Greek and romans etruscans
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The Etruscans were an ancient civilization that inhabited central Italy from around 800 BC to 400 BC. They greatly influenced early Roman culture and civilization. The Etruscans originated in Asia Minor and were the first civilized people to settle in Italy. They introduced advanced technologies like arches, sewers and hydraulic engineering to the region. The Etruscans also contributed significantly to art, architecture, religion and trade in Italy. Though the Romans eventually conquered the Etruscans, they adopted many aspects of Etruscan culture and credited them with founding the city of Rome.
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Greek and romans etruscans
- 1. ETRUSCANS (800 AND 400 B.C.E.) Greatly influenced the Romans.
- 2. THE ETRUSCANS (800 AND 400 B.C.E.) “ The Etruscans, as everyone knows, were the people who occupied the middle of Italy in early Roman days, and whom the Romans, in their usual neighborly fashion, wiped out entirely.” DH Lawrence
- 3. Etruscans (800 and 400 3 B.C.E.) Asia Minor (Turkey) and then settled in Etruria. They were the first civilized people to settle in Italy.
- 4. Economics: farmers and metal workers (bronze, iron and precious metals), sailors and merchants iron ore deposits "The Orator" - A second century BCE life- size representation of Aulus Metellus, magistrate and Master of the Etruscan
- 5. Women equal to Men Social: liberated women Legal status Literacy Owned property
- 6. Etruscan society Consisted of wealthy overlords who made slaves of conquered people Aristocratic priests who sacrificed prisoners of war
- 7. TRADE Boats - Sea Trade Treaty with Carthage is only surviving treaty, but likely one of many. Storage
- 8. ETRUSCAN LIFE Religion Polytheistic beliefs and ritualistic practices Belief in predestination “divine will.”
- 9. ETR U S CAN LI F E written language (non Indo- european) funerary inscriptions in tombs or identification of ownership.
- 10. Lemnos Stele The inscription on the Lemnos Stele, 600 BCE language similar to Etruscan The Etruscans adopted the Greek alphabet.
- 11. U R BAN I ZAT I O N Engineering, underground water pipes, pressure boxes, floor heating introduced the construction of arch to Italy The Etruscans built Rome's first drainage
- 12. Water Control, created clean water hydraulics controlled floods and helped agriculture prosper Statuette of a Ploughman from Arezzo, 4th B.C
- 13. U R BAN I ZAT I O N Use of Local Geology- Etruscans utilized the tufa layer of volcanic rock for both drainage and construction. Etrusco-latin cuniculus on the outskirts of
- 14. Etruscan Art 14 A large proportion of Etruscan art did not survive Roman destruction of Etruscan Art
- 15. ETR U S CAN ART First true masters of bronze works Praised by Greek and Roman writers, techniques adopted. http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0023712.html
- 16. ETR U S CAN ART Bronzes The Chimera of Arezzo Capitoline She-wolf 5th century B.C.E. Bronze. Roma, Musei Capitolini Head of young Man Cervereri, 3rd Cent BCE
- 17. ETR U S CAN ART Sculpture Sarcophagus adornment Terracotta sculptures of gods decorated temple roofs Archaic Smile Etruscan Terra Cotta Sarcophagus 520 BCE, Italian peninsula
- 18. Apulu (Apollo), ca. 510–500 B.C. Painted terracotta , Etruscan Characteristics? Expressive face Gesticulating Energetic Swelling Contours Placed on the peaks of the roof of a temple.
- 19. Apulu (Apollo) Ca 510-500 BCE Painted terracotta 5’11” high Kroisis, 530 BCE Greek How is it similar or different from Greek statuary?
- 20. antefix from the temple of Juno Sospita, Lanuvium (6th - 5th Century BCE)
- 21. 21 Statuette of Haruspex, 4th B.C..
- 22. 22 Warrior with Villanovan Helmet, 700 B.C. Statuettes from Brolio, 590 B.C. Statuettes of Spear-Throwers, . 5th B.C.
- 23. 23 Statuette of a Woman, 2nd B.C.
- 24. ETR U S CAN ART Frescoes, Decorated walls of tombs. Most of the knowledge of the Etruscans have been found in their burial Fishing Scene, chambers. Tomb of Hunting & Fishing, Tarquinia fresco from Tarquinia, Italy. This fresco was found on the wall of a tomb and dates from c. 465 BC.
