religio iapygiorum

a gathering of research relating to the religious practices of the pre-roman italic peoples of apulia. run by @orecchietta

[religio-iapygiorum]

right, so: what is this project & why am i doing it?

a quick intro first—i’m e (any pronouns) & i’m a history student of a completely different time period. that’s your first indication not to take my word as fact! i’ll be drawing on & quoting from established scholarship, which i’ll always cite. they’re the real experts, not me, so please do go back and read them if you’re curious & have the language. (you can always message/ask if you’re having trouble accessing papers.)

in general & on a personal note, i’m super interested in life on the peripheries. we’ve got a billion million sources for the polytheisms of rome and athens and a few other greek poleis—awesome, but what about everywhere else?

(why this particular periphery? my ancestors, both very recent & presumably more distant, are from this location. that’s where my interest stems from, but it doesn’t have to be yours—i will not tolerate folkist attitudes in this space.)

ok, so, what is this blog?: a place for me to aggregate research, in english, on the religious practices of pre-Roman Iapygia. this is not my own research—what i’m doing here is not-strictly-academic synthesis of existing research, primarily for a polytheist reconstructionist audience.

the evidence my sources discuss are almost entirely drawn from archaeological research, and most of this research is written in italian. i am not an archaeologist and italian is not my first language (though i can get by), so there’s another handful of reasons to take anything written here with a grain of salt—though of course i’ll always strive to be as accurate of a transmitter & translator as i possibly can.

why am i doing this?: because i wanted something like this to exist, and it didn’t. at the very least, this blog will be a place for me to sort out my own thoughts, organize my notes, and speculate on possible historical practices. at the very most, it’ll be interesting to other people as well.

if you’re interested in learning a bit about pre-roman religion in one region of the italic peninsula, then i’d love to have you along for the trip!

[venomspecs]

Anyone know any good reference for the clothing/general depictions of indigenous Apulian tribes? Especially the ones farther from the Hellenic area of influence. Specifically interested in the Daunians, since their art is really abstract (very lovely tho) and we have some idea of what the other two Iapygian tribes would've worn (dancer fresco for the Peucetian women, for example)

Closest thing I have been able to find are these Greek vases depicting what the MET describes as Oscans, which were present in a large area of the South of Italy including northern Puglia, aka Daunia, so I assume the Daunians (particularly the men, the women in these vases are not identified as Oscans and might just be Messapians/ Apulian Greeks) may have worn something similar.

The second image is particularly interesting to me because the headdresses they're wearing are reminiscent of the ones featured on some Daunian stelae, so I wonder if that's what they're meant to depict and thus if this was assimilated by the Daunians from Oscan culture (though if I'm remembering correctly the stelae with this headress have all been identified as female (don't quote me on that lol), while the vases show this headress on male figures only). These vases are however from the 4th century BC, while the stelae date from the 8th to the 6th, so I'm not sure they can be trusted as accurate representations of Oscan clothing in the 8th and 6th centuries, much less for Daunian clothing, since the connection between the Oscans in these vases and the Daunians is merely speculation

Then of course we have the tattooed arms of Daunian women (really interesting subject btw), both from the stelae and this tomb fresco in Arpi:

As well as this really frequent hairstyle from the stelae, which has been interpreted by some as a long braid with a dried poppy plant tied to it, given the abundance of poppy imagery in Daunian art.

As far as clothing goes though, the actually Daunian-made representations are either really abstract like in the stelae or pottery, or fragmentary like the Arpi fresco, so any details on the shape, color, material and so on are really hard to interpret, so if you know any other, more complete depiction, or alternatively a paper on the subject feel free to drop it in the comments

[religio-iapygiorum]

I wish I had more information on this! Art history is a weak area for me (I’m not great at visual processing).

There could be something in the conference publications of the yearly Convegno Nationale sulla Preistoria - Protostoria - Storia della Daunia (fair warning, there’s a lot to scroll through and only some of it is relevant to the time period).

