Policarpio, Maricris V

BEED 2-1

The Etruscans

Map of the Etruscan Civilization: Extent of Etruscan civilization and the 12 Etruscan League cities.

The Origins of Etruria

The Etruscans were a Mediterranean civilization during the 6th to 3rd

century BCE, from whom the Romans derived a great deal of cultural
influence.

Those who subscribe to an Italic (a diverse group of people who inhabited

pre-Roman Italy) foundation of Rome, followed by an Etruscan invasion,
typically speak of an Etruscan “influence” on Roman culture; that is, cultural
objects that were adopted by Rome from neighboring Etruria. The
prevailing view is that Rome was founded by Italics who later merged with
Etruscans. In that case, Etruscan cultural objects are not a heritage but are,
instead, influences. Rome was likely a small settlement until the arrival of
the Etruscans, who then established its initial urban infrastructure.

Origins

The origins of the Etruscans are mostly lost in prehistory. Historians have
no literature, and no original texts of religion or philosophy. Therefore,
much of what is known about this civilization is derived from grave goods
and tomb findings. The main hypotheses state that the Etruscans were
indigenous to the region, probably stemming from the Villanovan culture or
from the Near East. Etruscan expansion was focused both to the north,
beyond the Apennines, and into Campania. The mining and commerce of
metal, especially copper and iron, led to an enrichment of the Etruscans,
and to the expansion of their influence in the Italian Peninsula and the
western Mediterranean Sea. Here, their interests collided with those of the
Greeks, especially in the 6th century BCE, when Phoceans of Italy founded
colonies along the coast of Sardinia, Spain, and Corsica. This led the
Etruscans to ally themselves with the Carthaginians, whose interests also
collided with the Greeks.

Around 540 BCE, the Battle of Alalia led to a new distribution of power in
the western Mediterranean Sea. Though the battle had no clear winner,
Carthage managed to expand its sphere of influence at the expense of the
Greeks, and Etruria saw itself relegated to the northern Tyrrhenian Sea
with full ownership of Corsica. From the first half of the 5th century BCE,
the new international political situation signaled the beginning of Etruscan
decline after they had lost their southern provinces. In 480 BCE, Etruria’s
ally, Carthage, was defeated by a coalition of Magna Graecia cities led by
Syracuse. A few years later, in 474 BCE, Syracuse’s tyrant, Hiero, defeated
the Etruscans at the Battle of Cumae. Etruria’s influence over the cities of
Latium and Campania weakened, and it was taken over by the Romans
and Samnites. In the 4th century, Etruria saw a Gallic invasion end its
influence over the Po valley and the Adriatic coast. Meanwhile, Rome had
started annexing Etruscan cities. These events led to the loss of the
Northern Etruscan provinces. Etruria was conquered by Rome in the 3rd
century BCE.

Etruscan Government

The Etruscans governed using a state system of society, with only

remnants of the chiefdom and tribal forms. In this way, they were different
from the surrounding Italics. Rome was, in a sense, the first Italic state, but
it began as an Etruscan one. It is believed that the Etruscan government
style changed from total monarchy to an oligarchic republic (as the Roman
Republic did) in the 6th century BCE, although it is important to note this
did not happen to all city-states.

The Etruscan state government was essentially a theocracy. The

government was viewed as being a central authority over all tribal and clan
organizations. It retained the power of life and death; in fact, the gorgon, an
ancient symbol of that power, appears as a motif in Etruscan decoration.
The adherents to this state power were united by a common religion.
Political unity in Etruscan society was the city-state, and Etruscan texts
name quite a number of magistrates without explanation of their function
(the camthi, the parnich, the purth, the tamera, the macstrev, etc.).

Etruscan Families
According to inscriptional evidence from tombs, aristocratic families were
important within Etruscan society. Most likely, aristocratic families rose to
prominence over time through the accumulation of wealth via trade, with
many of the wealthiest Etruscan cities located near the coast.

The Etruscan name for family was lautn, and at the center of the lautn was
the married couple. Etruscans were monogamous, and the lids of large
numbers of sarcophagi were decorated with images of smiling couples in
the prime of their life, often reclining next to each other or in an embrace.
Many tombs also included funerary inscriptions naming the parents of the
deceased, indicating the importance of the mother’s side of the family in
Etruscan society. Additionally, Etruscan women were allowed considerable
freedoms in comparison to Greek and Roman women, and mixed-sex
socialization outside the domestic realm occurred.

