Aita (also spelled ''Eita'' in Etruscan inscriptions) is the name of the Etruscan equivalent to the Greek

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, the god of the underworld.

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. Aita is pictured in only a few instances in Etruscan tomb painting, such as in the Golini Tomb from

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 ...

and the tomb of

Orcus II The Tomb of Orcus ( it, Tomba dell'Orco), sometimes called the Tomb of Murina ( it, Tomba dei Murina), is a 4th-century BC Etruscan hypogeum (burial chamber) in Tarquinia, Italy. Discovered in 1868, it displays Hellenistic influences in its r ...

from Tarquinia. In these tomb paintings, he is shown with his consort Phersipnai, the Etruscan equivalent to the Greek Persephone. 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. Other examples of Aita in Etruscan art depict his abduction of Phersipnai. 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.Ingrid Krauskopf. 1988. "Aita/Calu." ''Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae'' IV. pages 394-399.

References

{{Authority control Etruscan mythology Etruscan gods Underworld gods