Cel (goddess)

Cel was the Etruscan goddess of the earth^[1]: 46,57. On the Etruscan calendar, the month of Celi (September) is likely named for her^[2]: 106. Her Greek counterpart is Gaia and her Roman is counterpart is Terra^[1]: 46.

In Etruscan mythology, Cel was the mother of a giant Celsclan^[2]: 105. A bronze mirror from the 5th century BC depicts a theomachy in which Celsclan ("son of Cel") is a giant attacked by Laran, the god of war^[2]: 105. Another mirror depicts anguiped giants in the company of a goddess, possibly Cel, whose lower body is formed of vegetation^[2]: 106.

In a sanctuary near Lake Trasimeno, at Castiglione del Lago, were found five votive bronze statuettes dedicated to Cel Ati ("Mother Cel")^{[1]: 90 [2]: 105}. The inscription on each reads mi celś atial celthi,^[1]: 90 "I [belong to, have been given] to Cel the mother, here [in this sanctuary]."^[3]

Cel appears on the Liver of Piacenza^[1]: 57, a bronze model of a liver marked for the Etruscan practice of haruspicy. She is placed in section (or house) 13 of the liver^{[2]: 44,105}.