Clarification on Etruscan Religion?

[Lilia]

I have a question for the incredibly knowledgeable. It’s on Etruscan religion, but I’m hoping that there is enough cross-over from the initial birth of Rome and Etruria’s possible connection to Greece that some of you may have garnered some information.

In my research I have come across two sources telling me that the “supremeâ€

[Timotheus]

I just grabbed my copy of "Etruscan Myths, Sacred History, and Legend" by Nancy Thomson de Grummond.

She states that Tinia the Sky God was the chief god of the Etruscans. There is no yet clear definition of who Voltumne is. This might be the Roman name for Tinia making them the same deity. The name might also be spelled Vertumnus.

There is no Cath in her book but there is a Catha who is a goddess and the daughter of the Sun. This might mean according to the book that she is the moon goddess a theory supported by the writer.

I hope this helps you out.

[Lilia]

I She states that Tinia the Sky God was the chief god of the Etruscans. There is no yet clear definition of who Voltumne is. This might be the Roman name for Tinia making them the same deity. The name might also be spelled Vertumnus.

I hadn't thought of the possibility of them being the same god with different names. But that makes some sense as I beleive they are both sky gods. I guess more research!

There is no Cath in her book but there is a Catha who is a goddess and the daughter of the Sun. This might mean according to the book that she is the moon goddess a theory supported by the writer.

I've seen Cautha, Cath and Catha all used to refer to the same sun god/goddess. Stated as a male god under Cautha and Cath and as female under Catha. And now the book you refers to the possiblilty of moon goddess representation?

I want to laugh because I know the information on Etruria is scarce and I started looking into only out of curiosity only to find that one mystery leads to another and another and yet another. Thank the gods I love reading on ancient history or I'd go nuts!

Oh and thanks for the book info, I haven't read that one yet.

[Timotheus]

Its a good book. I have not read the whole thing yet but she supports quite a bit of her theory with pictures of plates and such recovered at digs.

So when she says what the gender of a deity it is rather obvious assuming we have indentified them well on the plates.

[Jona Lendering]

Tinia is the supreme god; it is only Varro (Latin Language V.viii = 5.46) who calls Voltumna (= Latin Vertumnus) the "deus Etruriae princeps". That the two are identical, seems to be the inevitable conclusion; and this is what scholars like Pettazoni, Pallottino, Pfiffig, and Simon have said.

All of these are internet sources.

If you are looking for information, it is better to check a library. The internet is simply not a place to start looking for facts. It is one big collection of opinions, written by people whose capacity to invent and distort information is consistently underestimated. Personally, I think that the main cultural battleground, and the place where we are on this very moment losing the future of our children, is the world wide web. Certain branches of ancient history, such as Iranology, are now lost; fake information from the web is now already found in printed books. I have already seen intifadah propaganda in books by university employed authors.

I know this was off-topic, but it scares the hell out of me and I am deeply worried.

[greekwarrior34]

Lilia\\n[quote]
In my research I have come across two sources telling me that the “supremeâ€