Unique perspectives in Etruscan mythology concerning the causes of the Trojan War

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1 June 24, 2011 Unique perspectives in Etruscan mythology concerning the causes of the Trojan War by Mel Copeland (From Etruscan Phrases (http://www.maravot.com/etruscan_phrases_b.html) Page 1 of 24

2 The Etruscans were experts in telling their mythology through murals in their tombs and the mirrors used by their gentry and sold throughout their known world, from the interior of France to the coasts of the Black Sea and North Africa. Etruscan mirrors were beautifully engraved, recalling details recorded in Greek mythology; however, the Etruscans had a unique view of certain stories, particularly those involving Helen of Troy, with many mirrors devoted to the Trojan War and its heroes. Murals in Etruscan tombs tended to show situations of the underworld, such as the appeal of three-headed giant Geryon (Etr. Cervn) to the god of the underworld, Hades (Etr. AITA). Seated beside the god is the wife whom he abducted, Persephone (Etr. PHERSIPNEI), who is allowed to return to earth once a year, as a herald of the coming of spring. This mural from the Tomb of Orcos shows the three-headed giant Geryon (Etr. CERVN) appealing to AITA (Latin Pluto) on the complaint that Heracles (Etr. HERKLE) had stolen his cattle. The theft was the 10 th Labor of Heracles. What is important in this mural is the names of the characters as written by the Etruscan artist and particularly that of PHERSIPNEI. We note the suffix EI in her name that is also one of two suffixes used in Helen of Troy s names (ELINAI and ELINEI). The common declension to ELINEI and PHERSIPNEI helps us understand the application of the EI suffix, since we can see CERVN is appealing to PHERSINEI. Page 2 of 24 Perhaps the best illustration presented by the Etruscans is a mirror which we have called The Divine Mirror. It tells the story of Helen of Troy s marriage to the Mycenaean Prince, Menelaus, brother of King Agamemnon. Agamemnon became the leader of the Greek expedition of one thousand ships that invaded Troy. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let s start with the mirror: It has three levels. On the top level is the god TINI who has a consort name RALNA. TINI is the Etruscan version of Greek Zeus and Latin Jupiter. RALNA has a goose standing next to her, so we know that she is the mother of Helen, for in the story of Helen s birth Zeus was enraptured by a goddess Nemesis, or possibly another who changed into a goose to avoid him. He changed into a swan, caught her and copulated with her. The result was an egg that eventually ended up in the hands of Figure 1 "Divine Mirror" Script DM, Mirror from Vulci

3 Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. The egg produced Helen, who would become the most beautiful woman in the world. Thus, so far the mirror tells us that TINI raped RALNA and is the father of Helen of Troy (ELENAI). According to another Etruscan mirror the egg was laid in a grove of Sparta. Shepherds found the egg and took it to Leda, wife of King Tyndareüs (Etr. TVNTLE). After Helen was hatched from the egg Leda reared her as her own daughter. But this is not exactly how an Etruscan mirror recalls this portion of the story. It seems that the brothers of Helen, commonly known as the Dioscuri Castor (Etr. CASTVR) and Polydeukes (PVLTVCEI) presented the egg to Queen Leda. There may be difficulties even in this story, since Aphrodite (TVRAN) seems to have been involved in the creation of Helen. Another interesting Etruscan mirror shows TVRAN riding a swan. We know that Aphrodite helped Zeus rape Nemesis, the mother of Helen, by changing into the form of an eagle and chasing Zeus who had changed into a swan, who was chasing Nemesis who had changed into the form of a goose. The swan (Zeus, TINI) caught the goose (Nemesis, RALNA) and she produced an egg that hatched not an ugly duckling but Helen of Troy. So what is TVRAN doing riding on a swan? In the Etruscan version of the story it appears that rather than changing into the form of an eagle she got on the back of the swan and rode it after Nemesis. There is a mirror of TVRAN riding a swan in the Louvre, Paris. Facing TINI is HERCLE who presents to TINI a cherub whose name is Epe OR (EPE VR). Next to HERCLE is the goddess Aphrodite (TVRAN). TVRAN has a role in the Helen of Troy story, since she was involved in the Judgment of Paris, one of the causes of the Trojan War. We say it was one of the causes, because there were many causes. The mortal Peleus (Etr. PELE, PELIVN) married the goddess Thetis (Etr. THETIS). The marriage celebration was not without complications. They invited everyone to the banquet except the goddess of strife, Eris. Fuming over the affront, Eris threw a golden apple into the banquet hall that had the words for the fairest engraved on it. Aphrodite, Athena and the mother goddess Hera believed that the apple was intended for them. Since they could not settle among themselves who deserved the apple they asked the most beautiful man in the world Alexander, the prince of Troy, son of King Priam to judge who was the fairest. Alexander s name is commonly known in Greek mythology as Paris. But here, in the Etruscan mirror, the name Alexander (Etr. ELINTRE) is recorded. He is standing next to the enthroned Queen ELINAI in the center panel. Naked Alexander is facing a nude goddess whose name is MEAN, who is placing a laurel on his head. At the same time Queen ELINAI is facing and shaking hands with King Agamemnon (Etr. ACHMEMNVN). Between them is his brother, Prince Menelaus (Etr. MENLE) who is being betrothed to Queen ELINAI. MEAN, incidentally, is featured in several other mirrors on Etruscan Phrases, including one illustration of her being approached seated upon a throne. There are several problems with this version of the story. First of all HERCLE had nothing to do with the Trojan War. The mirror seems to suggest that the cherub being presented to TINI is the child of TVRAN and HERCLE. Aphrodite had a child, Eros, who would mischievously cause people to fall in love with his arrows. In the Greek legend there is a question as to whether Eros had anything to do with Helen falling in love with Alexander (Paris). Some versions of the story have Helen being served a potion that caused her to fall in love with the visiting Prince Alexander. MEAN has a doe beside her and appears to be the perpetual virgin-huntress goddess Artemis (sister of the god Apollo). Artemis, however, is well represented in Etruscan mirrors as ARTVMES, so we can presume that MEAN is not ARTVMES. Artemis was involved in the beginning of the Trojan War story. King Agamemnon failed to sacrifice properly to her one day, affronting her and causing her reprisal in Page 3 of 24

