Etruscans if Someone Living 2,000 Years From

Etruscans

If someone living 2,000 years from now wanted to know what took place in the year 2005, it would be necessary to go through impossible amounts of information. Today, scores of individuals with varying agendas write about day-to-day events. Thousands of publications and electronic media maintain records. Before the Common Era the situation was naturally much different. Because so few accounts exist of this time period, anthropologists and historians have to make educated guesses to fill in the blanks. This same problem exists with early Rome and Italy. No account written earlier than the late 3rd century exists and no continuous account recorded before the age of Augustus now survives. Thus, most of the information concerning the Etruscan traditions either comes from individuals such as the Roman historian Livy, the Greeks, and archaeological finds.

Born in Northern Italy in 59 BC, Livy wrote a 142-book history of Rome called Ab Urbe Condita (From the Founding of the City). As far as it is known, Livy never held public office but was somewhat acquainted with the emperor Augustus. It is also believed that Livy encouraged the future emperor Claudius in his historical studies. Most of Livy's original works were destroyed. Today, only books 1-10 and 21-45 survive. The second part consisted of ten books, which dealt with the conquest of Italy. Books 6 to 10 still exist from this section. In these remaining sections Rome recovers from her wars and, at the end of book 10, defeats the Etruscans in 295 BC. (Settis 1985, 30)

The Etruscan people are considered to be part of the Villanovan culture of the 9th and 8th centuries BC. There are many suggestions on their origin. Some scholars believe they were an indigenous group that had been in the area for some time. Others argue that they came from another location outside of Italy (Massa 1980, 2).

For example, some say that the Etruscans were part of the famous Pelasgians, or Sea Peoples of Lemnos. This is evidenced by the fact that the Pelasgians were a mixture of various peoples including some of the biblical Canaanites who later became the Phoenicians. This theory is supported by excavations on Lemnos that found a community dating to around 600 BC linking to the Etruscans. The inscription on a Lemnos Stele, dated 600 BCE and written in a language similar to Etruscan, was found in a warrior's tomb with weapons and pottery very similar to early Etrucia. The necropolis of the city contained 130 cremated burials. An early form of Etruscan Bucchero pottery was found in the women's burials. In addition, the people of Asia Minor used Bucchero clay as did the Etruscans. Likewise, daggers and axes of Cretan and Etruscan models were found in the male sites. (Bryce 1999)

Livy's theory is that the Etruscans came from the north and crossed the Alps. He says of this idea: "Even the Alpine populations have the same origin as the Etruscans, particularly the Raetians. The latter have been rendered savage by the very nature of the region, so much so that they have preserved nothing of their ancient fatherland except the accent, and even that in a very corrupt form." (1978 V, 33).

According to Bloch, the correct facts were used by Livy to arrive at the wrong conclusions (54). The presence of Etruscans in Raetia is certain. Yet it does not go back very far, nor to a hypothetical passage of the Etruscans through the Alpine valleys. It was only in the 4th century BC, when the Celtic invasion compelled the Etruscans of the Po plain to flee, that the latter sought refuge in the safe retreats offered by the Alpine foothills. In fact, Livy really did not mean to say much more, and the Etruscoid inscriptions of Raetia, which are all of a late date and not earlier than the 3rd century BC, can be perfectly well explained by this movement of Etruscan refugees towards the north.

Thus, none of the theories about the Etruscan origins is perfect. More information will be needed to make a definite conclusion. Most likely, the Etruscans were a combination of an indigenous group of people who were influenced by outside cultures. Even Livy was aware of the problems of writing a history of early Rome, admitting that: "Events before Rome was born have come down to us in old tales with more of the charm of poetry than of sound historical record, and such traditions I propose neither to affirm nor refute." One of these tales was that of Romulus and Remus. Livy is also careful to add that Roman legends describe men and women not as they are, but as they ought to be (1978 I, 6).

Few civilizations, especially those as advanced as that of the Etruscans, developed and died out so quickly. During the earliest times, the Etruscans lived in very simple reed or wood huts. Their tombs consisted of wells dug in the ground with biconical ossuaries and some personal objects (Settis, 15). The original Etruscan homeland was probably only about the size of West Virginia. Later, the culture expanded west and south to found colonies on the Tyrrhenian island of Corsica and near Naples (Time Life, 11).

Towards the middle of the 8th century BC, the first Greek colonizers arrived and set up base in the Etruscan city of Campania to look for metal ore. This trade heralded in an era of significant expansion for the Etruscans, including development of luxury items and technological innovations such as writing, metal work and pottery. Soon, the population grew and urban centers formed with an aristocratic class. Later, as Etruscan maritime trade with the Greeks and Orient continued to expand, a prosperous democratic middle class arose.

