𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑉𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖: Venice is deservedly famed for its history vis-à-vis the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, yet this focus often eclipses the region’s earlier history, as is the case with today’s object of study; the Veneti

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑎 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎:
Part 2: The poleis of the Toe Continuing our overview of the Greek cities of Italy, today we cover the history of the poleis of our peninsula's 'toe'.

https://x.com/_Italus/status/1828091064873566303

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 : Many are the legacies the Etruscans imparted unto Rome, most notable of which being their understanding of the Gods, the fashion of their veneration and the manner in which to ascertain their will;

https://x.com/_Italus/status/1790656057762549866

𝑅𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑠:
Part 3: The afterlife Continuing our overview of the foundational principles of the ancestral faith, today we cover the oft-discordant and misinterpreted concept of the afterlife.

https://x.com/_Italus/status/1823415587311129001

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 : Anatolian influence in Italy begins with Aeneas’ exodus from Ilion.
This Trojan heritage would make way for a number of later cultural imports from Asia Minor into the peninsula.
Most notable of these would be the Phrygian cult of the Great Mother.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑎𝑝𝑦𝑔𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠: Pop-history often erroneously simplifies pre-roman southern Italy as a random collective of greek colonies spattered around amidst a conglomerate of 'historically irrelevant' tribes.
Let us thus broach the contentious matter of the far too often overlooked Iapygians of Apulia;

𝑂𝑑𝑦𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐼𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑦: The geography of Homer has always been a matter of debate since ancient times, most disregarding the poet as a mere entertainer.
Ignoring this modern cynicism and taking the rhapsode's words to heart we do find a consensus on Odysseus’ presence in the Italian peninsula.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝐺𝑜𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑠: There are few realities more immutable than violence. Interpersonal bloodshed has accompanied humanity since its inception.
Let us thus look at the fire-eyed maid of smoky war, the goddess of carnage, Bellona;

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛 "Golden was the first race of men made by the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus. They lived at the time of Saturn, guided by chaste Astraea, virgin of the stars.
Just like the gods they spent their lives without sorrow of spirit and free from toil and distress.

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒: Today are the 𝐼𝑑𝑢̄𝑠 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑠.
Alongside the habitual sacrifices made on the Ides, we also celebrate the 𝐿𝑢𝑑𝑖 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖 in honor of Jupiter and the 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑢𝑠 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟, the sacrifice of the 'October Horse' in honor of Mars;

𝑂𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑡: From New Age trends, Puritan trials and children's fairy tales, 'sorcery' as a notion and its practitioners have possessed our collective consciousness since time immemorial.
Let us look at how the concept was understood in ancient Italy;

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑖: Today marks the 𝐾𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑒 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑠.
Beyond the monthly sacrifices made to Janus and Juno, we also celebrate the 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑇𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑚, the "sister's beam", commemorating the war against Alba Longa, the Horatii triplets and their sister, Camilla.

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡: One of the most enduring elements of our ancestral customs is the societal importance of athleticism and the reverence of the physical form.
Indeed modern 'fitness culture' is absolutely full of Greco-Italic iconography. Despite this, few are aware of its religious origins;

𝑂𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠: There a few figures as prevalent to our collective unconscious as the 'vampire'. Every single human culture has some form of blood-sucking undead that haunts its nights.
Let us look at how the notion was understood by our ancients;

𝑂𝑛 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑢, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 '𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑙𝑓 𝑔𝑜𝑑: In spite of its prevalence in mainstream pop-culture, many are ignorant of the origin of 'lycanthropy' as a concept;

𝑂𝑛 𝐸𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦: It is not uncommon in our circles to find the belief that the Etruscans were notably morally degenerate for their times.
This mainly stems from a anachronistic "us vs them" dynamic many view history through between the IE Romans/Greeks and the supposedly non-IE Etruscans;

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑: Many forget that the ancient faith is built, in part, on a foundation of ancestor worship.
In the spirit of the season, I hope to shed some light on the shades of our forefathers and the rituals performed in their veneration;

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠: Discussions of Italian history often overlook Corsica and Sardinia, either because the former is not part of the modern nation (yet) or the incorrect conception that both islands lack any notable historical relevance.

Let us then look at the people of Corsica and Sardinia;

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑎𝑐𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎: Bacchus and his reverence has always been paradoxical to those who view our history through idealized 'morally pure marble-white tinted glasses'.
Livy's account of the Bacchanlia is emblematic of how old this contention is:

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠: The allure of blood sport is inherent to our collective unconscious.
Yet its theatrical splendor has blinded us to the ceremonial origins of the practice;

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑠: Those with a surface level understanding of Greco-Italic faith may be inclined to neatly distinguish between divine and 'monstrous' beings.
The Sirens and their cult are evidence of the lost nuance between such concepts;