- 25. Frescoes enjoyed sports, religious ceremonies, music and feasts.
- 26. Etruscan Tomb paintings commonly portrayed Men and women being entertained.
- 28. ETR U S CAN ART Pottery Geometric c.1000 to 700 B.C.E. Orientalization Phase ca. 700 B.C.E. Black and Red Figure Ca. 630-540 B.C.E Bucchero 7th and early 5th century B.C.E.
- 29. 29 pottery Etruscan - Corinthian Amphora, Decorated With Friezes of Animals by the so-called Painter of the Bearded Sphynx, 7th B.C. Amphora, 600 B.C.
- 30. 30 Etruscan Kalpis, 6th B.C.
- 31. 31 Hydria with Europa Riding the Amphora by the so-called Paris Painter, Bull, 6th B.C. 6th B.C
- 32. 32 Etruscan Bell-Shaped Cup from Spina, 4th B.C. Hydria from Cerveteri, 550-525 B.C.
- 33. 33 Askos, 4th B.C. Crater by the so-called Painter of Dawn (from Falerii), 375-350 B.C. .
- 34. 34 The Charinos Female Head-Shaped Rhython, 490 B.C.
- 35. 35 Canopic Urn, Impasto, 7th B.C. Front view. Canopic Urn, Impasto, 7th B.C. Side view. Head from a Canopic Urn, Terracotta, 6th B.C.
- 36. 36 Canopic Urn Canopic Urn, Bronze Ossuary, 7th B.C. Canopic Urn, Terracotta Ossuary, 7th Terracotta Head, 6th B.C. and a Terracotta B.C. Throne.
- 37. PERFUME BOTTLES IN THE FORM OF ANIMALS 7th - 4th B.C. 37
- 38. 38
- 39. 39
- 40. ETR U S CAN ART Jewelry Influences: Greek, Orient, Celtic Amulets, necklaces, mirrors, fibulas
- 42. *Fibula with Orientalizing Lions, Gold ; Regolini-Galassi Tomb 650-640 BCE Lions from the Orient. Repousse Granulation Ostentatious display of newly acquired wealth
- 43. AR C HITE CTU RE
- 44. *Archaic Temple Model 6th Cent BCE as described by Vitruvius How similar to or Materials different from Greek Wood, brick, Temple? terra cotta Single staircase 3 cellas Frontal, not Statues on roof sculptural High podium Tuscan columns
- 45. Etruscan Architecture Walls with protective gates and towers surrounded the cities Arcuated Gateway: Anticipates the Roman use of the round arch
- 46. Anatomy of the Arch
- 47. Porta Marzia, Gate of Mars, Perugia, Italy, c. 100 BCE Pilasters: engaged rectangular columns “triumphal arch”
- 48. THE AFTERLIFE Tomb sites are most of the archeological evidence of the culture Caere or Cerveteri
- 49. THE AFTERLIFE
- 50. Banditaccia Necropolis, 7th –2nd centuries BCE Tumulus: burial mounds Limestone tomb: Tufa Covered by an earthen mound Colossal size
- 51. Similar to Treasury of Atreus (king of Mycenae)
- 52. Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri, Italy 3rd Cent BCE Several generations of a single family furniture, clothing, pottery, tools, and jewelry
- 54. THE AFTERLIFE Funerary Games The Tomb of the Jugglers Tomba Dei Giocolieri end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th
- 55. THE AFTERLIFE Funerary Games •two wrestlers are depicted, possibly part of the funerary games. The Tomb of The Augurs Tomba Dei Augures Period: 530 - 480 BCE
- 56. THE AFTERLIFE Funerary games a masked figure a nail on the dog's collar bites into its neck enraging the animal – attacks
- 58. Sarcophagus with reclining couple 520 BCE painted terra cotta A man and woman sharing a reclining couch Animated upper bodies Gestural Show the equality of women even in death
- 59. Sarcophagus with reclining couple 520 BCE painted terra cotta
- 60. 60 Sarcophagus of a Couple, 6th B.C. The Girl from Monte Abatone, 6th B.C. (Detail)
- 61. 61 Banqueter and Vanth, Limestone Cinerary Urn, 400 B.C.
- 62. 62 Mother and Child from Chianciano, Limestone Cinerary Urn, 400 B.C.
- 63. 63 Etruscan, early 4th century BCE, Reclining Youth, Cinerary Urn, bronze, length of base 69 cm, height of figure 42 cm, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. See cinerary urn.
