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ʑ The facts of the Etruscan civilization eluded historians for millennia. Most of the storiesand tales of their society were either destroyed or were written by Greeks or Romans with a biasin favor of the author's city, so much so that it forced the reader to believe the Etruscans wereeither a mysterious evil civilization with a penchant for piracy and a luxurious way of life, or an
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ancient race of no significance whatsoever. Because there were so many great ancientcivilizations to study, most people believed the stories of an irrelevant Empire to be true, untilrecently, when archeological findings in the 100s led historians and archeologists to turn theirbeliefs in a whole different direction. How much the Etruscan people may have directlyinfluenced western civilization is still a matter of some speculation, but their influences on thelater Roman culture are either directly evidenced or strongly suggested through much of theEtruscan life style. This influence is not militaristic or political, but found in the arts and inprofessional trades such as engineering, architecture and city planning. The Etruscans are nowrecognized as "tireless cultivators, founders of cities, bold navigators, deft craftsmen; soldiers,traders, builders of temples, dykes and forts," and noteworthy artists.
The Etruscans ruled in Italy from 750 B.C. to 60 B.C., a flourishing Empire prior to thetime of the Roman conquest of the Etruscan cities. The Etruscan Empire had its beginningswhen the Roman culture was little more than a small group of huts that was the start of theRoman community. Etruria, the region where the Etruscans began their habitation, occupied asignificant part of the northern Italian peninsula and there they built Italy's first great civilization,spreading an advanced and cultured society across the land. The ways of the Etruscans wereconsidered so different that the writings of authors from foreign lands, who included theEtruscans in their works, considered them to be bizarre and alien. The Etruscans , however, donot appear to have been aggressive conquers and it is now believed that they did not want tomake contact with other nations for mastery, but instead wanted to open trade, create allies, anddiscover new land to found cities. This was perhaps due to the pre-Italian background of theEtruscans, an obscure history with mysteries that are still unsolved.
The origins of the Etruscans are still a matter of controversy and have been the subjectof speculation from the first historian to chronicle Etruscan life, Herodotus, and later the Romanhistorian, Livy. Herodotus' accounts report that the Etruscans originated from Lydia on thewestern coast of Asia Minor, and with them brought order and civilization to the Italianpeninsula's barbaric environment. Herodotus explains that natives of Lydia, because of a longfamine, decided to divide the population into two groups, one remaining in Lydia with the kingand the other emigrating with the kings son in search of a new homeland. The land that becameEtruria more or less parallels the Italian coast, from the mountains of the Alps to the southerncoast. Livy reports that the Etruscans made their way up the Adriatic Sea and the Etruscans arealso known to have lived on the island of Lemnos, and in other localities on the northeasternshores of the Aegean Sea. It is unlikely that the Etruscans were indigenous to Italy becauseeverything the Etruscans brought to Italy was new to that part of the world. Everything abouttheir culture, technology and architecture, farming methods and mines, crafts and industries,customs and fashions, religion, language, way of life and military structure was totally differentfrom anything that had existed in the area before. Though the resemblance of their rituals andreligious practices, the funeral customs, and the similarities of language, the Etruscans are linkedto Lydia and Asia Minor. However, confusion may have been caused because, even with suchgreat similarities to other distant civilizations, the Etruscans appear to have had an amazing abilityto adapt to many of the Greek cultural customs. Moreover, because the Etruscan cities andEmpire was annihilated by about 00 B.C., what we know of them comes solely from tombs andexcavations, and archeologists searching a extinct civilization have difficulty finding a humanaffinity for the Etruscan people. This is strange because the Etruscans left an abundance ofmaterials evidence so that we know what they looked like, how they lived, and a good deal abouttheir public and private customs so that we can glimpse into their internal lives. Etruscans havedeveloped a historical importance because they are mysterious, which intrigues historians, and forwhat their culture provided and passed on to other civilizations. While they were the greatestsailors of their time and ruled the entire Italian coast with such mastery of the sea that they werefeared by all other nations, their naval and military feats were a matter of legends, excitingepisodes and incidents of derring-do, the Etruscan's legacy is not military, but is found in thosethings revealed in artifacts of an advanced society and culture. Archeological findings willcontinue to shed light on the beginnings of the civilization, but what has already been discoveredreveals the approach the Etruscans took toward settlement of land was highly successful and, atthe peak of the Etruscan's rule, they reigned over the whole of Italy.
