Thesan

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Thesan on a bronze mirror from the 4th century BC Chr.

Thesan is the Etruscan goddess of the dawn . It corresponds to the Roman Aurora and the Greek Eos . In the Etruscan language, your name also means "sunrise" and "morning".

Representation and aspects

Inscription THESAN written in Etruscan letters from right to left

In contrast to the Greek Eos and the Roman Aurora, Thesan was worshiped and venerated. In the ritual calendar of Liber Linteus , she received offerings together with the sun god Usil . She was especially venerated in Caere and its port of Pyrgi . In the sanctuary of Pyrgi a unique set of this was suitable terracotta - Ante Shooting Up with the dawn as the theme excavated. Thesan with the morning and evening star is probably depicted on an antefix . In Pyrgi, the name of the goddess is also preserved on a fragmentary bronze inscription. The inscription documents the dedication of a picture of Thesan in the sanctuary of the university , the highest goddess of the Etruscans.

Thesan (?) With morning and evening star on an antefix

Thesan is also depicted on some Etruscan bronze mirrors. On a mirror from the 4th century BC A picture of her head is shown, which fills the entire back of the mirror. She wears a winged cap and a necklace with an amulet . Her head is surrounded by a radial aurola . On another mirror from the 4th century BC They are seen together with the sun god Usil , who is surrounded by a nimbus, and the water god Nethuns . Presumably the Etruscan myth of the sunrise is represented here. It can be clearly identified on both mirrors by the inscription THESAN in Etruscan letters .

Thesan is almost certainly also the deity depicted in the upper zone of numerous mirrors along with four horse heads. The bronze mirror of Tuscania , on which a liver examination can be seen at sunrise, and a mirror with the judgment of Paris appear to show them together with the four horses of their quadriga . Apparently this indicates the beginning of a certain day on which a special event took place or should take place. Therefore, the appearance of Thesan could indicate a feast day in the calendar dedicated to a particular deity or ritual.

Thesan, like Tinia and Turan, is a genuinely Etruscan name in contrast to others such as Uni ( Juno ), Menrva ( Minerva ) and Nethuns ( Neptune ), which were adopted by the Etruscans from the ancient Italian or Roman cult. Thesan therefore seems to have been an originally Etruscan deity, which the Etruscans only later associated with the myth of the Greek Eos.

Like the Greek Eos, Thesan has also entered into a love affair. Together with her lover Tinthun ( Tithonos ) she had a son named Memrun or Memnun ( Memnon ). This defeated the Trojan War the Achilles in single combat. A mirror from the 5th century BC. BC shows a winged deity with a young warrior on his arm. The warrior's drooping arms and his helmet lying on the ground suggest that Thesan is carrying her dead son from the battlefield here, as in the Greek myth. On another mirror from the 5th century BC In contrast, Thesan saves her son Memnun from the approaching Achle , who corresponds to the Greek Achilles, with inscriptions . The Etruscans not only adapted Greek myths, but also modified them and reinterpreted them.

Bronze mirror with thesan

  • Thesan with the sun god Usil and the water god Nethuns (350 BC)

  • Thesan with the horses of her quadriga over the judgment of Paris (4th century BC)

  • Thesan with Tinthun, their son Memrun and Lasa (4th century BC)

  • Thesan carries her dead son from the battlefield (470-460 BC)

literature

Web links

Commons : Thesan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Erika Simon: The Religion of the Etruscans. P. 60.
  2. ^ Sybille Haynes: Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History. P. 269.
  3. ^ Giuliano Bonfante, Larissa Bonfante: The Etruscan Language. An Introduction. P. 206.
  4. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Erika Simon: The Religion of the Etruscans. P. 47.
  5. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Erika Simon: The Religion of the Etruscans. P. 60.
  6. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Erika Simon: The Religion of the Etruscans. P. 47.
  7. ^ Sybille Haynes: Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History. P. 181.
  8. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond: Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History and Legend. P. 108.
  9. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Erika Simon: The Religion of the Etruscans. P. 60.
  10. ^ Sybille Haynes: Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History. P. 280.
  11. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond: Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History and Legend. P. 111.
  12. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Erika Simon: The Religion of the Etruscans. P. 45.
  13. ^ Nancy Thomson de Grummond: Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History and Legend. P. 110.
  14. ^ Giuliano Bonfante, Larissa Bonfante: The Etruscan Language. An Introduction. P. 201.