Aita

Aita (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌕𐌉𐌀), also spelled Eita (Etruscan: 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, romanized: Áïdēs).^[5]

Images

Aita is a relatively late addition to the Etruscan pantheon, appearing in iconography and in Etruscan text 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 (Etruscan: 𐌉𐌄𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌐), also spelled Phersipnai (Etruscan: 𐌉𐌀𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌘), the Etruscan equivalent to 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 on 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

Bibliography

• De Grummond, Nancy Thomson (2004). "For the Mother and for the Daughter: Some Thoughts on Dedications from Etruria and Praeneste". Hesperia Supplements. 33. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens: 351–370. 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.
• De Grummond, Nancy Thomson; Simon, Erika, eds. (2006). The Religion of the Etruscans. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292782334.
  • Bonfante, Larissa. "Etruscan Inscriptions and Etruscan Religion". In De Grummond & Simon (2006).
  • Colonna, Giovanni. "Sacred Architecture and the Religion of the Etruscans". In De Grummond & Simon (2006).
  • Krauskopf, Ingrid. "The Grave and Beyond". In De Grummond & Simon (2006), p. vii, pp. 73–75.
  • Simon, Erika. "Gods in Harmony: The Etruscan Pantheon". In De Grummond & Simon (2006).
• 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". Archeo (in Italian). No. 305. Archived from the original on 2014-12-10.
• 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.