At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. the ancient civilization Etruria flourished in northern Italy. The Etruscans left behind famous cities and cultural monuments. They founded the Eternal City of Rome, created the symbol of Rome - the capitoline wolf, and its pride - the aqueduct, as well as the control system that became a role model in the ancient world. The Etruscans were skilled sailors, rivals of the Greeks and allies of the Carthaginians.
Nevertheless, starting with Herodotus, there is a dispute in science about the Etruscans - who they are, where they came to Italy from and where they lived before they appeared on the Apennine Peninsula. Numerous words that are currently known to the whole world come from the Etruscan language: magistrate, cistern, ceremony, tavern, persona, litera and many others. And at the same time, the Etruscan language remains a secret behind seven seals, and one can only guess about the content of the few surviving texts. But the most amazing thing is that the Etruscan culture is completely different from others, so it is very difficult to penetrate its secrets.
Herodotus argued that the Etruscans were part of the Lydians - the people of Asia Minor, forced to seek a new homeland due to the prolonged famine that raged in their lands. Herodotus also writes that the Lydians moved to Italy immediately after the Trojan War.
Initially, in the X-IX centuries. BC e., the Etruscans lived in the northern part of present-day Italy, in Etruria (later it became known as Tuscany, the Etruscans were also called "Tosca", or "Tuscan"). Then their influence spread to all of Central Italy and part of the Mediterranean. Their colonies appeared in the south of the Apennine Peninsula, in Corsica, Malta and other islands. According to the Romans, the Etruscan kingdom was a confederation of twelve cities (a number of them have already been excavated by archaeologists), but there is information about many others located south of Etruria, in the valley of the Po river and at the foot of the Central Alps.
The most valuable information about the culture of the mysterious Etruscan people is provided by numerous tombstones - stone sarcophagi, the lids of which are made in the form of figures of people buried under them. Most often they depict the so-called lucumons - either kings, or priests, or sorcerers who worshiped the forces of hell. The Lucumons were the secular and spiritual rulers of the Etruscans. Only they knew a certain secret teaching, into which they were initiated … by the demons of the dungeon.
In one of the ancient Latin dictionaries, the following definition of lucumons has been preserved: "People who were called that because of their madness, because the places they approached became dangerous." Obviously, the lucumon had a special (magical) power that spread to the surrounding space and was fatal to ordinary people.
One of the Etruscan legends tells about the hero Tarhona, the founder of the twelve-city of Etruria. Tarhon revered as his father Dita - the great deity of the underworld. Arranging the city, he always made a special depression in its center - "mundus", through which the earthly world could communicate with the underground. The Etruscans believed that human life, the life of the city and the people in general, are closely connected with space and, like fate, depend on divine will.
Mundus was considered a focus that combined the magical power of the king and cosmic forces. In this place the worlds converged and the transition to the heavenly and underground kingdoms was possible. It is no coincidence that sacrifices were made here to the gods, including human ones, ritual gladiatorial battles were carried out, later adopted by the Romans. The executioner, who finished off mortally wounded gladiators, wore the mask of the demon of death Haru and his hammer. The bodies of the dead gladiators were carried away from the arena by a priest in the mask of the serpentine demon Tuhulka.
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In February 1972, the world press reported on a sensational discovery by Italian archaeologists - a magnificent Etruscan tomb was found that belonged to … Aeneas!
The Romans considered themselves the descendants of Aeneas, who fled from flaming Troy, but it is known that they borrowed the cult of the Trojan hero from the Etruscans. The burial chamber, made of hewn stones, turned out to be a false tomb - a cenotaph. There was also a platform with traces of sacrifices that were performed for many centuries in a row. It was clear that this was a kind of monument to the hero. Apparently, it was no coincidence that the Etruscans worshiped Aeneas, who came from distant Asia Minor Troy, since most likely, as Herodotus argued, they came from those places.
Today archaeologists have excavated more than six thousand tombs. Many of them cause surprise and admiration for the skill of ancient artists who painted the walls of underground crypts. In the famous Etruscan city of Tarquinia, 150 painted tombs have been discovered.
Birds, dolphins, animals and people - musicians, priests, fighters, beautiful women - this is the main content of the frescoes. But no less popular were the images of evil demons holding huge hammers in their hands. They are the guardians of the underworld, where any Etruscan entered after death. In fact, as established by archaeologists, the deceased entered his tomb in a chariot. For this purpose, tunnel-like roads were specially built, which were cut through the tuff at a depth of 10–15 m. The length of such tunnels was from a kilometer or more. The tombs also contained magnificent decorations and household items, including vases and mirrors used for ritual purposes. Etruscan deities are depicted on them and their names are inscribed - Tin, Uni, Herkle, Satr, Semla, Tag and many others, including Kupavon, a name that aroused natural interest among Russian scientists.
For the first time this deity is mentioned by Virgil in the poem "Aeneid". The Roman poet (he himself traced his origin from a noble Etruscan family) Kupavon - the leader of the Veneti, that is, the Slavs. Historians rightly see the similarity of the name Kupavon with the character of East Slavic myths Kupala and, on the basis of some other parallels, draw a conclusion about the common origin of these peoples.
From the book: "100 Great Mysteries of History". Nikolai Nepomniachtchi