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This means of prophecy 553 was one of the Romans’ oldest customs, and the position of augur
held high status. 554
The notion that birds served as a connection between the gods and man can perhaps be
seen in the Etruscan convention of placing wings on prophetic figures. The Chalchas mirror is
one such example (Fig. VI.1). 555 Prophets cross boundaries between the worlds of gods and men
by revealing the intentions of the gods or making predictions of the future. Thus, the presence of
wings may be a metaphorical way of showing a prophet’s ability to open channels between the
mortal and immortal realms. Wings indicate a super-human, perhaps even divine, nature, 556 and
the sprouting of wings from the back of a prophet situates him/her amongst the ranks of
divinities such as Lasas, Vanths, and other spirits who bear such a mark. To further demonstrate
the possibility of associating wings with prophecy and fate, one might consider the figure of
Athrpa, who also appears on an engraved Etruscan mirror (Fig. VI.2). Athrpa has been
interpreted as the Etruscan equivalent of the Greek Atropos, the Fate who cuts the cord of life
and determines that it is a mortal’s time to die. 557 Wings, serving as visual signifiers to indicate a
figure who has transcended the normal boundaries of nature, 558 are appropriate on this mirror
which demonstrates the fruition of divine will and the bearing out of future events through the
fated deaths of Atunis and Meleacr.
In addition to winged prophets who might interpret or pronounce omens, Italy also
possessed at least one oracular shrine in which an actual bird, in this case a woodpecker, gave
oracles. The woodpecker, often identified as the Picus martius, 559 was a highly auspicious bird
553 For a distinction between the terms prophecy and divination, see De Grummondb 2006, 27.
554 De Grummond (2006c, 41-2) notes both the evident importance of augury in Etruscan religion and the need for
more research in this area.
555 This mirror serves as yet another example of how the Etruscans adopted and also modified Greek myth.
Chalchas was the seer who assigned Agamemnon the task of sacrificing Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis in order
that the winds might blow and allow the Greek fleet to sail against Troy. (For the prophecy of Chalchas see Hom. Il.
2.308-29, for the death of Iphigenia as a result of his oracles see Aesch. Ag. 156-9, 248-9, 1521-30.) In this
instance, he uses a technique of divination that was prominent in Etruria and the Near East, hepatoscopy, and is also
winged, possibly an indicator of divine nature. De Grummond (2006, 54-5) also notes that this is not how Chalchas
is presented in the Iliad in which he consults the will of the gods by studying the actions of snakes and birds. The
wings may also be an indicator that he is a mediator between the mortal and divine realms as birds may fly among
the clouds as well as walk on the ground. A winged creature belongs to two different spheres.
556 De Grummond 2006a, 31. A further example of a winged divinity is discussed by de Grummond (2006a, 6), who
notes the presence of a “Master of Birds” depicted as a winged male with bird perched on his outstretched wings.
557 De Grummond 2006a, 20; von Vacano 1960, 9-13.
558 Kerényi 1976, 81.
559 Plin. HN. X.40; Mackay (1975, 272) discusses the problem of identifying the exact species of woodpecker
described by the literary sources.
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