- 64. 64 Sarcophagus of Larthia Seianti from Chiuisi, 2nd B.C .
- 65. Death Leaning into the Face of an Old Man, 2nd B.C. 65 Votive Statuette of Dionysos Enthroned, 2nd B.C. Votive Figures of Swaddled Babies with Bullae, 4th-1st B.C.
- 66. Etruscan, Lion's Head, first half of the 5th century BCE, bronze, height 26 cm, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. CLASSICAL ETRUSCAN Mythical Animals
- 67. The Kings twin grandsons Romulus and Remus were placed next to the River Tiber and left to die. a she-wolf found them and took care of them Romulus and Remus, added in the 15th century, probably by Antonio Pollaiuolo. She-Wolf, 5th B.C
- 68. Chimera of Arezzo, 325 BCE, 2’ 7 1/2 “ bronze, Greek monster Lions head and body, serpents tail, goats head Wounded by Greek hero Bellerophon
- 70. 70 Mars of Todi, 4th B.C. Statuette of a Striding Hoplite, 450 B.C. .
- 71. (ARRINGATORE, ORATOR) BRONZE 5’7” HIGH 1ST CENT BCE (DURING ROMAN DOMINATION) Etruscan art became Roman art Resembles Roman portraits, toga and boots of a Roman magistrate
- 72. The Founding of Rome and the Monarchy The Etruscans went on to lay the foundation of the city of Rome The Romans adopted almost all of their superior warfare techniques including weapons and armor designs from the Etruscans, using the same techniques to conquer them in the fourth century B.C.E. Bust of Brutus, 300 B.C.
- 73. The End. 73 Head of a Man from the Votive Deposit of Manganello, Cerveteri, 100 B.C.
- 75. 75 Sarcophagus of the Married Couple from The Bandataccia Necropolis, Cerveteri, 6th B.C. (Detail)
- 76. 76 Boy Playing with a Bird, 2nd B.C.
- 77. 77 Chimera of Arezzo, 4th B.C.
- 78. 78 Sarcophagus of Velthur Partunus, So- called Magnate, Painted Marble and Limestone, 4th B.C.
- 79. 79 Goat, 5th B.C.
- 80. 80 Cinerary Urn of a Woman, Alabaster, 2nd B.C.
- 81. 81 Statue of a Young Girl, 1st A.D.
- 82. 82 Funerary Stele from Bologna, Sandstone, 350 B.C.
- 83. 83 Cinerary Urn of a Woman, Alabaster, 2nd B.C.
- 84. Relief Urn from Chiusi, 520-500 84 B.C. Relief Base of Cippus from Chiusi, with Scene of Women at Home, 475 B.C
- 85. 85 Cenatur from Vulci, Nenfro, 550 B.C.
- 86. 86 Statue of a Boy on a Hippocamp from Vulci, Nenfro, 520 B.C. .
- 87. 87 Sarcophagus of Larthia Seianti from Chiuisi, 2nd B.C
- 88. Rome 88 The Etruscans went on to lay the foundation of the city of Rome
- 89. 89 She-Wolf, 5th B.C. Romulus and Remus, added in the 15th century, probably by Antonio Pollaiuolo.
- 90. Etruscans responsible for the civilization and foundation of the city of Rome and many other Mediterranean cities. Contributed engineering, technology, and pottery techniques to entire Mediterranean. Learn about them through the impact they had on other societies. “Nearly the whole of Italy was once under Etruscan Rule.” - Cato 2nd Century BCE
- 91. 91 Etruscan, Lion's Head, first half of the 5th century BCE, bronze, height 26 cm, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
- 92. From their beginnings in the area that is now Tuscany, these Etruscans had deep rooted influences which survive to this day. Although the Etruscan language is by no means totally decoded, we now know enough to see that many words of Etruscan origin found themselves into Latin and from there into English. For an unknown language, many Etruscan words look very familiar.
- 93. Etruscan: (800 and 400 B.C.E.)
- 94. Capitoline Wolf Rome Italy 500-480 BCE (Remus and Romulus added during the Renaissance by Pollaiuolo) 2’ 71/2” high, hollow cast bronze Famous symbol of Rome Boys were sons of Mars and mortal woman Abandoned Later founded the city of Rome in 753 Vitality- ferocious wolf contrast with motherhood
- 95. predestination 95 Although a postponement is sometimes possible by means of prayer and sacrifice, the end is certain.
