Keep reading for more information on the Etruscan, their gods and how to pronounce Etruscan words...
Why the Etruscans?
The Etruscans were famous throughout the Ancient World as magicians and diviners. In the Roman Republic, Etruscan diviners were called upon as experts to interpret omens. They read entrails, the stars, the flight of birds and the flash of lightning and crash of thunder. Even after the conquest of the Etruscan by the Romans, Roman diviners were sent to Etruscan cities to learn from the Etruscans whom they recognised as experts in all things divination.
The Etruscan alphabet developed out of the Western variety of the Ancient Greek alphabet. It was usually written from right to left. The Etruscan alphabet was adopted and further adapted by both the Romans and the early Germanic peoples. Thus the Etruscan letters were the forerunners of the well-known Nordic runes used by the Vikings. Alphabets have long been perceived as mystical and meaningful symbols on their own. They have been popularly used as a form of divination since man first learnt to write. A favourite medium of Etruscan artists was terracotta.
The Etruscan Gods
Supreme God of the Etruscans. Husband to Uni. Supreme Goddess of the Etruscans. Wife to Tinia. Supreme Goddess of the Etruscans. She sprang fully formed from the head of Tinia.
Hercules, worshipped as a hero-god, son of Tinia and Uni. Consort to , Goddess of Love. God of both all fresh water, springs, the oceans and seas. Goddess/Demoness of Death. God/Demon of Destruction and Death. Goddess of the Dawn. The equivalent of Persephone/Proserpina. God of Wild Nature. The Mother Earth Goddess. Also appears as (Father Earth God). Deity of the Moon. Deity of the Sun. Goddess of Love. God of Trade and Merchandise.
Pronunciation Guide
CH = k + h, a breathy sound as in cat (English), Charu = kharu PH = p + h, a breathy sound as in pat (English), Phersipnai = phersipnai TH = t + h, a breathy sound as in top (English), Thesan = thesan Z = ts, as in pizza (Italian), Zich = tsikh Ś = sh as in show (English), Śpur = shpur Q = k (not breathy), Qutum = kutum V = as in uva (Spanish), bring the lips together (not like an English v), Vanth = wanth F = f with the lips together, a voiceless Etruscan v.
