Editing Etruscan religion (section)

===Greek influence===
Greek traders brought their religion and hero figures with them to the coastal areas of the central Mediterranean. [[Odysseus]], [[Menelaus]] and [[Diomedes]] from the [[Homeric]] tradition were recast in tales of the distant past that had them roaming the lands West of Greece. In Greek tradition, [[Heracles]] wandered these western areas, doing away with monsters and brigands, and bringing civilization to the inhabitants. Legends of his prowess with women became the source of tales about his many offspring conceived with prominent local women, though his role as a wanderer meant that Heracles moved on after securing the locations chosen to be settled by his followers, rather than fulfilling a typical founder role. Over time, Odysseus also assumed a similar role for the Etruscans as the heroic leader who led the Etruscans to settle the lands they inhabited.<ref name="carthage">{{cite book |last1=Miles |first1=Richard |title=Carthage Must Be Destroyed |date=21 July 2011 |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781101517031 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOQ9JLtGj0UC&q=carthage+must+be+destroyed+book}}</ref>

Claims that the sons of Odysseus had once ruled over the Etruscan people date to at least the mid-[[6th century BC]]. [[Lycophron]] and [[Theopompus]] link Odysseus to [[Cortona]] (where he was called ''Nanos'').<ref>{{cite book |title=Etruscology |volume=1 |date=25 September 2017 |location=Germany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uk8_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |page=38|isbn=9781934078495 |last1=Naso |first1=Alessandro }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Peoples of Ancient Italy |date=20 November 2017 |location=Germany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UElADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |page=17|isbn=9781614513001 |last1=Farney |first1=Gary D. |last2=Bradley |first2=Guy }}</ref> In Italy during this era it could give non-Greek ethnic groups an advantage over rival ethnic groups to link their origins to a Greek hero figure. These legendary heroic figures became instrumental in establishing the legitimacy of Greek claims to the newly settled lands, depicting the Greek presence there as reaching back into antiquity.<ref name="carthage"/>