- 96. Etruscan religion 96 the destiny of man was completely determined by the unpredictability of the many deities
- 97. AR C HITE CTU RE “ Etruscan architecture looked quite different from the familiar stone temples and gleaming marble statuary of Greek architecture.
Editor's Notes
- No one knows for certain where the Etruscans had originally come from. They may have migrated from Asia Minor (now called Turkey) before settling in Etruria. - Historians have not deciphered much Etruscan writing (namely gods and goddesses) and cannot read first-hand accounts of Etruscan history. - The Etruscans did not speak an Indo-European language as did most migrant peoples from Asia Minor. - The mud, bricks, and wood from their buildings have all disappeared and though archaeologists have unearthed foundations of some Etruscan cities, there is very little revealed about Etruscan culture. - Most of the knowledge of the Etruscans have been found in their burial chambers though not much is revealed. - The many Etruscan tomb paintings reveal that they enjoyed sports, religious ceremonies, music and feasts. - Decorative objects have been found in tombs such as furniture, clothing, pottery, tools, and jewelry all revealing that they were just as had been spoken about them, "wealthy Mediterranean traders." - Scholars have determned that their society consisted of wealthy overlords who made slaves of conquered peoples, aristocratic priests who sacrificed prisoners of war forced them to duel to the death to appease angry gods. - The Etruscans were the first civilized people to settle in Italy and they greatly influenced the Romans. - The Etruscans were flourishing from around 800 BC to 400 BC. - In the 6th cent. BC. they occupied and ruled Rome for 100 years. - Extensive iron ore deposits near them in north central Italy made them very rich from trade. - The Etruscans adopted the Greek alphabet. - They had skilled workers in bronze, iron and precious metals. - At the height of their power they were ruling from the River Po to Naples. - It was the Etruscans that wore a robe, later known to the Romans as the "toga." - The Etruscans built Rome's first drainage system. - Etruscan soldiers carried an official symbol called the "fasces" which was an axe with its handle surrounded by sticks and tied with rope. - The Etruscan and Roman civilizations were put together from bits and pieces from Asia Minor, Greece, Phoenicia, Israel, Egypt, and Persia. - The Romans adopted almost all of their superior warfare techniques including weapons and armor designs from the Etruscans, using the same techniques to conquer them in the fourth century BC. - Etruscan women were considered equal to men - Roman elegance was adopted from the Etruscans, lavish banquets reclining on couches, watching dancers and other entertainers while being served courses of fine food and drink by slaves. - Senior officials of the Roman Republic derived their insignia from the Etruscans: curule chair, purple-bordered toga (toga praetexta), and bundle of rods (fasces).
- On the Tiber river is the village of Latins, which later became Rome No one knows for certain where the Etruscans had originally come from. They may have migrated from Asia Minor (now called Turkey) before settling in Etruria.The Etruscans were the first civilized people to settle in Italy and they greatly influenced the Romans. These people rose to prosperity and power, then disappeared Greeks (ca. 3000–332 B.C.E.)Etruscan art (950 and 300 B.C.E.) Glory of Rome (ca.500 B.C.E.-500 C.E.)Before the days of ancient Rome’s greatness, Italy was the home of a nation called Etruria, whose people we call the Etruscans. Its civilization prospered between 950 and 300 BCE. in northwestern Italy — in a region between the Arno River (which runs through Pisa and Florence) and the Tiber (which runs through Rome). These people rose to prosperity and power, then disappeared, leaving behind many unanswered questions concerning their origin and their culture. Because little Etruscan literature remains and the language of inscriptions on their monuments has been only partially deciphered, scholars have gained most of their knowledge of the Etruscans from studying the remains of their buildings, monuments, vast tombs, and the objects they left behind, notably bronze and terra cotta sculptures and polychrome ceramics.from Lydia in Asia Minor and built up a culture 2,700 years ago. At that time Greeks were writing down the Iliad and the Odyssey. (Syrians had recently hatched a phonetic alphabet--an infinitely fruitful idea that sprang up only once on earth, to one people, and spread.) The Etruscans settled Tuscany and part of Umbria. They put the unrelated Italian peninsula natives to work collecting and refining iron ore.
