The Obituary
Nethuns was the Etruscan god of wells, fresh water and the sea, counterpart to the Greek Poseidon and the Roman Neptune, whose very name is thought to derive from his. He began as a deity of springs and wells before extending his rule over the sea, and he appears among the gods inscribed on the bronze Piacenza Liver used for divination. As Rome absorbed Etruria over the last centuries BCE, Nethuns was merged into Neptune and his independent worship dissolved. By the first century BCE the trident had passed to the Roman god and Nethuns sank from memory.
Worth remembering
- He began as a god of fresh water — springs and wells — before taking on dominion over the sea, much like the Greek Poseidon.
- On the bronze Piacenza Liver used for divination, Nethuns is among the gods assigned a region of the sky, marking his place in Etruscan ritual.
Sources
- Nethuns was the Etruscan god of wells, water and the sea, the counterpart of the Roman Neptune and Greek Poseidon. Wikipedia
- The Roman god Neptune's name is thought to derive from or be linked to the Etruscan Nethuns. World History Encyclopedia
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.