Description
Vertumnus
Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (now at Skokloster Castle, Sweden).
Roman cult and possible Etruscan origin
In Roman mythology, Vertumnus — also Vortumnus or Vertimnus — is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees.
Vertumnus’ cult arrived in Rome around 300 BC, and a temple to him was constructed on the Aventine Hill by 264 BC, the date of the fall of Volsinii (Etruscan Velzna) to the Romans. Propertius also asserts that the god was Etruscan, and came from Volsinii.
The name Vortumnus appears to derive from Etruscan Voltumna. It was likely then further contaminated in popular etymology by a pre-existing Latin word vertēre meaning “to change”, hence the alternative form, Vertumnus.
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