- The height of Etruscan power and money came around 550 B.C, Geographic: Tuscany; near FlorenceArt:Periods: Orientalizing and Archaic, Assimilated from Greece and near East, Models for early Roman Art, Political: a region, not a stateMysterious civilization, most knowledge of Etruscans stems from funerary pieces or accounts by contemporary ancient civilizationsDisputed origins: either from West Asia, Mediterranean and surrounding civilizations or were people indigenous to Ancient ItalySettled Tuscany and Umbria ca.900 and 800 B.C.E.
- Scholars have determined that their society consisted of wealthy overlords who made slaves of conquered peoples, aristocratic priests who sacrificed prisoners of war forced them to duel to the death to appease angry gods. held the keys to power rich families of noble descent together with rich merchants and land owners.The Etruscan aristocracy held the keys to power in the Etruscan cities, and was largely made up of rich families of noble descent together with rich merchants and land owners with aspirations to enter the elite social order. Each of the cities in the Etruscan league of twelve, together with the Po Valley cities to the North of Italy were independent states. It may have been the fact that the ruling classes in each city were unwilling to join forces with other city states, that ultimately left the Etruscans vulnerable to attack from the Celts, and later the Romans, leading to the downfall of the civilisation. -
- Language - Etruscans had a written language. Most examples we find now are funerary inscriptions in tombs or identification of ownership on common place items (mirrors, urns)music and plays were written in form.Partially decipherable, many different dialects and interpretations.
- in 1885 a stone stele was discovered near the village of Kaminia on the Greek island of Lemnos. The inscription on the Lemnos Stele was dated at 600BCE and was written in a language similar to Etruscan. It was found in a warrior's tomb with weapons and pottery which are very similar to early Etruscan. The necropolis of the city contained 130 cremated burials. In the women's burials an early form of Etruscan Bucchero pottery was found. Bucchero clay was used by the people of Asia Minor and by the Etruscans. In the male sites daggers and axes of the Cretan and Etruscan models were found. The evidence, then, is for a small community which had strong cultural ties with the Etruscans and, to a lesser extent, the inhabitants of Asia Minor.Roman authors confirmed an eastern origin for the Etruscans. Virgil referred to the town of '. . . Cerveteri, built on an ancient rock where once the Lydians, a race distinguished in war, settled the hills of Tuscany.' And Seneca (who died in AD 65) stated that '. . . Asia claims the Etruscans as her own.' Tacitus (first to second centuries AD) accepted the story as told by Herodotus. Other tales also locate the Etruscans in Asia Minor, linking them with the Pelasgians; and refer to Tyrsenians or Tyrrhenians on the islands of Lemnos, Imbros and Lesbos, just off the Asian coast in the northern Aegean, and on Delos, the holy island in the centre of the Cyclades. The Etruscans referred to themselves as Rasenna, but to the Romans and Greeks they were Etrusci, Tusci, Tyrrheni, or Tyrseni. To the modern Italians they are still Etrusci and the name of the Etruscan Sea is still the Tyrrhenian, after perhaps 3,000 years. Perhaps the strongest evidence put forward by the Eastern providence school is the Lemnian inscription. Excavations on Lemnos turned up a community there which dates to around 600 BCE and which links the Etruscans to that place. There are problems with all theories which suggest that the truth is far more complicated as always.A likely solution is that the Etruscans were autochthonous, but were subjected to cultural influences and immigrants at various stages in their history. The nature of these cultural influences are nowadays understood much better. The result of this was a gradual development of an Etruscan civilisation. The influx at some time of a group from Lydia is not inconsistent with this Neo Autochthonous theory which is gaining more and more acceptanceUnlike Greek and Latin, Etruscan, the third great ancient language of culture in Italy, does not survive in any great literary works. An Etruscan religious literature did exist and evidence suggests that there was a body of historical literature and drama as well. There is also evidence to suggest
- Water Control, created clean water, prevention of rivers silting and cloggingExtensive knowledge of hydraulics controlled floods and let agriculture prosper
- In all studies of Etruscan art, it should be remembered that a large proportion of Etruscan art did not survive up until the present day. We read of the Roman destruction of Volsinii and the destruction of 2000 Etruscan bronzes which were melted down to produce bronze coins. As a result of this, we have a somewhat skewed perception of Etruscan art, in that most of the art that survives today is funerary art, and we form totally wrong impressions about the Etruscans as a result. From excavations at Murlo, Roselle and other city sites, it is apparent that art was a normal part of Etruscan life. In Murlo, a seventh century Etruscan villa has been unearthed. Reconstructions show large painted terracotta panels adorned the entrances. Necropolis art in the form of polychrome reliefs and frescoes hint that the Etruscans used colour to great advantage even from the earliest times. Although painted tombs are among the most famous, it should be remembered that these represent a minority, and that only the aristocratic families could afford such luxuries as tomb frescoes.
