Daniele F. Maras

Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia

Greek myths in cross-cultural translation: the case of Etruria

2014-2015: Fall and Spring

I received a PhD in Archaeology (Etruscan Studies) at the University of Rome La Sapienzain 2002, and taught Etruscan and Italic Epigraphy in the same university from 2006 to 2010, and later as a member of the Board of Teachers for the PhD in Linguistic History of Ancient Mediterranean at the IULM University of Milan. I am currently a socio corrispondente of the Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia, a member of the Società Italiana di Storia delle Religioni, and a Margo Tytus Visiting Scholar Fellow at the University of Cincinnati (Summer 2014).
My research interests lie in the entire field of the history and culture of pre-Roman Italy, with special regard to issues of identity, culture-exchange and Greek and Roman acculturation. In particular, my project at the Italian academy focuses on ancient religion and mythology and in the changing cross-cultural relationships among them, seeking evidence of the agency of the Etruscan craftsmen and their patrons in the process of selection and adaptation of Greek myths into their own figural artistic representations.
In this field, along with a steady series of articles and papers in journals and edited volumes, I am author of the volume “Il dono votivo. Gli dei e il sacro nelle iscrizioni etrusche di culto,” (2009) and recently contributed to international books, such as “The Etruscan World” edited by J. Turfa (2013, with a chapter on the religious value of numbers and divisions in Etruria), “Handbook of Etruscology” edited by A. Naso (forthcoming, with a chapter on the Etruscan religion), and “The Role of Animals in ancient Myth and Religion,” edited by G. Casadio, A. Mastrocinque & P. Johnston (forthcoming, with a contribution on birds in Etruscan and Roman divination).
http://pont-ara.academia.edu/DanieleFedericoMaras