4 several ways: She compelled him to sacrifice his own daughter, Iphiginia, in recompense for his poorly done sacrifice. Later, when he launched his ships to invade Troy she caused a terrible wind to come up, causing a delay in their launch towards Troy. Iphiginia later appears as a Taurian queen whose people share the custom of sacrificing hapless visitors. MEAN is probably a Lydian patroness goddess. The Iliad of Homer records that the Lydians were originally known as Maiones (Μαίονες). One of the Seven Wonders of the World was the Temple of Artemis in Epheseus (modern Ephes), and perhaps MEAN is an earlier form of the goddess. But it was not Artemis who awarded Alexander (Paris) with the hand of Helen. It was Aphrodite (TVRAN)! In the Judgment of Paris Alexander (Paris) awarded Aphrodite with the title of the fairest. Neither Athena (Etr. MENERFA) nor Hera (Etr. VNI) were particularly excited about losing the contest. They ended up taking opposite sides in the Trojan War. Athena took the side of the Trojans. In any event, the connection of Aphrodite (TVRAN) and Heracles (HERCLE) has yet to be explained in Etruscan mythology. Also Aphrodite s award to Alexander of the hand of the fairest woman for having given her the title of being the fairest of goddesses was ignored in the Etruscan story, giving that act to MEAN / Artemis. After the Judgment of Paris Paris was invited to visit Sparta s royal palace, now occupied by King Menelaus and his wife Queen Helen. This is how Menelaus and Helen came to be married according to Diodorus Siculus: Diodorus: [78] LXXVIII. TYNDAREUS Tyndareus, son of Oebalus, by Leda, daughter of Thestius, became father of Clytemnestra and Helen; he gave Clytemnestra in marriage to Agamemnon, son of Atreus. Because of her exceeding beauty many suitors from many states sought Helen in marriage. Tyndareus, since he feared that Agamemnon might divorce his daughter Clytemnestra, and that discord might arise from this, at the advice of Ulysses bound himself by an oath, and gave Helen leave to put a wreath on whomever she wished to marry. She put it on Menelaus, and Tyndareus gave her to him in marriage and at his death left him his kingdom. The initial days of Alexander s embassy to Sparta were normal, on the up-and-up. But then Menelaus grandfather had died in Crete and he was called away to attend his funeral. Oh, my, now the most beautiful man in the world (Paris) and the most beautiful woman in the world were left alone in the Spartan palace. Suddenly Helen fell in love with Alexander. Aphrodite fulfilled her obligation to Paris by sending either a love potion or her son Eros to affect the pair with an insatiable love. Paris and Helen decide to return to Troy together during Menelaus absence. They also decided to take many palatial treasures. When Menelaus returned, he and his brother, King Agamemnon, together with other Greek allies, called for vengeance and the redemption of the abducted queen and her treasures. King Priam of Troy refused to return the two lovers to Sparta. Agamemnon and his allies launched their ships in answer to Troy s insult. On the other side of MEAN is another figure called AECAI who is shielding his face from the scene at hand. AECAI is probably the son of King Priam who prophesied that Paris would bring destruction to Troy. His name was Aesacus, son of Priam by Arisbe. There is an interesting refrain from the work, "Alexandra," by Lycophron of Calchis (3rd century B.C.) that refers to the firebrand upon Troy voiced through Aesacus: Alexandra (31) "...I see thee hapless city, fired a second time by Aeaceian hands..." Page 4 of 24

5 We can compare this passage to others from the same work: Alexandra (219) "...And would that my father had not spurned the nightly terrors of the oracle of Aesacus..." "...wherein one day hereafter the Tymphaean dragon, even the king of the Aethices, shall at a feast destroy Heracles sprung from the seed of Aeacus and Perseus and no stranger to the blood of Temenus..." Heracles' mother was married to Amphitryon, son of Perseus' son Alcaeus. Heracles was originally called Alcaeus. Lycophron may have made an intentional slip in his reference to the seed of Aeacus as relating to Heracles. Laomedon neglected to pay Aeacus, Poseidon and Apollo for rebuilding the walls of Troy, and Poseidon punished him by sending a sea-monster to ravage the land. An oracle told Laomedon that this threat, the the plague sent at the time by Apollo, would end only if he offered his daughter Hesione to the monster. When the Argonauts were returning home from Colchis, Heracles was in the crew and they stopped at Troy. Hearing about the plight of Hesione, who had been chained to a rock in sacrifice to the sea-monster, Heracles offered to rescue her. Payment to Heracles would be the girl and the handsome mares Zeus had given to the king when he carried off the king's son Ganymede. After Heracles killed the monster and freed the girl, Laomedon refused to pay the debt. Heracles did not have enough of a force to make war on Troy, so he sailed away, threatening vengeance at a later date. According to Diodorus Siculus (1st century B.C.) Heracles made war with Laomedon: Diodorus: HERACLES WAR AGAINST LAOMEDON [4.32.1] After this Heracles, returning to the Peloponnesus, made war against Ilium since he had a ground of complaint against its king, Laomedon. For when Heracles was on the expedition with Jason to get the Golden Fleece and had slain the sea-monster, Laomedon had withheld from him the mares which he had agreed to give him and of which we shall give a detailed account a little later in connection with the Argonauts. [4.32.4] Laomedon then withdrew and joining combat with the troops of Heracles near the city he was slain himself and most of the soldiers with him. Heracles then took the city by storm and after slaughtering many of its inhabitants in the action he gave the kingdom of the Iliadae to Priam because of his sense of justice. [4.32.5] For Priam was the only one of the sons of Laomedon who had opposed his father and had counseled him to give the mares back to Heracles, as he had promised to do. And Heracles crowned Telamon with the meed of valour by bestowing upon him Hesionê the daughter of Laomedon, for in the siege he had been the first to force his way into the city, while Heracles was assaulting the strongest section of the wall of the acropolis. HERACLES WAR AGAINST HIPPOCOON [4.33.5] After this Hippocoön exiled from Sparta his brother Tyndareüs, and the sons of Hippocoön, twenty in number, put to death Oeonus who was the son of Licymnius and a friend of Heracles; whereupon Heracles was angered and set out against them, and being victorious in a great battle he made a slaughter of every man of them. Then, taking Sparta by storm he restored Tyndareüs, who was the father of the Dioscori, to his kingdom and bestowed upon him the kingdom on the ground that it was his by right of war, commanding him to keep it safe for Heracles own descendants. Priam, Christened Podarces, was the son of Laomedon and was named Priam from the word priamus ("to buy") when ransomed from Heracles by his sister Hesione. He succeeded his father as king of the wealthy city of Troy. He had children by many women. He married Arisbe, daughter of Merops, king of Percote, and had a son, Aesacus. Later he gave Arisbe to his ally Hyrtacus and married Hecuba, daughter Page 5 of 24

