Śuri

Śuri (Etruscan: 𐌉𐌛𐌖𐌑, lit. 'black'), Latinized as Soranus, was an ancient Etruscan deity, also venerated by other populations of central Italy – Capenates, Faliscans, Latins and Sabines – and later adopted into ancient Roman religion.

Name and attributes

The Etruscan theonym Śuri (𐌉𐌛𐌖𐌑), Latinized as Soranus, means both 'black' and 'from the black [place]', i.e. the Underworld. The root is Etruscan: 𐌛𐌖𐌑, romanized: Śur, lit. 'black'.

Primarily the god of volcanoes and fire, which were associated with the underworld, Śuri also was the chthonic god of the Sun and light, as well as an oracular god, with powers over health and plague; as god of volcanic lightning, he's thought to have been among the Novensiles, the nine Etruscan thunder gods.

His sacred animals were wolves and goats.

Epithets and Greco-Roman equivalents

Because of his multiple attributes, the Etruscan god Śuri bore many epithets, among them the infernal theonyms Manth (𐌈𐌍𐌀𐌌), Vetis (𐌔𐌉𐌕𐌄𐌅) and Calu (𐌖𐌋𐌀𐌂), lit. 'dark' or 'darkness' or 'underworld', as well as solar theonyms like Rath (𐌈𐌀𐌛) and Usil (𐌋𐌉𐌔𐌖), lit. 'light' or 'sun'.

Śuri's multiple attributes were also associated with Greco-Roman epithets. By interpretatio graeca, he was identified with both the underworld god Dīs Pater/Hades (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌕𐌉𐌀, romanized: Aita, from Epic Greek: Ἄϊδης, romanized: Áïdēs) and the sun god Apollo (Etruscan: 𐌖𐌋𐌖𐌐𐌀, romanized: Apulu). Their names are associated on Pyrgi inscriptions too. Later on, after his cult had been syncretised with Apollo, the Romans also nicknamed him Apollo Soranus or Apollo Soractis.

Worship

Cult centers

The center of his cult was Mount Soracte, a sacred mountain located north of Rome, in an area characterized by deep karst cavities and secondary volcanic phenomena; these phenomena were associated in antiquity with underworld deities, hence the area was sacred to underworld gods, such as the Roman Dīs Pater, with whom Śuri (Latin: Soranus) is sometimes identified.

Other centers dedicated to this deity were the ancient twin cities of Surina (Soriano) and Surina (Viterbo), in the present-day province of Viterbo, Lazio, and the city of Sorano, in the province of Grosseto, Tuscany. Furthermore, his epithet Manth (Latin: Mantus) is thought to be the eponymous of Mantua (Italian: Mantova), the birthplace of Virgil, who also mentioned the volcanic god in the Aeneid.

Worshippers

The priests of Soranus were called Hirpi Sorani, lit. 'Wolves of Soranus' (from Sabine: hirpus, lit. 'wolf'). They were considered skillful ornithomantists and firewalkers; during the ceremonies, they walked on hot coals, holding the entrails of sacrificed goats. Furthermore, during the annual festivities in honor of Apollo Soranus and Feronia, they walked barefoot among burning logs without being burned, for which they were forever released by the Roman Senate from military service and other liturgies. The Lupercalia, in the Roman religion, probably derive from these priests.

Servius has preserved the following legend about them: once, during a sacrifice to Dīs Pater, several wolves ran up to the altar and stole the sacrificial pieces. The shepherds gave chase and ran to a cave – into Mount Soracte – from which such suffocating fumes emanated that those who pursued fell dead. The pestilence that soon spread throughout the country was connected with the death of the shepherds, while the oracle, to whom they turned for advice on how to get rid of the plague, replied that the plague would stop as soon as the inhabitants, like wolves, began to lead a robber life. These people took the name Hirpi Sorani (from Sabine: hirpus, lit. 'wolf') and devoted themselves to the cult of Soranus, later identified with Dīs Pater due their shared volcanic and underworld attributes.

Partners

Śuri has been historically associated with two female partners: the aforementioned Faliscan goddess Feronia, considered to be his sister-in-law, whose major sanctuary (Latin: Lucus Feroniae) was located near Mount Soracte; and the Etruscan goddess Catha (𐌀𐌈𐌀𐌂), considered to be his consort, goddess of the moon and the underworld.

Since Śuri bore multiple solar and infernal theonyms (§ Epithets), Catha's ones varied accordingly, e.g.: Manth (Latin: Mantus) was paired with Mania (𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌀𐌌); whereas Aita was paired with Persipnei (𐌉𐌄𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌐), also spelled Phersipnai (𐌉𐌀𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌘), equivalent to the Greco-Roman theonym Persephone (Latin: Proserpina).

Under the solar theonym Usil (lit. 'light' or 'sun'), Śuri is named alongside Catha on the right lobe (convex face) of the bronze Liver of Piacenza, which is separated into two lobes. Initially, some researchers supposed that the first lobe, where the gods of the lights and heavens are listed, could represent Śuri/Usil, whereas the second an hypothetical partner named Tiur. In fact, his name appears next to the word tiur (lit. 'moon' or 'month'), that was hence supposed to be the name of a lunar goddess and consort of Usil, but since tiur actually meant "moon" and "month" (lunar month, equivalent to Greek mēnē), that inscription was most likely meant as a datation, as confirmed by the Pyrgi Tablets, while Usil's consort was actually named Catha.

Further connections

Norse mythology

The Etruscan theonym Śuri, lit. 'black', is somehow cognate to Old Norse Surtr, lit. 'black'. In Norse mythology, Surtr – king of the fire giants of Múspell, birthplace of the Sun and other stars – is "a mighty giant who ruled the volcanic powers of the underworld" and will cover the Earth in fire during Ragnarök, causing the entire world to burn. Rudolf Simek notes that jötnar – frost and fire giants – are usually described as living to the east in Old Norse sources, yet Surtr is described as being from the south. Indeed, Surtr is mentioned twice in the poem Völuspá, where a völva divulges information to the god Odin. The völva says that, during Ragnarök, Surtr will come from the south with flames, carrying a very bright sword:

These and other apparent coincidences inspired the hypothesis that Surtr's mythic south could be identified in Śuri's Etruscan Italy, but, despite the archaeological findings confirm ancient exchanges among the Tyrrhenians and the Proto-Germanic peoples, systematic studies of compared mythology and linguistics, as well as additional archaeological surveys, may still be needed to confirm deeper connections.

See also

• Apollo Smintheus
• Etruscan civilization
• List of Etruscan mythological figures

Annotated links

• Dīs Pater – Roman god of the underworldPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Catha (mythology) – Etruscan goddess
• Feronia (mythology) – Italic goddess of wilderness and liberty
• Fufluns – Etruscan god of growth
• Orcus – Roman god of the underworld
• Surtr – Norse mythical character

References

Notes

Citations

Works cited

Further reading

External links

• "Definition of Vejovis, Vediovis, Vediiovis", The Latin Lexicon
• "Vediove". Nova Roma: Calendar of Holidays and Festivals.

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