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 ...
, Charun (also spelled Charu, or Karun) acted as one of the
psychopomp
Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...
oi of the
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...
(not to be confused with the god of the underworld, known to the Etruscans as
Aita). He is often portrayed with
Vanth
Vanth is a chthonic figure in Etruscan mythology shown in a variety of forms of funerary art, such as in tomb paintings and on sarcophagi.
Vanth is a female demon in the Etruscan underworld that is often accompanied either by additional Vanth fi ...
, a winged figure also associated with the underworld.
Origins
His name was imported from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Charon, although it is uncertain whether Etruscans had a native name for a god of the underworld before this. As suggested by alternations in the
Etruscan language
Etruscan () was the language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria (modern Tuscany, western Umbria, northern Latium, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Campania). Etruscan influenced Latin but was eventua ...
such as ''θu'' "one" changing to ''θunśna'' "first", ''lev'' "lion" (from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
leōn) and ''Apulu'' (from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''Apóllōn''), words ending in ''-n'' after ''u'' were disappearing from the language which is why we see his name spelled ''Xarun'' and later ''Xaru''.
Appearance
The Etruscan Charun was fundamentally different from his Greek counterpart. Guarding the entry to the underworld he is depicted with a
hammer (his religious symbol) and is shown with pointed ears, snakes around his arms, and a blueish coloration symbolizing the decay of death. In some images he has enormous wings. He is also depicted as a large creature with
snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
-like hair, a
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
's hooked
nose
A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes ...
, large
tusks
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share ...
like a
boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
, heavy brow ridges, large
lip
The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...
s, fiery eyes, pointed
ears
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists o ...
a black
beard
A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards.
Throughout the course of history, societal at ...
, enormous
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
s, discolored (pale cream, bluish or greyish)
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
, and snakes around his arm.
Function
Larissa Bonfante
Larissa Bonfante (March 27, 1931, Naples, Italy – August 23, 2019, New York City, New York) was an Italian-American classicist, Professor of Classics ''emerita'' at New York University and an authority on Etruscan language and culture.
Biogra ...
and Judith Swaddling have this to say about Charun: "Many scenes feature the two purely Etruscan underworld demons, Vanth and Charu, whose job is not to punish the dead but rather to escort them to their final destination." However, there are at least two examples, on the sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas as well as a red figure stamnos from Orbetello, that do illustrate Charun in a menacing fashion. Each depicts Charun threatening a male figure with his hammer.
The grotesque nature of the depiction of Charun appears to have been at least partly
apotropaic
Apotropaic magic (from Greek "to ward off") or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superst ...
in nature. Apotropaic art was the practice of the neighboring Greeks at this time, as represented by the exaggerated eyes painted on drinking vessels in the 6th century BC to ward away spirits while drinking or the monstrous depiction of
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
whose image was said to turn men to stone. Through these images of the grotesque, violence and blood-letting, the Etruscans may have believed that they helped to fend off evil spirits from the tomb as well as sanctify the tomb perhaps in place of the actual ritual sacrifice of an animal usually performed in funerary rites.
Nancy de Grummond offers a different view. The relief on the sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas at
Tarquinia
Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status ...
, shows two Charuns swinging their hammers at a person's head, though the head (probably that of Pulenas, the nobleman whose sarcophagus it is) no longer survives in the relief due to an accident of preservation. Years later, in the
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
, a Charun-like figure called
Dispater would hit the loser with a hammer to make sure he was dead, perhaps in reflection of Charun. The hammer might also be used to protect the dead; it is sometimes swung at serpents attacking the deceased (as shown on the Orvieto amphora). Most often it is simply held, or the handle planted on the ground and the mallet head leaned upon ''(above)''. De Grummond notes that the ferry of Charon appears only once in surviving Etruscan art, and that some Etruscan demons are equipped with oars, but they typically use them as weapons rather than in their maritime function.
Modern views
Many authors tend to take a more sensationalist view of Charun, speaking of him as a "death-demon". Such authors may be inspired by Christian views of
Hell and moral punishment. For the Etruscans, as with the Greeks, Hades was merely a morally neutral place of the dead. Neither the "good" nor the "bad" could escape the clutches of death and both were assembled there together.
Ron Terpening, a professor of Italian literature at the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, cites Franz de Ruyt, who claims Charun is similar to
Chaldean demons or the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
divinities
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...
. He is presumed to be the servant of
Mantus
In Etruscan myth and religion, Mantus ( ett, Manth) was a god of the underworld in the Po Valley as described by Servius. Servius, note to ''Aeneid'10.199./ref> A dedication to the god ''manθ'' from the Archaic period was found in a sanctuary ...
and
Mania, and, like Charon, is comparable to the Greeks'
Thanatos
In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appea ...
, the
Erinyes, and the
Keres
In Greek mythology, the Keres (; Ancient Greek: Κῆρες), singular Ker (; Κήρ), were female death-spirits. They were the goddesses who personified violent death and who were drawn to bloody deaths on battlefields. Although they were pre ...
. The author, like de Grummond, feels that some later
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
paintings of Greek
Charon may show the continuity of pre-Christian Etruscan beliefs. Later on when the deity had evolved into the Greek Charon, or Caronte in Italian, Terpening notes that Charun's hammer or
mallet is sometimes replaced with an
oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.
The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
, although it does not fit with his duties.