Over the span of the Etruscan Empire's 500 year existence, it had four ages Gold, Silver,Bronze and Black Iron. The period which historians call the Golden Age is the time of theEtruscans greatest rule, a time of growth and expansion and hope that declined over centuriesuntil the Iron Age when men took the law into their own hands and Rome's conquest of Etruriawas complete. With each age the Etruscans changed their lifestyle, which has led to thediscovery of many different types, styles and varieties of artifacts which show influences frommany areas surrounding the Mediterranean. Recently discovered artifacts are the key tounraveling the Etruscan mysteries. The Etruscan artifacts suggest they were a thoughtful people,and the Greeks seem to have greatly influenced them, especially in Etruscan art where Greekmythological figures appear frequently. The Etruscans greatest artistic talent was in bronze, notclay, but many vases have been recovered, a large number of which are covered in painted figures,and it is from these that a significant part of Etruscan history has been gleaned. Bucchero ware,the Etruscan's famous black pottery, was known all throughout the Mediterranean area. Createdonly by the City of Caere, Bucchero ware received it's unique black color by firing the clay so thatthe oxygen and iron formed a ferrous oxide bond which looks black. The figures painted onthese vases, frequently have replica paintings of Greek gods and goddesses, and many of theseeven include the Greek, not Etruscan, title of the god. Another unique Etruscan pottery is theRed-Figured vases, found at Caere and which show women, satyrs, and other individuals in avariety of settings. However, as the Etruscan civilization expanded and their rule grew, theEtruscans changed their style and technique of artwork. Soon it was only the basic idea that wascontrived from Greek mythology, and the works of art themselves were completely and uniquelyEtruscan. This is shown by art which is more influenced by nature, art which did not show thegods at all but which depicted humans interacting with nature. From these vases historians havelearned the complex society that blossomed in Etruria and the figures show a variety of sports andgames, social scenes, music and dancing, military engagements, natural and super naturalsubjects.
The region that was Etruria had twelve main cities on the Italian peninsula. There is noauthoritative list of the cities, but their names have been deduced to be Arretium (Arezzo), Caere(Cerveteri), Clusium, Cortona, Perusia (Perugia), Populonia, Rusellae, Tarquinii (Tarquinia), Veii(Veio), Vetulonia, Volaterrae (Volterra), and Vulci. The three most influential of the cities wereVulci, Veii, and Caere, near coastal ports where the Etruscan sailors could shelter their merchantand warships. The artistic differences among cities varied very little but the specialties ofparticular cities did vary. Museums today, such as those in Rome, reveal "grand" works ofEtruscan art while others, such as Volterra, two thousand feet up in the hill country of Tuscany,reveal simple items that show the story of every day life.
In addition to artistic talent, engineering and scientific skills are apparent among theEtruscans, since the design of cities was along the four points of a compass with the temples lyingon the North and South points. When Etruscans decided the location of a city, ceremonies wereperformed to consecrate the spot where the city was going to be built. The first settlements ofthe Etruscans in the Tuscany area were in a hilly part of the northern Italian peninsula. This areawas too hilly to encourage purely geometric city schemes, but every city had three gates, each fora road that converged to the main road leading to the city's temples. The reason for this roaddesign was that temples were the focal point of city life and the most beautiful architecturalornaments of a city. The temple was the most prominent structure in any Etruscan city. Unfortunately, temples were built out of wood not marble or stone so only the foundation oftemples remain. The Etruscans were masters of masonry construction but decided not to use theirknowledge and skills for the building of their temples for various religious reasons. The design ofan Etruscan temple paralleled that of a Greek temple but with some distinct differences. Thetemple itself rested on one tall base. This base was no wider than the cella, or indoor portion of atemple, and only had steps on the South side leading into a deep porch. The porch was supportedby two rows of four columns each, one nearest the stairs and the other nearest the entrance to thecella. Alike to the Greeks, the columns were Doric, but the Etruscans never used Ionic orCorinthian columns, as do the Greeks and Romans. The cella was generally subdivided into threesubsections. The reasons behind the division was that Etruscan religion was dominated by a triadof gods who were the predecessors to the Roman Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva. Therefore, thelayout for an Etruscans temple was squarish and closely related to domestic architecture of theEtruscan living.