6 of Dymas, of Cisseus, or of the river Sangarius by Metope. Hecuba bore Priam a son, Hector, who became the champion of Troy. When she was about to give birth to a second child, Hecuba dreamed that she gave birth to a firebrand that burned Troy. Aesacus, who had diviner's powers, told Priam to expose the child at birth (a way of killing unwanted children). The court had presumed Paris to be dead until, as a young man, he appeared in the palace and was recognized by Cassandra, Paris' sister by Hecuba. Cassandra had acquired a gift of prophecy when she had slept overnight in the temple of Thimbraean Apollo. The temple got its name from the river Thimbra and the plain named from it that was near Troy. This name is probably that relating to the winged goddess LASA THIMRAE (at DM-12). The prophesy of the firebrand had been forgotten by the time Alexander returned to the palace, so the long-lost child was readmitted to the family. During the Trojan War Hector, firstborn of Hecuba, was chased around the walls of Troy and killed by Achilles. Achilles refused to give up Hector's body for burial, but the old man, Priam, driving a mule-cart to the Achaean camp, was able to ransom the body. Achilles was subsequently killed by Paris, and there are several versions to the story how he was killed, one being from an arrow of Paris. This is not the first time the beautiful Helen was abducted. (Abductions seemed to be a common way of claiming a wife in marriage among the ancients, still practiced though in Central Asia.) We can t tell the entire story as it should be told, but Theseus and Peirithous determined to abduct the fair virgin Helen when she was but a child. How is it that Theseus caused the Trojan War by being the first to abduct Helen? The answer to the first cause of the Trojan War involves Peirithous. It seems that Peirithous had heard so many tales of Theseus' exploits that he determined to test the truth of his reputation for courage. He therefore stole a herd of cattle at Marathon and, when Theseus came in pursuit, returned to confront him. Instead of fighting, the two were so taken with each other's bearing that they swore eternal friendship. At Peirithous' invitation Theseus attended the Lapith's wedding to Hippodameia and assisted him in his battle with the Centaurs. This misfortune occurred when, getting drunk during the festivities, the Centaurs tried to carry off the Lapith women, including the bride. Icarius set off to teach the world the art of winemaking, but was murdered by a group of shepherds who got drunk from Icarius wine. The next event in the spread of Dionysus' religion and winemaking involved the Centaurs. Script MS carries an unusual composition with the Centaurs being harnessed to Icarius' chariot, as he set off to spread the art of wine making. Thus, Theseus' defense of the Lapiths at a wedding was a cause of the Trojan War. Kidnappers Peirithous and Theseus were a cause of the Trojan War Peirithous, who had inherited some of his father's impious rashness, seems to have had an unfortunate influence on his now middle-aged friend, for Theseus' customary common sense deserted him during the last years of his life and the two enterprises that the pair carried out together turned out disastrously for both. They decided first that they would kidnap Helen, a daughter of Zeus who had been adopted by Tyndareus, king of Sparta. Some say that Theseus wanted to be related to the Dioscuri, Helen's brothers; others claim that he and Peirithous had vowed that they would marry daughters of Zeus and that they would aid each other in fulfilling this ambition. They met with little difficulty in carrying off Helen, who was only ten or twelve years old at the time. Theseus took her to the town of Aphidnae, in Attica, and left her in the charge of his mother, Aethra, while he went off to keep his part of the compact by helping Peirithous to win a bride. During their absence the Dioscuri, with a force of Spartans and Arcadians, took Aphidnae and perhaps sacked Athens as well. They not only rescued their sister but carried off Aethra to be her nurse (for Helen and Theseus' Page 6 of 24

7 daughter Iphigenia). Some say Helen later bore a child, Iphigeneia, by Theseus. Helen's sister, Clytemnestra (who is usually called Iphigenia s mother by Agamemnon) adopted the infant because of Helen's youth. Of the many daughters of Zeus that Peirithous might have chosen to abduct, he had hit upon the most unlikely and dangerous bride: Persephone, queen of Hades. Theseus, bound by vows to aid his friend in this suicidal scheme, went with him down into the Underworld, through the entrance at Taenarum. The two sat down on stone chairs before Hades (Etr. AITA) and became frozen to them. Some say that the seat they sat on was the seat of Lethe (Forgetfulness). Later Theseus was rescued from Hades by Heracles, when Heracles went down to Hades to bring up Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded its gates, in his twelfth and final labor. He escaped with the fiendish dog and Theseus but was not able to rescue Peirithous, though he tried. So it is that Theseus had been the cause by which Tyndareus required an oath by the suitors of Helen to take revenge against anyone that takes Helen by force or harm the chosen husband. Tyndareus then gave his daughter to Menelaus, brother of King Agamemnon, who had brought the finest gifts. But because Tyndareus had once forgotten Aphrodite when sacrificing to the gods, the goddess punished him by making three of his four daughters unfaithful to their husbands. Timandra deserted Echemus for Phyleus, son of Augeias; Helen went off to Troy with Paris while Menelaus was attending his grandfather's funeral in Crete; Clytemnestra (Etr. CLVTHVMVSTHA) and her lover, Aegisthus, murdered her husband, Agamemnon, on his return from Troy. When Orestes (Etr. VRESTE) avenged his father, murdering his mother, some say that it was Tyndareus who brought against him the charge of matricide. Script DF is a mirror that shows the act of matricide. Here (Etr. CLUTHUMUSTHA) is being stabbed by her son Orestes. Assisting him is the Argonaut Jason (Etr. AEITHEON). NATHOM appears to be the word sailor (L. nauticus-a-um). Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Leda and was the sister of Helen of Troy. Tyndareus married Clytemnestra to Tantalus, son of Thyestes. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, killed her husband and her baby, whereupon Tyndareüs gave her to him in marriage. She bore several children to Agamemnon: Iphigeneia, Electra (Laodice), Chrysothemis, and Orestes. Agamemnon deceived her into sending Iphigeneia to Aulis, on the pretext of marrying her to Achilles; in reality he was preparing to sacrifice her to Artemis (Agamemnon had offended Artemis by boasting that he was a better archer than she, so she asked him to sacrifice his beloved daughter to make things right). Page 7 of 24

