Thana
Messapian · deity · iron age to roman messapia · Recorded classification
Thana, also spelled Thauna, is a goddess named in Messapic inscriptions of ancient Apulia. The same theonym is found on votive altars in Dalmatia on the opposite Adriatic coast, which has been taken as evidence for religious connections between the Iapygians of Salento and the Illyrian peoples of the eastern Adriatic. Beyond her name and her appearance in dedications little can be said with confidence about her functions; she is included here as a securely attested individual theonym of the Messapian pantheon rather than as a figure with a recoverable mythology.
Domains
- tutelary protection
Powers
- to receive votive dedications as a tutelary goddess
Epithets
- Thaunade Simone, Carlo, and Simona Marchesini. Monumenta Linguae Messapicae. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2002, vol. 2, s.v. 'thana'. (secondary)
Sources
- Thana (Thauna) is a Messapic goddess-name attested in Iapygian inscriptions and also on Dalmatian altars across the Adriatic.: de Simone, Carlo, and Simona Marchesini. Monumenta Linguae Messapicae. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2002, vol. 2, s.v. 'thana'. (secondary); Krahe, Hans. Die Sprache der Illyrier I: Die Quellen. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1955, on the Messapic theonyms. (secondary)