02/05/14 Etruscan Phrases showing Etruscan conjugation and declension patterns and vocabulary. Translation of short inscriptions.

Etruscan Phrases
Translation of Short Inscriptions (continued)
Mirrors from the Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum*
Scripts: CBA, CBB, CBC, CBE, CBD, CBG, CBH, CBI, CBJ, CBK, CBL,
CBM, CBN, CBO, CBP, CBQ, CBR, CBS, CBT, CBU, CBV, CBX, CBZ, CCA, CCC

by Mel Copeland
(from a work published in 1981)




     This is a continuation of our presentation on Etruscan mirrors.  They are especially important in understanding the workings of the Etruscan
language since they contain text associated with illustrations.  The illustrations are usually of recognizable Greek myths and thus names used
on the mirrors serve to establish declension patterns of nouns and these patterns then can be referred to other nouns and adjectives, all of which
relate to Latin declension patterns.

     Also, the mirrors convey stories that are somewhat different than the Greek or Roman memory. Some characters on mirrors are historical, such as
TARQUIN, Etr. TARKONOS (TARKVNVS) and TARKIE, whose wife Tanaquil is also recorded on a monument: THANCHVILVS (THANKVILVS).
TARKONOS appears on mirror DL6 in the context of an augur reading a liver and warning him.  This mirror may refer to Lucius Tarqinius
Superbus (535-495 B.C.), 7th king of Rome.  Tanaquil was married to Lucius Tarquinius Priscus or Tarquin the Elder, 5th king of Rome (616-579 B.C.).
     Just as mirror DL6 contributes to our historical understanding - from the Etruscan point of view - we have better information to correct or augment
rumors or comments from Greek and Roman historians. In this group we have mirror CBX-1:
CBX-1 TIRANAII (Tyrrhenians, ancestors of the Etruscans).  Their ancestor, Tyrsenus, the son of the Lydian king Atys, led half of the tribe in Lydia to
Italy for resettlement as a result of a long drought, according to Herodotus "Histories" (484-425 B.C.)
CBX-2 ATVVIS  great-great-great grandfather; in general, an ancestor. (L. atavus-i)
 
     This document is important because it is the oldest extant document that refers to the patriarch of the Etruscans (TIRANAII).  This mirror may, in fact, predate
Herodotus.







Script CBB — France 1, Fasicule I, Musee du Louvre, Figure 39a.
CBB-1 HERCLE [Translation: Hercules, Heracles] Note: the name is written in reverse, as if it were a mold for mirrors.

What is interesting in this mirror is the fact that Heracles is collecting what appears to be blood out of the mouth of the Nemean lion, with Athena standing by.

Script CBA — Deutche Demokratishche Republik, Faszikel II, Berlin Staatliche Museum Antikensammlung, 1986, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1987

CBA-1 SETHLANS (SEΘLANM) Translation: Sethlans, Etruscan name of Dionysus. The character Dionysus is important to understanding what is going on in this mirror.

CBA-2 THANR (ΘANR) [Translation: Thanar, name unknown.  It probably is Deianira (Δῃάνειρα, Deïaneira "man-destroyer."), daughter of Dionysus. "Deianira is the daughter of Althaea and Oeneus ("wine-man" and thus civilized), the king of Calydon, and the sister of Meleager. She also was said to have become the mother of Macaria (who saved the Athenians from defeat by Eurystheus). One version of a late Classical tale relates that she was of such striking beauty that both Heracles and Achelous wanted to marry her and there was a contest to win her hand. Her father had already betrothed her to the fearsome river god Achelous, horned and bull-like. Deianira was not passive, however.
     "This Deianira drove a chariot and practiced the art of war," noted the Bibliotheca (book i, 8:1), but she wanted nothing to do with her suitor, who was able to take the form of a speckled serpent, a bull-headed man, or a bull." [wikipeida.org]  She is remembered as the wife of Heracles who caused his death by giving him a cloth that had the toxic blood of Nessus  on it. Nessus was the Centaur who attempted to rape Deianira after carrying her across a stream.  Heracles came to her rescue and killed him with an arrow. Before dying Nessus gave her his tunic upon which he wiped a mixture of his blood and semen, claiming that the potion would insure Heracle's love for her. Later Deianira learned that Heracles had taken Iole as a concubine. She spread the potion on a tunic and sent it to him, unaware that the Centaur's blood contained deadly Hydra venom.  When Heracles put the tunic on it stuck to his skin and caused him great pain.  When he tried to take it off, pieces of his own flesh came with it.  He made it to Trachis, only to find that Deianira had hung herself when she had realized what she had done. Heracles made a funeral pyre for himself by Mt. Oeta and then climbed into the fire. She is known for vengeance of the dead on the living.   In this context we can see her appealing to a warrior over the head of Tina (TINIA, Etr. Zeus).

