Roman Mythology: A Captivating Guide to Roman Gods, Goddesses, and Mythological Creatures (Classical Mythology) by Clayton Matt

Author:Clayton, Matt [Clayton, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4 — Borrowings from Etruria

“Okay, you’re so smart,” said Kutu Lausa, “tell us why our capital was named for Menrva Velzna, but the Greeks got it all wrong, thinking her name was Pallas Athena.” He lifted his cup to his mouth and took another swig of wine.

Tarquin Pulenas squinted, held his cup aloft for a thoughtful moment, then gulped his remaining wine. Ramtha, his wife, quickly refilled his cup.

Leaning forward, Tarquin looked at his guest and replied, “Yes, I am smart, but also quite aware of our shared histories. Menrva left the capital of Pos—the head city—taking with her hundreds of fellow refugees. She also took with her the knowledge of a mature society, the elements of weaving, furniture making, shipbuilding, fishing and other things basic to the art of civilization. She was fully equipped with the armaments to protect her fragile group, and they set up their outpost on Sherden Island across the Rasna Sea. We Rasenna are direct descendants of those who followed Menrva.

“When she built her capital, she used all her wisdom to reestablish the foundation of civilization.

Her beloved, who she thought had been killed, was actually alive and joined her in building their capital. The people were so overjoyed their savior could benefit from some happiness of her own, they requested the town be named in his honor.

“In the language of the day, towns were called ‘pels.’ And, because his name was Aten, the town was given the name, Pel es Atenai—Town of Aten.”

“But wait,” said Kutu, “that name sounds somewhat Egyptian.”

“Very good, my friend,” replied Tarquin. “It wasn’t Egyptian, but because Menrva and Aten befriended the Egyptians against the Sett, Aten’s name made its way into their legends.

“To continue, ages after Pel es Atenai had succumbed to the rising seas, the children of Menrva’s refugees spread across the world, and some settled in what is today is the Greek homeland. Kekropna was a general of our people, and he led his men to sit on the Acropolis of Athens, long before it received that name. There, they debated what to name their new city. But look—the focus was on the name of a city—not a person.”

Kutu nodded and bit his lower lip thoughtfully.

“Okay, now look at this fact: Pel es Atenai looks very much like the name these ignorant, modern-day Greeks attribute to their goddess—Pallas Athenai—borrowed from us, though they think they originated the legend. It came from us through General Kekropna. But again, they were naming not a person, but a city. So, they gave it a city’s name—Pel es Atenai.

“They debated between Athenai and another great city named Pos. By that time, they had conflated two cities which had good relations, even unto the time of Menrva—Pos, and Onn—but the two cities were not even close to the same location. Later, because of the nature of Pos, they used its name for their god of the sea—Poseidon—Pos and Onn.

“So, finally: Our capital was named Velzna—Menrva’s family name in the ancient homeland toward the setting sun.

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