated with the underworld and a

psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are creatures, spirits, angels, demons, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is ...

that guided and protected souls. Fufluns was additionally associated with a purely Etruscan goddess named Catha. Illustrerad Verldshistoria band II Ill 008

Illustrerad Verldshistoria band II Ill 008

Myths

Fufluns shares many myths with Dionysus, including the story of his birth, which parallels the story of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

and Semele.Thomson, De Grummond Nancy, Myth and Sacred History, 2006, p.116 Like that myth, the pregnant Semla is killed by Tinia in the form of a lightning bolt, who then continues to bear Fufluns by sewing the infant into his thigh and later giving birth to him. However, Semla continues to appear in artwork in association with an adult Fufluns after her death, indicating either a resurrection or immortalization of his mother. Additionally, Fufluns's connection to his mother is sometimes cast as romantic, as seen in artwork that shows them in an embrace used elsewhere in Etruscan artwork to indicate erotic entanglement. Another depiction of a lost myth regarding Fufluns depicts his relationship with Areatha, the Etruscan form of

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

. The bronze mirror shows Fufluns and Areatha but also includes additional figures that are not part of the Greek version of the myth, namely Castur (the Etruscan Castor), a male figure called Eiasun (

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

) and a small winged figure identified as Aminth, who is attributed as the personification of love.Thomson, de Grummond Nancy, Myth and Sacred History, 2006, p.119 The implications of the scene are based on a myth that is no longer recorded, but indicate some disagreement between Eiasun and Fufluns in which Areatha is involved. The myth of Fuflun and Areatha itself follows the traditional Greek myth, in which Areatha is abandoned by

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

after helping him escape the labyrinth of Minos. Fufluns then finds Areatha and falls in love with her, and they later marry.Bonfante and Swaddling, 2006, p.41

Notes

References

* Bonfante, Larissa, and Judith Swaddling. (2006). ''Etruscan Myths''. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. * Bonfante, Larissa. (2015). Etruscan mirrors and the grave. In ''L’écriture Et L’espace De La Mort. Épigraphie Et Nécropoles à L'époque *Préromaine'', edited by Marie-Laurence Haack. Rome, IT: Publications De L’École Française De Rome, 2015. Accessed 22November 2016. http://books.openedition.org/efr/2741?lang=en. * Pailler, J.-M. (1989) "Fuluns e Catha: significato di un’associazione divina nella tarda età etrusca." ''Secondo Congresso Internazionale Etrusco, Firenze, 26 maggio – 2 giugno 1985. Atti III, pp. 1205–1211. Rome: Bretschneider. * Paleothodoros, Dimitris. (2007). Dionysiac imagery in archaic Etruria. ''Etruscan Studies'', ''10''(1) (1January 2007)
doi:10.1515/etst.2004.10.1.187
Accessed 22November 2016. * Pavel, D. (2020) "The image of the god Fufluns – Dionysus as reflected on Etruscan mirrors: a Greek or an Etruscan God?". Revista CICSA online, Serie Nouă VI:41-68. p45.https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=939803 * Thomson, De Grummond Nancy. (2006). ''Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend''. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. * Thomson, De Grummond Nancy, and Erika Simon. (2006). ''The Religion of the Etruscans''. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. {{Authority control Etruscan gods Etruscan religion Health gods Fertility gods Nature gods Alcohol gods