CBA-3 TINA [Translation: Etruscan Zeus, Latin Jupiter] Note that his name is spelled TINIA (Nom. Pl. N. -ia), TINI (Dat. Single; i.e., to, for TIN), and TIN. Here Nom. Single -a appears to apply.

CBA-4 THALNA (ΘALNA) [Translation: Nemesis, a  mother of Helen of Troy.
The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning "to give what is due."Zeus (TINIA) wanted to seduce Nemesis. "Nemesis has been described as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus, but according to Hesiod she was a child of Erebus and Nyx. She has also been described as the daughter of Nyx alone. Her cult may have originated at Smyrna. In some metaphysical mythology, Nemesis produced the egg from which hatched two sets of twins: Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. While many myths indicate Zeus and Leda to be the parents of Helen of Troy, the author of the compilation of myth called Bibliotheke notes the possibility of Nemesis being the mother of Helen; Nemesis, to avoid Zeus, turns into a goose, but he turns into a swan and mates with her. Nemesis in her bird form lays an egg that is discovered in the marshes by a shepherd, who passes the egg to Leda. It is in this way that Leda comes to be the mother of Helen of Troy, as she kept the egg in a chest until it hatched." [wikipedia.org]

     The Etruscan version of this story has the Dioscori (brothers of Helen) presenting the egg containing Helen to King Tyndarus (See Mirror DA-3).  Thus, the Dioscori could not have been in the egg laid by Nemesis, according to the Etruscan version. Also, it was not a shepherd who presented the egg to Leda, wife of Tyndarus, but Helen's brothers who presented the egg to King Tyndarus.
     In this mirror, Nemesis is embracing TINIA, almost in a consoling way, while Deianira is appealing to a warrior above his head.  Dionysus is in the picture, and he is the son born of Semele and Zeus, another of Zeus' paramours. He is known as the "twice born," because Zeus took him out of dead mother's womb and sewed the child in his thigh, from which he was born again.  His mother Semele died as a result of seeing Zeus in his real form,  a form which one could not look upon and live.
    The act of Nemesis (retributive justice) consoling Zeus in this scene is puzzling, since he raped her as well.  Why Deianira is calling for what appears to be vengeance is also puzzling, and to make the situation more curious, Nemesis is consoling Zeus against Deianira's appeal to the warrior. By the same token Dionysus has his arm raised up against the action in the scene.
     Apart from this unusual storyline, this mirror is significant because it confirms the name of the consort of Tinia in mirror Divine_Mirror.html, Script DM, THALNA, her name probably derived from "retaliation" (L. talio-onis, f).
     Semele (Etr. SEMLE) appears in mirrors CD-2, MF-3.

 
Script CBJ — Corpus Italia 4, Fasciolo I, Bologna — Museo Civico, "L'erma" di Bretschneider–Roma, 1981: Fig. 6.  (The name SORINA (MVDINA) is replicated on mirrors Fig. 16, Fig. 28d and Fig. 29c in this folio.)

