Aita
Etruscan underworld deity
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Aita (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌉𐌕𐌀), also spelled Eita (Etruscan: 𐌄𐌉𐌕𐌀), is an epithet of the Etruscan chthonic fire god Śuri[1][2][3][4] as god of the underworld, roughly equivalent to the Greek god Hades (Epic Greek: Ἄϊδης, romanized: Áïdēs).[5]
Images
Aita is a relatively late addition to the Etruscan pantheon, appearing in iconography and in Etruscan texts beginning in the 4th century BC, and is heavily influenced by his Greek counterpart, Hades.[6][7] Aita is pictured in only a few instances in Etruscan tomb painting, such as in the Golini Tomb from Orvieto and the tomb of Orcus II from Tarquinia.[8] In these tomb paintings, he is shown with his consort Persipnei (Etruscan: 𐌐𐌄𐌛𐌔𐌉𐌐𐌍𐌄𐌉), also spelled Phersipnai (Etruscan: 𐌘𐌄𐌛𐌔𐌉𐌐𐌍𐌀𐌉), the Etruscan equivalent of the Greek Persephone.[9]
Although Aita is very rarely depicted, he may appear enthroned and sometimes wears a wolf cap, borrowing a key attribute from the earlier Etruscan underworld wolf deity, named Calu.[10] Other examples of Aita in Etruscan art depict his abduction of Persipnei. Aside from tomb painting, Aita may be identified in a few examples in other media, including a 4th-century painted vase from Vulci, two 2nd-century alabaster ash urns from Volterra, and a red-figure 4th–3rd century Oinochoe.[11]