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Manth (Etruscan: 𐌈𐌍𐌀𐌌, romanized: Manth), latinized as Mantus, is an epithet of the Etruscan chthonic fire god Śuri as god of the underworld; this name was primarily used in the Po Valley, as described by Servius, but a dedication to the god manθ from the Archaic period was found in a sanctuary in Pontecagnano, Southern Italy. His name is thought to be the origin of Mantua (Italian: Mantova), the birthplace of Virgil.

Elsewhere in Etruria, the god was called Śuri, latinized as Soranus, a cross-cultural deity associated with the underworld.

Consort

When paired with the epithet Mantus, his consort Catha (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌈𐌀𐌂) was also called Mania (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌀𐌌); she was a goddess of the dead, spirits and chaos: she was said to be the mother of ghosts, the undead, and other spirits of the night, as well as the Lares and the Manes. She, along with Mantus, ruled the underworld.

The epithets of this divine couple indicate that they were connected to the Manes, chthonic divinities or spirits of the dead in ancient Roman belief and called man(im) by the Etruscans.

Their names are also linked to Mana Genita and Manius, as well as the Greek Mania (or Maniae), goddess of insanity and madness. Both the Greek and Latin Mania derive from PIE (Proto-Indo-European) *men-, "to think." Cognates include Ancient Greek μένος, ménos, 'mind, thought', and Avestan 𐬎𐬫𐬥𐬌𐬀𐬨, mainyu, 'spirit'.

References

1. ^ Colonna 2006, p. 141.
2. National Etruscan Museum.
3. Maras 2010.
4. Servius 380a, 10.199.
5. Pallottino 1992.
6. Roger D. Woodard, Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult (University of Illinois Press, 2006), pp. 116–117.

Bibliography

• Bouke van der Meer, Lammert (2013). "Lead Plaque of Magliano". Interpretando l'antico. Scritti di archeologia offerti a Maria Bonghi Jovino. Quaderni di Acme (134). Milan. pp. 323–341 (335) – via Academia.edu.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• De Grummond, Nancy Thomson; Simon, Erika, eds. (2006). The Religion of the Etruscans. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292782334.
  • Bonfante, Larissa. "Etruscan Inscriptions and Etruscan Religion". In De Grummond & Simon (2006).
  • Colonna, Giovanni. "Sacred Architecture and the Religion of the Etruscans". In De Grummond & Simon (2006).
  • Krauskopf, Ingrid. "The Grave and Beyond". In De Grummond & Simon (2006), p. vii, pp. 73–75.
  • Simon, Erika. "Gods in Harmony: The Etruscan Pantheon". In De Grummond & Simon (2006).
• Lecce, Vittoria. "Novembre e il dio Suri – Il Nero Signore" (in Italian). Museo Nazionale Etrusco.
• Maras, Daniele F. (2010). "Suri. Il nero signore degli inferi". Archeo (in Italian). No. 305. Archived from the original on 2014-12-10.
• Pallottino, Massimo (1992). Roman and European Mythologies. University of Chicago Press. pp. 30, 36.
• Rissanen, Mika (2013) . "The Hirpi Sorani and the Wolf Cults of Central Italy". Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica. 46. Helsinki: Klassillis-filologinen yhdistys. ISSN 0570-734X – via Academia.edu.
• Servius (380). Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil (in Latin). Vol. I–XII. Georgius Thilo – via Perseus Digital Library.
  • Servius (380a). Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil (in Latin). Vol. X. 199 – via Perseus Digital Library.
  • Servius (380b). Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil (in Latin). Vol. XI. 785 – via Perseus Digital Library.

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