CBJ-1 SORINA Translation:  personal name, or SV RINA (MVDINA) his (L. suo, sua; It. sua, suo; Fr. soi) queen (L. regina-ae; It. regina; Fr. reine) Note: RINA appears at Z530, TC108, TC209, K-10, K31, K47, K70, K80, K101, K108, K147, K163, K181, S22, DA-10. It is used with the name SARINA in the following context:

K45 AVLE SIFEL RINA SARINA Le CL (CL part of K52) [Translation:  the prince (L. aule) and if, but if (L. si; It. se, Fr. si) the great (fel) queen (L. f. regina-ae; It. f. regina; Fr. f. reine) Sarina; there (le)]

K52 (CL)ENSIRIIRILiS CVNACENVE [Translation: the Clensi; of Rhea, old name of Cybele,  (L. Rhea-ae); you relax, weaken, release (L. relaxo-are, Ind. Pres. 2nd Pers. Single relaxās; It. rilassare; Fr. relâcher); she unites by oath (L. coniuro-are, Ind. Pres. 3rd Pers. Single coniūrat); to dine (L. ceno-are)] Note: the E is part of the next word / line; Prince Metelis, statue of an orator, mentions the name of the Clensi (AL-6).


Script CBK — Corpus Italia 4, Fasciolo I, Bologna — Museo Civico, "L'erma" di Bretschneider–Roma, 1981: Fig. 2a.

CBK-1 FILE Translation: by, with or for the son (L. filius-i, Abl. Single -e or Dat. Single -e)
CBK-2 HERCLE Translation: Gr. Heracles, L. Hercules

Note: See Z613 and Z637 for FILE and FILAE at MG-6.

Z614 MALECEIA HIAE TvNAMCISFAC Le AIS FALE Translation: from evil (L. malum-i, Abl. Single -e; adv. male, badly, ill); because (L. quia); oh!, alas! (L. heu!) I would be possessed, inspired (L. attono-tonare-toni-tonitum, Conj. Pres. 1st Pers. Single attonem; Fr. étonner and s'étonneer; in what manner (L. qui, quibus), I make/do (L. facio, facere, feci, factum, Ind. Pres. 1st Pers. Single fáciō) there (Fr. Le) the bronze (L. aes, aeris) he/she will deceive (L. fallo, fallere, fefelli, falsum, Ind. Fut. 3rd Pers. Single fallet)

Z629 MALECEIA HIA E TvNAM CIS FAC LeFILE FALE  Translation:  from evil (L. malum-i, Abl. Single -e; adv. male, badly, ill) because (L. quia) oh!, alas! (L. heu!) I would be possessed, inspired (L. attono-tonare-toni-tonitum, Conj. Pres. 1st Pers. Single attonem; Fr. étonner and s'étonneer; in what manner (L. qui, quibus), I make/do (L. facio, facere, feci, factum, Ind. Pres. 1st Pers. Single fáciō) there (Fr. Le) with or for the son (L. filius-i, Abl. Single -e or Dat. Single -e) he/she will deceive (L. fallo, fallere, fefelli, falsum, Ind. Fut. 3rd Pers. Single fallet)

MG-6 FILAE daughters (L. filia-ae).  Note Script MG is one of several mirrors on the "Judgment of Paris."  The word FILAE is written at the base of the scene. The scene at MG involves the following characters:

MG-2 UNI (VNI) - the goddess Uni, (L. Juno, Gr. Hera) wife of Tinia (L. Jupiter; Gr. Zeus)
MG-3 MENRFA - Minerva, goddess of wisdom and patroness of arts and sciences (L. Minerva-ae; Gr. Athena)
MG-4 ELCINTRE (Alexander) - Note: See Script DM, Divine Mirror.html for the spelling of Alexander's name as ELKINTRE.
MG-5 TVRAN - Turan, goddess of love (L. Venus ; Gr. Aphrodite)
MG-6 FILAE - daughters (L. filia-ae, 1st Decl. Nom. Pl. -ae)

AE15 FILAO:
AE-1 NAS: ARNOLARIS AL: FILAO: Translation: born (L. nascor-i) Arno, name of gens and of chief river in Etruria (L. Arnus-i, m.) from the gods (L. Lars, Laris, Abl. Pl. -is) to him (It. al) son (L. filius-i, A)
FILE is thus Abl. Single, "by, with, from the son" and  FILAO at AE5 would be to, for the son, Dat. Single -o.