Etruscan Religion

The Etruscan system of belief was an immanent polytheism; that is, all
visible phenomena were considered to be a manifestation of divine power,
and that power was subdivided into deities that acted continually on the
world of man and could be dissuaded or persuaded in favor of human
affairs. Three layers of deities are evident in the extensive Etruscan art
motifs. One appears to be divinities of an indigenous nature: Catha and
Usil, the sun; Tivr, the moon; Selvans, a civil god; Turan, the goddess of
love; Laran, the god of war; Leinth, the goddess of death; Maris; Thalna;
Turms; and the ever-popular Fufluns, whose name is related in an
unknown way to the city of Populonia and the populus Romanus, the
Roman people.

Ruling over this pantheon of lesser deities were higher ones that seem to
reflect the Indo-European system: Tin or Tinia, the sky; Uni, his wife (Juno);
and Cel, the earth goddess. In addition, the Greek gods were taken into the
Etruscan system: Aritimi (Artemis), Menrva (Minerva), and Pacha
(Bacchus). The Greek heroes taken from Homer also appear extensively in
art motifs.

The Greek polytheistic approach was similar to the Etruscan religious and
cultural base. As the Romans emerged from the legacy created by both of
these groups, it shared in a belief system of many gods and deities.

Etruscan Language and Etymology

Knowledge of the Etruscan language is still far from complete. It is believed
that the Etruscans spoke a non-Indo-European language, probably related
to what is called the Tyrsenian language family, which is itself an isolate
family, or in other words, unrelated directly to other known language
groups. No etymology exists for Rasna, the Etruscans’ name for
themselves, though Italian historic linguist, Massimo Pittau, has proposed
that it meant “shaved” or “beardless.” The hypothesized etymology for
Tusci, a root for “Tuscan” or “Etruscan,” suggests a connection to the Latin
and Greek words for “tower,” illustrating the Tusci people as those who built
towers. This was possibly based upon the Etruscan preference for building
hill towns on high precipices that were enhanced by walls. The word may
also be related to the city of Troy, which was also a city of towers,
suggesting large numbers of migrants from that region into Etruria.

Etruscan Artifacts

Historians have no literature, or original Etruscan religious or philosophical

texts, on which to base knowledge of their civilization. So much of what is
known is derived from grave goods and tomb findings.

Historians have no literature or original Etruscan religious or philosophical

texts on which to base knowledge of their civilization, so much of what is
known is derived from grave goods and tomb findings. Princely tombs did
not house individuals, but families who were interred over long periods. The
decorations and objects included at these sites paint a picture of Etruscan
social and political life. For instance, wealth from trade seems to have
supported the rise of aristocratic families who, in turn, were likely
foundational to the Etruscan oligarchic system of governance. Indeed, at
some Etruscan tombs, physical evidence of trade has been found in the
form of grave goods, including fine faience ware cups, which was likely the
result of trade with Egypt. Additionally, the depiction of married couples on
many sarcophagi provide insight into the respect and freedoms granted to
women within Etruscan society, as well as the emphasis placed on
romantic love as a basis for marriage pairings.
Although many Etruscan cities were later assimilated by Italic, Celtic, or
Roman ethnic groups, the Etruscan names and inscriptions that survive
within the ruins provide historic evidence of the range of settlements
constructed by the Etruscans. Etruscan cities flourished over most of Italy
during the Roman Iron Age. According to ancient sources, some cities were
founded by the Etruscans in prehistoric times, and bore entirely Etruscan
names. Others were later colonized by the Etruscans from Italic groups.

Nonetheless, relatively little is known about the architecture of the ancient

Etruscans. What is known is that they adapted the native Italic styles with
influence from the external appearance of Greek architecture. Etruscan
architecture is not generally considered part of the body of Greco-Roman
classical architecture. Though the houses of the wealthy were evidently
very large and comfortable, the burial chambers of tombs, and the grave-
goods that filled them, survived in greater numbers. In the southern
Etruscan area, tombs contain large, rock-cut chambers under a tumulus in
large necropoli.

There is some debate among historians as to whether Rome was founded

by Italic cultures and then invaded by the Etruscans, or whether Etruscan
cultural objects were adopted subsequently by Roman peoples. In other
words, it is unclear whether Etruscan cultural objects are influences upon
Roman culture, or part of native Roman heritage. Among archaeologists,
the main criteria for deciding whether or not an object originated in Rome,
or descended to the Romans from the Etruscans, is the date of the object,
which is often determined by process of carbon dating. After this process,
the opinion of ancient sources is consulted.

