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 ...

, Voltumna or Veltha was the

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" ...

(relating to or inhabiting the underworld) deity, who became the supreme god of the Etruscan pantheon, the ''deus Etruriae princeps'', according to

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

. Voltumna's cult was centered in Volsini (modern-day

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

), a city of the

Etruscan civilization The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

of central Italy. Voltumna is shown with contrasting characteristics, such as a maleficent monster, a chthonic vegetation god of uncertain sex, or a mighty war god. The bond of the twelve Etruscan ''populi'' was renewed annually at the

sacred grove Sacred groves, sacred woods, or sacred forests are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. These are forest areas that are, for the most ...

of Fanum Voltumnae, the sanctuary of Voltumnus sited near Volsinii (present day

Bolsena Bolsena is a town and ''comune'' of Italy, in the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio on the eastern shore of Lake Bolsena. It is 10 km (6 mi) north-north west of Montefiascone and 36 km (22 mi) north-west of Viterbo. The an ...

), which was mentioned by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

. At the Fanum Voltumnae ''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin:games; plural of "ludus") were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festiv ...

'' were held, the precise nature of which, whether athletic or artistic, is unknown. In the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

, near the

Temple of Castor and Pollux The Temple of Castor and Pollux () was an ancient Roman temple, temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, Central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces) were th ...

stood a shrine dedicated to Voltumna in the Vicus Tuscus.A. Alföldi, "Die Etrusker in Latium und Rom", ''Gymnasium'' 70 (1963), p 204. He was the equivalent of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Vertumnus In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' (xiv), ...

Notes

References

* Briquel, Dominique 2003 "Le Fanum Voltumnae: remarques sur le culte fédéral des cités étrusques", in ''Dieux, fêtes, sacré dans la Grèce et la Rome antiques'', edited by André Motte and Charles Ternes: 133–59. (Brepols, Turnhout). The last ten pages of this paper contain a highly technical discussion of the identity of the Etruscan god Voltumna in relation to the Latin gods Vertumnus and Janus. *Fontana Elboj, Gonzalo, 1992. ''Ager: estudio etimológico y functional sobre Marte y Voltumna'' (University of Zaragoza) (Spanish) * Hederich, Benjamin. (1770) 1996. ''Gründliches Mythologisches Lexikon'' (Darmstadt) * Pliny 8, 20.
Vollmer,''Mythologie aller Völker'', (Stuttgart) 1874
*L. Niebuhr, ''Römische Geschichte'' 2, 216. *Wissowa, ''Religion und Cultus des Römer'', 243, 3. *Müller-Deecke, ''Die Etrusker'', 1, 329 skk. *Theodor Mommsen, ''Römisches Staatsrecht'', 3, 666
Pallottino, Massimo. "The Religion of the Etruscans"
Etruscan gods Etruscan religion Nature gods {{deity-stub

See also

Notes

References