Btw, since I'm too anxious to read fiction I've bought a book about Etruscan religion and mythology. I'll report the most interesting bits on this thread!

ETRUSCAN RELIGION AND MYTHS

But first, a brief overview of who the Etruscans were...

Etruscans were ancient people in north-central Italy. Their civilization spanned from 900 BC to 27 BC, when the last Etruscan city was formally absorbed by Rome. Etruscan called themselves Rasenna, or Rasna.

And now I'm starting reading! The book is 'La religione degli Etruschi - divinità, miti e sopravvivenze' by Giovanni Feo. I'm not sure if it's available in English, but fear not for I will try to share all the most interesting bits with you

Etruscan religion was polytheistic, like the religions common across the Mediterranean basin. In fact, all those religions probably spawned from the same origin - so we find gods with similar names and characteristics worshipped by different civilizations.

The most eminent figures of the Etruscan pantheon are the gods that make up the divine triad: Tinia (the male god), Uni (the mother) and Menerva or Menrva (the virgin goddess). This is an evolution from the ancient worshipping of Cibele, a goddess of Anatolian origins.

Other eminent Etruscan gods are Aita, the god of the underworld, and his wife Phersipnai - a figure that recalls the ellenic Persephone, wife to Hades. The Etruscan, in fact, believed the reality divided in the celestial world, where the gods lived, the earth, and the underworld

The underworld was especially important in Etruscan tradition. Etruscan people believed the realm of the dead was literally in the belly of the earth, and that mortals themselves originated from there, they were the 'sons of the earth'.

The fixation of the Etruscan for the underworld translates in myserious underground buildings: wells, labyrinths, tunnels... whose function is still unknown. For the Etruscan, the underworld was the realm from which life was born, rich of divinity.

Etruscans also believed that the underworld, with its divine power, and earth were in contact. This lead to the exploration of the magic - the sacer - of the earth. Temples, like the temple of the goddess Uni at Civita Castellana, were built to exploit this sacer.

The temple of Uni was built next to a spring, and the water was channeled to stream past a necropolis and in every corner of the temple. The water, in this case, was a carrier of the sacer of the earth.

Earth is central to the most important Etruscan myth. The story tells that a man, while he was working a field, saw a child coming out of the earth. The child was Tages, son of the Earth, and he revealed to the Etruscan people the secrets of the underwold.

Etruscans were incredibly keen on mysticism. Their settlements were divided in dodecapoli (twelve cities) that created a wheel around a sacred center, specially chosen in a place with a lot of sacer and anointed to the divine couple of Voltumna and Veltha.

Each city of the dodecapoli, then, was associated with a specific god of the pantheon, a month of the year, and a constellation of the zodiac. Veltha and Voltumna would protect the dodecapoli, watching over the changing of the seasons

The goddess Voltumna is associated with water - her ancient name was Urcla (ur=water) and she was worshipped next to rivers and lakes. Later, during the Roman age, she will be known as the goddess Fortuna, her symbol the wheel of fate (reminescent, maybe, of the dodecapoli)

Another important goddess of the Etruscan pantheon is Turan, similar to Aphrodite. One of her temples was built in a volcanic crater, on a fault emanating hot steam

Among the male deities, the most important is Tinia, part of the divine triad. He was the god of sky and light and he could throw three different types of lightnings: the cautionary lightning, the damaging lightning, and the destroying lightning.

Etruscan people were particularly keen on the number twelve, which represented the whole. The pantheon was ruled by twelve 'consentes', divine beings who had the power to consent or not to happening of certain events.

The number 9 is also present in the Etruscan pantheon: nine are the gods who could throw lightning - albeit, only one type of lightning, as only Tinia was powerful enough to master all three.

Another Etruscan myth revolves around a revelation, like the myth of Tages. This time a feminine figure, Vecu, revealed to a priest the art of reading the future in the shapes of the lightnings.

Vecu and Tages are another divine couple, they are considered the initiators of Etruscan religion, as they revealed to the mortals the secrets of the underworld and divination.

In addition to the gods and goddesses of the pantheon, other figures appear in the Etruscan religion, akin to angels. Those are the Lase, feminine figures often depicted on mirrors and frescoes, holding a vial and a pointed rod.

They are often depicted together with Turan, naked, as nudity symbolize divinity in ancient traditions, except for a turban around their head. Vecu herself is considered to be a Lasa.

Relevant is also the ancestor worship. The souls of the deceased would travel to Inferi, the underworld, where they will be united in Lares. It's important for the living to mantain a close relation with the Lares, and honour them with specific rituals.

According to Etruscans, the soul of the deceased would embark on a journey to Inferi. Escorted by Vanth - a Lasa - or another winged genie, the soul would cross the subterranean rivers to reach the realm of Aita and Phersipnai, where it would join its Lari.

Tombs were extremely important to Etruscan people. They're necropolis were painted with vivid colours - gold, red and white - and the tombs were oriented to follow the path of the sun, the moon and the stars.

Typical Etruscan ritual objects are nails with inscriptions on one side. The hammering of the Nail of Fate is an important Etruscan ritual: each year, in the temple of Volsinii, Etruscan priests would hammer a nail in order to secure the flow of time.

And, this would be all. There's so much we still don't know about Etruscan society, but they were such a fascinating civilization!