After moving from hilly Tuscany to flat Rome, Etruscan cities were engineered moreprecisely and based on two main intersecting roads creating four subsections in the city, followingwhich the four sub sections could then be further divided. This form of road organization directlyinfluenced later engineers and was adopted by the Romans for their city structures. Etruscanengineers worked in conjunction with religious persons. After consulting the omens, an augurerwould act as surveyor and use instruments and the position of the sun to determine what theorientation of the city would be. The four points of the two main roads were laid out on thefour cardinal directions with the main temple at the northern point where there was no gate. Secondary streets were parallel and perpendicular to the two main roads forming a checkerboardpattern. The Romans adopted many of the concepts of the Etruscan road system; processionalroads and main roads leading up to temples, and road planning throughout the land includingsimilar concepts for cross country roads connecting cities. If Romans followed the Etruscanroads between cities is not known, but the Etruscans had a network of road spread out over thecountryside which were the first in western Europe provided a model for the Roman's greatmilitary highways.
Although many questions about the Etruscans are still unanswered, relatively recentfindings have uncovered previously unknown facts. For instance, Etruscan people were small instature. According to paintings found in Etruscan ruins, together with recovered Etruscanfurnishings and clothes, the average height of Etruscan men was about five feet four inches. Consequently, it is probably that height was a determining factor for the buildings and otheraspects of Etruscan life. Paintings and sculptures depict banquet couches and low foot bencheswith men and women reclining and it is likely that the interior spaces of buildings, and thedimensions of living areas and furnishings would have been designed proportionate to theEtruscan people.
The advanced nature of the Etruscan culture is shown by their homes. Within the ruins andremains of Etruria there is evidence of a sophisticated society where even small things, such asclothing, marking social status. Etruscan wealth was measured in material items of valuedsubstance, such as gold, ivory and precious stones. During the sixth century B.C., wealthyaristocratic Etruscans indulged themselves and bought all they could afford in an effort to createluxurious living conditions. The Etruscans began the use of an atrium-type area, a courtyardused for formal and informal occasions, and this too was adopted by the Romans. Unfortunately,Etruscan atriums were generally constructed of soft materials and few are still standing for presenttime investigation. For the period, Etruscan houses were of an improved designed and werebuilt from dried mud bricks with a heavy wooden frame. The usual home of a person from anaristocratic position was about 100 square feet in a rectangle 0 by 40 feet, which may haverelevance to the average Etruscan's stature. The house was set upon a foundation of tufa blocks,which are a porous rock formed as a deposit of springs or streams. The pitched roof was coveredwith terra cotta tiles that could range from small pieces to three feet long and eighteen incheswide. Advanced architectural features are found in the roof, whcih extended far beyond the wallsof the house in order to protect the brick and timber from rain or other harsh weather conditionsand every door and window of an Etruscan home was framed by sturdy wooden posts and lintels. Depending on the wealth of the homeowner, the gables and eaves of each house were decoratedas elaborately as a temple. The terra cotta reliefs were further decorated with pictures of animalsand monsters, as well as graphic designs.
On the backside of a house, a fenced outdoor courtyard led to the vestibule, or entranceroom. The vestibule was only a few feet wide but was nearly the length of the house itself. It isthis vestibule that evolved in to what was known as the atrium to the Romans. The vestibuleserved many purposes to an Etruscan home. It was used for the delivery from merchants, apassageway for servants to do their bidding, and also the servants living and sleeping quarters. From the far side of the vestibule were doors with access to the other rooms of the house. Thesedoors stretched across the length of the vestibule and were side by side to one another so that anypart of the home could be accessed from the vestibule. Curiously, the location where members ofa family slept are still uncertain.
The center room of the home was small, about fifteen feet wide but had many functions. During the day the owner of the home used this room for business while at night this room couldbe transformed into a place of parties, banquets, and a room to sleep when guests were too drunkto find their way home. Two of the side rooms of the home were used for a kitchen and a roomfor storing food, grain, and wine.