According to Jeff Rovin, Charun guided souls on horseback to the underworld and "brings horses to the newly-dead", but this is idle speculation. He also claims that Charun appears to love violence and participates in warfare adding that Charun enjoys natural disasters as well. An Etruscan
krater
A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water.
Form and function
At a Greek symposium, krat ...
from François Tomb ''(above)'' depicts Charun with
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
or
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
''(left, cropped out)'' slaughtering
Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
prisoners. This urn is currently held in
Cabinet des Médailles
The BnF Museum or Museum of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, formerly known as the Cabinet des Médailles, is a significant art and history museum in Paris. It displays collections of the ''Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques ...
920,
Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris. Rovin says that some accounts depict him with a
sword, and that he "slices" souls with it. At least one image shows him guiding a soul on horseback, equipped with both a hammer and a sword, though he is simply carrying it on his person.
The Charon of
Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
in the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'' is particularly cruel; according to W.F. Jackson Knight, "Vergil's Charon is not only the Greek ferryman of
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
n_''The_Frogs''.html" ;"title="The_Frogs.html" ;"title="n ''The Frogs">n ''The Frogs''">The_Frogs.html" ;"title="n ''The Frogs">n ''The Frogs'' but more than half his Etruscan self, Charun, the Etruscan torturing death-devil, no ferryman at all."
Assistants
Charun is believed to have worked with many assistants in the Underworld, although they could be independent deities in their own right. Most of their names are lost to us, but at least one, Tuchulcha, is identified in the Tomb of Orcus II, and has hair and wings like a Gorgon. Tuchulcha, whose gender is debated among scholars, appears in a depiction of the story of Theseus (known to the Etruscans as "These") visiting the underworld. These and his friend
Peirithous
Pirithous (; grc-gre, Πειρίθοος or , derived from ; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus.
Biography
Pirithous was a son of "h ...
are playing a
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
, attended by Tuchulcha.
There are four Charuns shown in a fresco in the Tomb of the Charuns, and each appear to have sub-names. These are Charun Chunchules, the heavily blistered Charun Huths, Charun Lufe, and the fourth has crumbled away to illegibility. On Laris Pulena's sarcophagus, there are also two Charuns and two
Vanth
Vanth is a chthonic figure in Etruscan mythology shown in a variety of forms of funerary art, such as in tomb paintings and on sarcophagi.
Vanth is a female demon in the Etruscan underworld that is often accompanied either by additional Vanth fi ...
s on either side of the figure in the center who is presumably Laris Pulena himself. De Grummond does not cite these figures as assistants, but believes Charun may be a type of creature rather than a singular
demon.
Many of Charun's other presumed assistants appear in the Tomb of the Blue Demons, which is also the home of the only Etruscan rendering of the aforementioned ferry of Charon.
[de Grummond, p. 230.]
Popular culture
In contemporary times, Charun has never been as popular as his Greek counterpart, though there have been some occurrences.
*He appears in the poem "Back Matter" by
Rachel Blau DuPlessis
Rachel Blau DuPlessis (born December 14, 1941) is an American poet and essayist, known as a feminist critic and scholar with a special interest in modernist and contemporary poetry. Her work has been widely anthologized.
Early life
DuPlessis w ...
, invoking the imagery of the Tomb of the Charuns.
*Charun is
Monster in My Pocket
''Monster in My Pocket'' is a media franchise developed by American company Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, two former senior executives at Mattel.
The focus is on monsters and fantastical and legendary cr ...
#97. Unlike Ancient depictions, he is bald, bulky, appears to be wearing no clothing, and his wings look leathery (perhaps in reference to Rovin's claim of "leathery skin") and lack feathers
*A brief reference to Charun in ''The Tribune's Curse:
SPQR series, SPQR VII'' a 2003 novel by
John Maddox Roberts
John Maddox Roberts is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction including the ''SPQR'' series and '' Hannibal's Children''.
Personal life
John Maddox Roberts was born in Ohio and was raised in Texas, California, a ...
in an invocation to "Father Dis" and related figures, including "Charun of the hammer" (p. 65).
*Charun is referred to in the song "The one who will not be named" by the metal band
GWAR
Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...
References
;Sources
*Bonfante, Larissa, and Judith Swaddling. ''Etruscan Myths''. University of Texas Press, 2006.
*de Grummond, Nancy. ''Etruscan Myth, Sacred History and Legend''. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Museum, 2006.
*de Ruyt, Franz. ''Charun: Démon étrusque de la mort''. Rome: Institut Historique Belge, 1934.
*del Chiaro, Mario. ''The Etruscan Funnel Group''. Florence: Sansoni Editore. 1974.
*Knight, W.F. Jackson. ''Roman Vergil''. 1944. Reprint Middlesex: Penguin, 1966.
*Lurker, Manfred. ''A Dictionary of Gods & Goddesses, Devils & Demons''.
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, 1987.
*Müller, Carl Ottfried. ''Ancient Art and Its Remains; or a Manual of the Archæology of Art''. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. pp. 155 and 159.
*Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History''.
Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in t ...
, 1992. p. 17
*Starr, Chester G. ''A History of the Ancient World''. New York:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, USA, 1991. p 451.
*
Terpening, Ronnie H. ''Charon and the Crossing: Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Transformations of a Myth''.
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...
:
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
Press, 1984.
*Turner, Alice K. ''The History of Hell''. Harvest Books, 1995. pp. 7, 25. She states on the latter page, "Eurynomus could have been one of the keres or derivative of Etruscan Charun, but
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
does not seem to think so."
{{Authority control
Psychopomps