[religio-iapygiorum]

!!! ok there’s a scholar called Camilla Norman who’s written several relevant works on Daunian women and costume. Here’s her academia.edu page, and these seem especially promising:

“Daunian women: Costume and actions commemorated in stone” (2016)

“Illyrian vestiges in Daunian costume: Tattoos, string aprons and a helmet” (2018)

[venomspecs]

Anyone know any good reference for the clothing/general depictions of indigenous Apulian tribes? Especially the ones farther from the Hellenic area of influence. Specifically interested in the Daunians, since their art is really abstract (very lovely tho) and we have some idea of what the other two Iapygian tribes would've worn (dancer fresco for the Peucetian women, for example)

Closest thing I have been able to find are these Greek vases depicting what the MET describes as Oscans, which were present in a large area of the South of Italy including northern Puglia, aka Daunia, so I assume the Daunians (particularly the men, the women in these vases are not identified as Oscans and might just be Messapians/ Apulian Greeks) may have worn something similar.

The second image is particularly interesting to me because the headdresses they're wearing are reminiscent of the ones featured on some Daunian stelae, so I wonder if that's what they're meant to depict and thus if this was assimilated by the Daunians from Oscan culture (though if I'm remembering correctly the stelae with this headress have all been identified as female (don't quote me on that lol), while the vases show this headress on male figures only). These vases are however from the 4th century BC, while the stelae date from the 8th to the 6th, so I'm not sure they can be trusted as accurate representations of Oscan clothing in the 8th and 6th centuries, much less for Daunian clothing, since the connection between the Oscans in these vases and the Daunians is merely speculation

Then of course we have the tattooed arms of Daunian women (really interesting subject btw), both from the stelae and this tomb fresco in Arpi:

As well as this really frequent hairstyle from the stelae, which has been interpreted by some as a long braid with a dried poppy plant tied to it, given the abundance of poppy imagery in Daunian art.

As far as clothing goes though, the actually Daunian-made representations are either really abstract like in the stelae or pottery, or fragmentary like the Arpi fresco, so any details on the shape, color, material and so on are really hard to interpret, so if you know any other, more complete depiction, or alternatively a paper on the subject feel free to drop it in the comments

[religio-iapygiorum]

I wish I had more information on this! Art history is a weak area for me (I’m not great at visual processing).

There could be something in the conference publications of the yearly Convegno Nationale sulla Preistoria - Protostoria - Storia della Daunia (fair warning, there’s a lot to scroll through and only some of it is relevant to the time period).

[s-c-r-ee-ch]

The contest between Apollo and Marsyas

Puglian red-figure krater

Magno-Grecian civilization, 4th cent. BCE

The contest takes place in the presence of a statue depicting Dionysos with thyrsus and kantharos. A female figure holding thyrsus and kettlerdrum stands by the statue. Apollo with a lyre and Marsyas with his aulos are separated by a laurel tree.

[religio-iapygiorum]

TAOTOR

.: major iapygian deity, possibly a chthonic protector :.

[IMG TRANSCRIPTION: Daxtas Ψaotorrihi. SOURCE: S. Marchesini, “Epigraphe messapiche del Salento," 78.]

.: :.

The sanctuary at Grotta della Poesia ("Cave of Poetry"), pictured below, was dedicated to Taotor. The sanctuary clearly attracted visitors from all over the Mediterranean, based on votive inscriptions found in a number of languages; however, Taotor doesn't appear to have been syncretized with any Roman or Greek deities.

[IMG DESCRIPTION: photo of a natural sinkhole cave along the Salentine coast. SOURCE: Lino M on Flickr]

Grotta della Poesia is a difficult place to get to: Lomas (see below) suggests it might have only been accessible by boat until more recently. The fact that so many people journeyed there despite the difficulty suggests this sanctuary, and therefore worship of Taotor, was clearly significant. Taotor is also placed particularly prominently among a series of three deities on an altar at Rudiae.

