Usil

Usil is the sun of the Etruscans, and his name is simply their word for the sun. On the Liver of Piacenza his genitive, usils, labels one half of the sixteen regions of the sky, against tivs, 'of the moon' — so the sun and moon between them frame the whole field a haruspex read. In art he is haloed, often winged, rising or in a chariot, and he keeps company with Thesan, the dawn. The deity is usually male, but female depictions exist and the corpus of images does not resolve into a single fixed figure.

Domains

• sun and daylight
• divination

Powers

• to run the course of the day, rising winged from the sea

Relations

• ally: TiurPaired with Tiur, the moon: their two names divide the sixteen regions of the Etruscan sky between them.Liver of Piacenza — usils and tivs name the two halves of the sixteen-region sky. (archaeological)
• ally: ThesanPictured together with Thesan, the dawn, the two of them sometimes sharing a chariot.Reference article 'Usil': Usil is associated with the dawn goddess Thesan, the pair frequently pictured together and sometimes in a chariot. (iconographic)
• ally: CathaAssociated with Catha, who is named daughter and eye of the sun; whether her own character is solar or lunar remains disputed, so the link is recorded as a cult association rather than descent.Reference article 'Catha': Catha is called Solis Filia, 'daughter of the Sun', and 'Eye of the Sun', though whether she is solar or lunar is disputed. (secondary)

Sources

• Usil is the Etruscan sun god, named on the Liver of Piacenza beside the moon Tiur, the pair dividing the sixteen regions of the sky; he is depicted haloed and often winged on mirrors and bronze chariot fittings, and is frequently shown with the dawn goddess Thesan.: Liver of Piacenza (2nd-1st c. BCE), Museo Civico, Piacenza. (archaeological); Reference article 'Usil', on the theonym, the sun/moon division of the sky, the iconography and the association with Thesan. (secondary)