Necronomicon Novum

John Opsopaus
(c)1995
Preface
Introduction
I. The Ancient Great Ones, Now Dead
II. Calling Upon the Dead Ones
III. The Geography of the Land of the Dead Ones
IIII. What is Lawful
V. What is Not Lawful
Sources
Preface
When someone recently asked, "What would you put in a Necronomicon?" I became in
trigued by the question. Since it's been some years since I've read Lovecraft, I
really don't remember how much he said about the content of the Necronomicon. N
evertheless, the following is a preliminary outline, mostly spun out no more tha
n the name Necronomicon. However, whereas Lovecraft's Necronomicon was fabricate
d, mine is real! That is, it's entirely based on ancient texts (all predating th
e supposed date of Lovecraft's Necronomicon) - and this is only the tip of the i
ceberg.
In any case, the Ancient Ones turn up often enough, in mythology and personal ex
perience, that I expect they are a reflection of some archetype of the collectiv
e unconscious. Thus we can expect the Greek and Roman tradition to tap the same
currents as Lovecraft, whatever his source. The following is offered in (and to)
the spirit of HPL.
- John Opsopaus
Introduction
Necronomicon is a Latin spelling of a word from Greek roots meaning "a/the thing
relating to or conforming with the law(s)/custom(s) of the dead" (nekro- + nomi
kon); it does not refer to the names of the dead (which could be Necronomina in
mixed Greek/Latin). Thus I take the Necronomicon to be a book, coming through th
e Greek or Roman tradition, which gives something relating to the laws of the de
ad. By the way, Greek nekros means primarily corpse, but secondarily a dead pers
on; it does not directly refer to ghosts, shades, spirits, souls, demons, or dea
th as an abstraction. Hence we must suppose that the Necronomicon deals primaril
y with The Dead, and not with these related ideas (though it may do so indirectl
y). The Dead Ones in question are, presumably, Lovecraft's Ancient Ones, a race
predating humanity.
I. The Ancient Great Ones, Now Dead
A. Their Character
B. Their Names
C. The Ephesia Grammata
A. Their Character
The Ancient Great Ones were a divine race of Alchemists and Sorcerers, who came
to dwell in caves; They were in several tribes: Kabeiroi, the Great Gods of Samo
thrace, Korubantes, Kouretes, Idaian Daktuloi, Telkhines. Strabo [10.3.19-21] sa
id They were Demon Ministers to the Gods and were Gods Themselves; They were the
Ancient Gods, Beings of Incalculable Age who lived before the Gods we know, but
now are Dead. Even so, Their Power has not been extinguished.
Some of the Ancient Ones were Giants, others were Dwarfs. The Dwarfs were called
Orculi because They dwell in Orcus, the infernal Land of Death. (Some say the O
rcades [Orkneys] take the name from the Mouth of Hell hidden in their cliffs.) T

o this day, their descendants, who dwell unseen in the caves that riddle the bod
y of the Earth like wormholes, are called Orculli (the Dwarfs) and Orchi (the Gi
ants) in northern Italy.
According to Plutarch [Cess. Or.] it was the Ancient Gods who spoke through the
Oracles, and with Their death the Oracles have become quiet. Goethe was familiar
with the Ancient Ones and named them in Faust Part II. Schelling was obsessed b
y Them and devoted a monograph to them.
B. Their Names
i. We speak first of Those whom the Samothracians call Great Gods, and whom the
Books of the Augurs call the Mighty Gods, for they did not dare to mention Their
terrible names. Indeed, their awful-sounding names were kept secret for untold
ages, until they were revealed by Mnaseas: Axieros, Axiokersa, Axiokersos and Ka
smilos (or Kadmilos). Isopsephia gives the numbers of Their names: 986, 1007, 12
76, 571 (or 375). Some say the first three are a Holy Triad, Father, Mother and
Daughter; others say They are two Gods [Axieros, Axiokersos] attendant on a Godd
ess [Axiokersa]. The fourth is the Messenger, who completes the Quaternity; He c
arries the unmentionable Basket, into which only Initiates may peer and retain t
heir sanity. Servius says Kasmilos' name is Etruscan, others say it is Hittite.
ij. Nigidius Figulus, who knew the gorey secrets of Etruscan soothsaying and mag
ic, swore that it was sacrilege to reveal Their unhallowed story, but some say t
he Great Ones came to earth in a flaming star, which shattered the rocks when it
crashed into the island of Samothrace; there the Great Gods made Their home. Th
ey are Lords of the Terrifying Tempest. Their dance is the bedlam of spears ratt
led against oxhide shields.
iij. Those who are initiated into the Mysteries of the Great Gods are granted th
e Purple Sash and the Magnetic Iron Ring. In this way Initiates stay in contact
with the Great Gods. Artemidorus said that these same Mysteries are held on an i
sland near Britain.
iv. The Romans were under the protection of the Great Gods, for the Romans were
descended from Aeneas, who came from Troy, and the Trojans were descended from D
ardanos, who came from Samothrace. Dardanos brought sacred images of the Great O
nes with him, and these same images were taken to Rome by Aeneas; this was the o
rigin of the Roman Great Gods, the Penates, who protected the state for more tha
n one thousand years.
v. The Samothracian priests who celebrated the frenzied rites of the Great Ones
were called Sai, but Servius said that when their cult was brought to Rome, the
maniacal dancers for the Great Gods were named Salii. These, twice twelve in num
ber, donned ancient armor and the peaked Phrygian cap. On their left arms they h
eld the mysterious figure-of-eight shields that had fallen from heaven; their ri
ght hand held the sacred staff, which they beat against their shields, performin
g inscrutable ritual gestures. They sang the Carmen Saliare, the incomprehensibl
e syncopations of which were unintelligible to even the earliest Romans; all but
a few maddening fragments of these unholy verses have been consigned to the fla
mes.
vi. Some say the Kabeiroi are the same as the Samothracian Great Gods, but They
are Chthonian Crab-Beings said to be descended from Hephaistos, who was raised i
n an undersea grotto, and from Kabeiro, who was a daughter of Proteus. Some say
They are Demons who serve Rhea. The principal Kabeiroi are Kabeiros and Kabeiria
, from whom came the three male Kabeiroi, who with Kabeiros are the Astral Semin
a (Star Seeds), and three female Kabeirides, who with Kabeiria are the Elemental
Semina (Material Seeds); together They continually recreate the world. Philo By
blius, who called Them the Children of Sudek (or Saduk), says They were the firs
t scribes of Thoth, and recorded the dark secrets He divulged to Them.