8 When Clytemnestra discovered this treachery she conceived a great hatred for her husband and plotted with her lover, Aegisthus, to kill him on his return from the Trojan War. When Agamemnon returned, accompanied with his new concubine, Cassandra, daughter of King Priam, the two lovers killed him in his bath and Clytemnestra, herself, is reported to have killed Cassandra. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra had two children, Erigone and Aletees. Orestes had been sent away as a child to Phocis by his sister Electra. There he was raised by Strophius, who had married Agamemnon's sister, Anaxibia or Astyoche. Orestes and Strophius' son, Pylades, became loyal friends, and Pylades accompanied Orestes in nearly all his subsequent adventures. Eight years after his escape from Argos, Orestes, now a young man, went to Delphi to ask of the Figure 2 Script DF "Orestes and Clytemnestra," Veii, Fourth Century B.C. oracle what it was his duty to do about his father's murderers, who were prospering in Agamemnon's palace. Apollo commanded him to kill them both. With many misgivings Orestes journeyed to Argos with Pylades and there made himself known to Electra, whom Aegisthus had married to a commoner or otherwise humiliated. Urged on by Electra, Orestes killed Clytemnestra and her lover. In spite of its divine sanction, this deed led the Erinyes of Orestes' mother to drive him mad. Moreover, he was brought to trial by Clytemnestra's father Tyndareus and one of her relatives, Oeax, urged his banishment. Orestes wandered to Delphi to seek help from the oracle on his madness. Apollo told him to go to the land of the Taurians to steal the wooden statue of Artemis that had fallen there from heaven. If he brought it to Attica it would restore his health. The Taurians who were a tribe of Scythians had a practice of sacrificing all of the strangers that visit their land, and Iphigeneia was the priestess of the Temple of Artemis. When Orestes and his friend, Pylades, stepped foot on the Taurian soil they were instantly captured and dragged to the temple to be sacrificed. Iphigeneia recognized them and arranged for their escape, with Athena's help. On his return, Orestes became king of Mycenae and as a decedent of Tyndareus he succeeded to the throne of Sparta when Menelaus died; being the king of both cities became the most powerful monarch in the Peloponnesus. Pylades married Orestes' sister, Electra, who bore him two sons, Medon and Strophius. In this mirror we see beneath the floor of the murder scene Jason of the Argonauts who killed a dragon guarding the Golden Fleece in Colchis. Jason's story begins with the murder of his father by Pelias, king of Iolcus. Pelias and his twin, Neleus, had been exposed at birth and a horse herder accidentally discovered them, but a mare had trampled on Pelias' face, leaving a livid mark (pelios). When grown, Pelias revealed his violent nature by killing the stepmother of his mother, who was Tyro, daughter of Page 8 of 24

9 Salmoneus and the god Poseidon. She had mistreated Tyro as a child, accounting for the reason Tyro abandoned Pelias and his twin. Pelias then began to persecute his brother Neleus and their half-brother Aeson. When Neleus put in a claim to the throne, Pelias turned on his twin and drove him out of the country. Aeson's wife bore a son, but it was mourned as dead at birth, so Pelias felt no alarm. Pelias became one of the most powerful Greek kings of his day, but a prediction by the Delphic oracle came to his attention, that an Aeolid wearing one sandal would one day bring about his death. The day Jason returned to claim the throne of Iolcus the prophesy came true. In crossing a stream on the way to the city he lost a sandal, and went on without it. The king was not present in the city when Jason entered it, but an official of the city heard the young man who was missing a sandal declaring his right to the throne, and he reported his sighting to King Pelias. Pelias recognized the boy and tricked him into going to Colchis to recover the Golden Fleece which Pelias believed would be Jason's last voyage. While Jason was gone on his adventure with the Argonauts Pelias killed Jason's father, Aeson, and his brother Promachus, a mere boy. Aeson's wife committed suicide. Pelias had from an early date offended Hera, in refusing to sacrifice to her, so Hera had taken sides with Jason, greeting him at the stream where he lost his sandal, and she contrived a complex plan of revenge against Pelias: to cause Jason to abduct the sorceress, Medea, who was the daughter of the king of Colchis where the Golden Fleece was kept. Hera caused Medea to fall in love with Jason, and Medea continued to be the main help for Jason, to kill the dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece and to deliver the poison that would take Pelias' life. After Pelias was killed Jason and Medea took the throne of Iolcus and then went to Corinth to claim the throne there that had been in Medea's inheritance (Her father, Aeëtes, had been king of Corinth before he took the throne of Colchis). Their presence in Corinth was not well received by the Corinthians, however, because they believed the powerful sorceress would stop at nothing to gain her ends. She was beginning to become an embarrassment to him and finally Jason divorced her and took the hand of Creon's daughter, Glauce or Creüsa. Threatened with banishment as well as divorce, Medea reminded Jason that all the exploits for which he was famous would never have been accomplished without her help. There are several differing accounts as to what happened to Medea and her two sons by Jason, Mermerus and Pheres, after the divorce. When the artist-story-teller of the mirror placed Jason in the bottom panel of the scene, beneath the panel describing Orestes' revenge for his father's death, it may be as an allusion to the revenge Jason took upon Pelias, his father's murderer. As one can see, both stories, which we sumarize here, are quite complex, and this is a testimony to the Etruscan artisan's extraordinary story-telling abilities. An interesting mirror, Script MM (Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.c,html Scripts.. MM ), Mirror in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Acc.# , illustrates an unusual meeting of two young women and two young men before a seated, bearded elder whose name appears to be NEPLE. The characters are Helen (Etr. ELINEI), Orestes (Etr. VRSTE), Thetis (Etr. THETHIS, THETIS) and Achilles (Etr. AKLE), son of Thetis. NEPLE is wearing a Phrygian hat and instructing them the subject and actor here being unknown but probably is a counsel to Orestes on avenging his father s murder. Orestes ended up counseling the god Apollo (Etr. APLV), who told him to go ahead with the murder. Helen s name is accented differently in this mirror, with an EI suffix, as she is receiving an action or instruction, as opposed to the Divine Mirror scene where Helen (ELINAI) is acting towards Agamemnon. The part Eros played in this whole affair is also subject to review, since some reports suggest that Eros was one of the first gods of creation and therefore could not have been a son of Aphrodite (TVRAN). According to Hesiod's Theogony [ , 201] Eros existed almost from the beginning of time, being born, together with Ge (Earth) and Tartarus, of, or at the same time as, Chaos. Far from being Aphrodite's roguish little boy, as he appears in the works of later writers, Eros was on hand to greet that goddess at Page 9 of 24

