Etruscan mythology
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| - | :''[[Vulcan (disambiguation)]] '' | ||
| - | '''Vulcan''' is the god of [[volcanoes]] and [[fire]], especially the [[forge]], also the [[patron]] of all [[craftsmen]], principally [[blacksmiths]]. The goddess Venus was the wife of Vulcan. | + | The [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]]s were a diachronically continuous population speaking a distinct language and practicing a distinctive culture that ranged over the [[Po Valley]] and some of its alpine slopes, southward along the west coast of [[Italy]], most intensely in [[Etruria]], with enclaves as far south as [[Campania]], and inland into the [[Appennine mountains]], during the period of earliest European writing in the Mediterranean [[Iron Age]], in the second two quarters of the first millennium BC. Their prehistory can be traced with certainty to about 1000 BC. During their floruit of about 500 BC they were a significant maritime power with a presence in [[Sardinia]] and the [[Aegean Sea]]. At first influential in the formation and conduct of the [[Roman monarchy]] they came to oppose the Romans during the [[Roman Republic]], entered into military conflict with it, were defeated, politically became part of the republic and integrated into Roman culture. The Etruscans had both a [[religion]] and a supporting [[mythology]]. Many Etruscan beliefs, customs and divinities became part of Roman culture, including the [[Roman mythology|Roman pantheon]]. |
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| - | In [[Religion in ancient Rome |ancient Roman religion]] and [[Hellenic neopaganism]], '''Vulcan''' is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of [[volcano]]es. He is also called '''Mulciber''' ("smelter") in [[Roman mythology]] and '''Sethlans''' in [[Etruscan mythology]]. He was worshipped at an annual festival on [[August 23]] known as the '''Volcanalia'''. | + | |
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| - | Vulcan was identified with the Greek god of fire and smithery, [[Hephaestus]]. | + | |
| - | ==Mythology== | + | |
| - | Through his identification with the [[Hephaestus]] of [[Greek mythology]], he came to be considered as the manufacturer of art, arms, [[iron]], jewellery and armor for various gods and heroes, including the thunderbolts of Jupiter. He was the son of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], and husband of [[Maia (mythology)|Maia]] and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]. His [[Forge|smithy]] was believed to be situated underneath [[Mount Etna]] in [[Sicily]]. | + | |
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| - | As the son of Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Juno, the queen of the gods, Vulcan should have been quite handsome, but, baby Vulcan was small and ugly with a red, bawling face. Juno was so horrified that she hurled the tiny baby off the top of [[Mount Olympus]]. | + | |
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| - | Vulcan fell down for a day and a night, landing in the sea. Unfortunately, one of his legs broke as he hit the water, and never developed properly. From the surface, Vulcan sunk like a pebble to the cool blue depths where the sea-nymph, [[Thetis]], found him and took him to her underwater grotto, and raised him as her own son. | + | |
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| - | Vulcan had a happy childhood with dolphins as his playmates and pearls as his toys. Late in his childhood, he found the remains of a fisherman's fire on the beach and became fascinated with an unextinguished coal, still red-hot and glowing. | + | |
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| - | Vulcan carefully shut this precious coal in a clamshell and took it back to his underwater grotto and made a fire with it. On the first day after, Vulcan stared at this fire for hours on end. On the second day, he discovered that when he made the fire hotter with bellows, certain stones sweated iron, silver or gold. On the third day he beat the cooled metal into shapes: bracelets, chains, swords and shields. Vulcan made pearl-handled knives and spoons for his foster mother, he made a silver chariot for himself, and bridles so that seahorses could transport him quickly. He even made slave-girls of gold to wait on him and do his bidding. | + | |
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| - | Later, Thetis left her underwater grotto to attend a dinner party on Mount Olympus wearing a beautiful necklace of silver and sapphires, which Vulcan had made for her. Juno admired the necklace and asked as to where she could get one. Thetis became flustered causing Juno to become suspicious and, at last, the queen god discovered the truth: the baby she had once rejected had grown into a talented [[blacksmith]]. | + | |
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| - | Juno was furious and demanded that Vulcan return home, a demand that he refused. However he did send Juno a beautifully constructed chair made of silver and gold, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Juno was delighted with this gift but, as soon as she sat in it her weight triggered hidden springs and metal bands sprung forth to hold her fast. The more she shrieked and struggled the more firmly the mechanical throne gripped her; the chair was a cleverly designed trap. | + | |
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| - | For three days Juno sat fuming, still trapped in Vulcan's chair, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't stretch, she couldn't eat. It was [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] who finally saved the day, he promised that if Vulcan released Juno he would give him a wife, [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] the goddess of love and beauty. | + | |
| - | Vulcan agreed and married Venus. He later built a smithy under [[Mount Etna]] on the island of [[Sicily]]. It was said that whenever Venus is unfaithful, Vulcan grows angry and beats the red-hot metal with such a force that sparks and smoke rise up from the top of the mountain, to create a volcanic eruption. | + | |
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| - | According to [[Virgil]], Vulcan was the father of [[Caeculus]]. | + | |
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| - | To punish mankind for stealing the secrets of fire, Jupiter ordered the other gods to make a poisoned gift for man. Vulcan's contribution to the beautiful and foolish [[Pandora]] was to mould her from clay and to give her form. He also made the thrones for the other gods on [[Mount Olympus]]. | + | |
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The Etruscans were a diachronically continuous population speaking a distinct language and practicing a distinctive culture that ranged over the Po Valley and some of its alpine slopes, southward along the west coast of Italy, most intensely in Etruria, with enclaves as far south as Campania, and inland into the Appennine mountains, during the period of earliest European writing in the Mediterranean Iron Age, in the second two quarters of the first millennium BC. Their prehistory can be traced with certainty to about 1000 BC. During their floruit of about 500 BC they were a significant maritime power with a presence in Sardinia and the Aegean Sea. At first influential in the formation and conduct of the Roman monarchy they came to oppose the Romans during the Roman Republic, entered into military conflict with it, were defeated, politically became part of the republic and integrated into Roman culture. The Etruscans had both a religion and a supporting mythology. Many Etruscan beliefs, customs and divinities became part of Roman culture, including the Roman pantheon.
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