- Artists remain unknown
- http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Valentin/Jpeg/fullcapitolinewolf.jpghttp://www.mysteriousetruscans.com/art/bronze.htmlBrothers Romulus and Remus, being suckled by the wolf, were the legendary founders of Rome. They took part in the first Roman celebration of the Lupercalia, circa 753 B.C.E.Roma, MuseiCapitolini, ArchivioFotograficodeiMuseiCapitolini
- The above image shows part of the antefix from the temple of Juno Sospita, Lanuvium (6th - 5th Century BCE). This is part of the terracotta antefix at the temple of Juno Sospita, and depicts a maenad, Many similar examples have been found, in many cases with traces of the original polychrome decoration. The characteristic smile is shared by many statues of the contemporaneous Greek Archaic period. Etruscan Art has been said by some 19th and even 20th Century writers to be somehow inferior
- Above Left: From the tomb of the Lionesses, Tarquinia. Above Right: From the tomb of the Triclinium, Tarquinia. Both pictures illustrate the ubiquitous Etruscan joi de vivreThese are very typical of so many Etruscan Frescoes which depicted figures vibrant with life, often dancing or playing musical instruments. They painted birds or animals on many of these intermingled with the human figures, who usually looked strong and healthy and full of the joy of life. The little birds and other figures from nature somehow do not seem out of place or look like mere decorations, but lended a natural harmony to the finished work. The styles of Etruscan Art vary considerably between the individual Etruscan cities, and there was also significant variation on style depending on the period - so much so that we can date Etruscan art works in many cases by comparison with other examples. The interest in Etruscan Art grew during the renaissance, at which time the extant Etruscan art had considerable stylistic influences on the emerging artists of the renaissance, many of whom lived in former Etruscan cities where such art was plentiful. By the nineteenth century, Etruscan art had grown to a passion, and the "excavation" of Etruscan tombs to meet growing demands increased. An example of this is the brother of Napolean, who owned land near Canino, which included the Etruscan necropolis of Vulci. These "resources" he exploited to great effect, destroying many pieces of Etruscan art in the process, and covering in the tombs with soil afterwards. As a result of this and many other examples, we now have thousands of pieces of Etruscan Art whose provenance is unknown, and which are still in private collections , or have been donated to museums in Europe and the Unted States.
- Characteristics: enlarged hands, exaggerated gestures, skin color
- Characteristically, the ware is black, sometimes gray, and often shiny from polishing. Achieved by firing in an atmosphere charged with carbon monoxide instead of oxygen
- JewelryGold, Faience, Glass, Onyx, CarnelianInfluences: Greek, Orient, CelticGreeks in Etruria began the practice of carving semi-precious stonesAmulets, necklaces, mirrors, fibulas
- Repousse is a metalworking technique in which a malleablemetal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Etruscan gold work was arguably unrivaled in the Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE. A considerable selection of Gold jewellery was found in the RegoliniGalassi tomb, which was discovered in the 19th Century, surprisingly with little evidence of looting. Looting was all too common in Ancient days, and was even encouraged officially by Alaric the Goth when his armies overran Rome in the early 5th Century CE. The above magnificent gold fibula was taken from the Regolini- Galassi Tomb, Cerveteri (Caere) and dates back to the 7th Century BCE. This to me is one of the finest examples of Etruscan goldsmith's art. This illustration does not do justice in revealing the fine work that went into such a piece. The precise technique of granulation was for a long time a forgotten art, and it was only rediscovered in the 20th Century by E Treskow. (A fibula is a kind of large ornamental safety pin used to fasten a robe)
- Arcuate - curved –in the shape of an arc or a bow
- Arcuation with stone voussoirs. Jupiter and sons above
- The next scene is also probably part of the funerary games, and depicts a masked figure holding a rope in his hand. The rope is attached to the collar of a dog. When the Phersu (masked person) pulls on the rope, a nail on the dog's collar bites into its neck, enraging the animal and causing it to attack a tethered man, possibly a condemned criminal. Up until recently the names of the characters could be read. “
- terra cotta sarcophagus lid. figures of a man and woman, presumably his wife reclining on a triclinium or dining couch presumably eating a meal or having a quiet moment after supper.The above sculpture (actually a hollow cinerary urn) comes from the Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, and is known as the Sarcophagus deiSposi. It is currently exhibited in the Villa Giulia museum in Rome. The terra cotta sarcophagus lid with figures of a man and woman, presumably his wife reclining on a triclinium or dining couch presumably eating a meal or having a quiet moment after supper. Both figures are propped up on their left elbow with the man close behind the woman. Both faces share a secret, tender smile. A very similar sarcophagus to this was also found in Cerveteri. They are believed to be by the same artist and date to 520 - 530 BCE.
