Tinia
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Tinia (also Tin, Tinh, Tins or Tina) was the sky god and the highest deity in Etruscan religion, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus.<ref>de Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History and Legend, page 53</ref>
However, a primary source from the Roman Varro states that Veltha, not Tins, was the supreme deity of the Etruscans.<ref>Varro, De lingua Latina V.46.</ref> This has led some scholars to conclude that they were assimilated, but this is speculation.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
Tinia was the husband of Uni and the father of Hercle. Like many other Etruscan deities, his name is gender neutral.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Etruscans had a group of nine gods who had the power of hurling thunderbolts; they were called Novensiles by the Romans.<ref name=ECC>Template:Cite book</ref> Of thunderbolts there were eleven sorts, of which Tinia wielded three.<ref name=ECC/>
Tinia was sometimes represented with a beard or sometimes as youthful and beardless.<ref name=":0" /> In terms of symbolism, Tinia has the thunderbolt.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Tinia's thunderbolts could be red or blood coloured.<ref>Nancy T. de Grummond, "Thunder versus Lightning in Etruria," Etruscan Studies, 2016, 19(2), 183-207.</ref>
Like Selvans<ref name=":0" /> and possibly Laran,<ref>Konstantinos I. Soueref; Ariadni Gartziou-Tatti (2019). Gods of Peace and War in the Myths of the Mediterranean People. Ioannina, Greece: Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina - University of Ioannina. Template:ISBN.</ref> Tinia also protected boundaries. His name appears as the guarantor on three boundary stones with identical inscriptions found in Tunisia, originally placed there by the Etruscan colonists.<ref name=":0" />
Some of Tinia's possible epithets are detailed on the Piacenza Liver, a bronze model of a liver used for haruspicy. These inscriptions have been transcribed as Tin Cilens, Tin Θuf and Tinś Θne. There have been a number of suggestions as to their meaning, but the Etruscan language is poorly understood and there is no scholarly consensus for the translation.
InscriptionsEdit
Tinia appears in several inscriptions, including:
- Kylix painted by Oltos (c. 500 BC):
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
- This has given Venel Atelinas for the sons of Tin (ie: The Dioscuri<ref name=TDT>Template:Cite book</ref>)
- On the bronze Chimera of Arezzo:
- Tinscvil
- A gift to Tins
- Chimera d'arezzo, fi, 03.JPG
- Chimera d'arezzo, firenze, 05 firma.JPG
TINSCVIL inscription on foreleg
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
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