As their society grew, the Etruscans began to travel north across the Apennines into the Po Valley and established additional settlements along the Adriatic coast. In fact, until 510 BC, their dynasty actually ruled Rome. As Livy states: Etrucia at its height of power "filled the whole length of Italy from the Alps to the Sicilian strait with the noise of her name" (1978 I, 2).

For a period during the 6th century, Rome, known as Ruma in Etruscan, became the center of the Etruscan monarchy, with large monuments and buildings, exquisite works of art, major institutions and a strong religious foundation. Before the Etruscans came, Rome was actually a collection of villages, not a real town. However, the Etruscans built it into an urban area that compared to the major capitals of southern Etrucia.

When they arrived in Rome, the Etruscans intermixed with the rest of the citizens who were either of Latin or part Sabine background. (Livy 1978 II, 14). Even when Rome later expelled the Tarquinian Etruscan Dynasty, and the citizenry once again became nearly all Latin, traces of the Etruscan culture still survived in the temples, terracotta decorations and artwork (Bloch 1969, 99). Archaeological discoveries as well as Livy confirm that the Etruscans had a significant impact on Roman life, although being present for such a relatively brief time. In fact, it was the Etruscan civilization in its entirety that established itself on the seven hills (Bloch 1969, 101).

The Etruscans left their mark in a number of ways. For example, it is believed that they brought with them the concepts and divinatory techniques they had cherished in their own region, since Livy writes about the science of divine omens. Livy also stresses the importance of the political and military measures taken by the Etruscan rulers and their conquests of Latin towns and vast building programs for civil and religious purposes. In addition, ancient authors record that a famous Etruscan sculptor named Vulca was called to Rome to model the cult statue of Jupiter Capitolinus for his new temple (Haynes 2000, 204). The Etruscan Tarquin Dynasty also commissioned from Vulca an acroterial terracotta group of quadriga for the roof of the Capitoline temple, and the building itself was constructed with the help of the Etruscans (Livy 1978 I, 56).

Unfortunately, the Etruscans did not remain a long time in the city of Rome. In the first book of his Histories, Livy relates with much description how the Tarquins were evicted from Rome, despite all of their extensive public works Tarquin the Proud, a violent tyrant, was detested by the Roman people. Urged on by a violent passion, he dared to assault Lucretia, an honorable matron who, to escape dishonor, took her own life. This led to a revolution led by Lucius Junius Brutus. In 510 BC, after the Etruscans were removed, the Roman Republic was born.

The Etruscans in the city of Veii, located about 15 miles northwest of Rome, also had close ties with Rome. The two urban areas established close relationships during the 6th century. However, this changed as Rome began to feel threatened by its Etruscan neighbor. The king of Veii, for example, murdered four Roman ambassadors and took possession of Fidenae. Rome's conflicts with Veii are believed to have begun as early as Romulus and consist of 14 wars over 10 years (Haynes 2000, 204).

According to Livy, it was not only Rome that warred against the Etruscans. The culture's demise was probably accelerated in northern Italy when the Celts came across the Alps in about the middle of the 5th century. It is possible that some Etruscan towns, although not many, survived the invaders. Livy even suggests that traces of a dispersion of Etruscan elements in the Alpine valleys are to be seen in some late inscriptions in the Etruscan alphabet found in the Alps. This information comes from the passage of Livy (1978 V, 33): "The Alpine peoples, too, especially the Raetians, have undoubtedly the same origin (that is, Etruscan); but the very nature of their surroundings caused them to grow so wild that the only memory they preserved of their past was the sound of their language, and that is not uncorrupted."

The Etruscans may not have had a long reign, but they advanced civilization made great strides in a brief time. They demonstrated their advanced culture in all walks of life. For example, although the Etruscan religion was somewhat similar to both that of the Greeks and Romans, there was a widespread belief that the Etruscans were a "nation devoted beyond all others to religious rites and all the more because it excelled in the art of observing them," says Livy (1978 V, 1).

The Etruscans seem to have regarded their divinities as overwhelming powers who completely dominated man's every activity and imposed inescapable temporal limits on his and the nation's existence. It was the religious obligation of the priests to discover the will of the gods, to interpret it and to conform to it (Haynes 2000, 270). In contrast with the Greek and Roman religions, the Etruscan's was a very non-secretive one. The miraculous and wise infant Tages imparted the disciplina etrusca to eminent aristocrats at Tarquinia, who wrote down his teachings known as libri tagetici. Another prophetic being, a nymph called Vegoia or Begoe, was considered the author of books on the interpretation of lightnings as well as confines of land.

