Western Humanities: The Etruscans
The
Etruscans were the people who occupied central Italy before Rome was formed.
They lived in an area called Etruria, originally located between the Tiber and
Arno rivers, approximately the modern province of Tuscany. They had a loose
confederation of cities and a religious center near Volsinii, but they never
organized themselves as thoroughly as the Romans did, which allowed the Romans
to eventually conquer them and absorb Etruscans into the Roman population.
The Etruscans as a people probably began to emerge in the 900s or 800s BC.
Though the Romans speculated that the Etruscans might have traveled to Italy
from the eastern Mediterranean, they were probably descended from Bronze Age
people who had lived in central Italy. Most Etruscan cities were on the west
coast of Italy, and the Etruscans used those cities as a base for expansion
inland, north, and south. At their height during the sixth century BC, the
Etruscans controlled most of Italy between Campania and the Po River. In the
late fifth century BC, Celtic invasions from the north stopped their expansion
in that direction. The early Romans, Greeks, Samnites, and other invading
peoples also halted the Etruscans' progress. By the late third century BC, all
of Etruria was under Roman control.
The Etruscans had a well-developed civilization and a thriving culture. They
traded with Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples and imported many elements of
those cultures back to Italy; one of their imports was viticulture, the culture
of grapes used to make wine. They were quite skilled at metalwork and made
excellent jewelry. Their finely crafted furniture and household goods were sold
all over the Mediterranean. Some elements of Etruscan religion and astrology
seem to have had Eastern influences. Etruscan artistic techniques were partially
borrowed from the Greeks, but evolved into a uniquely Etruscan art form.
There are still many archaeological remains of the Etruscan civilization in
Italy. Etruscans built elaborate tombs for their aristocrats. They made a large
number of bronze mirrors, many of which depict scenes from Greek mythology; if
the scenes they chose are any indication, the Etruscans had a pleasant view of
domestic life.
The Etruscans spoke a language with elements connected to both Indo-European and
non-Indo-European languages, but scholars today still do not know where it came
from. Some Etruscan words ended up incorporated into the Latin spoken by the
Romans. The Romans were fascinated by their predecessors in Italy, and Roman
art, architecture, government, religion, and warfare were all influenced by
Etruscan culture. At the same time, the Roman presence effectively destroyed the
Etruscan civilization. Very little Etruscan literature remains, and some
scholars have accused the Romans of systematically destroying it.
Citation: MLA style
"Etruscans." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. 2008. ABC-CLIO. 21 Oct. 2008 <http://www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.com>.
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