Although Diodorus of Sicily wrote in the 1st century of the great

achievements of the Etruscans, little survives or is known of it. Most
Etruscan script that does survive are fragments of religious and funeral
texts. However, it is evident, from Etruscan visual art, that Greek myths
were well known.
Etruscan Religion

The Etruscan belief system was heavily influenced by other religions in the
region, and placed heavy emphasis on the divination of the gods’ wills to
guide human affairs.

The Etruscan system of belief was an immanent polytheism; that is, all
visible phenomena were considered to be a manifestation of divine power
and that power was subdivided into deities that acted continually on the
world of man, and could be dissuaded or persuaded in favor of human
affairs. The Greek polytheistic approach was similar to the Etruscan
religious and cultural base. As the Romans emerged from the legacy
created by both of these groups, it shared in a belief system of many gods
and deities.

Etrusca Disciplina
The Etruscan scriptures were a corpus of texts, termed the Etrusca
Disciplina. These texts were not scriptures in the typical sense, and foretold
no prophecies. The Etruscans did not appear to have a systematic rubric
for ethics or morals. Instead, they concerned themselves with the problem
of understanding the will of the gods, which the Etruscans considered
inscrutable. The Etruscans did not attempt to rationalize or explain divine
actions or intentions, but to simply divine what the gods’ wills were through
an elaborate system of divination. Therefore, the Etrusca Disciplina is
mainly a set of rules for the conduct of all sorts of divination. It does not
dictate what laws shall be made or how humans are to behave, but instead
elaborates rules for how to ask the gods these questions and receive their
answers.

Divinations were conducted by priests, who the Romans called haruspices

or sacerdotes. A special magistrate was designated to look after sacred
items, but every man had religious responsibilities. In this way, the
Etruscans placed special emphasis upon intimate contact with divinity,
consulting with the gods and seeking signs from them before embarking
upon a task.

Spirits and Deities

Three layers of deities are evident in the extensive Etruscan art motifs. One
appears to be divinities of an indigenous nature: Catha and Usil, the sun;
Tivr, the moon; Selvans, a civil god; Turan, the goddess of love; Laran, the
god of war; Leinth, the goddess of death; Maris; Thalna; Turms; and the
ever-popular Fufluns, whose name is related in some unknown way to the
city of Populonia and the populus Romanus (the Roman people). Ruling
over this pantheon of lesser deities were higher ones that seem to reflect
the Indo European system: Tin or Tinia, the sky; Uni, his wife (Juno); and
Cel, the earth goddess. In addition, the Greek gods were taken into the
Etruscan system: Aritimi (Artemis), Menrva (Minerva), and Pacha
(Bacchus). The Greek heroes taken from Homer also appear extensively in
art motifs.

Mars of Todi: The Mars of Todi, a life-sized Etruscan bronze sculpture of a soldier making a votive
offering, most likely to Laran, the Etruscan god of war; late 5th to early 4th century BCE.

The Afterlife
Etruscan beliefs concerning the afterlife seem to be influenced by a number
of sources. The Etruscans shared in general early Mediterranean beliefs.
For instance, much like the Egyptians, the Etruscans believed that survival
and prosperity in the afterlife depended on the treatment of the deceased’s
remains. Souls of ancestors are found depicted around Etruscan tombs,
and after the 5th century BCE, the deceased are depicted in iconography
as traveling to the underworld. In several instances, spirits of the dead are
referred to as hinthial, or one who is underneath. The transmigrational
world beyond the grave was patterned after the Greek Hades and ruled by
Aita. The deceased were guided there by Charun, the equivalent of Death,
who was blue and wielded a hammer. The Etruscan version of Hades was
populated by Greek mythological figures, some of which were of composite
appearance to those in Greek mythology.

Etruscan tombs imitated domestic structures, contained wall paintings and

even furniture, and were spacious. The deceased was depicted in the tomb
at the prime of their life, and often with a spouse. Not everyone had a
sarcophagus, however. Some deceased individuals were laid out on stone
benches, and depending on the proportion of inhumation, versus
cremation, rites followed, cremated ashes and bones might be put into an
urn in the shape of a house, or in a representation of the deceased.

Reconstruction of an Etruscan Temple: 19th century reconstruction of an

Etruscan temple, in the courtyard of the Villa Giulia Museum in Rome, Italy.