Etruscan Gods and Goddesses

• Alpan

The Etruscan goddess of love and the underworld. She is associated with the Lasas and is portrayed naked except for sandals and occasionally a loose open robe. She is also said to be a goddess of sexual love.

• Lasas

The Lasas were female deities associated with Alpan. They donned wings, and were typically naked. They were guardians over the graves of the dead. It is said the would be assigned to individual souls throughout the persons life span, much like a guardian angel.

• Aita

The Etruscan god of the underworld. He is compared with the Greek Hades and the Roman god Pluto. 

• Fufluns

An Etruscan god of vegetation, vitality and gaiety, son of the earth-goddess Semia. He is very similar to  Dionysus and Bacchus, the Greek and Roman gods of wine.

• Charuns

An Etruscan demon of death, depicted with a hammer or ax. Typically seen with red hair, snakes and feathered wings. It is said that he would hit people over there head to bring death. This ritual is still practiced by the Vatican today.

• Tinia

The God Tinia was the Etruscan equivalent to Roman Jupiter and Greek Zeus. He was considered the supreme God of the Sky. He is part of a triad of the Gods Menrva and Uni. He is typically depicted with lightning bolts, spear and scepter.
 

• Uni

The Etruscan Goddess of marriage and love. She is married to Tinia and is the mother of Hercle. The picture below depicts Hercle suckling Uni to achieve immortality.

• Menrva

The Etruscan Goddess of war and the arts. She was born of the head of Tinia. She is known for being creative, wise, and clever. In Roman culture she is similar to Minerva and in Greek culture she is similar to Athena.

 

A closer look at Tinia
As the supreme Etruscan god, and  ruler of the skies, I felt that Tinia's impact deserved a closer look. He is compared  with the Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter well within the Etruscan window of prominence in the ancient world. The Etruscan kings built the first temple to Jupiter in Rome. It is obvious in modern day that the influences of many Etruscan, Greek and Roman names are still used today. Such as certain names of planets, names of months and days of the week. Tinia was often called “father” in inscriptions, and he has most of the characteristics of Jupiter. The name means “day” in Etruscan. He is the god of boundaries and justice.That being said, his Roman counterpart Jupiter had a lot of influence on Roman government and the idea of justice. This attitude towards government is still seen today in many countries, including our own, the USA. He is shown as a bearded male, at the center of the scene, grasping a group of thunderbolts. In Latin literature, the bolts are three types: for warning, good or bad interventions, and drastic catastrophes. Unlike Zeus, Tinia needs permission from the Dii Consentes (consultant gods) and Dii Involuti (hidden gods) to fulfill the last two thunderbolts. In a more modern Tuscan folklore he became an evil spirit, Tigna, who causes lightening strikes, hail, rain, whirlwinds and mildew.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(mythology)

http://www.chianti.info/etruscan_mythology.htm#.VaYUGPlViko

http://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Religion/

Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions

 By Wendy Doniger, Merriam-Webster, Inc

Nancy DeGrummond & Erika Simon, The Religion of the Etruscans, 2006