Of all aspects of an Etruscan home, one of the most advanced is plumbing and wastedisposal. The Etruscans differed from the Romans and Greeks in that fact that they did not haveto manually empty their houses of waste because of their excellent plumbing lines. LuciusTarquinius, the first Etruscan King of Rome is credited with providing sewer service from the cityto the river. Stone-lined drains led from the house to the main ditch to provide dischargeplumbing wastes and waste water. Other terra cotta pipes were made to fit into one another tobring fresh water from an elevated cisterns. Many houses, to bring water in even more easily, hadtheir own stone-lined wells within their courtyards.
The dress and social lives of Etruscans also varied in many ways from the Romans andGreeks of that time, although there were some similarities. In order to keep the Etruscanaristocrats happy in their luxurious life style, lower class citizens would work on their large farmsto provide for the many requests of the rich and powerful. According to frescoes and wallpaintings left by the Etruscans in the tombs of nobles and the wealthy, these members of higherssociety held frequent banquets, perhaps even nightly. Men and women both ate the finest foodsand choice wines. They were entertained by dancers and musicians, who doubled as houseservants at other times. The Etruscans were apparently quite hedonistic and, at these sybariticbanquets, men and women lounged on long divans and were served by naked young boys whiledancers wore transparent dresses. In many ways the Etruscan family was no different in generalmakeup and structure than that of the Romans or Greeks, but, unlike their Oriental and Arabcontemporaries, the Etruscans did not practice polygamy, communal wife sharing, or incest withinfamilies.
Social custom was important in Etruscan cities and is one of the most understood parts ofthe culture due to the many vases, paintings and frescoes. Custom was shown in items such as theclothing worn in Etruria, which eventually influenced the Roman toga. In the summer, menwore round neck, close fitting robes, which reached down to the ankles. The left arm sleeve wentto the wrist, while the right arm only reached the elbow. The entire robe criss-crossed verticallyand horizontally, seeming as if the robe was tucked. The same type of garment was worn in thewinter, but the fabric was wool, not cotton or silk. Women wore short-sleeved tunics, lightcolors, frequently embroidered. The material was pleated and reached the ankles. As did themen, the women wore cotton or silk in the summer and wool in the winter. However, variety ofdress is also apparent in painting that show such things as flowered dresses, voluminous cloaks,scarves and ankle high boots. Head wear also marked a person's home or role in Etrurian societyand apparently could cause some confusion. Women might wear a tutulus, a high cap, andbecause the Italian region did so much farming, hats were a very important necessity to everydayfarming life. Depending on what a person did for a living and where a person lived on thewaterways, determined if they wore hats. In the upper Po River valley region, both men andwomen wore broad brimmed hats, whereas, in the lower Po valley, only the slaves, who workedthe fields, wore hats. Consequently, there were instances in which a person had to know where inEtrusia they were to know the proper form of dress. The only other form of hat used by Etrurianmen was a helmet, of the type worn in battle. This helmet, worn by warriors, effected hair styles.For the extra protection and padding for their helmet, men wore their hair parted down the middlein braids which were wrapped around their heads. After the braids went out of style, men woretheir hair shorter, more clean cut, like Greek youths and apparently found some other form ofpadding for their helmets. Women had more variety in hair styles, depending on the fashion of theday. Women also wore braided hair under a hat, or one braid over the shoulder drawn up in aknot and curls often framed the face.
An advanced society and personal riches were the products of Etruscan talents. TheEtruscans were skilled miners who exploited Italy's natural resources, such as copper, lead, ironand did extensive metal finish work. Etruscan metal workers were praised highly by the Romansand Greeks for their work in bronze and precious metals. The Etruscans traded aggressivelywith the Greek colonies south of Sicily and Ionia, and with Phoenician ports. Etruria wasfounded on the trade of copper and iron, which were both soft metals and in great demand. Thismuch benefitted the Etruscans because the soil in the mountains of their homelands were iron richand easily mined. The iron mines in the Italian mountains were Europe's first major industry andit is probable that this ore was their biggest business and the basis of Etruria's fabulous wealth. With wealth also came education and professional trades such as medicine flourished. TheEtruscan doctor was a physician, dentist, oculist and pharmacist all at once and had a completestock of remedies to treat patients. Tradesmen produced goods of excellent quality, and goodfoods, wines and oils were available.