- According to an ancient legend, the powerful Greeks had come to the city of Troy (located near the west coast of modern Turkey) to wage a big war and killed almost everyone. A prince from Troy (Trojan prince) named Aeneas, ran away and escaped to the Mediterranean sea and found a ship and sailed to Italy. He landed at a city called Laurentum on the west coast of Italy. He made a friend with a man there named Latinus who was the king there and the Latins all around the area. They made a treaty together and Aeneas married the kings daughter Lavinia. Aeneas' son Ascanius decided to build a new city and he named it Alba Longa. He was the king there and many kings came after him ruling for about 400 years. Afterward, the last king was attacked and overthrown, and his twin grandsons Romulus and Remus were placed next to the River Tiber and left to die. But something interesting happened, a she-wolf found them and took care of them. When the twins grew up they came back to the wonderful place by the river where they had almost died and they decided to build a new city right there on the spot so that others who were homeless like they had been might have a place to live. They argued with each other over where the exact spot had been and so in the evening they decided to hold a sacred ceremony where they would watch for an omen (a sign from the gods) and let the gods decide. Early in the morning when the sun was coming up Remus looked up in the sky and saw 6 vultures flying by. But something interesting happened. While the sun was coming up he noticed that there were now 12 vultures. He told his brother all about it but they had a bad argument over what it may have meant and Romulus went into a rage and killed his brother Remus. He then went to the spot that he had chosen and started building the city. Once he had built the city he named it "Rome" after himself and became its first ruler. The historian Livy wrote: "Remus, by way of Jeering his brother, jumped over the half-built walls of the new settlement, whereupon Romulus killed him in a fit of rage, adding the threat, "So perish whoever shall leap over my battlements."
- Vitality menacing and ferocious
- The Etruscans went on to lay the foundation of the city of Rome, to clear the shepherds huts which once littered the Palatine Hill, to drain the swamps and transform what had been a collection of tribal sheep herders into a true city which would eventually dominate large tracts of Europe, Asia and North Africa alike. From the Etruscans came writing, and Roman history was born in the true sense.
- The Etruscans went on to lay the foundation of the city of Rome, to clear the shepherds huts which once littered the Palatine Hill, to drain the swamps and transform what had been a collection of tribal sheep herders into a true city which would eventually dominate large tracts of Europe, Asia and North Africa alike. From the Etruscans came writing, and Roman history was born in the true sense.
- Among theories about the Etruscans' origins are the possibilities that they migrated from Greece, or from somewhere beyond Greece. Perhaps they traveled down from the Alps. Or, as their pre-Indo-European language might suggest, they may have been a people indiginous to today's Tuscany who suddenly acquired the tools for rapid development. The uncertainty is held unresolved.Theirs was an area of good farmland, forests and mineral resources, all of which the Etruscans exploited skillfully. In time, they became traders, their mariners often doubling up as pirates. And as wealth grew, a social pecking order followed, with a powerful aristocracy living in stone palaces and their serfs occupying wooden huts.Theirs was not, however, a centralized society dominated by a single leader or a single imperial city. Rather, towns and hill-top villages (many of which survive to this day, albeit with few traces of their Etruscan origins) appear to have enjoyed considerable autonomy. But they spoke the same language, which also existed in a written form. Further, their religious rituals, military practices and social customs were largely similar. For their Greek contemporaries and Roman successors, the Etruscans were clearly a different ethnic group.Cremation and the burial of ashes in clay urns was a common practice in this area before the advent of the Etruscan era. Among the objects we have that tell us much about the Etruscans are their cinerary urns.