vij. Their unutterable names are dark and potent; the youngest He-demon was name
d Esmounos (Isopsephia = 1035). These Crabs [Karkinoi] walk cockeyed like their
father, and like Him live in the sea as well as on land; their claws are like to
ngs for working metal [karkinoi].
viij. Though Cambyses destroyed the unspeakable sanctuaries of Their worship in
Memphis and other places, Strabo said They were still worshipped in desolate are
as, the Corubanteion in Hamaxitia and the Korubissa in Skepsia. Nonnus told of t
wo Kabeiroi, Alkon and Eurumedon, transformers of metal, who stood upon the terr
ible fire-sprouting rock of Lemnos and brandished blazing bolts; streams of spar
ks issued from Their eyes, like the smokey, ruddy glow of Their father's furnace
.
ix. The Idaian Daktuloi are Alchemists and Sorcerers (Goetes), especially skille
d in Drugs and Musical Magic, who dwell on Crete and serve Adresteia of the Moun
tains (who is Rhea). They are in two tribes, the thirty-two of the Left, who are
evil Sorcerers, and the twenty of the Right, who banish Spells. Names of the Da
ktuloi include Kelmis, Damnameneus and Akmon. They dwell with Rhea, the Mother o
f the Gods, some say in the region of Troy; from Her They learned to transform m
etals [i.e., alchemy], and She entrusted Zeus, Father of Gods and Men, to Their
care.
x. They are associated with the Kouretes, who danced to protect Zeus and hold th
e bottomless Cretan cave where Zeus was born. They came from Their cave in Mt. I
da in Phrygia to the Cave on Mt. Ida in Crete, for the two are connected. Some o
f the Kouretes and Karikines (Kabeiroi) came with the Phoenicians to Brittany, w
hence They spread like a plague to Cornwall and Iberia. The rural folk still fea
r these dwarfs, and call Them the Korreds or The Old Ones. They have deep-set, r
ed eyes and shaggy dark skin, and They brought the Dolmen Stones to these lands.
They still dance in circles so ferociously that the grass ignites beneath Their
feet. They live in various caverns and caves, but always below sea-level.
xi. Likewise the Koroubantes made a sound so hideous and danced so demonically t
hat even the Titans were driven away from this cave. Tzetzes says They are Demon
Attendants of Rhea, who established their foul grotto on the Samothracian mount
ain called Saon. There, in an infernal cave, dwells Zerunthos, a gargantuan, abo
minable serpent, splotched in color, with scales horny like the fingernails of a
shriveled corpse. Therein dogs are slaughtered to fulfill obscene rites.
xij. The Telkhines are seal-people descended from Tartaros and Nemesis (Damnatio
n and Vengeance) and were great Sorcerers, especially skilled in the Evil Eye, b
y which They could transform anything, and They were experts in Craft and Alchem
y. Rhea gave Them Poseidon to be raised, and They made His barbed trident as wel
l as the viscous sickle by which Ouranos was so cruelly unmanned. They fought th
e Gods and were so repugnant to Zeus that He blasted Them with His thunderbolt,
submerging and overturning Their island. They also inhabited Rhodes before there
were people.
xiij. The Telkhines are related to the Bakkhulides and those most frightening De
ad Ones, the Keres, those completely Evil Spirits, shaped like unearthly birds o
f prey, who pollute everything and bring blindness and other terrifying diseases
; They inflict horrible death and disaster.
xiv. No Demon is more frightening than Him whom the Etruscans called Tukhulkha,
a Beast with writhing snakes, vulture's beak, enormous tongue, long ears and lip
less snarl. He pursues poor wretches even after they have died.
xv. Kharun was the Etruscan name for another hideous demon, who has a hooked nos
e, obscene pointed donkey ears, flaming eyes [in Greek, kharon means Bright- or