In the ancient world, religious and social planning were directly related to nature andnatural sciences. Basic natural science was highly developed in Etruria and the Etruscan calendarwas based on the phases of the moon, as was the later Roman calendar. This calendar markedfestivals, the kings activities, and every eighth day, which was market day. The Etruscans lovednature and went hunting, fishing and swimming often. Also, many people owned and raisedanimals and owned or operated farms. Every year the valley areas would flood and, in order touse this natural occurrence to accomplish two tasks draining the valley and irrigating the dryerareas the Etruscans invented methods for irrigation. Irrigation allows farmers to expand theirgrowing season and growing areas, and by doing this the Etruscans would have been able toproduce more of the items they needed and would have been less dependent on other nations forfoods. Their ability to be self-sufficient and independent would have allowed them theopportunity to develop a broad range of talents and Etruscans became miners, farmers, ranchers,sailors, merchants and, when necessary, warriors.
Societies are often judged by their appreciation of the arts and music was a huge part ofEtruscan life. Every Etruscan youth was taught music, either by rote or by ear, as depicted inmany Etruscan frescos. It is believed that, just as important as the music was to society, so wasthe singing and dancing that accompanied the music. The classical Greek and Etruscan style ofmusic were very similar There were many different forms of dancing, some more casual and onefor every formal occasion such as courting and formal balls. Even funerals developed a specificstyle of dance appropriately entitled funereal dancing. In courting, the way the women dancedwas called "Round" and the men's style was "Martial". The Etruscans did not dance in couples,but stood facing each other, following their own dance. Interestingly, though the Etruscan lifestyleincluded many types of dance, none are said to have been performed with extreme gracefulness. Nevertheless, the Etruscans were great lovers of music and, with the Etruscan's love of musiccame a number of different instruments.
In Etruscan paintings and reliefs, a flute is often represented and is present in many everyday scenes depicting everything from bakers to thieves. This has caused historians to believe thatthe flute or long double pipe, was the national and regional instrument of Etruria. Besides theflute, the Etruscans had other wind instruments, including the trumpet, which they are creditedwith inventing. The Etruscans had two forms of the trumpet. The first one was a straight bronzetube sometimes curved at on end. The other was twisted like a ram's horn. Rome adopted bothtrumpet styles for their use. In addition, Etruscans has several varieties of stringed instrumentsincluding the lyre, harp and cithara. The Etruscans also had entertainment in the form of playsand they may have formed orchestras to be used for adding music to their plays. Becausegestures were often used in these plays, rather than dialogue, the Etruscans are also credited withdeveloping mime. Interestingly, while Rome followed much of the Etruscan lifestyle, unlike theGreeks and Etruscans, the Romans love for music was never as deep or passionate.
Another difference between Etruscan and Roman societies was the place held by women."Women were not only equal members of society with their husbands and fathers, but enjoyedmuch of the same status that ladies had in the Age of Chivalry. Their liberated condition, in fact,was unique in the ancient world." The massive amount of freedom Etruscan women enjoyedcaused the Romans to look down on the entire Etruscan civilization. Whereas, if a Romanwoman were to be respectable, she must be adapted to enjoying few freedoms, the Etruscanwomen were used to being free. The Roman's reasons for looking down upon Etruscan womenwas that, instead of serving the men, the women considered themselves on a par with men andeven dined with the men. Etruscan women went outside a great deal, unlike Greek and Romanwomen, who lived in the shadows of their homes. In formal dress, women went to dances,concerts, and sporting events such a boxing and chariot racing. This made Etruscan women seemindiscrete to the Romans but, although the Romans looked down upon Etruscan women, manyRomans had Etruscan brides. When the Roman men brought their Etruscan brides home, the menwere disgraced at the ladies lack of manners and soon forced their wives to fit Roman standards. Similarly, the Greeks, who were very narrow minded, looked on a woman's rights as the worstkind of social misbehavior.
