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{{Short description|Etruscan mythological figure}}
{{for|the moon|Vanth (moon)}}
[[File:Vanth.jpg|thumb|Vanth in a fresco in an Etruscan tomb in [[Tarquinia]]]]
'''Vanth''' is a [[chthonic]] figure in [[Etruscan mythology]] shown in a variety of forms of [[funerary art]], such as in tomb paintings and on sarcophagi.<ref name="Bane 2012">{{cite book |last=Bane |first=Theresa |title=Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |publication-place=Jefferson, North Carolina |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7864-8894-0 |oclc=774276733 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njDRfG6YVb8C&pg=PA322 |page=322 |access-date=2018-12-15}}</ref>

==Background==
Vanth is a female entity in the Etruscan underworld that is often accompanied either by additional Vanth figures or by another underworld entity, [[Charun]] (later referred to as ''Charu'').  Both Vanth and Charun are only seen in iconography beginning c. 400 BC, in the middle period of Etruscan art, although some earlier inscriptions mention her name.<ref>Weber-Lehmann, C. 1986. "Vanth" ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' VIII, 173–183. Zürich: Artemis. p.173</ref>

Vanth has no direct counterpart in Greek mythology, although her depiction as a winged figure has led to comparisons with the Greek Furies, the [[Erinyes]], especially in older publications.<ref>Loringhoff, B. 1986. Das Giebelrelief von Telamon und seine Stellung innerhalb der Ikonographie der "Sieben gegen Theben", ''RM'' Erg.-H 27. passim</ref> This is an unlikely association since she is almost always shown in Etruscan iconography to be a benevolent guide, not an avenging spirit, which the Furies often represent.  Her other attributes include the possession of a torch, key, or scroll, and she is shown often to be bare-chested with cross-straps across her breast, adorned with fur boots, a rolled short [[Chiton (costume)|chiton]], and sometimes with unattached sleeves.  In fact, her dress has been attributed by Scheffer as specifically that of a huntress.<ref>Scheffer, C. 1991. "Harbingers of Death? The Female Demon in Late Etruscan Funerary Art" In ''Munuscula Romana'', edited by A. L. Touati, E. Rystedt, and Ö. Wikander, 43–50. Stockholm: Paul Ǻströms förlag. p. 56</ref>

Vanth is involved in a variety of different types of scenes in Etruscan art;<ref>See Scheffer, C. 1991. "Harbingers of Death? The Female Demon in Late Etruscan Funerary Art" In ''Munuscula Romana'', edited by A. L. Touati, E. Rystedt, and Ö. Wikander, 43–50. Stockholm: Paul Ǻströms förlag. P.57-8 for a complete description and numerical analysis of the occurrence of Vanth figures in different scenes; also Weber-Lehmann, C. 1986. "Vanth" ''LIMC'' VIII, 173–183. Zürich: Artemis. P.173-9.</ref> the most common types associate her presence with occasions of slaughter and murder, including scenes from the [[Trojan War Cycle|Trojan cycle]].  Occasionally she is shown rising up out of the ground in such contexts, as seen on an ash urn from [[Chiusi]].<ref>Paschinger, E. 1992. ''Die Etruskische Todesgötten Vanth''. Wien: Verband der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften Österreichs. p. 303</ref> Sometimes she is even shown as a solitary figure decorating the sides of ash urns.  Other scenes in which Vanth is present involve the meeting and escort of the dead, in the role of [[psychopompos]], who are either walking or being transported on horseback, wagon, or chariot.<ref>Scheffer, C. 1991. "Harbingers of Death? The Female Demon in Late Etruscan Funerary Art" In ''Munuscula Romana'', edited by A. L. Touati, E. Rystedt, and Ö. Wikander, 43–50. Stockholm: Paul Ǻströms förlag. p. 57</ref>

In general, Vanth is associated with death and the journey of the deceased to the Underworld, but in a variety of different ways; she is present in scenes of the moment of death as well in scenes where the deceased is already fully dead and journeying to the Underworld.  She is depicted as a benevolent psychopompian figure, in contrast to the menacing Charun, her occasional companion. She may even take an active role in protecting heroic figures from harm, as in an urn painting where Vanth is shown shielding [[Odysseus]] from rocks hurled by [[Polyphemus]].<ref name="Tomanelli">{{cite journal | last=Tomanelli | first=Lauren | title=Demons and Forgetting in Etruscan Homeric Art | journal=Etruscan and Italic Studies | volume=26 | issue=1–2 | date=2023 | issn=2566-9095 | doi=10.1515/etst-2023-0001 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373202332 | pages=64–85}}</ref>

The materials that Vanth is identified as carrying, which include a torch, key, scroll, or sword, also relate to her role as a guide in the Underworld.  The torch can be used to light the way for travellers to the Underworld, although some scholars interpret it as a status symbol or as an indication of office,<ref>Krauskopf, I. 1987. ''Todesdämonen und Totengötter im Vorhellenistischen Etrurien''. Firenze: Olschki. p. 78-80</ref> and the key unlocks its doorway.  Additionally, the scroll may reveal more about Vanth, as one instance actually displays her name inside, ''vanθ''.<ref>de Grummond, N. T. 2006. ''Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History and Legend: An Introduction''. University of Pennsylvania Museum Publication. p. 213-4, 222</ref> Vanth has been interpreted as a goddess of fate, and using this association, the scroll may contain the destiny of the deceased.  However, in total, Vanth is depicted as a young, vibrant female chthonic figure, sometimes in the company of other Vanths, and sometimes with Charun; she is a figure who assists with the journey of the deceased to the underworld.

== Etruscan chthonic figures ==
Other Etruscan chthonic (or underworld) figures include [[Charun]], [[Calu]], [[Phersipnai]], [[Turms]], [[Aita]], and [[Culsu]].

== See also ==
* [[Vanth (moon)]], moon of [[90482 Orcus|Orcus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline}}

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[[Category:Etruscan mythology]]
[[Category:Etruscan goddesses]]
[[Category:Underworld goddesses]]
[[Category:Psychopomps]]