10 her birth. Shown in Greek art as a beautiful youth, he seems to have been worshipped, particularly at the Boeotian city of Thespiae, as a god of love and loyalty between young men. Later writers depict Eros as the youngest of the gods, an archer whose gold-tipped arrows could make even gods fall in love. According to Ovid's Metamorphosis it was he who made the cold-hearted god Hades love Persephone. Annoyed because Apollo had advised him to leave archery to men, he shot the god, making him fall in love with Daphne and at Persephone's prompting Eros made Medea fall in love with Jason. The best known myth of Eros is that of his love of Psyche. Eros is sometimes spoken of in the plural (Erotes). In art these "loves" are generally shown as small winged spirits such as might have escaped from Pandora's jar. The name, Eros is mentioned in the Tavola Eugubine, Scripts N, Q and R. The final character in the scene in the Divine Mirror is a winged goddess named LASA THIMRAE who is carrying an unguent jar (for anointing) but exiting the room with the jar and a wand in hand. (Lasa is a Latin and Etruscan word for household goddess. ) Since she has a wand (presumably of prophesy) and is leaving the room, one might presume that she did not approve of the conflicting interests, of MEAN anointing ELKINTRE and ACHMEMNVN bargaining with ELINAI for her hand in marriage to MENLE. LASA THIMRAE appears to be a goddess connected with the Thimbraean Apollo. The household goddess, LASA THIMRAE, carries a wand of prophesy in her right hand and in the left hand what appears to be an alabaster unguent bottle, seen frequently being carried in ladies' hands in Etruscan murals. A wand and purse are mentioned many times in the Zagreb Mummy Script, Script Z. We know that Agamemnon paid a substantial dowry to King Tyndareüs for the hand of Helen in marriage to his brother Menelaüs. In the middle panel the alarmed AECAI and on the right the household goddess, LASA THIMRAE, appear to be reacting to MEAN s crowning of Alexander. Thus, we believe that the theme of this panel of the mirror deals with the anointing of Alexander as husband of Helen at the time Helen agrees to marry Menelaus. For the record, there may be some oblique connection, of THIMRAE and HIMRAE: Himera was born, together with Aether, from Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and regularly emerged from Tartarus as Nyx entered it, and returned as Nyx was leaving. Since Eos (Dawn) was thought of as accompanying the Sun as well as heralding his rising, she tended to usurp the functions of Hemera and was often identified with her. In this mirror she is exiting the room, and if she is Day, then what follows is Nyx (Night). Nyx was born, together with Erebus (Darkness), Ge (Earth), Tartarus and Eros (Love), out of Chaos. Apart from Aether (Upper Air) and Hemera (Day) she spawned a large and generally unpleasant brood that included Moros (Doom), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), the Fates, and Nemesis. Knowing that HIMRAE is leaving the room where terrible betrayals and bargaining is taking place, the story here is clear: As HIMRAE leaves the room, love will take over and bring forth Chaos. There will be Doom, Death and, for those wondering where it all began, you can look to RALNA (Nemesis) who was desired by Zeus at one time. She changed into various forms in order to escape him and when she changed into a goose he changed into a swan, caught her and raped her. The result of this union was an egg that was given to Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus. The egg hatched into Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Another Etruscan mirror shows the Dioscuri presenting the egg containing Helen to Tyndareus. The abduction of the sea nymph Thetis was a cause of the Trojan War Peleus was the husband of Thetis, and father of Achilles. He was the son of Aeacus, king of Aegina, and Endeis. He and his brother, Telamon, plotted to kill their half-brother, Phocus, either because he excelled them in sports or merely to please their mother. One brother or the other murdered Phocus with a stone Page 10 of 24