If an Etruscan woman had a high enough rank, she was given a good education and, inaddition to social mixing and informal freedoms, Etruscan women were involved a great deal inthe politics of their cities. Nevertheless, even through women were granted equal rights in manythings, the Etruscan family was a patriarchy and, as far as the formal the order of the family wasdesigned, women always came second. This is somewhat confusing because in Lydia, thesupposed original Etruscan homeland, the society is matriarchal such that children are called bytheir mother's name not their father's. Etruscans were paternalistic and used the same authorityof the pater familias the Romans gave to the head of the family.
Complex and sophisticated religion was another sign of the Etruscan's advanced society.The Etruscans believed in a great connection between man, nature, celestial, terrestrial and eventhe underworld. Everything was integrated in a huge rhythm. The Etruscan's had a myth thattold the tale of how the basic law of their religion was written. According to the story, a farmersaw a child rise up from the ground, but the child, Tages, was gifted with the wisdom of thepriests and kings. When the other priests, the Lucumones of the twelve cities of Etruria, heard thescreams of the farmer, the priests came running to see what was wrong. When they arrived, thechild began to speak. As the child spoke, the priests wrote it down. These words became thereligious law for the Etruscans, the Diciplina Etrusca.
One key difference in Roman and Etruscan religion is Romans believed everythinghappened because the gods willed it. The Etruscans, on the other hand, weren't too worriedabout gods, except as they might effect a person's afterlife, and thought many events happenedjust as events in the normal course of living. The Etruscans were not as paranoid about the god'sintervention in everyday events, but were still god fearing people and were as bloody in theirrituals as the Romans. Their luxurious lives were a cause for their religious fervor andthanksgiving. Also, because of their belief of an afterlife, it was a prime concern of Etruscans toplease the gods and thus to obtain a pleasurable post-death.
Like the Greeks and Romans, the Etruscans believed in a god hierarchy. There weresixteen deities in the family of gods. Twelve of those sixteen were great gods, and eight of thesetwelve had the right to hurl thunderbolts. Each thunderbolt was assigned to a specific goddifferentiated by whatever color it was. The Etruscans had the same basic gods as the Greeksand Romans, but all the groups had different names. Tinia, who is equivalent to the Greek godZeus and the Roman god Jupiter, was the head god and sat at the summit of the north. TheEtruscans also believed in an underworld similar to the Greeks. The Etruscan religion evenincluded a demon, Charun, who ferried dead souls across the River Styx. This demon parallelsthe virtually identical Greek demon, Charon. Besides worshiping the main gods, Etruria's minorgods were worshiped in individual cults. Though little is know about the actual rituals, theremains of the open air sanctuaries remain. The only known facts were found on paintings on thewalls of tombs. Religious ceremonies began with a trumpeter who wore clothes of the gods,purple and gold. This trumpeter carried an ivory scepter crowned with laurel leaves. He wasfollowed by lectors, priests, prisoners, and the general public. The new custom of a religiousprocession for the priests and other noble men was soon taken up as Roman tradition.
To ward off invasion by gods or outside forces, the sacrifices were better if from yourown country, and even better if from your own family. The Etruscans believed this to be true, andwere as hardened to human sacrifice and the sight of human suffering as the Romans, as shown byceremonies reproduced on Etruscan urns and frescoes. If "games" seen on frescoes were, infact, sacrifices and "the shedding of blood to maintain the flickering life of the dead, the savagegame shown in the fresco, can be understood." This led to one of the most horrible fortunetelling styles in history in which a haruspices, or soothsayer, was trained to interpret the will ofthe gods by examining the internal organs of animal and human sacrifices.
