Now, you may wonder what difference it makes that the 16 sections on the border can be cleverly reduced to 14 so that there are seven deities on either side. Some of you may have read much on these 16 regions of the sky and presumed that this was just a twin-doubling of the quadridirectional sky. So if you start with the almost-universal "4-direction model" of the cosmos, ancient philosophers might have decided to double that scheme to eight directions at some point. And then by doubling it again, we get the 16 directions that the Etruscans worshipped. Why then should we be entertaining my crazy insight above if it contradicts this one? The great thing about religious artifacts is that their symbolism is normally rich with layers and history. There would be no contradiction in believing that both ideas are correct at once, that 16 divisions are merely a quadrupling of an earlier 4-direction cosmos and that the 16 deities placed on the rim of the liver model were once 14 in number. You see, while the 16-direction cosmos simply originates from a general floorplan of the cosmos, the 14 original gods I suggest may stem from mythological tales instead. At some point, we might presume that these 14 gods were made to "fit" a 16-direction cosmos by tripling Tinia, the head god of the pantheon. Tripling him had the benefit of not only linking the divided skies with the existing pantheon, but it also cleverly made it clear the immense importance he was given over all other gods, as their leader.
The connection between the outer and inner 'houses' has its limitsI wish I didn't have to say something so obvious, but the rim which lists 16 gods is largely seperate from the inner regions of the Piacenza liver model. The outer regions really only pertain to the sky and this logically means that they pertain not to haruspicy itself but rather to other known forms of divination in Etruria, namely auspicy (i.e. the interpretation of the movement of birds for omens) and brontoscopy (i.e. the interpretation of lightning as omen). It is the inner regions that directly impact on haruspicy and probably have little bearing to the other forms of divination. Since the model cleverly combines all of these divination practices together into a cosmological model, Etruscologists are left to try to piece together how it all interrelates and how it's all different. In my view so far, the purpose of this model by its creator ended at combining these divinatory practices together into a single model as a brief artistic statement of how these practices are connected by way of uncovering the future, but we're no doubt asking too much of the model to provide us with signs of their interrelationships on top of this.
When Nancy De Grummond writes "There are an additional 24 houses (nos. 17-40) on the interior of the Liver and it is not certain exactly how these relate to the 16 regions."[1], it would appear that she's too mentally removed from the fundamental purpose and meaning of this artifact just as an autistic person is detached from the full meaning of his or her surroundings. Maybe that was a politically incorrect analogy for some of you but it gets my point across quickly.[2]
To sum up then, we can just say that the outer regions are for auspicy and brontoscopy while the inner regions are for haruspicy. Simple? Good.
Usil and Tivr inscribed underneath are not part of the model!!!
There is a common assumption by current scholars that usils and tivr, two lonely words inscribed beneath the model, are to be counted along with the other regions on the top side of the model.[3] Upon my own reflections on this artifact, I can now assert confidently that this is false. For one thing, if this were true, we'd expect that both words would be marked in the genitive, but only one is (usil-s) while the other is in the unmarked nominative case (tivr). This assumption is even more empty because it's only based on an older erroneous assumption that the word usil must mean "sun". To add to the dubiousness of that claim, the word came to first be connected with "sun" words in Indo-European like Sabine ausel (< PIE *séh₂wl̥) before it was realized that Etruscan just isn't an Indo-European language. Sadly, this lie is still propogated in modern books. The only "proof" offered in favour of this hypothesis are a couple of mirrors that show a man named Usil with an aura on his head (see pic), but of course an aura doesn't conclusively prove that this character is automatically a sun god (as opposed to, say, a god of sunset, god of light, god of a particular star, etc., etc., etc.). If this is all university academics can come up with, we need to start failing more students.
The fact is that the word cannot sensibly have that value in the Liber Linteus texts where we find the word and its derivatives in reasonable abundance. I feel safe in the value I've now given usil as "setting (of the sun, moon or stars)"[4]. If you pay attention to the results of my dictionary pdf, you may in fact have already figured out what the phrase tivr usils refers to. However for now, keep in mind that the line on the underside merely signifies an east-west line (the decumanus) that is meant to divide the top side of the artifact into two distinct halves of north and south. And to add historical intrigue, let's just musingly say that if you knew what that phrase meant, as I do now, you would see why it turns Etruscan haruspicy "upside-down", so to speak. Hehe. I'll explain more on this funny story later perhaps.
(Continue reading Finding structure in the Piacenza Liver despite academic claptrap - Part 4.)
NOTES
[1] De Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend (2006), p.49 (see link).
[2] A silly question on the side: Is there a connection between the isolationist, narrow-focus "ivory tower" mindset of university academics and the behavioural characteristics observed in autism spectrum disorders? I smell a thesis!
[3] Bonfante, Etruscan Life and Afterlife: A Handbook of Etruscan Studies (1986), p.224 (see link). See also De Grummond's commentary and drawing of the underside of the artifact in De Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend, (2006), p.44 (see link).
[4] I already wrote my in-depth reasons as to why equating usil with "sun" is impossible in my March 2007 entry entitled Etruscan 'usil': It ain't the "sun".