Archaeological digs have provided additional information about these religious aspects. Tomb paintings were used from the 7th to 1st century B.C. These paintings reflect not only works of art but also precious documents that reveal unique techniques. The Etruscans, for example, often created frescos or tempera over dry plaster. The subjects were sometimes dictated by funerary ritual or belief. It appeared that these funerary scenes were intended more than mere decoration a sad memorial by the deceased's family. They were also a means to commemorate the funerary meal served near the tomb, as well as rites celebrated at the funeral and at special holidays in honor of the dead (Bonfante 1986, 157). They signified the hopes of the living for the dead in the world to come. Livy notes that the Etruscans "were a people more than any other devoted to religious customs" showing a profound and fatalistic sense of the role divine forces play in shaping the course of human destiny.

The Etruscan language remains a mystery. Although it bears some similarity to a dialect found in a 6th-century inscription on the Greek island of Lemnos, it otherwise seems quite different from the languages of the Mediterranean area. Linguists can decipher Etruscan inscriptions, which are written from right to left using a primitive Greek alphabet, but the exact meaning of many words is unknown. The epigraphs found in tombs can usually be understood, however, as they are very brief and contain little more than the name and age of the deceased.

The extent of Etruscan literature also is unclear, but it is thought to be quite substantial. Censorinus refers to the Annals of Etruria written during the late Roman Republic. In the early Imperial years it was considered quite fashionable for Roman Patricians to send their boys to Etruscan schools to further their education. In fact, enough of the history of Etruria has survived in written form that even the emperor Claudius was able to write a 20-volume history of Etruria. Livy also had enough information to write his histories. The Etruscans also had special religious texts that covered the division of time and limits set for the length of the life of individual human beings and for entire nations.

The Etruscan art jubilantly communicated an enjoyment of life's everyday pleasures from banqueting to sports and games. Above all, they appreciated music as the sound of the pipe and lyre. Men and women both danced with musical instruments and wore elaborate costumes. Livy relates that dances were introduced to Rome during the plague in order to "to appease the gods." Artists from Etruria danced as they did in their own country, accompanying themselves on flutes. They called their dance histriones, from the Etrusian term hister. The Etruscans also held many festivals, animal hunts and sporting events. There were wrestlers, discus throwers, gladiators, horse races, chariots in arenas and hunting with hounds for wild boar.

Etruscans had a wide range of artistic modes, including goldsmithing, carved ivory and jewels in addition to sculptures, metal work and pottery seen in buildings throughout the cities. Architecture included inventions such as the atrium, drains and gates with enormous arches and vaults. Each city had several ornate sanctuaries for religious worship as well as terracotta ornaments, friezes and statues (Bloch, 1964, 161).

Etruscans also had a wide network of roads and bridges. Archaeologists have found that these developments coincided with the influx of imported goods in the 7th and 6th centuries BC and the appearance of wheeled vehicles to transport them (Time Life 1995, 101). Etruscan engineers created the easiest possible route for cart and wagon traffic; the roads wound their way down the steep sides of valleys and sometimes passed through huge trenches made from rocky hillsides. Bridges ranged from simple wooden planks across water to spans supported by massive stone abutments. Branch roads went to minor settlements as well.

The Etruscans also tried to use diversions, dikes and canals to regulate the Po estuary and the mouth of the Arno River. They made outlets for the dormant underground watercourses of ponds and lakes by digging drainage channels. Everywhere in the countryside, they built artistic drains and sewers (Massa 1980, 47). This, of course, led to extensive agriculture that grew fine cereals. They also had flax and hemp, linen cloth, olive trees, grapes and wine. Horses and oxen, sheep, pigs, bees were all plentiful. The Etruscans were also skilled in fishing and trading, as sailors and, perhaps, even pirates. They also mined extensively and exchanged ore with surrounding countries.

Houses were built with an atrium in the middle and a courtyard off the rooms. They were always open in the middle, with rain channeled into a small tank along four weather-boards sloping towards the interior. This also protected the rooms against heating up. These weather-boards could be adjusted in various ways. The rafters were supported by two main beams running parallel and forming a type of horizontal bridge from one wall to another (Massa 1980, 50). Furniture included sculpted beds, covered with soft cushions and rich colors, armchairs, tables, stools, candelabras of bronze and dressers with vases. Carpets and wall hangings adorned the rooms.

One of the finest pieces of artwork found in an archeological dig is a wooden throne found at Veruccchi, Italy. Not only is it an example of woodworking, but the decorative scenes on the throne's arms and back provide a view into everyday life in the region during the 7th century BC. Even more astounding, wood rarely survives such a long time (Time Life 1995, 12).