in which they closely copy Greek conventions.

The houses of the wealthy were evidently often

large and comfortable, but the burial chambers of tombs, often filled with grave-goods, are the
nearest approach to them to survive. In the southern Etruscan area, tombs have large rock-cut
chambers under a tumulus in large necropoleis, and these, together with some city walls, are the
only Etruscan constructions to survive. Etruscan architecture is not generally considered as part
of the body of Greco-Roman classical architecture.[87]

Art and music[edit]

Main article: Etruscan art

5th century BC fresco of dancers and musicians, Tomb of the Leopards, Monterozzi necropolis, Tarquinia,

Italy

Terracotta head of a Man Wearing a Laurel-Wreath, 2nd century BC

Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilization between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC.
Particularly strong in this tradition were figurative sculpture in terracotta (particularly lifesize
on sarcophagi or temples), wall-painting and metalworking (especially engraved bronze mirrors).
Etruscan sculpture in cast bronze was famous and widely exported, but few large examples have
survived (the material was too valuable, and recycled later). In contrast to terracotta and bronze,
there was apparently little Etruscan sculpture in stone, despite the Etruscans controlling fine
sources of marble, including Carrara marble, which seems not to have been exploited until the
Romans. Most surviving Etruscan art comes from tombs, including all the fresco wall-paintings,
which show scenes of feasting and some narrative mythological subjects. [citation needed]
Bucchero wares in black were the early and native styles of fine Etruscan pottery. There was
also a tradition of elaborate Etruscan vase painting, which sprung from its Greek equivalent; the
Etruscans were the main export market for Greek vases. Etruscan temples were heavily
decorated with colourfully painted terracotta antefixes and other fittings, which survive in large
numbers where the wooden superstructure has vanished. Etruscan art was strongly connected
to religion; the afterlife was of major importance in Etruscan art. [88]
The Etruscan musical instruments seen in frescoes and bas-reliefs are different types of pipes,
such as the plagiaulos (the pipes of Pan or Syrinx), the alabaster pipe and the famous double
pipes, accompanied on percussion instruments such as
the tintinnabulum, tympanum and crotales, and later by stringed instruments like
the lyre and kithara.

Language[edit]
Main articles: Etruscan language and Tyrsenian languages

Cippus Perusinus. 3rd–2nd century BC, San Marco near Perugia

Etruscans left around 13,000 inscriptions which have been found so far, only a small minority of
which are of significant length. Attested from 700 BC to AD 50, the relation of Etruscan to other
languages has been a source of long-running speculation and study. The Etruscans are believed
to have spoken a pre–Indo-European language,[89][90][91] and the majority consensus is that
Etruscan is related only to other members of what is called the Tyrsenian language family, which
in itself is an isolate family, that is, unrelated directly to other known language groups.
Since Rix (1998), it is widely accepted that the Tyrsenian family groups Raetic and Lemnian are
related to Etruscan.[11]

Literature