by Lulzim Osmanaj

This text is best understood as a mythohistorical interpretation of cultural conquest. Its central argument is that the destruction of a civilization is not accomplished solely through military conquest: it also requires the reconstruction of its memory, religion, and relationship to the land.

When a new empire conquers an old people, a “Werteumkehr” – “Reversal of Values” – occurs.[^1] In the Illyrian-Etruscan world this happened in 3 steps:

1. Humiliate the Hero

The Etruscan king *Lars Porsenna*, the hero who fought Rome in 508 BC, became a laughingstock in Roman legends.[2] This is _damnatio memoriae_: when you can’t defeat him with war, you make him ridiculous with myth.[3]

2. Curse the Under

The Illyrian-Etruscan “Great Mother” – “Bindi, Uni, Cybele” – was the mistress of the mountains and mines.[4] Rome and the Church attacked her twice: they declared her “unclean” and took her power away, giving it to Mary.[5] Without the Mother, the people lose their connection to the land.

3. Slaughter God

“Thor/God/Tinia” – the god of lightning and blacksmiths – was not killed. He was sacrificed.[6] The lightning took Saint Elijah, the sword Saint Michael, the forge the saints.[7] The name died, the power was absorbed by the new religion.

The formula was simple:

Break the Past = King | Break the Earth = Mother | Break the Sky = God

Once these 3 are broken, the people become “obedient and tax-paying”.[8]

This is how the Illyrian-Etruscan world ended. Not just with the sword, but with iron, blood, and curse.

Bibliography

[1]: Max Weber, _The Sociology of Religion_ (Boston: Beacon, 1993), 45. 

[2]: Livy, _From the Founding of the City_, II, 9-15.

[3]: H. Flower, _The Art of Forgetting_ (UNC Press, 2006), 23. 

[4]: J. Wilkes, _The Illyrians_ (Oxford, 1992), 234. 

[5]: Augustine, _On the City of God_, VII, 24.

[6]: G. Dumézil, _Myth and Epic_ (Paris, 1968), 89.

[7]: P. Brown, _The Rise of Western Christendom_ (Oxford, 2003), 201. 

[8]: Tacitus, _Agricola_, 2