Script CBL — Corpus Italia 4, Fasciolo I, Bologna — Museo Civico, "L'erma" di Bretschneider–Roma, 1981: Fig. 4a.  Note: This is an artist illustration of mirror DS.

CBL-1 ATONIS (ATVNIS)
CBL-2 TURAN (TVRAN)
CBL-3 LASA

Note: Lasa appears with a wand and unguent bottle in the Divine_Mirror.html, Script DM.  In Script DR we see a seated goddess SNENAR, (SNENAO) or SNEATH (SNEAΘ) observing the two lovers, Adonis and Aphrodite (ATVNIS and TVRAN).  Snenar (Senir, referring to Myrrh, Smyrna, from Mt. Hermon? Associated with Turan & Adonis)



Script CBM — Corpus Great Britain 2, Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam Collection, Cambridge University, 1993.

CBM-1 HERCLE  Translation: Gr. Heracles, L. Hercules
CBM-2 PAC ISTE Translation: I pacify (L. paco-are, Ind. Pres. 1st Pers. Single pācō, pacify, make peaceful; poet. make fruitful; as "pac iste" = I pacify; that of yours (L. iste, ista, istud)

Note: This phrase is of interest, since it may reflect a Latin memory of an Etruscan phrase.  Latin Ind. Pres. 1st Pers. Single is pācō.  Etruscan 1st Pers. Single always drops the vowel "o," distinguishing between the first person and the infinitive, paco.

This is the same image as mirror CL and corrects the translation.




Script CBO — Corpus Great Britain 2, Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam Collection, Cambridge University, 1993.

CBO-1 PRIVMNE  HELAS (HELAM) ATREMEPIE CFA TAI.......  Translation: PRIAM, last king of Troy (L. Priamus-i) Helas (name unknown; perhaps it is Priam's son Helanus, who was a seer.  He vainly warned Paris that he would come to disaster if he sailed to Sparta, and the last of his prophesies was that Aeneas would found Rome; he will weaken, come to ruin  (L. attero-terere-trivi-(-terui)-tritum, Ind. Fut. 3rd Pers. SinCe atteret. MEPIE is an unknown name. It may be a phrase, ME PIE CFA: by, from, with me (L. Abl. me) with piety (L. pius-a-um-Abl. -e; pietas-atis; It. pio, pious; Fr. pieux, pious) he may assemble, collect together (L. coeo, ire, Conj. 3rd Pers. Single coeat) TAI......(unreadable). Note: This mirror is important since it gives us the Etruscan name of Priam , PRIVMNE.  The “-ne” suffix is an augmentative, used as in Italian, -ona, -one, distinguishing something larger or greater.





Script CBP — Corpus the Netherlands, E.S. Brill - Leden - 1983, by L. Bouke Van Der Meer.

CBP-1 THETHIS (ΘEΘIS) Thetis, a Nereid, sea-nymph, mother of Achilles (L. Thetis-idis or idos) .  She was a shape changer.  She appears at MM-3, MR-4, CQ-1, CR-1.
CBP-2 PELEI Peleus, father of Achilles.

Note: Zeus had attempted to seduce Thetis but refrained from doing so when he heard that she was fated to produce a child greater than her father.  They decided to marry her off to a mortal and chose Peleus.  She was a shape-changer, however, and would escape his advances, as she escaped Zeus.  So Zeus and Hera told him to wait until she was sleeping and then he could catch her.  He saw her in a cave asleep and grabbed her, but she subsequently changed  into fire, water, a lioness and a tree, but finally succumbed to Peleus' persistence and consented to be his wife.

