Culsans
Sign in to savethumb|Bronze statuette of Culsans, ca. 300–250 BCE, with inscription along left thigh (Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca, Cortona) Culsans (Culśanś) is an Etruscan deity, known from four inscriptions and a variety of iconographical material which includes coins, statuettes, and a sarcophagus. Culśanś is usually rendered as a male deity with two faces and at least two statuettes depicting him have been found in close association with city gates. These characteristics suggest that he was a protector of gateways, who could watch over the gate with two pairs of eyes.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Iconographical evidence
- Appearance
- Inscriptions
- Foreign equivalents
- Explanatory notes
- Citations
- References
thumb|Bronze statuette of Culsans, ca. 300–250 BCE, with inscription along left thigh (Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca, Cortona) Culsans (Culśanś) is an Etruscan deity, known from four inscriptions and a variety of iconographical material which includes coins, statuettes, and a sarcophagus. Culśanś is usually rendered as a male deity with two faces and at least two statuettes depicting him have been found in close association with city gates. These characteristics suggest that he was a protector of gateways, who could watch over the gate with two pairs of eyes.
Many scholars recognize the deity Janus as a Roman equivalent to Culśanś because he is also rendered as a bifrōns (two-faced god) and his divine realm also includes the protection of doorways and gates. Building on this idea, some scholars have proposed that the name Culśanś may contain an etymological root meaning “door” in Etruscan, just as Janus's name comes from the Latin word for door, ianua. The Etruscan goddess , whose name shares the same etymological root as Culśanś, is also associated with gateways, though in her case, they are gateways of the netherworld.