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Vegoia (Etruscan: ''Vecu'') is a nymph and/or sibyl within the Etruscan religious framework who is responsible for writing some parts of their large and complex set of sacred books, of initiating the Etruscan people to the arts, originating the rules and rituals of land marking, and presiding over the observance, respect and preservation of boundaries. Vegoia is also known as Vecu, Vecui, Vecuvia,〔 ''The Etruscan language: an introduction'', Giuliano Bonfante, Larissa Bonfante, 2002, 253 pages, p.210, webpage: (Books-Google-VW ). 〕 Vegoe or else Begoe or even Bigois as it sometimes appears. (see: List of Etruscan mythological figures). ==In the Etruscan religious framework== The actual Etruscan religious system remains mostly obscure. The Etruscan language is poorly understood, due to the lack of many bilingual documents comparable to the Rosetta stone. Therefore, the ancient Etruscan documents (8th, 7th, 6th centuries BCE) that would reflect their own proper conceptions do not yield much. Moreover, during the later period (5th through 1st centuries BCE) Etruscan civilization heavily incorporated elements of Greek civilization and eventually diluted itself in the Greco-Roman mixture of their powerful Roman neighbours. Lastly, while they formalized their religious concepts and practices in a series of "sacred books", most are no longer extant and known only through commentaries or quotes by Roman authors of the late 1st century: 〔Granius Flaccus ("De indigitamentis", dedicated to Caesar), Nigidius Figulus (a friend of Cicero exiled by Caesar, from whom a brontoscopic calendar has been handed down through the works of a certain Lydus), Herennius («De sacris Saliaribus Tiburtium», lost) , Messala («De auspiciis»), Trebatius («De religionibus»), Veranius («De libri auspiciorum», «Pontificales quaestiones», of which only fragments are known), Varro («Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum», lost) and also some Etruscan-originating authors of the late 1st century BCE who tried to salvage bits and pieces of their native culture, such as Tarquitius Priscus (given as a contemporary of Cicero, originated from Tarquinia, author of «Ostentarium Tuscum», «Ostentarium arborium» known through some quotes by Macrobius), Aulus Caecina (originated from Volterra, a friend of Cicero, whose works are the basis of lengthy exposés concerning the interpretation of lightning strokes by Seneca and Plinius ), Cornelius Labeo (vaguely identified in-between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE), Marcianus Minneus Felix Capella even much later (5th century CE). (source: Georges Dumézil, La religion romaine archaïque, Bibliothèque historique Payot, ISBN 2-228-89297-1, 1974, 2000, appendice sur la religion des Etrusques, p.670)〕 and hence may be biased. Two mythological figures have been set by the Etruscans as presiding over the production of their sacred books: a female figure, Vegoia, and a monstrous childlike figure gifted with the knowledge and prescience of an ancient sage, Tages. Those books are known from Latin authors under a classification pertaining to their content according to their mythological author (whether delivered through speeches or lectures, such as Tages, or inspiration).〔Massimo Pallottino, Etruscologia. Milan,Hoepli, 1942 (English ed., The Etruscans. David Ridgway, editor. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975, p. 154. Massimo Pallottino summarizes the known (but non-extant) scriptures as the Libri Haruspicini, stating the theory and rules of divination from animal entrails; the Libri Fulgurales, which were aboutdivination from lightning strikes; and the Libri Rituales. The latter were composed of the Libri Fatales, which expressed the correct religious methods of founding cities and shrines, draining fields, formulating laws and ordinances, measuring space and dividing time; the Libri Acherontici, which dealt with the hereafter; and the Libri Ostentaria, which contained rules for interpreting prodigies. The revelations of the prophet Tages were given in the Libri Tagetici, which included the Libri Haruspicini and the Acherontici. Those of the prophetess Vegoia were given in the Libri Vegoici, which included the Libri Fulgurales and part of the Libri Rituales, especially the Libri Fatales.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vegoia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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