It was at their wedding the strife that caused the Trojan war began.  All of the gods had been invited to the wedding except Eris, the goddess of strife.  Resenting the fact that she was not invited, she threw a golden apple into the wedding party. Upon it were written the words "for the fairest."  Immediately Hera, Athena and Persephone concluded that the apple was for one of them.  Not concluding which one of them was the fairest and most deserving of the apple they chose the fairest man in the land to judge, and his name was Paris (aka Alexander). After receiving many lucrative promises from the godesses, he chose Aphrodite and she rewarded him with the hand of the fairest woman of that time, whose name was Helen.  Unfortunately, Helen was already betrothed to Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon.



Script CBR — Corpus Deutsche Demokeratische Republic, Faszikel 1, Berlin - Staatlich Museen, Akademie - Verlag, Berlin 1986. Fig 4b.

CBR-1 VRVSTHE (VRVSΘE) Orestes
CBR-2 ATIM ATLV to the black, dark, dead, gloomy, malicious  (L. ater, atra, atrum) from, with Atlas (L. Atlas-antis, Acc. Single -o)




Script CBS — Corpus Deutsche Demokeratische Republic, Faszikel 1, Berlin - Staatlich Museen, Akademie - Verlag, Berlin 1986. Fig 20a.


CBS-1 KALES or KVLES (unknown name) The image is of a lion, and the Etruscan name of a lioness (L. lea-ae and laena; 1st Decl. Single Gen. -ae = -i). The word appears to decline: LEA, LEIM (to the lioness, L. lea-ae and laena, 1st Decl. Acc. -am or 3rd Decl. Acc. -em)




Script CBT — Corpus Denmark I, Copenhagen - The Danish National Museum, the NY Carlsberg Glypothek, Odens Univ. Press, 1981, Fig. 13a.


CBT-1 MENRFA (Gr. Athena, L. Minerva)
CBT-2 TVRMS (Gr. Hermes, L. Mercury)
CBT-3 UNI (Gr. Hera, L. Juno)
CBT-4 TINIA (Gr. Zeus, L. Jupiter)


CCD — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 1, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1987, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 42a.

CCD-1 PELE (Peleus)
CCD-2 THETHIS (ΘEΘIS)

Post Script:

Several Etruscan mirrors contain images with a tripple-dot pattern.  These are:
Script DM (Divine_Mirror.html)
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr.IMG_1690
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr. IMG_1726
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr.IMG_1742
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr. IMG_1744
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr. IMG_1746
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr. IMG_1747
Mirror tripple-dot.Etr. IMG_1748




Notes:

* Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum, a multivolume work. Copies I examined are in the University of California Library, catalogued in the Pathfinder UCB Library Catalogue. Volumes used on this site are as indicated. The mirrors selected on this site are the only ones that I found containing text. About three of the mirrors were identified as "modern," suspected of being fakes. Their text is not referred to in "Etruscan Phrases."
**Mythology based upon Edward Tripp's "The Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology," New American Library, 1970.

—Θ

Etruscan Phrases home

Launched 01.15.2014
Updated 02.05.2014

Upadated:

Copyright © 1981-2014 Maravot. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1981-2014 Mel Copeland. All rights reserved.



Script CBC — France 1, Fasicule I, Musee du Louvre, Figure 39b.

Script CBC-1 HERCLE .

This is another version of the same mirror, CBB.  No doubt it was a popular theme.



CBE— France 1, Fasicule III, Musee du Louvre, Figure 1.

CBE-1 TVRAN [Translation: Turan, Gr. Aphrodite]
CBE-2 RVLINA or THVLINA (ΘVLINA) Translation: unknown



Script CBD —  Corpus Italia 2, Fasciolo I, Bologna — Museo Civico, "L'erma" di Bretschneider–Roma, 1981: Fig. 41a.