Fierce-eyed], a goatee, vicious wolf-fangs, a monkey face, revolting greenish-gr

ey skin, wings (sometimes) and terrifying serpents for hair. He uses his mallet
to smash the skulls and splatter the brains of the dead and dying. There are sev
eral Kharuns (whom the Italians call Caronte), including Kharun Khunkhulis and K
harun Hut's. Kharun and Tukhulkha (whom we see on the walls of the Tomba dell'Or
co in Tarquinia), both have winged feet, which shows they are Angels of Death.
xvi. Do not forget the Dioskouroi.
xvij. The Kimmerioi (Assyrian Gimirri), upon whom the Sun never shines, likewise
dwell around foul-smelling, bottomless Lake Avernus, which is a Gate to the lan
d of the Dead Ones. In Book I of The Janid of Apollonius the Adept we read:
The Sibyl led a band not far away,
To Baiae, where they found Avernus Lake,*
[*mod. Lago Averno, a water-filled volcanic crater]
Exhaling hellish airs in gloomy woods,
A lake whose roots reach down to Tartaros.
A giant cavern, Orcus' maw, they took
As their abode, a dark and sunless realm.
The people, called Kimmerioi, put therein
Their smithies, forging famous wares of bronze,
And Orgullae* they named their buried homes.
[*an obscure word that may refer to earthen or clay vessels]
Where flow the vapors and the waters black
From Aita*, there the Sibyl placed her shrine, [*Hades]
Delivering oracles with raving mouth.
Aeneas and Odysseus, wandering each
From Illium, saw the crone, much shrunk with age*.
[*c. 1175 BCE; she would have been in her 80's]
C. The Ephesia Grammata
These are the Ephesia Grammata, great words of power, which were darkly hinted a
t by Apuleius the Magician, and in the Greek Magical Papyri, and in the Testamen
t of Solomon, and on a Cretan Spell Tablet, and by many others, but which no one
before Hesychius and Clement of Alexandria dared to name:
Askion, Kataskion, Lix, Tetrax, Damnameneus, Aisia (or Aision).
Here
(or
ueen
Some
. If

are their numbers as calculated by Isopsephia: 351, 672, 100, 766, 796, 222
341). They are inscribed upon the Sceptre of Artemis-Selene, the Ephesian Q
of the Moon Magic, for Epeshu means "to Bewitch" in the Babylonian tongue.
say these are the Secret Names of the Idaian Daktuloi and come from Phrygia
thou be daring, invoke Them for benefit and protection.

Aisia Lix Tetrax - the Howling Whirlwind Demon born of the Great One - causes fe
ver and burning, but if it feels kindly toward you, will refresh you with cool b
reezes and lead you to refuge. Damnameneus, called Woman-mad and Tamer, is a gre
at Idaian Magician (Goes) and said to be one of the Telkhines as well as of the
Daktuloi.
II. Calling Upon the Dead Ones
i. Circe's loathsome rite, which summons the bloodless Dead Ones with a pit fill
ed with the hot gore of beheaded sheep, is described in Book 11 of the Odyssey [
vv. 12-224].
ij. Virgil, who was called a great magician, describes in Book VI of the Aeneid
the horrendous spells and ritual by which the Cumaean Sibyl, who dwells in the C
avern with One Hundred Mouths, opened for Aeneas the black Jaws of Orcus, the Ga
te to Dis, the Land of the Dead Ones, which is at Lake Avernus, the Birdless Pla
ce. She tells him the savage ritual by which, with bowls of steaming blood and b
lazing entrails, he must invoke Hecate, Queen of Heaven and Erebus, and call upo

n Chaos and Phlegethon.

iij. In The Persians [vv. 607-99], Aeschylus describes a shocking Persian ritual
to raise the Dead.
III. The Geography of the Land of the Dead Ones
i. Virgil [ Aeneid, Book VI] tells of the Woods girded by Cocytus, the Stygian M
arsh, Black Tartarus - and of the Golden Bough, the Key to the Gate, which must
be sought. He shows the way to the Throne of the Queen of the Dead.
ij. In Book X of his Description of Greece [28.1-29.1] Pausanius describes the m
onumental painting by Polygnotus that depicts the Land of the Dead in all its ho
rror; from it was copied the faded fresco in the gloomy tomb of Orco II of Tarqu
inii. We see the foul river Akheron and Kharon the cruel ferryman. We even see t
he loathsome demon Euronomos, with blue-black skin like gluttonous charnel flies
, who sits upon a vulture skin and hungrily devours the rotting flesh from corps
es newly buried.
IIII. What is Lawful
i. The Dead Ones, especially when they are on this side of the Styx, may be call
ed up to answer questions.
ij. A truly courageous one may travel the harrowing path into the Land of the De
ad Ones, so that its residents can be interrogated, and with skill and strength
the return can be made to the light. This is permitted so long as nothing is tak
en from the Land of the Dead Ones, for then thou art beholden to the Dead.
V. What is Not Lawful
The Dead Ones must not be brought back to life; such blasphemy is punished by Ze
us's bolt. Such a thing was done by Erichtho, a sorceress so foul that our mind
refuses to recount her hideous habits or revolting rites. If you have the courag
e to read them, Lucan, the nephew of Seneca, tells the disgusting details in Boo
k VI of his Pharsalia [413-830].
Sources
Arrowsmith, Field Guide, 65-8, 92-3.
Betz, Greek Magical Papyri.
Bonnefoy, Grk. & Egyp. Myth., 85-6.
Bonnefoy, Rom. & Eur. Myth., 41-2.
Cole, Theoi Megaloi, 2-3, 29-30, 100-2.
Gantz, Early Greek Myth, 147-9.
Lewis, Samothrace: Anc. Lit. Sources, 69-73, 75-82, 87.
Luck, Arcana Mundi, 163-75.
McCown, Ephesia Grammata, Trans. Am. Phil. Assoc., Vol. LIV, 1923.
Nonnus, Dionysiaca, XIV.17-22, XXIX.193-96, 213-14, XXXIII.326.
Oxford Classical Dictionary, s.vv. Cabiri, Carmen Saliare, Cimmerians, Curetes,
Idaean Dactyls, Keres, Magic, Salii, Telchines.
Pagel & Winder, "The Eightness of Adam and Related 'Gnostic' Ideas in the Parace
lsian Corpus," Ambix, Vol. XVI (1969).
Pallottino, Etruscans, 283, 290; pll. 45, 83.
Description of Ta Rat':

