TITLE:ETRUSCANS by PETO PALETTE:0223 089a 0b9a 06ca BRUSH:02 3ETRUSCANS 2 by Peto Etruscans were the main tribe in Italy before the rise of the Roman empire and they had a great affect on the Roman culture. When we think about the Romans, we remember the togas, the triumphs, the gladiators, the vaults and the surnames... I am sorry to disappoint anybody, but all of these are Etruscan inventions! After 1st Etruscan tombs were found in 17th century, the historians have argued the origin of Etruscans. 2000 years ago they were almost unanimous; Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1st century B.C.) was an only ancient historian who claimed (with political reasons?) Etruscans were the indigenous people of Italy. All the other historians thought Etruscans came from Asia Minor. According to Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 485-425 B.C.) Etruscans left Lydia (an ancient country in Asia Minor), because there was a bad famine. According to another Greek historian Thucydides (ca. 455-400 B.C.) some Etruscans still lived in Limnos (a Greek island close by the coast of Asia Minor) before Athenians conquered it in 510 B.C. This is a very interesting piece of information, because modern archaeologists have found Etruscan texts in Limnos which were written in 6th century B.C. However, it is quite strange how little the myths of ancient Greece and Rome deal with Etruscans and their migration from Asia Minor to Etruria. Much more the myths handle Aeneas and his migration from Troy to Latium. Well, later Latins succeeded little better than Etruscans... The political situation in Europe and Middle East changed totally in 13th and 12th century B.C. At that time so-called Sea Peoples migrated on the coasts of the Meditteranean Sea like Vikings a couple of millenniums later. The names of the Sea Peoples were strange: Lukka, Denyen, Peleset, Meshwesh, Ekwesh, Tjeker, Weshesh, Skekelesh, Shardana and Teresh. Three last tribes are the most interesting ones, because they arrived later in Italy and named their countries: Skekelesh, Shardana and Teresh became Sicilians, Sardinians and Tyrsenians (or Tyrrhenians, that is the Greek name of Etruscans)! On one the hand nobody really knows the origin of Etruscans but on the other hand many etruscologists think it is irrelevant knowledge. The Etruscan culture was not very remarkable when they arrived in Italy before 1000 B.C. The Etruscan area in Italy was between the rivers Tiber and Arno. There were their greatest cities Tarquinia, Caere, Veii, Vulci, Vetulonia, Populonia, Arretium, Clusium and Volterra. The cities were very autonomous and they had only a religious center: Volsinii. Very fast development of Etruscan culture began when Greeks started to found the colonies in South Italy in 757 B.C. In the beginning their friendship was very useful for both: Etruscans gave metals to Greeks and Greeks gave luxuries to Etruscans. Greeks also taught Etruscans how to write. Later their relationship worsened, because both had their own commercial interests. Besides Etruscans allied with Carthaginians who were the bitter enemies of Greeks. But the biggest bone of contention was their expansions. Not only Toscana belonged to the Etruscan empire in 6th century, but also Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Lazio, Campania and Corsica. When Greeks tried to conquer the last-mentioned island, Etruscans won Greeks completely in 535 B.C. At that time Greeks gave the name 'Tyrrhenian Sea' to the sea between Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, because Etruscans ruled that sea so completely. The Etruscan superpower did not last a long time. First Romans banished the Etruscan kings who ruled in Rome from 616 to 509 B.C. As a result of this their good relationship changed to the continuous war, and Etruscans were usually stronger. But then Greeks helped Romans when they won Etruscans in the sea battle of Cumae in 474 B.C. After this defeat Etruscans gave up. Their enthusiastic art became fearful of death. The Etruscan religion was strange: they believed the lifetime of their nation would be 900 years. Now they thought their time had come. By the end of 5th century Corsica and Campania were conquered by Greeks, Lazio by Romans, Umbria by Umbrians themselves and Emilia-Romagna by Celtics. All this happened so easily. When Romans conquered their 1st major Etruscan city Veii in 406-396, the other Etruscan cities did not help their compatriots. If all the Etruscan cities had attacked together against Rome, we would have never know anything about the Roman empire. Etruscans still were much stronger together than Romans. Romans needed 10 years to conquer Veii which was only the medium-sized Etruscan city. But Etruscans had really lost their optimism. Only once they fought together against Romans in the battle of Sentinum (295 B.C.), but it was too late. Romans were already too powerful, and they conquered the whole Etruria by 265 B.C. Romans respected very much the Etruscan culture. One of 1st etruscologists was emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus (10 B.C.-54 A.D.) who wrote the Etruscan history in 20 (!) volumes which have unfortunately disappeared (What a loss!). His interest in the Etruscan culture was caused by his 1st wife Plautia Urgulanilla who was Etruscan. According to Roman historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (70-140 A.D.) she was a very typical Etruscan woman: beautiful, but immoral! Claudius also studied Etruscan language. Most Etruscans had begun to speak Latin 100 years earlier, but there were still many augurs (Etruscan diviners) who were able to speak Etruscan. Many other emperors had augurs as advisers, too. The last of them was emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus Apostata (332-363 A.D.) whose augurs advised him not to attack against Persians. Julianus did not believe them, and he died in that battle. The history is the most ironic: the last pagan emperor died, because he did not believe his pagan diviners...