11 quoit during a contest, and together they hid his body. Aeacus learned of the crime and banished both. Telamon settled in the nearby island of Salamis, but Peleus wandered with his followers and flocks as far as Phthia. There King Eurytion, or his father, Actor, purified him of murder and gave him his daughter, Antigone, in marriage. Antigone bore a daughter, Pandora. According to Ovid, Peleus went from Aegina to Trachis, where Ceyx, king of Oeta, entertained him. Psamathe, Phocus' sea-nymph mother, sent a wolf to destroy Peleus' flocks. The fugitive tried vainly to appease her with prayers and sacrifice. Finally, Psamathe's sister Thetis, who later married Peleus, interceded for him and Psamathe turned the wolf to stone. As one can see in Script CR Peleus abducted Thetis (from Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.f.html,) Figure 3 Script CR Corpus USA 4: N. E. Collections, Providence Rhode Island, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, figure 38a, said to be from the tomb of Monte Torello, Fidenae. A copy of the mirror is in the British Museum. Peleus carrying off Thetis. Page 11 of 24 During the Calydonian boar hunt Peleus accidentally killed his father-in-law, Eurytion, and did not dare return to Phthia. He wandered to Iolcus where he stayed with King Acastus, but Acastus' wife, Astydameia or Hippolyte, fell in love with him. He repulsed her, so she sent word to Antigone that Peleus was about to marry her daughter, Sterope. Antigone killed herself from grief. In further revenge Acastus tried to kill Peleus while hunting on Mount Pelion, where wild tribes of Centaurs roamed. The king of the Centaurs, the wise Cheiron, found him exposed and saved him. Later Peleus returned to Phthia from his year in exile and became king. Figure 4 Script CG Bunderrepublik Deutchland 4, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1995, Hirmer Verlag, Munchen. Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis, became the main hero of the Greeks in the Trojan War. At first he was reluctant to join the Greek allies, so it took considerable persuasion from Agamemnon to get him and his warriors to finally support the cause. In an

12 Etruscan mirror, Script CR, King Agamemnon (Etr. ACHMEMNVN) and a character named FELERE beg Achilles (Etr. AKLE) to join the Greek troops who had by then been engaged in a long siege of Troy. (Script CR is from FELERE is a common name in many Etruscan texts and is probably the common Latin name Valerius-i. At the age of 15 Achilles was made admiral of the Greek fleet. The city of Troy was so impregnable within its great walls the Greeks, led apparently by Achilles, spent much of their time sacking 12 cities around the coast of Troy. During his attack on Lyrnessus, Achilles had killed Mynes and Epistrophus, sons of King Evenus, and had carried off a beautiful Lyrnessan woman named Briseȉs as his concubine. Sometime later Agamemnon was forced by the insistence of Achilles and the other leaders to give up his own concubine, Chryseȉs, to save the Greeks from a plague. Enraged, he took Briseȉs from Achilles. Achilles surrendered her but refused to fight any longer or to allow his troops to do so. To get Achilles back into the fighting Agamemnon sent old Phoenix together with Odysseus and Ajax, to offer not only Briseȉs but a great deal of treasures as well if Achilles and his troops would rejoin the fighting. Achilles refused them however, but kept Phoenix with him. Shortly after that his best friend Patroclus was killed by the Trojan Prince Hector (brother of Alexander / Paris) and enraged Achilles rejoined the fight. Later Paris shot Achilles in the heel by an arrow from atop Troy s walls, causing the death of Achilles. It is said that Paris hand was guided by Apollo, either because Achilles had killed his son Tenes, or at the request of Poseidon, father of Achilles victim Cycnus, or merely because Apollo had sided with the Trojans from the first. There was a terrible struggle over the corpse, but Ajax finally carried it from the field while Odysseus defended his rear. Achilles ashes were buried in a golden urn, mixed with those of Patroclus, and a great barrow was raised over them by the sea. The earlier burial ceremony of Patroclus involved placing his body on a great bier with horses and young Trojan captives sacrificed on it, together with other offerings, and lit on fire. Over the ashes a mound was raised around which games were conducted, many of which continue in the Olympics. The hero of the Trojan War was a cause of the war from his birth. Zeus continued his philandering habits and began chasing Thetis, and this angered his wife Hera. Zeus had been warned, however, that Thetis was fated to bear a child who would be greater than his father. For one reason or another Zeus and Hera decided to marry off Thetis. They decided upon a mortal and, through either Cheiron or Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea, they let Peleus know that he could capture her in a sea-cave on the Magnesian coast. She would change forms when he touches her, so he was told to hold her down while she slept. Thetis, captured in her sleep, became successively fire, water, a lioness and a tree, but finally succumbed to Peleus' persistence and consented to become his wife. The wedding was held on Mount Pelion and all of the gods were invited except Eris, the goddess of discord. The two lived happily together in Phthia, unwary of the fate held in store for them. When she bore Achilles, to prove the child would be mortal, she exposed him to fire by night and ambrosia by day. Other accounts say that she dipped Achilles in boiling water, and then when she dipped him in the river Styx every part of his body was immortalized except the part by which she held him: his heel. Peleus stumbled upon her exposing the child to hot coals and became enraged. She thereupon returned to the sea and the child was sent to Cheiron for rearing. The other account says that Thetis and Peleus continued in marriage and Thetis knew that Achilles would die in the Trojan War, so she thus had him raised in the disguise of a girl. Page 12 of 24

13 We have many directions to which the tale on the Divine Mirror points. And we have only discussed some of them! What master storytellers the Etruscans were, to have put all this into one mirror!" The god Dionysus was one of the causes of the Trojan War. There is much more to the story of Helen s abduction, as we can see in other mirrors. One of the most important mirrors found to date is the Schøyen Mirror, "Ikarius," Script MS. This mirror contains the story of Icarius, the first disciple of the god Dionysus (god of wine). Icarius (Etr. IKRA) is seen driving a chariot pulled by two Centaurs and running beside him (identifying the main character in the story) is his faithful dog. The mirror seems to tell a story that hasn't quite come down to us. We know the story of Icarius, how he was clubed to death by shepherds whom he had introduced to wine. His driving a chariot pulled by Centaurs is new. The characters above the Centaur's leg MS-20, read: AN PReSSE, "to the press. The mirror shows an image of a man with a club with a Phrygian style cap (common in Etruscan images) driving two Centaurs with a dog beside the chariot. One Centaur carries a bunch of grapes and the other appears to have a cast cutting instrument as reflected in its handle probably used for cutting grapes. He also has an animal hanging over his shoulder that is destined for a feast. Above the driver is a cherub. This image, then, shows what appear to be Icarius and his friends driving off to dinner. The cherub above them appears to be sprinkling them with water, with both hands outstretched. He is not likely warning Icarius. If it were not for the dog in the design, we could suspect that the driver could be Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and vegetation, also called "the twice born" god. He is also known as Bacchus and Euan (Etr. EFAN); the Romans also called him Liber. The driver and Centaurs are delivering food and grapes. I have yet to find a story that involves Dionysus driving a chariot pulled by Centaurs. (However, we recently discovered a Roman tile of Dionysus driving a chariot pulled by Centaurs.) His image usually involves goats, he rides on an ass, he is sometimes wearing a leopard skin, and he carries a thyrsos (a long fennel stalk topped with ivy leaves). An excellent resource with ancient images of Dionysos and a link to ancient texts on Dionysos is at: Page 13 of 24

