Usil is the Etruscan god of the sun, shown to be identified with Apulu (Apollo). His iconic depiction features Usil rising out of the sea, with a fireball in either outstretched hand, on an engraved Etruscan bronze mirror in late Archaic style, formerly on the Roman antiquities market.[1] On Etruscan mirrors in the Classical style, Usil appears with an aureole.
He was identified with Apulu; appearing on an Etruscan mirror from the Vatican dating from the 4th century BC, on which Usil is seen holding the bow of Apulu.[2]
Usil was identified with the Roman Sol and Greek Helios. However, while Usil is depicted as male in some artwork, there are also feminine depictions.[3][4] There is also a connection with the indigenous Etruscan goddess Catha, who has been interpreted as having a solar character, however she has also been identified with a Lunar character.[5] In artwork, Usil is shown in close association with the dawn goddess Thesan, something almost never seen with Helios and Eos.[6]
Catha has been identified as "Solis Filia" meaning "Sun's Daughter", making Usil her father.[7]
- ^ Noted by J. D. Beazley, "The World of the Etruscan Mirror" The Journal of Hellenic Studies 69 (1949:1–17) p. 3, fig. 1.
- ^ Nonoss 2015.
- ^ Haynes 2000.
- ^ De Grummond 2008.
- ^ de Grummond, Nancy T. (2008). "Moon over Pyrgi: Catha, an Etruscan Lunar Goddess?". American Journal of Archaeology. 112 (3): 419–428. doi:10.3764/aja.112.3.419. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 20627480. S2CID 193046316.
- ^ De Grummond & Simon 2006.
- ^ de Grummond, Nancy Thomson (2004). "For the Mother and for the Daughter: Some Thoughts on Dedications from Etruria and Praeneste". Hesperia Supplements. 33: 351–370. ISSN 1064-1173. JSTOR 1354077.