Mythologis
The Etruscan Mythology Book: Tinia, Uni, Menrva, and the Lost Religion of Italy

Etruscan Mythology

The Etruscan Mythology Book: Tinia, Uni, Menrva, and the Lost Religion of Italy

Tinia, Uni, Menrva, and Lost Italy

Before Rome, Italy belonged to the Etruscans: a people who read the future in lightning and livers, buried their dead in painted cities, and whose gods Rome quietly adopted. A mythology recovered from tombs, bronze mirrors, and the discipline of the haruspex.

150 pagesPDFEnglishMythologis Library

$14.99

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Inside this book

What you will read

  • 11 chapters, primary sources
  • Instant PDF download
  • Original ink illustrations
  • Inline citations to inscriptions and tombs
  • Designed for print quality
See all chapters  +
  1. 01The People Before Rome
  2. 02Tinia, Uni, Menrva: The Etruscan Triad
  3. 03The Crowded Heaven of Etruscan Gods
  4. 04The Underworld: Aita, Phersipnai, and the Demons
  5. 05Charun, Vanth, and the Escorts of the Dead
  6. 06The Painted Tombs of Tarquinia
  7. 07The Discipline: Reading Lightning and Livers
  8. 08The Books of Fate and the Etruscan Centuries
  9. 09Heroes, Mirrors, and the Greek Borrowings
  10. 10What Rome Took from Etruria
  11. 11The Vanishing of a Language and a Faith

About this book

About this Etruscan mythology guide

Before Rome, Italy belonged to the Etruscans: a people who read the future in lightning and livers, and whose gods Rome quietly made its own.

Before Rome was anything, the Etruscans ruled the hills of central Italy. They built painted cities of the dead, engraved their gods on the backs of bronze mirrors, and developed a famous science of reading the will of heaven in lightning bolts and in the livers of sacrificed sheep. Then Rome swallowed them, kept their gods and their priests, and let their language die. We are still piecing them back together.

This book is the complete guide to what survives. Eleven chapters cover the divine triad Tinia, Uni, and Menrva, the crowded Etruscan heaven, the underworld with its blue-skinned demons Charun and Vanth, the painted tombs of Tarquinia, the discipline of reading lightning and livers, the Books of Fate, and everything Rome inherited from Etruria. Every chapter cites the evidence.

Delivered as a print-quality PDF within 24 hours of purchase.

What you will discover inside

  • Tinia, Uni, and Menrva: the triad Rome would copy as Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva
  • The discipline: how to read the will of the gods in lightning and in livers
  • Charun and Vanth, the blue-skinned demons who escort the dead
  • The painted tombs of Tarquinia and the Etruscan vision of the afterlife
  • The Books of Fate and the prophecy of the ten Etruscan centuries
  • What Rome inherited from Etruria, from the toga to the gods

Etruscan mythology book at a glance

TraditionEtruscan mythology
Chapters11 chapters
Length150 pages
SourcesDrawn from the primary sources, cited inline
Reading levelBeginner-friendly. Every name and place is explained from scratch
FormatPrint-quality PDF
DeliveryPDF within 24 hours

Formats and editions

EditionWhat you getPrice
Instant PDFPrint-quality download, readable on any device. PDF within 24 hours.$7.99
PaperbackA paperback edition is on the way. Sign up on this page to hear when it lands on Amazon.Coming soon

About the author

Guillaume Henry, founder of Mythologis

Guillaume Henry

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Mythologis

Guillaume Henry founded Mythologis to make the world's mythologies readable without losing what makes them strange. Every Mythologis book draws on the primary sources first, cross-references multiple translations, and avoids inventing details that aren't in the originals.

More about the author

Keep exploring Etruscan mythology

Prefer to read before you buy? These free, fully sourced guides cover the same gods, myths and sources you will meet in the book.

Read the complete Etruscan mythology guide

Questions about the Etruscan mythology book

When will I receive my PDF?

Within 24 hours of purchase. Your download link arrives in your inbox automatically.

If the Etruscan language is barely readable, how do we know their myths?

From several sources working together: the images engraved on thousands of bronze mirrors and painted in the tombs, the bilingual and ritual inscriptions (such as the Liber Linteus and the Piacenza Liver), and the Roman writers who described Etruscan religion. The book is honest about what is solid and what is reconstruction.

Is this book based on primary sources?

Yes. It cites the Etruscan inscriptions and the Liber Linteus, the bronze Piacenza Liver, the engraved mirrors, the painted tombs, and the Roman writers (Livy, Seneca, and the disciplina etrusca tradition), with references to the standard scholarship.

How long is the book?

Eleven chapters, around 150 pages depending on the final layout. Designed to be read in evenings or in one long sitting.

Is this book for beginners or specialists?

Beginners welcome. The book explains every name, place, and concept from scratch. Specialists will find the source citations useful for further reading.

Will there be a paperback on Amazon?

The PDF is available immediately. A KDP paperback edition follows once the book has been validated by readers.

What formats is this book available in?

Every title is available as an instant PDF, downloaded the moment you buy it: the link appears on the confirmation page and lands in your inbox. Selected titles also have a paperback edition on Amazon. Where the paperback is not out yet, you can sign up to be notified the day it does.

What is the return policy?

The PDF is delivered instantly by Mythologis. If a download ever fails or a file looks wrong, get in touch and we will make it right. Paperbacks bought on Amazon are handled under Amazon's own returns and refund policy.

Can I order from outside the United States?

Yes. The PDF is a digital download, so it works instantly anywhere in the world, with nothing to ship. Where a paperback edition exists, it is sold across Amazon's international marketplaces, with shipping rates and delivery times depending on your country.

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