Analysis of certain Messapic inscriptions suggests an association of Taotor with the infernal, and Lamboley (cited below) suggests that perhaps Taotor signifies “protector” or “savior”—appropriate names for a chthonic deity being petitioned for aid. Santoro, on the other hand, suggests a relationship with the Indo-European root *teutā, meaning “community” or “civilization.” Taotor is given the epithet Andirahas in inscriptions at Grotta della Poesia.

.: :.

Sources:

Auriemma, Rita, and Flavia Frisone. “I Santuari Costieri Del Salento.” In Nel Mare Dell’intimità. L’archeologia Subacquea Racconta l’Adriatico. 284–285. Roma: Gangemi Editore, 2017.

Lamboley, J.-L. Recherches sur les Messapiens. Roma: École Française de Rome, 1996, 434-5.

Kathryn Lomas. “Crossing Boundaries: The Inscribed Votives of Southeast Italy.” Pallas, no. 86 (October 30, 2011): 311–29. https://doi.org/10.4000/pallas.2208.

Marchesini, Simona. 2015. “Epigrafi messapiche del Salento.” l’Idomeneo 19: 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1285/I20380313V19P69.

Santoro, Ciro. “Il Lessico Del ‘Divino’ e Della Religione Messapica.” In Atti Del IX Convegno Dei Comuni Messapici, Peuceti e Dauni. Societa di Storia per la Puglia, 1989, 72-3.

[religio-iapygiorum]

TAOTOR

.: major iapygian deity, possibly a chthonic protector :.

[IMG TRANSCRIPTION: Daxtas Ψaotorrihi. SOURCE: S. Marchesini, “Epigraphe messapiche del Salento," 78.]

.: :.

The sanctuary at Grotta della Poesia ("Cave of Poetry"), pictured below, was dedicated to Taotor. The sanctuary clearly attracted visitors from all over the Mediterranean, based on votive inscriptions found in a number of languages; however, Taotor doesn't appear to have been syncretized with any Roman or Greek deities.

[IMG DESCRIPTION: photo of a natural sinkhole cave along the Salentine coast. SOURCE: Lino M on Flickr]

Grotta della Poesia is a difficult place to get to: Lomas (see below) suggests it might have only been accessible by boat until more recently. The fact that so many people journeyed there despite the difficulty suggests this sanctuary, and therefore worship of Taotor, was clearly significant. Taotor is also placed particularly prominently among a series of three deities on an altar at Rudiae.

Analysis of certain Messapic inscriptions suggests an association of Taotor with the infernal, and Lamboley (cited below) suggests that perhaps Taotor signifies “protector” or “savior”—appropriate names for a chthonic deity being petitioned for aid. Santoro, on the other hand, suggests a relationship with the Indo-European root *teutā, meaning “community” or “civilization.” Taotor is given the epithet Andirahas in inscriptions at Grotta della Poesia.

.: :.

Sources:

Auriemma, Rita, and Flavia Frisone. “I Santuari Costieri Del Salento.” In Nel Mare Dell’intimità. L’archeologia Subacquea Racconta l’Adriatico. 284–285. Roma: Gangemi Editore, 2017.

Lamboley, J.-L. Recherches sur les Messapiens. Roma: École Française de Rome, 1996, 434-5.

Kathryn Lomas. “Crossing Boundaries: The Inscribed Votives of Southeast Italy.” Pallas, no. 86 (October 30, 2011): 311–29. https://doi.org/10.4000/pallas.2208.

Marchesini, Simona. 2015. “Epigrafi messapiche del Salento.” l’Idomeneo 19: 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1285/I20380313V19P69.

Santoro, Ciro. “Il Lessico Del ‘Divino’ e Della Religione Messapica.” In Atti Del IX Convegno Dei Comuni Messapici, Peuceti e Dauni. Societa di Storia per la Puglia, 1989, 72-3.