14 Because of a name on the left-hand bottom circumference of the mirror which is IKRA, the driver is probably Icarius who was a key disciple of Dionysus who spread the worship of Dionysus, known as the Bacchalian rites. Wherever Dionysus traveled, he was followed by a train of satyrs and maenads. The maenads were often joined in their orgiastic rites by local women, to the distress of their husbands and fathers. The dancing maenads, dressed in skins and carrying thyrsi, were popular themes in Greek art. Often represented in the murals of Etruscan tombs (See Etruscan Murals.html) are what appear to be banquet scenes with Bacchalian rites. The craftsman of the mirror would have to know that the key figure in the design was Icarius' faithful dog, Maera. The dog became the means by which the daughter of Icarius discovered her father's grave, for she found it barking over her father's grave. So this tip from the artist would eliminate Dionysus, leaving no other than Icarius as the driver. The club in the driver's hand is also another clue: Icarius was clubbed to death by drunken shepherds who first learned the art of winemaking from Icarius. Background story regarding the "Ikra" mirror: The script is about IKRA (Icarius) who was an Athenian (here identified as a king) who had a daughter, Erigone. Both welcomed Dionysus, the god that taught Icarius the culture of the vine. Icarius loaded a wagon with wineskins, called his faithful dog Maera and set off to spread the word. The first persons that he met were some shepherds. He gave them some of the wine, which, from inexperience, they drank unwatered. Rousing much later from a drunken stupor, they thought that the stranger had tried to poison them. They beat Icarius to death with clubs, flung his body into a well or buried it under a tree, and ran away. Erigone looked everywhere for her father and was finally led to him by Maera, who howled over his grave. Distracted with grief, she hanged herself from the tree that grew over the grave. The dog also committed suicide by jumping into a well. Dionysus, angered that the deaths of his devoted followers had gone unavenged, sent a madness on Athenian girls that caused them to hang themselves from trees. The Athenians learned the cause of this phenomenon from a miracle, found and punished the murderers, and instituted rites in honor of Icarius and his daughter that were held during the grape harvest. During this "swinging festival" girls swung from trees on swings, in imitation of Erigone. Dionysus further honored the two by placing Icarius in the sky as the constellation Boötes, Erigone as Virgo, and Maera as the Dog Star. IKRA is driving a chariot pulled by two Centaurs. The Centaurs are known in mythology for being among the first to get drunken drinking wine and turning violent. Heracles was involved with the Centaurs. He was entertained by Pholus, a civilized member of their tribe, when the other Centaurs, aroused by the odor of wine, broke up the feast. Heracles killed many of them and drove away the others, most of whom fled either to Malea, to Mount Pholoe (named for Pholus) or to Eleusis. Nessus, however, went to Aetolia, where he ultimately took a terrible revenge on Heracles. An innocent victim of Heracles war with the centaurs was Pholus, who dropped one of his guest s poisoned arrows on his foot. Heracles also inadvertently caused the death of the wise Centaur Cheiron, who had reared Jason, Asclepius, Actaeon and Achilles. Cheiron was the firstborn Centaurus or Ixion. Cheiron also befriended Peleus when he was deserted without weapons on Mount Pelion by Acastus. Cheiron saved Peleus from an attack by hostile Centaurs and found for him the sword that Acastus had hidden. Later he told Peleus how to win the love of Thetis. From the two was born Achilles. Cheiron was noted for his knowledge of medicine, which he taught to Asclepius, and he was a competent sculptor as well. When, after Actaeon's death, his dogs howled in loneliness, the centaur comforted them by making a statue of their master. Page 14 of 24