CBD-1  CRVISIE
CBD-1 TALIRA or TALITHA

This mirror recalls two characters that we cannot discern.



Script CBF — France 1, Fasicule III, Musee du Louvre, Figure 3.
 

CBF-1 ANCHAS (ANAS) A name given to Zeus who changed into a goose in his chase after Nemesis (Etr. THALNA (ΘALNA)
CBF-2 THALNA (ΘALNA), mother of Helen of Troy, who was raped by Zeus and produced an egg that hatched Helen of Troy, who was known as the most beautiful woman of the time.



Script CBG — France 1, Fasicule III, Musee du Louvre, Figure 4.

CBG-1 VRSTE [Translation: Orestes.  Orestes is shown in mirrors MM-4, CT-3, DF.
CBG-2 CEL ARVN [Translation:  of the kind that (L. qualis-e) of the younger son (L. Aruns, "an Etruscan name for the younger son")
CBG-3 CERCA [Translation: the oak, sometimes a crown of oak leaves, thus, "by the crown"  L. quercus-us; Abl. Single -a or "for the crown," Dat. Single -a.

Orestes is known for murdering his mother Clytemnestra (Etr. CLVTHVMUSTHA), wife of Agamemnon, sister of Helen of Troy, in revenge for her and her lover having murdered Agamemnon in his bath.  The murder is shown in mirror DF.



Script CBH — France 1, Fasicule III, Musee du Louvre, Figure 7.
CBH -1 VENOS [Translation: L. Venus, Gr. Aphrodite, Etr. Turan]
CBH -2 DI OVEM [Translation: God (L. god (L. deus, divus, di, divi, dea, diva; It. dio, dia; Fr. dieu, dieux, deese)) of the egg (L. ovum-i; Nom. Single N. -um)
CBH- 3 PROSET NAIS [Translation: a prostitute? (L. proseda-ae) a water-nymph (L.Naias-adis and Nais-idis)

This mirror has a curious story.  Venus is covering her face with a cloth and a young man holding a branch is pointing to a chest.  The text appears to be Latin. Note the letters P and R.




Script CBI — France 1, Fasicule III, Musee du Louvre, Figure 8.

CBI-1 TASEOS [Translation: Tatius? Titus Tatius was a king of the Sabines who led his people against Rome to avenge the treacherous abduction of their daughters by the Romans.
CB-2 LUQ ORCOS
CBI-3 PILO NICOS TASEI OFIL [Translation a division of the triarii in the Roman army (L. pilus-i) You destroy (L. neco-are, Ind. Pres. 2nd Pers. Single necas) the Tasei sheepfold,  enclosure (L.ovile-is)



CBU — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 4, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1995, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 7.

CBU-1 ARTVMIS (Gr. Artemis, L. Diana)
CBU-2 APVLV (Apollo)



CBW — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 4, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1995, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 32b.

CBW-1 LARAN (unknown name)
CBW-2 CVRLVN  (unknown name)
CBW-3 CANVL (unknown name)
CBW-4 MARIS (MARIM) Gr. Ares, L. Mars.





CBX — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 4, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1995, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 34c.

CBX-1 TIRANAII (Tyrrhenians, ancestors of the Etruscans.  Their ancestor, Tyrsenus, the son of the Lydian king Atys, led half of the tribe in Lydia to Italy for resettlement as a result of a long drought.
CBX-2 ATVVIS great-great-great grandfather; in general, an ancestor
(L. atavus-i)

This is perhaps the most important of the Etruscan texts, since it records the ancestor of the Etruscans, the Tyrrhenians (spelled Tiranaii by the Etruscans).  The spelling of "Tyrrhenians" comes from Herodotus.  This mirror may predate Herodotus' "Histories." In any event, it is the Etruscan record of their ancestor that we can depend upon, no longer hearsay from the Greeks and the Romans. Most importantly, it is the oldest extant document that refers to the patriarch of the Etruscans (TIRANAII).