[thedansemacabres]

Etruscan Polytheism Server

". . .genetrix et mater superstitionis Etruria . . . Etruria, the begetter and mother of superstition." Arnobius, Adv. nat. 7.26

Rasenna Polytheism is a 16+ Etruscan/Rasenna polytheism community server, run by I and my dear friend Shura/Melisphae, seeking to reconstruct and revive the religious practices of the Etruscans, along with spaces for reconstructing the religious life related groups such as the Raetians.

We have many ongoing projects anyone may contribute to, such as the Etruscan polytheism 101 website, the ever-growing carrd, and divination methods. We also have a library and fully accept witchcraft or any other magical practices! Anyone is welcome, even people who do not plan on interacting with the aiser.

➼ invite link

[religio-iapygiorum]

well, my ILL books finally came in *checks notes* two months ago, so new deity post incoming in the next few days!!! we will meet a god worshiped at one of the most beautiful sanctuary sites in southern Italy ✨

[thedansemacabres]

Ares was not a Thracian or Scythian interloper who came to the Greek Pantheon at a relatively late date, for the names Ares and Enyalios both appear in the Linear B Archives of the Late Bronze Age. Moreover, even at that early date, they appear to be distinct deities, an impression reinforced by the later epigraphic record, in which they are clearly and consistently worshipped as separate deities. Enyalios was worshipped as the god of the Greek war-shout, a martial fury that imbued the Greek warrior with the strength and spirit to meet his enemy head-on. Ares, by contrast, seems to have been closely associated with the land of the city and was its vengeful and violent protector, an Olympian projection of the yeoman-hoplite.

Cults and sanctuaries of Ares and Enyalios: A survey of the literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, by Gonzales, Matthew Paul

[religio-iapygiorum]

MENZANAS

.: iapygian deity associated with horses :.

[IMG TRANSCRIPTION: H Y Z I H … Δ Ε Λ Ε Μ Ε Ζ Η Ν Α Ι | DESCRIPTION: a ring found in the village of Duvanli, Bulgaria, depicting a horse with a rider. | SOURCE: Ivan Duridanov, The Language of the Thracians, VI: The Thracian inscriptions.]

.: :.

While Menzanas is also considered an epithet of Zis (Zeus), and the Roman grammarian Festus calls him Iuppiter Menzana, Menzanas may well have originally been a deity of his own. Just as Iuppiter and Zeus are kings among gods, Menzanas seems to have been super important in Messapia, so it’s….. plausible that your average Roman travel writer was like “oh so he’s Jupiter then, got it.” After Roman conquest, however, inscriptions in sanctuaries show that Jupiter and Menzanas truly were syncretized by worshipers.

“Menzanas” basically means “horse guy” in Messapic. Various Greek/Roman writers mention that a horse was sacrificed each year to Menzanas in Messapia. Even Messapus, the friend of Aeneas who Messapia is named for (by outsiders), was a horse-tamer in the Aeneid.

I’ve seen multiple scholars refer to Menzanas as “la somma divinità”—the supreme divinity of the Messapians. Greek- and Latin-speaking authors describe a yearly ritual among Messapians in which a horse is burned in sacrifice to Menzanas. This is one of the only etic descriptions we have of Iapygian ritual—the rest of our understanding of Iapygian religious practices comes almost entirely from archaeological evidence.

.: :.

Sources:

Ciro Santoro, “Il lessico del ‘divino’ e della religione messapica,” in Atti del IX Convegno dei Comuni Messapici, Peuceti e Dauni, Oria 24-25 novembre 1984 (Bari: Societa di Storia per la Puglia, 1989), 139-80.

J.-L. Lamboley, Recherches sur les messapiens (Roma: École Française de Rome, 1996), 434-435.

Ivan Duridanov, The Language of the Thracians (Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1976). Abridged English translation referenced here: https://groznijat.tripod.com/thrac/index.html]

[religio-iapygiorum]

THANA

.: iapygian deity associated with deer :.

[IMG TRANSCRIPTION (mirrored): Ψana. IMG SOURCE: F.G. D’Andria, Archeologia dei Messapi (Bari: Edipuglia, 1990), 232.]

