Because of his multiple attributes, the Etruscan god Śuri bore many epithets,[6][3] among them the infernal theonyms Manth (𐌈𐌍𐌀𐌌),[8][6][3]Vetis (𐌔𐌉𐌕𐌄𐌅)[9][3] and Calu (𐌖𐌋𐌀𐌂),[10][11][3]
lit.'dark' or 'darkness' or 'underworld',[12][13][a] as well as solar theonyms like Rath (𐌈𐌀𐌛)[6][3][14] and Usil (𐌋𐌉𐌔𐌖),[15]
lit.'light' or 'sun'.
The center of his cult was
Mount Soracte,[18][16][11][22][6][4][5] a sacred mountain located north of
Rome, in an area characterized by deep
karst cavities and secondary
volcanic phenomena; these phenomena were associated in antiquity with
underworld deities,[7] hence the area was sacred to underworld gods, such as the Roman Dīs Pater, with whom Śuri (
Latin: Soranus) is sometimes identified.[16]
The priests of Soranus were called Hirpi Sorani,
lit.'Wolves of Soranus' (from
Sabine: hirpus,
lit. 'wolf').[11][22][4][5]
They were considered skillful
ornithomantists[7] and
firewalkers; during the ceremonies, they walked on hot coals, holding the entrails of sacrificed goats.[16][19][23][24][5]
Furthermore, during the annual festivities in honor of
Apollo Soranus and
Feronia, they walked barefoot among burning logs without being burned, for which they were forever released by the
Roman Senate from military service and other liturgies.[7]
The Lupercalia, in the Roman religion, probably derive from these priests.[11]
Servius has preserved the following legend about them: once, during a sacrifice to
Dīs Pater, several wolves ran up to the altar and stole the sacrificial pieces. The shepherds gave chase and ran to a cave – into Mount Soracte – from which such suffocating fumes emanated that those who pursued fell dead. The pestilence that soon spread throughout the country was connected with the death of the shepherds, while the oracle, to whom they turned for advice on how to get rid of the plague, replied that the plague would stop as soon as the inhabitants, like wolves, began to lead a robber life. These people took the name Hirpi Sorani (from
Sabine: hirpus,
lit. 'wolf') and devoted themselves to the cult of Soranus, later identified with Dīs Pater due their shared volcanic and underworld attributes.[16][7]
Partners
Śuri has been historically associated with two female partners: the aforementioned Faliscan goddess
Feronia, considered to be his sister-in-law,[c] whose major sanctuary (
Latin: Lucus Feroniae) was located near Mount Soracte;[24][20] and the Etruscan goddess
Catha (𐌀𐌈𐌀𐌂), considered to be his consort,
goddess of the moon and
the underworld.[17][25][6]
Since Śuri bore multiple solar and infernal theonyms (
§ Epithets), Catha's ones varied accordingly, e.g.: Manth (
Latin: Mantus) was paired with
Mania (𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌀𐌌); whereas Aita was paired with
Persipnei (𐌉𐌄𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌐), also spelled
Phersipnai (𐌉𐌀𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌘), equivalent to the
Greco-Roman theonym
Persephone (
Latin: Proserpina).[17][6]
Under the solar theonym Usil (
lit.'light' or 'sun'), Śuri is named alongside Catha on the right lobe (convex face) of the bronze
Liver of Piacenza, which is separated into two lobes.[26][15]
Initially, some researchers supposed that the first lobe, where the gods of the lights and heavens are listed, could represent Śuri/Usil, whereas the second an hypothetical partner named Tiur.[27]
In fact, his name appears next to the word tiur (
lit.'moon' or 'month'),[28] that was hence supposed to be the name of a lunar goddess and consort of Usil, but since tiur actually meant "moon" and "month" (
lunar month, equivalent to Greek mēnē), that inscription was most likely meant as a datation, as confirmed by the
Pyrgi Tablets,[29] while Usil's consort was actually named
Catha.[30]
The Etruscan theonym Śuri,
lit.'black', is somehow
cognate to
Old NorseSurtr,
lit.'black'.[31][32]
In
Norse mythology,
Surtr – king of the
fire giants of
Múspell,[d][e][f] birthplace of the Sun and other stars[36] – is "a mighty giant who ruled the volcanic powers of the underworld"[37] and will cover the Earth in fire during
Ragnarök, causing the entire world to burn.[38]Rudolf Simek notes that
jötnar – frost and fire giants – are usually described as living to the east in Old Norse sources, yet Surtr is described as being from the south.[37]
Indeed, Surtr is mentioned twice in the poem Völuspá, where a
völva divulges information to the god
Odin. The völva says that, during Ragnarök, Surtr will come from the south with
flames, carrying a very bright sword:
Old Norse
English
Sutr ferr sunnan
með sviga lævi:
skinn af sverði
sól valtiva.[39]
Surtr moves from the south
with the
scathe of branches:
there shines from his sword
the sun of Gods of the Slain.[39]
These and other apparent coincidences[40] inspired the hypothesis that Surtr's mythic south could be identified in Śuri's Etruscan Italy,[31] but, despite the archaeological findings confirm ancient exchanges among the
Tyrrhenians and the Proto-Germanic peoples,[g] systematic studies of compared mythology and linguistics, as well as additional archaeological
surveys, may still be needed to confirm deeper connections.[31]
^
abA black sun, i.e. a sun god of the underworld,[4][5] rather that a celestial god, was also defined by the Etruscans as TiniaCalusna (Jupiter of the Underworld =
Zeus Chthonios).[5]
^Feronia was considered to be the consort of Śuri/Apulu's brother
Fufluns, god of growth, vital energy and wine.
