Casuccini Mirror
An Etruscan bronze mirror from Chiusi (ca. 300 BC), the so-called Casuccini mirror, may depict Inuus. The scene on the back is a type known from at least four other mirrors, as well as engraved Etruscan gems and Attic red-figure vases. It depicts the oracular head of Orpheus (Etruscan Urphe) prophesying to a group of figures. Names are inscribed around the edge of the mirror, but because the figures are not labeled individually, the correlation is not unambiguous; moreover, the lettering is of disputed legibility in some names. There is general agreement, however, given the comparative evidence, that the five central figures are Umaele, who seems to act as a medium; Euturpa (the Muse Euterpe), Inue (Inuus), Eraz, and Aliunea or Alpunea (Palamedes in other scenarios). The lovers in the pediment at the top are Atunis (Adonis) and the unknown E…ial where Turan (Venus) would be expected. The figure with outstretched wings on the tang is a Lasa, an Etruscan form of Lar who was a facilitator of love like the Erotes or Cupid.
The bearded Inuus appears in the center. Damage obscures his midsection and legs, but his left arm and chest are nude and muscled. On an otherwise very similar mirror, a spear-bearing youth replaces Inuus in the composition. No myth that would provide a narrative context for the scene has been determined.
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