15 Cheiron is sometimes said to have been king of the Centaurs. With them he was driven from Pelion by the Lapiths, after a protracted war between the two tribes. The Centaurs took refuge at Mount Malea in the southern Peloponesus, but were encountered by Heracles in Arcadia when he hunted the Erymanthian boar. When they attacked the friendly Centaur Pholus, Heracles killed many and drove the others from the land. During these hostilities Cheiron was accidentally shot by Heracles, or else dropped one of Heracles' poisoned arrows on his foot, as did Pholus. Cheiron could not die, but the pain of the wound, and perhaps the fate of his people, made him regret his immortality. [See Apollodorus 1.2.4, 2.5.4, 3.4.4, , Hyginus, Poetica Astronomica, 2.38] Birth of Dionysus (Etr. Flufluns, EFAN) Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes, and Harmonia. Semele was loved by Zeus and conceived a child by him. The jealous Hera learned of this affair and, disguising herself as Semele's nurse, Beroë, advised the young woman to demand of her lover that he appear to her as he did to his wife on Olympus. Zeus tried to dissuade her but, having vowed to grant whatever wish she expressed, could not refuse. He appeared as the storm god and Semele was consumed by lightning. The six-month-old child was snatched from her womb by Hermes and sewed into Zeus' thigh, from which, in due course, it was born. After Semele's death, her envious sisters, Autonoë, Ino and Agave, spread a rumor that her lover had been mortal and that her fate had been Zeus' punishment for her presumptuous lie. For this insult to Semele, the sisters were severely afflicted by Zeus or by Semele's child, the god Dionysus. At the end of his wanderings Dionyus descended into Hades and brought his mother up to Olympus under the name Thyone. According to certain Orphic myths, Dionysus was originally the child of Zeus and Persephone. He was dismembered and eaten by the Titans, but Zeus saved his torn heart and served it to Semele in a drink, by which she became pregnant. At the time of her destruction by a thunderbolt, a log is said to have fallen from heaven at Thebes. King Polydorus, Semele's brother, decorated it with bronze, and it was honored as Dionysus Cadmus. At the Laconian coast town of Brasiae there was a tradition; found nowhere else, that Cadmus punished his daughter for bearing an illegitimate son by locking mother and child into a chest and flinging them into the sea. When the chest came ashore at Brasiae, Semele was dead, but her son was alive and was nursed in a cave there by his aunt Ino. Semele was identified by the Greeks with the mother of the Egyptian god Osiris. She was probably closely related to the Phrygian earth-goddess Zemelo. Osiris was tricked by his brother Set into laying in a wooden box that turned out to be a coffin. When the innocent man was in the box Set nailed the lid shut and cast the box into the Nile where it drifted into the sea. It came to rest in Tyre, Lebanon, at the foot of a tree. The tree soon engulfed the casket and began to emit a wonderful odor. The king heard about the wonderful tree and ordered that it be cut down and brought to his palace, where it would be installed as a pillar. When it was cut down a babe was found in the coffin. The child was given to the king's wife, Ishtar, who began to raise it. But Isis, the wife of Osiris, heard about the child and went to the palace, where she was given the job of being the child's wet nurse. When the child became an adult Isis and Osiris married once again. Osiris was regarded as the judge of the Underworld. [Apollodorus 3.4.4, Hyginus, Fabulae, 167, 179; Pausanias 9.2.3] Ixion was a Thessalian king who tried to seduce Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus caught onto the plan and substituted a cloud in the shape of a woman in her bed instead of Hera. Ixion was delighted but caught in the act and punished by Zeus who chained him to a winged and fiery wheel which revolved forever in the sky (or the Underworld). The cloud with whom he had intercourse gave birth to the first of the Centaurs or else a creature named Centaurus, who fathered them on Magnesian mares. [Apollodorus, Epitome, 1.20; Diodorus Siculus ; Pindar, Pythian Odes, ]. Page 15 of 24

16 Theseus was also involved with the Centaurs, for he had been invited to attend the Lapith wedding. The notorius Lapith King Ixion's son Peirithoüs was to marry Hippodameia. The Centaurs got drunk during the festivities and tried to carry off the Lapith women, including the bride. Here is what the text looks like so far: Bottom left side: Script MS-1: IKRA RVI Le ET: VSV ENAI : [Translation: Ikra the king (Fr. roi) there from (L. et) Oso (Mt. Ossa, in northern Magnesia) of Enai (Eioneus = Ixion)]. The letter "b" is not used often in the Etruscan scripts and appears to be a "g" sound, here transcribed as "k." Thus, "Ikra the king there [is] from Mt. Ossa of Ixion." Top left side: Script MS-13: TRE RI: CIM Se QISI [Translation: Three (L. tres, tria) things / matters (L. res, ri) within / on this side (L. cis) of itself (L. se) he did (L. queo, quire, quivi, and quii, quitum)]. Alternatively the Q could be "8" written in a similar way in the word 8RATER. The word 8ISI may be indicated, "he saw / went to see. (L. viso, visere, visi, visum)," but the character looks like the Etruscan "Q" written upside down (as in the case of the "F." Thus, I prefer "Three things on this side of itself he did." This character can be seen on the Etruscan writing tablet. Top right side: Script MS-14: ESV Ce 8RATER IRE: [Translation: Eso ce frater iri : I hunger long. r Here the brother (L. frater-tris) he goes (L. ire, It. ire)].8rater declines: 8RATRVM, 8RATRV, 8RATRVS; IR declines: IR, IRE, and IRI, IRV. This key word 8RATER demonstrates that the Tavola Eugubine and Ikarius mirror share a common language, i.e, Etruscan. We hope to find other texts with the word. Bottom right side: Script MS-18 ZEK HeKNIZ KVPIZ CEPI ABiR [Translation: I cut (L. seco, secare, secui, sectum) the grapes (L. acinus-i, bunch of grapes; note AKNI is used in Script Z.) abundant (L. copiosus-a-um, richly provided, wealthy, plentiful; note the agreement in number in HeKNIZ KVPIZ) of the vinestock (Fr. cep; CEP declines: CEPE, CEPEN, CEPI, CEPIS appear in script Z, used in the same context). A BiR = "to drink" (L. bibo, bibere, bibi, bibitum; It. bere). In the story Icarius (IKRA) harvested the grapes and was killed for it. The context of "harvesting to drink" is the main purpose Icarius had in mind. Words above the Centaur's leg: Script MS-20: AN PReSSE [Translation: or, whether (L. an) word frequently used in the Etruscan scripts, used like a preposition) PRESSE (L. presso-are, to press; It. presse, f. press.); thus: "to the press!" Word under the cherub: MS-21: PVLESI [Translation: This may be, "young boy" (L. puellus-i, a little boy) or may refer to the messenger "lares" (household god) of the tribe of the Centaur Pholus). The winged cherub appears to be sprinkling / anointing the driver. Another winged child is held in the hand of Heracles in the Divine_Mirror.html, being offered to the god TINIA (Greek Zeus, Latin Jupiter). That child has the inscription EPE VR above his head. The cherub god, ERVS, Eros, (L. Cupid, Amore) is mentioned frequently in Script N, Q and R (Tavola Eugubine) and possibly as ERvS, Au62. Erus-i, Latin, master, owner, lord," may be indicated at Au62, the Pyrgi Gold tablets. Since the inscription over the driver describes an action and not a name, this word may be, L. polliceorceri -citus, "to offer, promise." Words over the head of IKRA: MS-24: III AP RICF. The first characters appear to be the Roman Numeral III. Roman numerals are used in tomb inscriptions (See Translation_ Scripts_html), and should properly be called "Etruscan numerals," since the Etruscans passed the alphabet to the Romans. III agrees Page 16 of 24