Śuri

Śuri (Etruscan: 𐌑𐌖𐌛𐌉, lit. 'black'), Latinized as Soranus, was an ancient Etruscan infernal, volcanic and solar fire god, also venerated by other Italic peoples – among them Capenates, Faliscans, Latins and Sabines – and later adopted into ancient Roman religion. He was variously depicted as: a crowned young man wielding a spear or bow and arrows; an enthroned black-bearded man with a wolf-skin cap or wolf-like appearance; or even a winged humanoid monster, usually wielding a sledgehammer or a sword.

Name and attributes The Etruscan theonym Śuri (Etruscan: 𐌑𐌖𐌛𐌉, from 𐌑𐌖𐌛, śur, 'black') means both 'black' and 'from the black [place]', i.e. the underworld. Śuri was essentially a chthonic solar deity: the volcanic fire god of light and darkness, lord of the sun and the underworld, with powers over health and plague as well. Furthermore, as god of volcanic lightning, he was considered to be among the Novensiles, the nine Etruscan thunder gods. He was also an oracular god. His sacred animals were wolves and goats.

Epithets and Greco-Roman equivalents

Because of his multiple attributes, the Etruscan fire god Śuri bore many epithets, among them infernal theonyms – consistently associated with kingship over the Manes (underworld deities), infernal and volcanic attributes, fire, lightning, wolves and goats – like Manth (𐌌𐌀𐌍𐌈, Manθ, Latinized as Mantus), Vetis (𐌅𐌄𐌕𐌉𐌔, also spelt 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌅𐌉𐌔, Veivis, variously Latinized as Vēdius, Vēdiovis, Vēiovis or Vēive), Calu (𐌂𐌀𐌋𐌖), lit. 'dark' or 'darkness' or 'underworld', and – by interpretatio graeca – the equivalent foreignism Aita (𐌀𐌉𐌕𐌀, also spelt 𐌄𐌉𐌕𐌀, Eita), from Epic Greek: Ἄϊδης, romanized: Áïdēs, lit. 'Hades' or 'underworld', syncretised with Roman Dīs Pater; as well as solar theonyms – consistently associated with solar and volcanic attributes, fire, lightning, wolves and goats – like Rath (𐌛𐌀𐌈, Raθ), Usil (𐌖𐌔𐌉𐌋, also spelt 𐌖𐌑𐌉𐌋, Uśil), lit. 'light' or 'sun', and the equivalent foreignism Apulu (𐌀𐌐𐌖𐌋𐌖, also spelt 𐌀𐌐𐌋𐌖, Aplu), from the Greco-Roman Apollo, identified with Śuri (Latin: Soranus) and later syncretised by the Romans as Apollo Soranus or Apollo Soractis. These theonyms were also associated on Pyrgi inscriptions.

Worship

Cult centers The center of his cult was Mount Soracte, a sacred mountain located north of Rome, isolated in the middle of the countryside, in an area characterized by deep karst cavities and secondary volcanic phenomena; these phenomena were associated in antiquity with underworld deities, whom the area was hence sacred to, such as the Roman Dīs Pater, syncretised with Śuri (Latin: Soranus). Multiple cities were dedicated to this deity, among them the twin cities of Surina (Soriano) and Surina (Viterbo), in the present-day province of Viterbo, Latium, as well as the city of Sorano, in the present-day province of Grosseto, Tuscany. Furthermore, his theonym Manth (Latin: Mantus) is the eponymous of Mantua (Etruscan: Manthva, Italian: Mantova), birthplace of Virgil, who also mentioned the volcanic god in the Aeneid. This theonym was primarily used in the Po Valley (Etruria Padana, Northern Italy), as described by Servius, but a sanctuary with dedications from the Archaic period was also found in Pontecagnano, province of Salerno (Etruria Campana, Southern Italy). Besides, according to Mauro Cristofani, the sun god was also worshipped in Cortona, Populonia and Magliano. Temples and votives were also found in Tuscania and Tarquinia, where there are also traces of a priestly college.

Worshippers

The priests of Soranus were called Hirpi Sorani, lit. 'Wolves of Soranus' (from Sabine: hirpus, lit. 'wolf'). They were considered skillful ornithomantists and firewalkers; during the ceremonies, they walked on hot coals, holding the entrails of sacrificed goats. 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. The Lupercalia, in the Roman religion, probably derive from these priests. 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.

Partners

Śuri has been historically associated with two female partners: the aforementioned Feronia, celebrated alongside him and considered to be his sister-in-law, whose major sanctuary (Latin: Lucus Feroniae) was located near Mount Soracte; and Catha (𐌂𐌀𐌈𐌀, Caθa), considered to be his consort, goddess of the moon and the underworld. Paired with Śuri and all his epithets, his consort Catha also bore several ones, which varied accordingly, e.g.: his theonym Manth (Latin: Mantus) was paired with Mania (𐌌𐌀𐌍𐌉𐌀), whereas his theonym Aita was paired with Persipnei (𐌐𐌄𐌛𐌔𐌉𐌐𐌍𐌄𐌉, also spelt 𐌘𐌄𐌛𐌔𐌉𐌐𐌍𐌀𐌉, Phersipnai), equivalent to the Greco-Roman theonym Persephone (Latin: Proserpina).

Liver of Piacenza

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. Initially, some researchers supposed that the first lobe, where the gods of the lights and heavens are listed, could represent him, whereas the second an hypothetical partner named Tiur. In fact, his name appears next to the word tiur (lit. 'moon' or 'month'), that was purported to be the name of a lunar goddess, allegedly his consort, but since tiur actually meant "moon" and "month" (lunar month, equivalent to Greek mēnē), that inscription was most likely meant as a datation, as in the Pyrgi Tablets, while his consort, also known by multiple epithets, was actually named Catha.

Mentions and iconography

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