Is there a connection between the isolationist, narrow-focus "ivory tower" mindset of university academics and the behavioural characteristics observed in autism spectrum disorders? I smell a thesis!
ReplyDeleteToo late. Two words: Asperger's "syndrome".
I was going to say "Touché!" until I realized that this statement is probably unfair and assumes that people with Autism Spectrum Disorders are by nature somehow unable to think outside the box. This would be false considering the innovative insights of Dr. Temple Grandin who is diagnosed with a mild form of Autism.
ReplyDeleteSilly question from a curious outsider:
ReplyDeleteIf the rim and the interior are indeed separate, why does (what presume is) the gallblatter extend out into the rim?
Perhaps even more fundamentally: why not use the reverse of the liver from the non-liver form of divination?
Sili: "If the rim and the interior are indeed separate, why does (what presume is) the gallblatter extend out into the rim?"
ReplyDeleteYou have to understand that this artifact is first and foremost meant to represent an actual sheep's liver, so the position of the gall bladder is just where it should be when you compare it to the real thing.
The rim has nothing whatsoever to do with the anatomy of a liver and so wouldn't have any direct significance to liver omen reading. Instead however, the rim is clearly representing the horizon of the sky divided into 16 parts, precisely how Roman authors reported Etruscans beliefs. So it stands to reason that since we are told that directions were primely important to reading bird and lightning omens properly, the top of this model is meant to combine together all forms of Etruscan omen reading (liver, bird and lightning omens) into a single scheme. The rim and the inscribed names were certainly etched after the major features of the liver like the gall bladder were formed by the craftsman.
I've never read directly on how this artifact was made but I assume that the craftsman first formed the model out of clay, inscribed on it, fired it in a kiln, then created a 'negative' mould out of the hardened clay model, fired that... then finally poured liquid bronze into the mould, let that cool and then broke away the cast to reveal the completed bronze model. You gotta love Bronze Age technology :)
Sili: "Perhaps even more fundamentally: why not use the reverse of the liver from the non-liver form of divination?"
Please elaborate. Since I've already explained away the phrase on the back as a reference to the dividing line that divides the top part of the model into 2 parts, there is nothing left to ponder unless you have an idea that explains the meaning of this model better. So far, however, you've just offered an idle possibility that explains less than what I've just done. So hop to it and impress me with a more explanatory idea! :)
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to impress anyone.
My thought was simply that since the reverse is pretty much unadorned save for that dividing line, I would have though it was for lack of a better word 'neater' to keep the 'geographical' bird and lightning omens on one side and the 'anatomical' liver omens on the other.
It just looks messy to me to have both things on the same side when they are not related - except that they are both forms of divination.
But I'm not very good at judging the motives of others. No matter how much respect I (as a failed chemist) have for the technology of the time.
Also, I didn't realise that the gallblatter extended beyond the liver like that. My bad for not wikipeeking at it first.
Sili: "I'm not trying to impress anyone."
ReplyDeleteWhen I say "impress me", I'm just challenging people to "come up with an idea to discuss that's even more explanatory than the one I've already presented". That's all. It's just my cold Logic speaking.
Sili: "It just looks messy to me to have both things on the same side when they are not related - except that they are both forms of divination."
Yes, but 'messy' is a subjective opinion, not scientific. You're not seeing the big picture that I'm seeing: The reason for this "messiness" is because this model is not only representing the 3 forms of divination together but also the entire cosmos itself. The liver is a representation of the earth, strange as it may seem to us in the modern day. The functioning of the cosmos and the art of divination are interrelated. The main goal of this bronze liver was not to accurately model a sheep's liver (although it did a reasonable job) inasmuch as it's to symbolically convey primary concepts in their religion which was afterall centered around prophecy.
Sili: "Also, I didn't realise that the gallblatter extended beyond the liver like that."
Yes, the Babylonian model's gall bladder extends out far like this too. But please don't "wikipeek" in the future. Please go to a library with books. Trust me. It's better :)
Sili: "But I'm not very good at judging the motives of others. No matter how much respect I (as a failed chemist) have for the technology of the time."
There's that unhappy self-talk again. We're all imperfect in one way or another. There are plenty of people in this world trying to convince us of how much we fail without ourselves doing it too. Tell your critics to go shove it up a tree and push forward without shame. Then, with perseverance, your critics will eventually have to check themselves into an insane asylum where they probably belonged all along. :)
Thanks for the boost to my ego (I'm actually recovering from a rather severe bout of depression so it's nice to get reminders like this).
ReplyDeleteAh - I see. Thinking of the liver as the earth itself makes sense of things. For some value of sense - at least it makes things less 'un-aesthetic'.
I have books - in fact I own more encyclopedia than is reasonable. But I'm a lazy git - like so many others. I do realise that WP isn't the best of sources, but it had a picture of real liver which looked genuine enough.
Sili: "I do realise that WP isn't the best of sources, but it had a picture of real liver which looked genuine enough."
ReplyDeleteYep, that's the real deal, that's for sure. Boy you know... Looking at that picture sure makes my weak gag reflex very glad I didn't become a veterinarian. Lol! :) Somehow when it's in bronze, that organ is much less threatening. I think I'll become a vegetarian now.