CBY — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 3, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1990, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 34c.

CBY-1 ARTVMES (Gr. Artemis, L. Diana)
CBY-2 MENRFA (Gr. Athena, L. Minerva)
CBY-3 MI: RAMTHAS PAITHNAS Translation: to me, myself  (L. meus-a-um; mihi, Dat. It. mi, myself) Rhadamanthys or Rhadamanthus for, by means of (L. per; It. per; Fr. par) (by) patience (L. patiens-entis, Acc. Pl. -as)

Note: The image is of Proteus and the name may be Rhampsinitus, another name of Proteus, "The Old Man of the Sea." A minor sea-deity. Like Nereus, Proteus was often called the Old Man of the Sea and was Poseidon's sealherd. Some say Poseidon was his father , but Proteus may well have been a more ancient god of the sea.  Disguised as seals, at  the advise of the nymph Eidothea, Menelaus and his three companions waited for Proteus to emerge from the sea at noon to count his flock of seals and rest with them in a sea-cave.  They found Proteus asleep and bound him, hoping to get advise on how to get home from the Egyptian island of Pharos. But Proteus was a shape-shifter, and changed sucessively into a lion, a nsake, aleaopard, a boar, water and a tree.  He finally resumed his own form and consented to give Menelaus the information he needed.
     Although the image of the sea creature matches up with the character of Proteus, it is puzzling that he is advising Minerva and Artemis "to be patient." It seems like good advise but why them?





CBZ — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 2, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1990, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 5a.

CBZ-1 MANRFA (Gr. Athena, L. Minerva)
CBZ-2 TVRAN (Gr. Aprhodite, L. Venus)
CBZ-3 EPI VR (unresolved name); This name appears above a cherub held in the arms of HERCLE in the "Divine Mirror" Script DM.
CBZ-4 HERCLE (Gr. Heracles, L. Hercules)
CBZ-5 MEAN (a Lydian goddess who also appears in several mirrors, in one of which she is seated, like a nature goddess.) In script DM she appears like Artemis or Diana, with a deer at her feet.  What she is doing in this view of Heracles presenting a child to these goddesses is a mystery, as well as his function in script DM which describes the marriage of Helen, queen of Sparta, to Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon. It is a very complex storyline, and why it begins with Heracles presenting Epe Vr to Tinia and and this case to the other goddesses is quite puzzling.




CCA — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 2, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin, Antikensammlung 2, 1990, Hirmer Verlag, München, Fig. 18a.

CCA-1 LASA (an angelic being that appears in many mirrors.) 

CCA-2 TINIA (Gr. Zeus, L. Jupiter) TIN, Etruscan supreme god, declines: Tin, Tina, Tini, Tinia, gen. Tina may be Abl. –a, “by, with, from Tinia.”

CCA-3 MARIS (Gr. Ares, L. Mars)



CCC — Bundesrepublik Deutchland 1, Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin,  Hirmer Verlag, München, 1987, Fig 13a.


CCC-1 RESAN  (unknown name).  This image shows a character with a winged helmet, suggesting an identity as the messenger of the gods, like Gr. Hermes, L. Mercury and Etr. Turms.  However, it is possible that the image is of a patriarch of the RASNA, a name the Etruscans called themselves.  RASNA declines: RASNA, used at Z158, TC40, TC216, PO-7; RASNE, used at K24, K115, K124; RASNES, used at K119; RAS, used at VP19, Z843 and RASIIA at BR2.  RESAN declines: RESA, used at TC112, RESAN, used at Z439, Z470, Z1423; and RESANE at Z455.  The word may be "disclose, to open, reveal"  (L. resero-are), in which case a name may be derived from the meaning.  RESANE, at Z455, appears to be a name, as the -NE and  -N, -NES suffix appears to be an augmentative, used as in Italian (-one, -ona) to denote something of greater size.