The Subterranean Temple

of the Giane
John Opsopaus
(c) 1996
General Description
The Four Ways
The Relief Sculptures on the Pillars
Notes
General Description
This is the first description of the subterranean temple of the Giane of Sardini
a, which they respectfully refer to as Ta Rat' ("this holy thing" in Etruscan).[
1] It is an especially large (32 X 20 m.) artificial cavarn, rather like the Dom
us de Janas or Domus de Gianus (Fairy Houses), as the Sardinians call the ancien
t rock-cut tombs which permeate Sardinia and date from the Copper Age (2000-1100
BCE). However, this underground temple (tmia), is more in the style of an Etrus
can tomb (t'aura), such as the well-known Tomba del Cardinale and the (now lost)
Tombo dei Ceisinie (both in Tarquinia). Ta Rat' is buried in the heart of the h
ighest peak in the Gennargentu massif.
The roof the subterranean temple is supported by a number of pillars (3.5m. tall
) decorated with colorful relief sculptures (described below). A central group o
f sixteen pillars is flanked by a trio of pillars on each of the eastern and wes
tern ends of the cavern. The sixteen pillars are arranged in two groups (east an
d west) of four pairs. In general, each of these pairs of pillars has a correspo
nding goddess and god, as shown by their reliefs. The four rows of four (each co
mprising an east pair and a west pair) are spaced evenly across the width of the
temple (from north to south).
Each of the four pillars in the northernmost row has a built in censor, which is
kept smoking by the Giane priestesses. The pillars in the next row to the south
each have a small basin of water, rather like a baptismal fount. The third row
is decorated with semiprecious gems and polished metal. The pillars of the south
ernmost row have oil lamps, which the priestesses keep burning.
In the middle of these sixteen pillars is a hearth
tomless fissure in the rock floor, and above it in
through the great length of which a bit of the sky
he fissure Chaos Profundum (Abyssal Chaos) and the
is (Air Hole of Eternity).

built around an seemingly bot

the ceiling is a smoke hole,
can be seen. The Giane call t
chimney Spiraculum Aeternitat

We entered through a hidden opening on the slopes of the mountain and went throu
gh a long passage to the temple entrance, which the Giane called the Eastern Por
tal. As will be described later, there is also a Western Portal at the other end
of the temple. I also noticed slabs in the center of the northern and southern
walls, which may have closed northern and southern portals, but my guides evaded
my question about these. Finally, there are four tunnels which lead diagonally
from the corners of the temple, and I was taken into these first. They are calle
d the Quadrivia (Four Ways).
The Four Ways
The Four Ways lead off from corners of the cavern, to the northeast, northwest,
southwest and southeast, and each is named after a river in the Underworld. They
all have a common structure: Fourteen large steps or landings lead upward to a
shrine at the end of the passage. Each step is carved with an abstract emblem, t
he emblems increasing in complexity as one goes from the shrine toward the centr
al temple. The emblems appear to be structured around the numbers one through te
n, although the last four (the eleventh through fourteenth) are more complex. I
was shown each passage in turn.

Northeast: Acheron
The northeastern passage is called "Acheron of Ever-flowing Grief and Melancholy
." The walls of the tunnel are painted reddish brown, which has flaked off to cr
eate a dry, brown dust on the floor. The shrine at the end of the tunnel is a fi
ssure in the living rock, which my guides described as a "bottomless pit," and s
o it seemed to be. They said it went into the very bowels of Cel Ati (Mother Ear
th). Into it the Giane pour libations of wine.
Northwest: Styx
The northwestern passage is called "Styx, the Hateful and Bone-chilling." Indeed
, the tunnel seemed very cold, partly because it is painted black and partly bec
ause of an inky stream which ran its length from the shrine, a spring flowing fr
om a cleft in the rock. Into this stream the Giane pour libations of water for N
ethuns (Neptune). It runs out into the main temple and vanishes into an opening
in the floor at the base of one of the pillars, which has been displaced to acco
mmodate it (see below).
Southwest: Cocytus
The southwestern passage, which has green walls and a white floor, is called "Co
cytus, which Shrieks and Wails," as indeed it does, for a terrific blast of hot,
humid wind blows continually from an opening at the wall at the end of the tunn
el. I imagine this opening must eventually lead above ground, but I could see no
light and it was pitch dark. The Giane say that the winds converge on the shrin
e from the four corners of the earth. The shrine is dedicated to Uni (Juno), to
whom they pour libations of milk.
Southeast: Pyriphlegethon
The southeastern passage, which is golden colored, is called "Pyriphlegethon, wh
ich Blazes like Fire." Indeed, the heat in the tunnel was almost unbearable, for
at the shrine is an eternal flame, which seems volcanic in origin. Into this fl
ame they pour honey libations for Tinia (Jupiter).
The Relief Sculptures on the Pillars
After exploring the Four Ways, we returned to the Eastern Portal, whence I was t
aken from pillar to pillar in a definite order, which was indicated by a letter
of the archaic (7th cent. BCE) Etruscan alphabet above the relief on each pillar
.[2] I will describe the reliefs in this alphabetic order, and mention the corre
sponding Etruscan letter, below. For my benefit, a Giane was waiting by each pil
lar and, when I came to it, she recited an enigmatic Latin verse, which was appa
rently intended to illuminate the relief. (I've translated these verses below.)
These Giane are responsible for their pillars (repairing the reliefs and restori
ng the paint), are dedicated to the deities represented, and are experts in thei
r mythology.
1. Fufluns (A)
The first pillar, which is directly in front of the Eastern Portal, shows Fuflun
s (Bacchus), dancing with his thyrsus. He wears a green cloak and is accompanied
by a snake and a panther. The Giane responsible for this pillar, who is aptly n
amed Panthera (Panther), recited this verse:
Behold! the Holy
A private world.
New freedom from
The madness! For
Let Satre's holy

Idiot, lost within

He'll have the chance to win
confining rules. Rejoice
it brings another choice.
festival begin!