.: :.

Inscriptions dedicated to Thana are found in several locations across Messapia. One inscription is on a pottery sherd found at the sanctuary of Scala di Furno, where deer bones were also found, and surrounding sherds can be reconstructed to form part of the image of a fawn.

A few scholars suggest that since she is clearly associated with deer, Thana was thus syncretized with Artemis. However, plenty of inscriptions devoted to Artemis (spelled Artamis in Messapic) are also found across Iapygia, so they seem to have been two separate deities in this time and place.

Thana is also the name of a goddess found in Illyria (nearby in the modern-day Western Balkans), where she is a goddess of forestry and hunting. Thana is often portrayed with different iconography from Roman Diana or Greek Artemis; in Illyria, she’s nearly always paired with the deity Vidasus, another woodlands god.

.: :.

Sources:

J.-L. Lamboley, Recherches sur les messapiens (Roma: École Française de Rome, 1996), 431-432.

Maria Teresa Laporta, “Divinità femminili e titoli sacerdotali nel Pantheon messapico,” in Studia di antichità linguistiche in memoria di Ciro Santoro (Bari: Cacucci, 2006), 217-242.

Ciro Santoro, “Il lessico del ‘divino’ e della religione messapica,” in Atti del IX Convegno dei Comuni Messapici, Peuceti e Dauni, Oria 24-25 novembre 1984 (Bari: Societa di Storia per la Puglia, 1989), 139-80.

[religio-iapygiorum]

THANA

.: iapygian deity associated with deer :.

[IMG TRANSCRIPTION (mirrored): Ψana. IMG SOURCE: F.G. D’Andria, Archeologia dei Messapi (Bari: Edipuglia, 1990), 232.]

.: :.

Inscriptions dedicated to Thana are found in several locations across Messapia. One inscription is on a pottery sherd found at the sanctuary of Scala di Furno, where deer bones were also found, and surrounding sherds can be reconstructed to form part of the image of a fawn.

A few scholars suggest that since she is clearly associated with deer, Thana was thus syncretized with Artemis. However, plenty of inscriptions devoted to Artemis (spelled Artamis in Messapic) are also found across Iapygia, so they seem to have been two separate deities in this time and place.

Thana is also the name of a goddess found in Illyria (nearby in the modern-day Western Balkans), where she is a goddess of forestry and hunting. Thana is often portrayed with different iconography from Roman Diana or Greek Artemis; in Illyria, she’s nearly always paired with the deity Vidasus, another woodlands god.

.: :.

Sources:

J.-L. Lamboley, Recherches sur les messapiens (Roma: École Française de Rome, 1996), 431-432.

Maria Teresa Laporta, “Divinità femminili e titoli sacerdotali nel Pantheon messapico,” in Studia di antichità linguistiche in memoria di Ciro Santoro (Bari: Cacucci, 2006), 217-242.

Ciro Santoro, “Il lessico del ‘divino’ e della religione messapica,” in Atti del IX Convegno dei Comuni Messapici, Peuceti e Dauni, Oria 24-25 novembre 1984 (Bari: Societa di Storia per la Puglia, 1989), 139-80.

[religio-iapygiorum]

just a quick note while i’m preparing the first deity posts: Messapic is the name scholars have given to the language spoken across Iapygia. this is a bit confusing, because Messapia (the place) only refers to the southern chunk of Iapygia, but Messapic (the language) was spoken in all of Iapygia.

why? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ maybe because these ethnonyms aren’t always consistent anyway, or because Messapia is where most of the Messapic inscriptions are found. probably both

anyway. Messapic is the language of most of the inscriptions we’re gonna see. it pretty much only survives in fragments—no literature, no long-form anything—so a lot of the linguistic analysis of it is pretty speculative. but i find the bits we do know kinda…. charming? i just like the sounds of it.

here’s a link with a few fragments of Messapic writing; we’ll be seeing more inscriptions like these very soon.

