In
Etruscan mythology, Voltumna or Veltha was the
chthonic
The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...
(relating to or inhabiting the underworld) deity, who became the supreme god of the Etruscan pantheon, the ''deus Etruriae princeps'', according to
Varro. 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 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 of
Fanum Voltumnae
The (‘shrine of Voltumna’) was the chief sanctuary of the Etruscans; ''fanum'' means a sacred place, a much broader notion than a single temple. Numerous sources refer to a league of the "Twelve Peoples" ('' lucumonies'') of Etruria, formed ...
, the sanctuary of Voltumnus sited near Volsinii (present day
Bolsena), which was mentioned by
Livy. At the Fanum Voltumnae ''
ludi'' were held, the precise nature of which, whether athletic or artistic, is unknown.
In the
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
, near the
Temple of Castor and Pollux 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 Vertumnus.
See also
*
Tinia
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
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