She added that the entire temple is in some sense devoted to Satre (Saturn) and
Ops (or Venus Genetrix, whom they usually call Turan Ati). The letter on this pi
llar is A, which represents, I was told, the Gods (Aisar), Being (Am), the Fathe

r (Apa), the Mother (Ati), the Ape (Arim) and the months Anpile (May) and Acala
(June). Next, Panthera led me to each of the other pillars in their proper order
.
2. Turmus (C)
Next we went south to the second pillar of the eastern trio. I could see that it
represents Turmus (Mercury), since the figure holds a caduceus, wears his broad
-brimmed hat, and is accompanied by his rooster. He is depicted as a mature man,
dressed in a red and green tunic and mantle. He stands behind a table on which
there are two dice and other paraphernalia; a Gorgon mask hangs on the wall behi
nd him. Serpens (Serpent) announced that Turmus is called the "Lord of Chance" a
nd then recited this verse:
A touch of
A sight, a
Transforms
Accustomed
Attend the

the Wizard's Wand: a word,

sound, a gift by chance conferred,
your life, and leads the soul beyond
bounds, if only you respond.
Guide whene'er the call is heard!

This pillar is labeled with the letter C, which stands for Ritual (Cec'a), Direc
tion (Cel), the Son (Clan), the numbers Three (Ci) and Eight (Cezp), and the mon
th Celi (September).
3. Uni (E)
We temporarily skipped the third pillar in the eastern trio, and came to the pil
lar in the southeast corner of the central sixteen. It depicts Uni (Juno) crowne
d and seated in her throne, which has emerald lions for armrests; she is attende
d by her peacock and holds a sceptre topped by a dove or cuckoo. Green is the mo
st common color on this relief. Pavo (Peacock)[3] intoned:
Eternal Mother, mistress of the grain,
Sustaining growth with either milk or rain,
Engulfs again her children, whereupon
The self-consuming wheel of life goes on.
Within her womb we all descend again!
This pillar's letter is E, which means Sacrifice (Esvis').
4. Tinia (V)
Next, we moved west to the fourth pillar, which forms a pair with the third; nat
urally, it depicts Tinia (Day, i.e., Jupiter), the husband of Uni (Juno). In bol
d reds it shows him in a classic pose: seated on his throne and attended by his
eagle. He holds a thunderbolt in one hand and in the other a sceptre topped by a
golden orb. Aquila (Eagle) said,
The Mighty Father makes the laws that bind
The elements, the plants, and every kind
Of beast - but people too. He strives to feed
The folk, defending them by word and deed.
Observe the judgments fathered by his mind!
The letter is V, which stands for Fire (Verse) and the month Velcitna (March).
5. Ves'na (Z)
We moved north to the next pair, starting again with the eastern pillar, which
depicts Ves'na, an Etruscan lunar spirit, in dark blues. She is slim, with short
hair, a ten-rayed crown, and also a lunula - an upward lunar crescent - on her
brow. She wears shoes, a studded belt and a full-length tunic, with a sort of ve
st made from a Bacchic panther skin with the head attached. She holds a sistrum
in her right hand and a vase in her left. She sits under a canopy in a chariot d
rawn across the sea by a black horse and a white horse. A Giane named Canis (Dog

) recited:
The Shining Queen, who rules the velvet night,
And nurtures nascent growth, concealed from sight,
Transforms and changes, light and dark by turns,
And seeks the Sun to sire the spark that burns
Within the water, newborn Child of Light.
The letter on this pillar is Z, which means Rite (Zeri), Book (Zic'), Leader (Zi
l) and the number Two (Zal).
6. Usil (H)
Paired with the preceding pillar is one depicting Usil (Helios), the Etruscan su
n god. He is shown as an old, but clean-shaved, winged man with a radiate crown,
and holding a pruning saw in his right hand and a vase in his left. He wears a
long tunic, revealing his bare feet, sleeves to elbows, with a belt. He rides in
a golden chariot drawn by two hippocampi (one black, one white). The dominant c
olors are red and gold. Lupa (She-wolf) recited:
The Sun obscured by night, the heavens' fire,
Inflaming lunar waters, looks to sire
The Child, and purify the world with scorn
Severe, that scorches errors earthly born.
He holds the heights to which we all aspire.
The letter H stands for the Phallic Statue (Herma), Children (Husar), the number
Six (Hut') and the month Hermie (August, originally the sixth month).
7. Ac'vizr (T')
We progressed to the third pair of pillars, the first of which depicts two nearl
y naked figures, apparently Aplu (Apollo) and Aritimi (Diana), facing each other
in a forest clearing. In the sky above them hovers Ac'vizr (Cupid?), a barefoot
, naked, winged child (of unclear sex) holding a downward pointing dart in his r
ight hand and a dish in his left. The colors are red and white. Columba (Dove) e
xplained,
Desire draws the Moon and Sun to hold
Each other; hid in darksome depths, the bold
Embrace of sibling spirits joined in love
Unites the world below with sky above.
Unasked, the Dart of Passion strikes; be bold!
The letter on this pillar is T', which represents the Cup (T'afna), the Dawn (T'
esan), the number One (T'u) and the month T'ucte (?).
8. Alpan (I)
Paired with Ac'vizr is a pillar showing Alpan (Gift, Harmonia), a winged girl, n
aked but for sandals and a multicolored mantle over her left arm and wrapped aro
und her legs. Her hair is piled up and she wears a necklace, ear rings and a tia
ra with a gem in the middle of a six-pointed star. She pours from a vase in her
right hand into a dish in her left. In the background a dart flies upward into a
rainbow between the twin peaks of a mountain. Gold and silver dominate the colo
rs. This verse was recited by a Giane named Iris:
The Child Divine was born of Moon and Sun.
She tempers wine with water, never done
With mixing, and her rainbow joins the poles,
For she's the messenger and guide of souls.

