Thesan
| Thesan | |
|---|---|
Goddess of the dawn | |
_e_tinthun_o_giove_semele,_III_sec_ac.,_da_perugia.JPG) | |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek equivalent | Eos |
| Roman equivalent | Aurora and Mater Matuta |
In
Thesan was depicted with wings and sometimes nude, such as a clay acroterium from Astrone valley.[1]
Etymology
Thesan was depicted on several broze
Mythology
The Curse of Aphrodite
The Etruscans identified their Thesan with the Greek dawn goddess Eos. In the Greek legend, Aphrodite had found Eos in bed with her lover Ares; to punish Eos, Aphrodite “cursed” her with an insatiable taste for mortal youths, and Eos became infamous for her many young lovers.[4] The Etruscans seemed to quite like these stories and easily transferred them to their dawn goddess Thesan; the stories depicted on the mirrors are generally straight out of Greek myth.[1]
Depictions of Thesan
with Cephalus
On one relief mirror back (kind of a rarity in Etruscan mirrors since the decoration on the back is almost always engraved rather than cast), Thesan is shown in the act of abducting Cephalus, a young man of Athens who was married to the King Erechtheus’ daughter, Procris. Thesan is winged here, wearing a chiton and diagonal himation that flows in the breeze; about her head is a halo, to emphasize her function as a goddess of light. She runs off to the left carrying Cephalus in her arms, who is shown as nude and much smaller than she is. He does not look at all distressed at the situation and he rests in her arms with his right hand on her shoulder. Like many depictions of Etruscan women and their lovers, she is shown as larger and therefore more important or powerful than the man: This has been taken as an indication of the high status of Etruscan women.
The same scene is depicted on a mirror handle in high relief openwork; Cephalus is again quite a lot smaller (and younger) than Thesan, who is not winged this time, but whose cloak billows behind her in the breeze. She smiles down at young Kephalos as She lifts him up, and he is nude save for a short cloak and hunting boots.
with Memrun (Memnon)
Another favorite scene of Thesan/Eos depicts a far more somber affair. When her son
with Usil and Nethuns
The Liber Lintaeus connects Thesan with the Etruscan sun god Usil, equivalent to the Greek Helios and Roman Sol.[1][2] She has her arm around Usil’s back, implying a connection that Helios and Eos do not have.[2] A fourth century mirror now shows her in conversation with both Usil and Nethuns (Etruscan Neptune / Poseidon).[5]
See also
- Aurora
- Dawn goddess
- Eos
- Etruscan civilization
- Etruscan religion
- Mater Matuta
- Usil
References
- ^ a b c d e
ISBN 978-1-134-05523-4. - ^ a b c d e f
de Grummond, Nancy Thomson; Simon, Erika, eds. (2006). The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press.ISBN 0-292-78233-0. - ^ Crane, Mary (2006–2012). "Thesan". The Obscure Goddess Online Directory (thaliatook.com). Retrieved 25 June 2014.
- ^
Pseudo-Apollodorus. Bibliotheca. book 1, chapter 4, section 4.
- ^
Carpino, Alexandra Ann (2003). Discs of Splendor: The relief mirrors of the Etruscans. The University of Wisconsin Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-299-18990-2– via Google Books.
External links
Media related to Thesan at Wikimedia Commons
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