The Etruscan World (Routledge Worlds)

• Mar i as s unt a C uozzo -

to the understanding of the system of the cults in the Etrusco-northern territory of the
city is furnished by the Tabula Capuana, (Fig. 16.8 n.4; Cechiai 2010), a text of liturgical
character, incised in boustrophedon style (lines alternating direction) before firing on a
terracotta plaque and written in the alphabet prevalent in the Capuan area and traceable
to the southern Etruscan region (Veii). The sacred calendar bears the inscription of rites
dedicated to several deities of the Etruscan celestial and chthonian pantheon associated
with basic references to specific cult places: the sanctuary of Uni corresponds probably to
the sanctuary at Fondo Patturelli; compare also the mention of another sanctuary in the
region of Hamae.
The first monumental phases of the suburban sanctuary of Fondo Patturelli, situated
at the eastern edge of the Capuan settlement, are dated to the Early Archaic period.
We are dealing with a context severely damaged by ancient destruction and clandestine
excavations: the occupational phases and the character of the cult are mainly reconstructed
through the architectural or votive terracottas and the epigraphic documentation. The
patron deity is female, associated with the protection of fertility and procreation. The
information derived from the Tabula Capuana has suggested an affinity with Uni (Hera,
Juno) or with Italic divinities such as Fortuna or Mater Matuta. The sanctuary today is
known above all for the vast production of votive terracottas of the “Campanian mother”
type (see Chapter 20), with the goddess enthroned and nursing one or more swaddled
babies. This is a cult that persists to the end of the second century bc (Fig. 16.8, no. 3).
The first “Battle of Cumae” is dated to 524 bc, and sets the people of Cumae against
a coalition formed by the Etruscans of the Adriatic shore, Umbrians and Daunians, and
signals the ascent of Aristodemos as a condottiero and politician. Aristodemos will become
“tyrant” of the city only later, in the sphere of events connected with the expulsion of

Figure 16.8 1. Pontecagnano: Kantharos in bucchero with dedication to Apollo in Greek letters,

from the southern sanctuary; 2. Capua: The Barone lebes (London, British Museum); 3. Sanctuary of the

“Fondo Patturelli” : votive statue of the Campanian “Mother” type; 4. The Tabula Capuana; 5. Coinage in

silver of the Campani (end of the fifth century bc).

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