Accept her cup, and let the two be one.

Her letter is I, representing the making of prayers or offerings (Ilu).
9. Maris Apa & Mean (K)
Finally we came to the northernmost of the four eastern pairs of pillars. The mo
re eastern one shows Maris Apa (Marspiter, Father Mars) driving his triumphal ch
ariot drawn by a red horse and a blue horse. He sits naked but for a cloak drape
d over his left shoulder, and is beardless, with short, red hair. He holds a lon
g lance in his right hand, and holds the reins in his left. He wears bronze gree
ves and a Phrygian helmet. Beside him is a figure-eight shield decorated with a
bronze apple surmounted by a spread-wing Victory. Red is the dominant color.
Mean (Victoria) flies above Maris, bringing victory. She is winged and naked but
for a purple mantle over her left arm, wrapped back around her legs and flung a
gain over her left arm. She wears ear rings and sandals, and Her hair is done up
; she holds a laurel wreath in her hands. Ursa (She-bear) stated,
The Hero crowned by Victory drives the car
Of triumph, seeking still to venture far,
Accepting every challenge. He commands,
And masters mighty steeds with skillful hands.
Our eyes are dazzled by the Hero's star!
The letter on the pillar is K, which represents Making (Kar), the Son (Klan) and
the month Karpe (April).
10. Lasa (L)
The pillar paired with Maris depicts Lasa, a martial goddess, as young woman, wh
o wears a thin, saffron tunic, above her knees, with simple boots and bracelets
on her left arm. Her hair is fastened up, and she wears ear rings. She appears t
o be forcing open with her bare hands the jaws of a lion, wreathed with roses, w
ho sits beside her. An unused sword or dagger lies on the ground nearby. Leaena
(Lioness) sang,
With gentle hand and eye she charms the beast
And teaches him the time to speak. Released
From fear of one another, freedom grows
For each, a bond that blossoms like the rose.
It's love, not fear or hate, that tames the beast!
This pillars is marked L, which represents Lasa, Lion(ess) (Leu), Family (Lautn)
, and Giving (Al, cf. Alpan).
11. Cilens (M)
Having visited the first quadruple of pairs, Panthera took me back to the third
of the eastern trio of pillars, which we had skipped earlier. It depicts Cilens
(Fortuna) in the center of the "wheel of fortune." She wears a long, heavy, coar
se mantle of varying hue over a tunic, and has bracelets on her arms. She holds
the cornucopia in her left hand and a ship's rudder in her right. Four small fig
ures are on the rim of the wheel, a young man to the left, a mature man on top,
an old man on the right, and a decrepit man at the bottom. Amalthea said Cilens
is the "Lady of Chance" (thus complementing Turmus, the Lord of Chance), and the
n she recited:
The Wheel of Fortune turns; while one declines
Another is upraised, but she assigns
The fate who holds the axle pin,
For Cilens is the drama's origin.
Ensure each turn of life the soul refines!

