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The Historical and Religious Context of Vows Fulfilled in Etruscan Temple Foundations1

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The Historical and Religious Context of Vows Fulfilled in Etruscan Temple Foundations1 CHAPTER FIVE THE HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS CONTEXT OF VOWS FULFILLED IN ETRUSCAN TEMPLE FOUNDATIONS1 Ingrid Edlund-Berry The Capitoline temple in Rome is an excellent example of a building for which we have rich archaeological evidence as well as a multitude of historical references.2 Regardless of the problems of determining the exact plan of the temple, and the details of its decoration, it is clearly tied to a time period in Rome when building activities were initiated by the members of a ruling family, in this case the Tarquins. According to the narrative in Livy, the building was fi rst ‘vowed’ by Tarquinius Priscus during the Sabine war (Livy 1.38), completed by Tarquinius Superbus with the help of Etruscan engineers (Livy 1.56), and ultimately dedicated by the newly elected consul, Marcus Horatius Pulvillus, in the fi rst year of the Roman Republic, 509 BCE (Livy 2.8).3 Although seen through the account of later, Roman sources, the Capitoline temple exemplifi es the cultural milieu of Rome during the 6th century BCE. Its layout and decoration fall within the Etrusco-Italic framework, with parallels from Rome itself (temples at S. Omobono: Colonna 2005a and 2006, 155),4 and at neighboring communities to the north (Portonaccio temple at Veii: Colonna 2006, 156–158) and south (Satricum: De Waele 1997 and Colonna 2005b). The account 1 I am grateful to Margarita Gleba and Hilary Becker for taking the initiative of honoring Jean MacIntosh Turfa with a volume of papers by some of her many col- leagues and friends. We have all benefi ted from Jean’s knowledge of Etruscan culture and her generosity in sharing of her time with colleagues and students. 2 For the Capitoline temple, see LTUR 3 (1993), 144–153; Richardson 1992, 221–224. The results of recent excavations by Anna Mura Sommella, published by Mura Som- mella 1998 and 2000, and AA.VV. 2001, are summarized by Colonna 2006, 154–155 and fi g. VIII.33. See also Cifani 2008. 3 For the purpose of the discussion introduced here, I will not delve into the thorny issue of the Tarquin dynasty and the historicity of the dedication of the temple. For a recent analysis of the Tarquins, see Davies 2006. 4 Parallel to the accounts of the Tarquins and the Capitoline temple, the cult of Mater Matuta and the erection of the fi rst temple at S. Omobono are linked to king Servius Tullius. 102 ingrid edlund-berry of its founding and completion, tied to individual names of rulers, is paralleled with the formulas established during the Roman Republic for temples erected as the result of a ‘vow’ or promise to a deity in return for military success or in thanksgiving for favors already granted. As a result, the long list of such votive temples erected during the Roman Republic emphasizes the Roman belief in bargaining with deities and the importance of meeting one’s obligations both in the world of politics and in matters of religion.5 For Rome’s immediate neighbors to the north, the Etruscans, evi- dence of temples from different time periods and of varying size and decoration is plentiful. Due to the absence of local Etruscan historical accounts, however, written records of why these temples were built and who was responsible for their planning and execution, including the cost and manpower, are unfortunately lacking. Even to identify the Etruscan equivalents of such key Latin words as templum (temple), votum (vow), locatio (placement), and dedicatio (dedication)6 we have to reach beyond the recognized lexicographical interpretations based on dedicatory and other types of inscriptions.7 While the Roman sources allow us to follow the creation of a temple from the initial vow to the selection of a site, the actual construction, and the fi nal dedication, the lack of comparable Etruscan textual documentation makes it necessary to view the creation of Etruscan temples with different criteria. In the following, we will examine some of the important Etruscan temples for which a cultual context can be suggested primarily on the basis of archaeological and general historical evidence. As gifts to a deity, both temple buildings and offerings of bronze or terracotta objects were linked to a specifi c place.8 The location of such sacred places, with or without a temple building, is critical for our understanding of the cult practiced there. While votive deposits often appear at given locations tied to the natural setting such as springs, groves, or mountains, temple buildings necessitated a more conscious decision about their placement in relation to a settlement, road, or other 5 See Aberson 1994 and Ziolkowski 1992. 6 For the Latin vocabulary, see Orlin 1997. 7 Following the sage advice of Jean Turfa, I will not quote some of the attempted translations and glossaries provided on a number of web pages. For the vocabulary of dedicatory inscriptions, including words pertaining to ‘giving’, see, for example Bonfante and Bonfante 2002. 8 See, for example, Edlund 1987..
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