While human sacrifice may have seen barbaric, the Etruscans were known for theirelaborate and highly excessive tombs and funeral ceremonies. In order to accompany thearistocratic lifestyle of the Etruscans, a "City of the Dead" was built. This city included streets andplazas as would exist in a city of the living. Etruscan tombs differed houses because the tombreplica homes were mainly carved out of solid rock. The tomb itself was approximately thesame size as an Etruscan hut but was highly more decorated in the amount of frescoes found onthe walls of the tombs. The beliefs that the Etruscans had was that the tomb was home for thebody and soul, so that the tomb must closely represent the life of the living as possible. Etruscanstombs were carved out of soft stone in a round or rectangular shape. The shaping and building ofa tomb was taken more seriously by the Etruscans, as would a temple, because the Etruscansbelieved if the dead was served well in the afterlife then they would not come back to haunt theliving. The actual sarcophagus for the dead was lavishly sculpted to show the deceased in a partylike atmosphere. The coffin was designed to resemble the deceased within. It was full length inthe shape of a divan with the dead lying on top as if they were about to banquet. Unlike mostEtruscans sculptures, coffins were most likely carved out of stone such as terra cotta instead ofbronze. Couples were usually buried together within the same tomb and even in the samesarcophagus. To help the deceased, the tomb would often times be filled, like the Egyptians, withthe dead's most valuable possessions, weapons, and food to provide for the afterlife. Each of theitems found in tombs, with the exception of food, included an engraving of some sort either toshow the decease's power or the insignia of the family.
Another artistic aspect of the sophisticated society enjoyed by the Etruscans was visualarts. Advanced engineering and elaborate art appear in temple structures. Though theappearance of the size of the temples seemed to be large, they were squat, squarish shapes thatleft room for few statues to be placed inside. The dividing of the temple into three regions wouldhave left the Etruscans with no place to arrange statues on the floor, and it is unlikely that thewooden walls were strong enough to support the massive weight of a bronze statue. TheEtruscans were then forced to find another way of decorating their temples. Terra cotta plaquescovered the achitrave in the pediment, below the gable, above the porch. In one bold attempt toadd more artwork to the Temple to Apollo at Veii, the Etruscans adorned the temple roofs withterra-cotta figures and constructed a monumental statue that stood on top of the gable ,at itspeak, in front of the stairs. Also on the two sides ridges of the temple and the top ridge four lifesize statues stood. These statues added a very dramatic effect to this particular temple, but theidea must have been a poorly received by the citizens because this technique of decorating atemple was never used again.
The most important area of Etruscan art is tombs and the frescoes and other art worksfound on Etruscan tomb walls. The frescoes are life size and cover whole walls from floor toceiling. The images depicted on the frescoes in the tombs are of dancers in the springtime. Thedancers are usually women in thin brightly colored dresses dancing in a woodland area to themusic of young boys. The reasoning for the gaiety of the artwork was the same as that for thecoffin, that is, the tomb represented the life of a party then the afterlife of the dead would be like aparty as well. Also, if the dead were content and entertained in the afterlife they would not havethe time to haunt the living who buried them. Along with the images of the living world everytomb included a painting of the Etruscan god of the dead.
It is noteworthy that, just as other aspects of Etruscan living changed with their declineover the centuries, so did the idea of burying the dead. During the decline, the Etruscans began tocremate their dead and pour the ashes into urns. These urns were usually in the shape of a hut orthe head of a man. Then small holes were dug in a side of a hill were the urns were buried. If onewas rich or powerful enough to have a tomb built they were not filled with, as before, with joyouspaintings of dancers but with relief art. The images found on the reliefs was of fearful demonsfrom a most un-welcoming afterlife. One of the most feared of the demons was known as the"Demon of Death." The "Demon of Death" was said to take the life away from a person anddrag in down to the afterlife. The colors found on such tombs were not as bright but just asbold as their predecessors. To create such bright and bold colors the Etruscans used a mixture ofwater and plaster to paint the walls and ceiling of tombs. This combination seeped into the softstone walls preserving the artwork in excellent condition. Most of the information found aboutEtruscan living was discovered within the wall of the tombs.