The letter M on the pillar means Being (Am), the Ego (Mi), the Ancestors (Mani),
the number Five (Mac) and the month Masan (?).
12. Satre (N)
The next pillar in order was one of the western trio, in the southwest corner of
the temple. It depicts Satre (Saturn) as an old man carrying a sickle in his ri
ght hand and in his left an hour glass filled with black sand. The dominant colo
rs on the relief are black, brown and white. Pica (Magpie) introduced him as the
"Lord of Necessity" and then chanted:
No power impedes the measured step of Time,
Which eats away from everything its prime,
For nought endures for long. Yet passing years
May grant us peace and wisdom, free from fears.
Attend the tread of Time: stark, yet sublime.
The letter N represents the Diviner (Haruspex, Netsvis'), the Dead One (Nes), th
e Grandson (Nefs'), He/She (An) and the number Nine (Nurf).
13. Prumat'e (P)
After visiting Satre, we returned to the southeast corner of the western quadrup
le of pairs of pillars. The pillar there depicts Prumat'e (Prometheus) suffering
his punishment on the peak of Mt. Caucasus. There we see him suspended upside d
own, hanging by his left leg from a tree, on which a snake climbs towards him. R
ed is the dominant color: Promet'e has red hair and is naked and sun-scorched; b
lood runs from a wound where the eagle of Jupiter daily tears his liver. A burni
ng brand lies on the ground nearby. Ferula (Fennel) explained,
Desiring revolution, he betrayed
His world; by choice the painful price is paid.
Hanging above the Abyss by Heaven's chains,
He calmly waits for freedom from his pains.
Who dives within the womb will be remade!
The letter P on the pillar means Promet'e (Prometheus), the Grandfather (Papa) a
nd the Wife (Puia).
14. Eita (S')
Paired with Promet'e to the west is a pillar depicting Eita (Hades). He is horri
fically depicted in blacks and whites, for he wears skeletal armor and stands in
the midst of severed body parts. He holds an empty dish in his right hand and a
n (apparently) empty cornucopia in his left. In the background is a Mycenaean be
ehive tomb flanked by a white cypress on the left and a dark cypress on the righ
t. Menta (Mint) intoned,
The Lord of Death is paid in bitter coin
For dissolution, hoping he'll rejoin
The scattered parts, far better rearranged,
For callous Death's decrees cannot be changed.
"Accept thy fated end," he doth enjoin.
The letter S' on the pillar represents the Dead (S'an), Establishing (S'at'e) an
d the numbers Four (S'a) and Ten (S'ar).
15. Set'lans (Q)
The next pair of columns to the north begins with a depiction of Set'lans (Hepha
estus). He is attractive, sports a goatee, and has long ringlets descending from
his navy-blue Phrygian cap (which has golden ram's horns on it). He wears a sho
rt green tunic, to mid thighs and mid upper arms, and has a pendant around his n
eck. He holds a large hammer in his left hand and raises his right in an odd sal

ute (the fingers divided in two groups of two). He wears elaborate sandals and l
eggings, almost up to his knees, which leave the forward half of his feet expose
d. We can see that his legs are crippled in some way. Set'lans stands on an anvi
l, to the base of which two small figures (male and female) are chained. They do
not look quite natural, and may be effigies or Hephaestus' "robots." Flamma (Fl
ame) recited:
The Master of the melting blaze creates
Material things, and draws together mates
In hot embrace. He works from depths obscure;
To bring him to the Light, the only cure.
Reveal and seize the force he radiates!
The letter on Set'lans' pillar is Q, which means Vessel (Qutun).
16. Fanu Frontac (R)
Paired with Set'lans is the first pillar that does not depict a deity; it shows
Fanu Frontac (The Sacred Place of Lightning), that is, the Omphalos Mundi (World
Navel) blasted by heaven. Specifically, a conical tower with seven stories (lik
e a ziggurat) stands on a small island in the midst of the ocean. Four rivers (b
lue, white, yellow and red) flow from the base of the tower into the sea. A ligh
tning bolt has struck, knocking the conical top off the tower. Two small figures
(male and female), apparently blasted out of the tower, are falling to earth. F
ire is everywhere, showing through seven openings in the side of the tower, and
raining down on the island from the tower. The color scheme is primarily structu
red around the quadruple blue, green, yellow and red. Semele chanted this:
The lightning bolt destroys the outworn walls.
Two characters are overthrown; each falls,
Returns to Mother Earth. The Sacred Mound
Is quickened; there the spark of life is found.
Accept the holy blast that overhauls!
The letter on the pillar is R, which stands for the Sacred Thing (Rat'), the Bro
ther (Ruva) and Moving (Er).
17. Turan Ati (S)
When we had finished at the pillar depicting Fanu Frontac we returned to the wes
tern trio, to the northernmost of the three pillars. It is displaced approximate
ly a meter to the south of where it should be, in order to accommodate a pool or
basin filled by the stream from the Northwest Way (which, it will be recalled,
flows from the spring in its shrine). This pool empties into a drain in the floo
r of the temple.
Turan Ati (Mother Venus, Venus Genetrix) is depicted as a young woman, with copp
er-colored skin, naked but for a tiara, shoes laced up her calves and her kestos
(embroidered magic girdle); she kneels by the side of a pool. From a gold drink
ing horn in her left hand she pours water onto the ground, from the silver horn
in her right she pours water into the pool. In the background is a beehive tomb
flanked by white and dark cypresses, similar to those on the fourteenth pillar.
A eight-rayed star blazes above, which is surrounded by seven smaller stars. Thi
s symbol shows that Turan is also Aphrodite Urania (Heavenly Venus). Spes (Hope)
announced that Turan is the "Lady of Necessity," and then sang,
The Child of Earth and Starry Heaven waits,
Attending to decrees of Stars and Fates,
While through her hands the waters ebb and flow
In Cosmic Rhythm, then descend below.
She marks the time, and Destiny creates!