- The Etruscans believed in predestination. Although a postponement is sometimes possible by means of prayer and sacrifice, the end is certain. According to the libri fatales as described by Censorinus, Man had allocated to him a cycle of seven times twelve years. Anyone who lived beyond these years, lost the ability to understand the signs of the Gods. Their Religious legacy had profound influences on at least the rituals and dress of the ChurchThe Etruscans also believed the existence of their people was also limited by a timescale fixed by the gods. According to the doctrine, ten saecula were allotted to the Etruscan name. This proved very accurate, and it is often said that the Etruscan people predicted their own downfall.
- The basis of Etruscan religion was the fundamental idea that the destiny of man was completely determined by the vagaries of the many deities worshipped by the Etruscans. Every natural phenomenon, such as lightning, the structure of the internal organs of sacrificial animals, or the flight patterns of birds, was therefore an expression of the divine will, and contained a message which could be interpreted by trained priests such as Augurs. Emerging from this basic concept the Rasenna scrupulously followed a complex code of rituals known by the Romans as the "disciplinaetrusca". Even up to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Etruscans were regarded by their contemporaries with great respect for their religion and superstitions. It may have been the fact that Etruscan religious beliefs and practices were so deep-rooted among the Romans that led to the complete destruction of all Etruscan literature as a result of the advent of Christianity. Arnobius, one of the first Christian apologists, living around 300CE, wrote ,"Etruria is the originator and mother of all superstition" .When the Gothic army under Alaric was approaching Rome, the offer made to Pope Innocent I by Etruscan Haruspices was seriously considered by the senate, but finally rejected. The obvious Eastern Greek influence in Etruscan religion and art from the emergence of the civilisation in the 8th Century BCE, can be interpreted either as evidence of the Etruscan origins in Lydia, or as the influence of subsequent Greek settlement in the prosperous region of Etruria. However it is interpreted, the Etruscan religion was fundamentally unique to the region. The Etruscan Religion was, like Christianity and Judaism, a revealed religion. An account of the revelation is given by Cicero(On Divination 2.50) . One day, says the legend, in a field near the river Marta in Etruria, a strange event occurred. A divine being rose up from the newly ploughed furrow, a being with the appearance of a child, but with the wisdom of an old man. The startled cry of the ploughman brought lucomones, the priest kings of Etruria hurrying up to the spot. To them, the wise child chanted the sacred doctrine, which they reverently listened to and wrote down, so that this most precious possession could be passed on to their successors. Immediately after the revelation, the miraculous being fell dead and disappeared into the ploughed field. His name was Tages, and he was believed to be the son of Genius and grandson of the highest God, Tinia (or Jupiter as he became known to the Romans). This doctrine was known to the Romans as the disciplinaetrusca, From the writings of the Etruscan haruspexTarquitius around 90 BCE, we also get a glimpse of the prophesy of the nymph Vegoia (Latinised form of the name). This is bound up in the Gramaticiveteres, in a corpus of Roman land surveys, We have a passage in which a divinity, the nymph Vergoia, speaks to ArrunsVelturnnus: "You should know that the sea is separated from the earth. When Jupiter claimed the land of Etruria for himself, he decided and commanded the fields to be surveyed and the lands marked out. Knowing the covetousness of man and his worldly greed, he wanted the boundaries of everything to be marked by boundary stones. Those which at any time anyone has placed because of the greed of this eighth - almost the latest - saeculum, arrogating to themselves licence, men with wrongful deceit will violate, touch and move. But if anyone touches or moves a boundary stone, extending his own possessions or diminishing those of someone else, for this crime he will be condemned by the gods. If slaves shall do this, they shall be moved to a lower status by their owner. But if this is done with the knowledge of the master, the household will be immediately uprooted, and the whole of his family will perish. The people responsible will be afflicted by the worst diseases and wounds and their limbs will be weakened. Then even the land will be shaken by storms or whirlwinds and many landslips. The crops will be frequently laid low and cut down by rain and hail, they will perish in the heat of the summer, they will be killed off by blight. There will be civil strife amongst the people. Know that these things happen, when such crimes are committed. Therefore do not be either a deceitful or treacherous. Place restraint in your heart. ..." .
- Constrained by a lack of fine stone, Etruscans built their temples of wood, with terracotta roofs and ornaments. Today the wooden superstructures have almost entirely disintegrated. Only the stone foundations and the terracotta roofs and decorations remain. Fortunately, the size and types of terracottas can often tell us what the whole building looked like, and something of its history.”