Английская Википедия:Catha (mythology)
Catha (Шаблон:Lang-ett, also written Шаблон:Lang-ett, Шаблон:Lang-ett, or Шаблон:Lang-ett) is a female Etruscan lunar or solar deity, who may also be connected to childbirth, and has a connection to the underworld.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Catha is also the goddess of the south sanctuary at Pyrgi, Italy.Шаблон:Sfn
She is known as Leucothea in ancient Greek. She is often seen with the Etruscan god Śuri with whom she shares a cult.Шаблон:Sfn Catha is also frequently paired with the Etruscan god Fufluns, who is the counterpart to the Greek god Dionysus, and Pacha, the counterpart to the Roman god Bacchus.Шаблон:Sfn Additionally, at Pyrgi, Catha is linked with the god Aplu, the counterpart to the Greek god Apollo.Шаблон:Sfn Aplu may have even taken some of the characteristics of Catha when he was brought into the Etruscan religion.Шаблон:Sfn Giovanni Colonna has suggested that Catha is linked to the Greek Persephone since he links Catha's consort, Śuri, to Dis Pater in Roman mythology.Шаблон:Sfn
Inscriptions
The bulk of information regarding Catha comes mostly from inscriptions on Etruscan artifacts. One example that shows the importance of Catha at Pyrgi is the discovery of gold earrings dating from 530 to 520 BCE which were dedicated to Catha.Шаблон:Sfn The Sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas from the third century BCE from Tarquinia has an epitaph stating that the deceased individual was a priest of Catha amongst many other titles.Шаблон:Sfn Catha is named on the Piacenza Liver on the right lobe where the gods of the lights and heavens are listed.Шаблон:Sfn This suggests that Catha was a cult deity. On some inscriptions, Catha is simply referred to as "daughter", and in Martianus Capella she is referred to as "the Daughter of the Sun".Шаблон:Sfn She has also been called the "Eye of the Sun".Шаблон:Sfn This evidence, along with her placement on the Piacenza Liver over Usil, suggests that she may be the counterpart to the Roman Solis Filia; however Solis Filia does not have the underworld connection that Catha does.Шаблон:Sfn Catha's underworld connections can be best seen on an Attic skyphos from a necropolis in San Cerbone dating to the 5th century BCE with an inscription stating it is dedicated to Catha.Шаблон:Sfn
Cautha-s is also the first deity mentioned in the Lead Plaque of Magliano, the full first line reading:
- For Cautha, the annually appointed village priest will dedicate 80 ez. In addition, dedications must be made in the place of offering, at the stream Casthia, where it empties into the lake, during Hev- period annually. And a dedication must be made in the sacred alcove that is the memorial for the deceased of the Murina family."
Images
Although there are no known labeled images of Catha, Nancy de Grummond has argued that there are a number of depictions of Catha in art. She has stated that there are several kraters that show a deity that could be identified as Catha.Шаблон:Sfn One example that she cites is a krater from Asciano from 350-300 BCE that shows a deity beside two horses instead of four; a sign that they are there to take the dead to the afterlife, and this coupled with the other imagery on the krater suggests that this has an underworld aspect which Catha is associated with.Шаблон:Sfn Another potential image of Catha is a figure on an antefix on the twenty-celled building on Pyrgi who is again depicted with two horses.Шаблон:Sfn This claim is supported by the fact that this antefix is paired with another antefix that depicts a solar divinity who is likely Śuri, the consort of Catha.Шаблон:Sfn A terracotta head discovered at Pyrgi from the fourth century BCE could also potentially a representation of Catha since she was a highly important goddess in the city.Шаблон:Sfn
Debates
Nancy de Grummond has also argued that Catha could be a lunar divinity as opposed to a solar divinity. She points out that just because Catha is called the "Daughter of the Sun" does not necessarily mean that she is a solar goddess because Selene, the moon goddess in Greek mythology, is sometimes referred to as the daughter of the Sun as well.Шаблон:Sfn Some kraters that potentially illustrate Catha show the deity as having an ambiguous gender which is consistent with Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythologies.Шаблон:Sfn Luna and Selene of Roman and Greek mythology, respectively, are shown driving two-horse chariots often in art.Шаблон:Sfn De Grummond has also suggested that since Śuri is a solar god and his consort is Catha, it would make logical sense for his partner to be lunar as opposed to another solar divinity.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Bibliography
- Pailler, J.-M. (1989) "Fuluns e Catha: significato di un’associazione divina nella tarda età etrusca." Secondo Congresso Internazionale Etrusco, Firenze, 26 maggio – 2 giugno 1985. Atti III, pp. 1205–1211. Rome: Bretschneider.
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