Throughout the long period of painting tomb walls the art and technique used to paintthem changes dramatically. In late tombs and burial chambers a tendency to create a realisticstyle of painting and sculpture instead of the surreal artwork found in earlier works of Etruscanart. Besides just paintings and frescoes the reliefs also are depicted in very real styling. Etruscanartists took great pride in creating art that would represent the portrayed as similar to the waythey actually looked. During the fifth and sixth century the Etruscan art style was very closelyrelated to the paintings found in Ionia. The curved mouths, almond shaped eyes, long fingers, andlong slender feet to show off their shoes, which they were very proud of. Also the artworkportrayed the fashion of that period. These works showed many different scenes including funeralscenes, banquets, athletic games, and dances. In the Fourth Century B.C. the Etruscans werenot prepared for their demise and their art reflected that idea. From Etruscan art being filled withhappy scenes of banquets and dancing they were filled with pictures of bloody fierce battle scenes.The scenes including mythological battles as well as battles they were fighting in reality. Charun,the Etruscan demon of the dead who ferried the dead across the river Styx, replaced youthsplaying wind and stringed instruments in the sunny outdoors. The depressing expression of theart was caused by three main reasons.
The worst of Etruria's two problems was their declining business. The volume of tradeshrunk immensely. Etruia was no longer trading with as many countries as they were at the heightof their rule. The second main problem was the political powers in Eturia's were very weak asclass conflicts grew. Lastly, the cities military was extremely venerable to attacks. Etruria wasnever at one time under one strong leader. They may have spoken the same language, shared thesame religion and culture, but Eturia remained a small groups of city states much alike to those ofGreece. This allowed them to be successful in the early stages of the Empire, but proved to betheir downfall as the centuries passed. Although it is reasonable to assume that individual citiessent colonists to neighbouring regions and would have entered into diplomatic alliances with eachother and foreign states, it is probable that each Etruscan city resolved problems in a manner thatwas most beneficial to its own survival, most likely without regard for the interests of its allies orneighbors. The independence of the city-states has been shown by archeological finds and it isbelieved that these autonomous cities were bound together only by religion and commonlanguage.
Initially, the Etruscans were a greatly feared sea fearing people. These are reports of othergroups of people running in fear of the alleged pirates of the Tyrrhenian. The early Etruscanswere just as powerful on land a they were on sea. Tactical warfare gave the Etruscans a hugeadvantage against their enemies. The Etruscans used phalanxes, like the Greeks did, but it is asocietal advancement that is credited for much of their success. The one weapon that wasacclaimed to be their "secret weapon" was not a fighting machine, but their strong leather shoesthat wrapped above their ankles. These shoes were said to have led the Etruscans to victory morethan their armor or weapons.
It is part of the Etruscan's success that led to their downfall. The three principal causes ofthe end of the Empire were economic collapse, disunity among the city-states and the one-timelore and mystique of the Bronze Age Etruscans was overcome by the aggressiveness and might ofthe Iron Age Romans. In time, the Etruscan society led to its own breakdown and the politics ofrulers and ruling classes, together with the pursuit of pleasure, led to lack of concern over militarymatters, fragmentation of their society, and easy Roman conquest. In one instance, the leaders ofthe City of Volsinii, apparently incapable of handing their own affairs, appealed to the Romans forhelp in subduing a slave uprising, leading the Roman conquest and destruction of the city. Inmost other instances, the Etruscans refused to unite to fight the common enemy and wereovercome one at a time, until the entire Etruscan civilization ceased to exist.
What remains is art. ʑBIBLIOGRAPHYBanti, Luisa. Etruscan Cities and Cultures. Los Angeles University of California Press,17.Beazley, J.D. Etruscan Vase-Painting. Oxford Clarendon Press, 147. Beazley, J.D. Etruscan Vase Painting. Oxford Oxford University Press, 150.Brown, W. Llewellyn. The Etruscan Lion. London Oxford University Press, 160.
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University of California Press, 174.Hamblin, Dora Jane. The Etruscans. New York Time Inc, 175.Hempl, George. Mediterranean Studies. New York AMS Publisher, Inc, 167.Heurgon, Jacques. Daily Life of the Etruscans. New York The Macmillan Company, 164.Janson, H.W. The History of Art. New York Harry N. Abrams Inc, 177.Keller, Werner. The Etruscans. New York Alfred A. Knopf Inc, 174.Mayani, Zacharie. The Etruscans Begin to Speak. New York Souvenir Press, LTD, 16.
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Inc, 164.Wellard, James. The Search for the Etruscans. New York Saturday Review Press, 175.Please note that this sample paper on Etruscans is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Etruscans, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Etruscans will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
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