^Drawing in part on various eddic poems, the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda contains an account of the development and creation of the cosmos: Long before the Earth came to be, there existed the bright and flaming place called
Muspell – a location so hot that foreigners may not enter it – and the foggy land of
Niflheim. In Niflheim was a spring,
Hvergelmir, and from it flow numerous rivers. Together these rivers, known as Élivágar, flowed further and further from their source. Eventually the poisonous substance within the flow came to harden and turn to ice. When the flow became entirely solid, a poisonous vapor rose from the ice and solidified into
rime atop the solid river. These thick ice layers grew, in time spreading across the void of
Ginnungagap.[33]
^The etymology of "Muspelheim" is uncertain, but may come from Mund-spilli, "world-destroyers", "wreck of the world".[34][35]
In the midst of this clash and din the heavens are rent in twain,
and the sons of Muspell come riding through the opening.
Surtr rides first, and before him and after him flames burning fire.
He has a very good sword, which shines brighter than the sun.
As they ride over Bifrost it breaks to pieces, as has before been stated.
The sons of Muspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vigrid ....
The sons of Muspel have there effulgent bands alone by themselves.
De Simone, Carlo (2012). "Il teonimo Šuri: riflessioni ad alta voce". Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici (in Italian) (32–33).
Di Fazio, Massimiliano (2013).
"Gli Hirpi del Soratte". In Cifani, Gabriele (ed.). Tra Roma e l'Etruria. Cultura, identità e territorio dei Falisci (in Italian). Edizioni Quasar. pp. 231–264.
ISBN978-88-7140-519-3 – via Academia.edu.
Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2006. p. 803.
ISBN978-159339266-6.
Jannot, Jean-René (2005). Religion in Ancient Etruria. Translated by Whitehead, J.K. University of Wisconsin Press.
ISBN9780299208448.
Kenney, Edward John; Clausen, Wendell Vernon (1983). The Cambridge History of Classical Literature. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN9780521273732.
Obnorsky, Nikolai Petrovich (1900). "
Соран, прозвище Аполлона". Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). Vol. XXXa. Saint Petersburg: Brockhaus–Efron. p. 895.
Bonnefoy, Yves, ed. (1992) [1991]. Roman and European Mythologies. Translated by Doniger, Wendy. University of Chicago Press. pp. 30, 36.
ISBN9780226064550.
Briquel, Dominique (1997). Chrétiens et haruspices: La religion étrusque, dernier rempart du paganisme romain (in French). Presses de l'Ecole normale supérieure.
ISBN9782728802326.
Cartwright, Mark (19 July 2012).
"Hades". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
Chhawchharia, Ajai Kumar (2015). The Chariot of God: Dharma Rath.
ISBN9781516953776.
Classical Association (1918). Postgate, John Percival; Arnold, Edward Vernon; Hall, Frederick William (eds.).
Classical Quarterly. Translated by Postgate, John Percival. Clarendon Press. p. 107.
Colonna, Giovanni (2001). "Divinazione e culto di Rath/Apollo a Caere (a proposito del santuario in loc. S. Antonio)". Archeologia Classica (in Italian). LII (2). L'Erma di Bretschneider: 151–173.
doi:
10.1400/258393.
Cristofani, Mauro, ed. (2000) [1984]. "Apulu/Aplu". Etruschi: una nuova immagine (in Italian). Florence: Giunti Editore. pp. 161–162.
ISBN9788809017924.
Cristofani, Mauro, ed. (1985). "Aplu". Dizionario illustrato della civiltà Etrusca (in Italian). Florence: Giunti Editore. pp. 12–13.
ISBN978-88-09-21728-7.
De Grummond, Nancy Thomson (2006). Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
ISBN9781931707862.