The letter on this pillar is S, which stands for the Mistress (Maid or Female Co
mpanion, Snenat'), the Daughter (Sec), Alive (Sval) and the number Seven (Semp')
.
18. Aritimi (T)
After Turan's pillar we returned to the northwest pair of pairs, starting at the
pillar in the southeast corner, which depicts the Moon (Tiv), ruled by Aritimi
(Diana). A young crescent moon shines above a desolate scene at the beach: two c
anines (black and white) bay at the moon while some sort of crustacean emerges f
rom the water. The twin towers of a walled city are visible in the distance. The
dark blue of the sky and ocean is the dominant color. The Giane called Phoebe s
aid,
The Nascent Moon controls the sunless skies,
And offers wisdom for whoever tries
To cross the desert. Guardians must be
Appeased to make the passage from the Sea.
Approach the dreadful Dark with insight's eyes!
The letter on this pillar is T, which stands for the Moon (Tiv), the Boundaries
(Tular), the Grandmother (Teta) and the month Turane (July).
19. Aplu (U)
Paired with the Moon is a pillar depicting the Sun (Usil), ruled by Aplu (Apollo
). A brilliant solar disk shines above a walled garden in which a boy and girl d
ance, arm in arm. Panthera explained that the children represent Castur (Castor)
and Clutmstra (Clytemnestra) among mortals, and Pultice (Polydeuces) and Elinai
(Helen) among the immortals. "Golden drops of sunshine" seem to be falling from
the solar disk; yellow and gold are the dominant colors in this sunny scene. Py
thias recited:
The holy place where dawn is never done,
The garden wherein rebirth is begun,
Is where the children dance the Dance of Life,
With Love and Logic, reconciling strife.
Enjoy the sacred Garden of the Sun!
The letter U on the pillar stands for the Sun (Usil) and Noontime (Uslane).
20. Turmus & Atunis (S`)
The scene is dominated by Turmus (Mercury), who flies in the air, sandals strapp
ed to his legs, naked but for a blue cloak clasped over his shoulders. He is you
ng, clean-shaved, and on his head is a broad, red, winged hat. In his left hand
he holds a long caduceus, with two snakes wound tightly on the top; his right ho
lds to his mouth a long golden trumpet, from which hangs a banner emblazoned wit
h an equal-armed cross. Below him, on a small island in the midst of the ocean,
is a green sarcophagus, in which stands Atunis (Adonis) as a naked, young child.
The sarcophagus is flanked by two figures, Turan Ati and Maris Apa (Mother Venu
s and Father Mars). Chloe (Young Green Shoot) gave the verse:
The trumpet sounds; the Herald calls the Child
To rise and be rewarded - or reviled.
Reborn from ash that roasted in the Arc,
His spirit body bears the golden mark.
Arise, and let the poles be reconciled!
The letter S` is on this pillar; it represents the Wind Player (S`uplu), the Tom
b (S`ut'i) and the Dead One (S`ians).
21. Menrva (P')

Menrva (Minerva) is seated on a throne, and holds scales in her left hand and an
upright sword in her right; a helmet with a red horse-hair fringe is pushed bac
k on her blond hair. She wears a green mantle over a blue robe; on her chest is
a red aegis with the Mask of the Gorgon in the center. The four primary colors,
red, blue, green and yellow, are balanced in the picture. Noctua (Nightowl) into
ned loudly:
A balance holds opposing forces, bound
But separate. Herein Harmony is found,
The child of Strife and Love. The keen-edged blade
Divides acutely, truth with wisdom weighed.
By balanced deeds the cosmic mind is crowned.
This pillar's letter is P', which mean a Mask (P'ersu).
22. Ana & Ane (F)
This completed our viewing of the paired columns in the center of the temple, so
Panthera brought me to the last, westernmost pillar. It depicts a figure with t
wo faces like Janus, except that one is female and the other male. Indeed, Panth
era explained that the figure represents the magical unification (as recounted i
n The Janid) of Jana and Janus, who the Giane say are the same as Diana and Dian
us. Moreover, she said that in their oldest language (Etruscan) they are called
Ana and Ane, which may be translated She and He.[5] This androgyne, whom they ca
ll Ana-Anec (Ana-and-Ane, She-He), is dancing in an oval formed by two dragons,
who bite each other's tails. Outside this oval, in the corners of the relief, ar
e four heads: an old man's, a calf's, a lion's and an eagle's. The colors red, b
lue, green and yellow dominate the image, although Ana-Anec is draped in a viole
t, Y-shaped scarf. Gold and silver rods are in the androgyne's hands. Virga (Sta
ff) recited the verse:
The Dancer looks both ways, and holds the keys
That show the rising, falling vortices.
Her dance expands within the world, and takes
The world within; in her the world awakes.
Unreal divisions yield to unities!
The letter on this pillar is F, which means Divinity (Flere), Heaven (Falatu) an
d Sacred Place (Fanu).
I was shown the Western Portal in the wall behind this pillar, but I was not all
owed to go through, for I was told that this led to the Sacrum Sacrorum (Holy of
Holies), which is off-limits. Therefore we returned to the Eastern Portal and l
eft the subterranean temple.
Notes
1 In Etruscan words throughout this document, C', P' and T' represent aspirated
C, P and T; S' and S` are S-like sounds. Z is pronounced TS.
2 The Giane are an oral culture, but use the Etruscan alphabet for numeration. A
s used by the Giane, the alphabet comprises letters that are transliterated:
A C E V Z H T' I K L M N P S' Q R S T U S` P' (C') F.
The Giane received this alphabet when the first Sardinian settlers came from Etr
uria, and the Etruscans may have got it from the Greeks at Cumae. According to T
he Janid, the Giane origin epic, at the end of the second millenium BCE, western
Luvian (Lydian or Lycian) colonists, who called themselves the Rasna (Etruscans
), including "the Sibyl" and "the Daedalus," stopped at Sardinia before colonizi
ng first Cumae and later Etruria, and they may have brought the alphabet to the
Giane at this time.
3 Many of the attendant Giane had names appropriate for the gods to whom they we
re dedicated; I wondered whether they had chosen, or been given, these names whe

n they had dedicated themselves to their gods, or whether they had been intended
for a particular god from birth. I never found out; they did not seem to see mu
ch of a distinction.
4 The Etruscan letter transliterated "Z" is pronounced TS.
5 These names have the form of feminine and masculine proper noun endings (-a, e) applied to the gender-neutral pronoun an (s/he).