[thegrapeandthefig]

Hades & Persephone worshippers: Research boost

[I'm sharing this call for survey participant with permission.]

Transcript

Are you a Hellenic polytheist who worships Persephone and/or Hades? If so, I’d like to invite you to participate in a research project that will look at how Hellenic Polytheists engage with ancient evidence. Participation will be via an online survey that will take 15-30 minutes and include a series of questions about your interests and your religious practice and ask you to undertake three interpretation tasks. Participation in voluntary, and you can contact me for more information at ellie.mackinroberts(@)bristol.ac.uk. Link: https://arts.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/dread-persephone-and-lord-hades Why am I doing this study? I’m doing this study to try and understand how modern Hellenic Polytheists interpret and engage with ancient source material, and how their understanding of the ancient contexts adds to this interpretation. My hope is to draw some conclusions about how professional ancient historians may be able to assist in the informed research of Hellenic polytheists.

Further context

Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts has been active in academia for a while and some of you may know some of her work, the most notable and recent of which being Underworld Gods in Ancient Greek Religion: Death and Reciprocity, which was her PhD thesis. Others may also know her since she is active on TikTok.

If you are looking for information as to the context of this particular survey and how the information will be used, you can find some info on the survey itself: https://arts.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/dread-persephone-and-lord-hades as well as on her blogpost https://elliemackinroberts.net/2023/08/30/my-first-survey/ but the TL;DR is that she is currently writing a chapter for an upcoming book titled Persephone in Love: Persephone and Hades in Popular Culture in which she intends to study how modern worshippers of Persephone and Hades approach ancient sources.

-

@micromeria you might already know about this, but thought I'd tag you in case this wasn't the case.

[religio-iapygiorum]

hey y’all, i was hoping to have some more posts up by now but this semester is kicking my ass already (entirely my fault, i signed up for too many classes). here are a few ideas i’ve been planning—what would you be interested in seeing first?

next post

evidence for worship practices across iapygia

evidence for burial practices across iapygia

gods & heroes in iapygian art

syncretism with hellenic deities

uniquely(?) iapygian deities

priesthood (not sure if i have enough material for this tbh.….)

greek & roman writings on iapygia

other (comment)

Voting ended onAug 24, 2023

i figured i’d start with broader topics before narrowing in on specific regions/deities/etc, so most of these posts will be overviews!

[religio-iapygiorum]

aaaand it’s a last-minute tie!!!

iapygian deities was solidly in the lead every time i checked on the poll, so maybe i’ll prioritize them? but i’ll focus my research on deities in general!

also: i will not have internet for a short bit, but will post when it returns 🥲

[sillysybilsden]

"Scoperto un tempio romano a Sarsina, in Romagna. E' un capitolium". L'annuncio del Ministero - Stile Arte

"Dai dati raccolti dopo gli scavi emerge che si tratta quasi certamente del Capitolium, di cui rimane il podio rivestito in lastre di marmo,

a little summary for the non-Italian-speaking folks who'll run into this post:

a capitolium - a tripartite temple, that is - has been discovered in the city of Sarsina, province of Forlì-Cesena, Italy. it most likely dates back to the 1st century BCE. more studies will be done on the building, which will probably lead to a deeper understanding of ancient Roman religion.

[religio-iapygiorum]

hey y’all, i was hoping to have some more posts up by now but this semester is kicking my ass already (entirely my fault, i signed up for too many classes). here are a few ideas i’ve been planning—what would you be interested in seeing first?

next post

evidence for worship practices across iapygia

evidence for burial practices across iapygia

gods & heroes in iapygian art

syncretism with hellenic deities

uniquely(?) iapygian deities

priesthood (not sure if i have enough material for this tbh.….)

greek & roman writings on iapygia

other (comment)

Voting ended onAug 24, 2023

i figured i’d start with broader topics before narrowing in on specific regions/deities/etc, so most of these posts will be overviews!