Who are the Etruscans and where did they live. Who are the Etruscans? Etruscan cities of the dead

(1494-1559)

Argumentation of the migration version

The works of Herodotus, which appeared in the 5th century BC, speak in favor of the second theory. e. According to Herodotus, the Etruscans are from Lydia, a region in Asia Minor, - tyrrhens or tyrsenes, forced to leave their homeland due to catastrophic crop failure and famine. According to Herodotus, this happened almost simultaneously with the Trojan War. Hellanic from the island of Lesbos mentioned the legend of the Pelasgians, who arrived in Italy and began to be called Tyrrhenians. At that time, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed and the empire of the Hittites fell, that is, the appearance of the Tyrrhenes should be dated to the 13th century BC. e. or a little later. Perhaps this legend is connected with the myth of the escape to the west of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the founding of the Roman state, which was of great importance to the Etruscans. Herodotus' hypothesis is confirmed by genetic analysis data, which confirm the relationship of the Etruscans with the inhabitants of the lands currently belonging to Turkey.

Up to the middle of the 20th century. The "Lydian version" was subjected to serious criticism, especially after the decipherment of the Lydian inscriptions - their language had nothing to do with Etruscan. However, there is also a version that the Etruscans should not be identified with the Lydians, but with the more ancient, pre-Indo-European population of the west of Asia Minor, known as the "Protoluvians". with the Etruscans early period A. Erman identified the legendary Tursha tribe, who lived in the eastern Mediterranean and carried out predatory raids on Egypt (XIII-VII centuries BC).

Argumentation of the complex version

On the basis of ancient sources and archeological data, it can be concluded that the most ancient elements of prehistoric Mediterranean unity took part in the ethnogenesis of the Etruscans during the period of the beginning of the movement from East to West in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e.; also a wave of migrants from the area of ​​the Black and Caspian Seas in the II millennium BC. e. In the process of the formation of the Etruscan community, traces of Aegean and Aegean-Anatolian emigrants were found. In confirmation of this, the results of excavations on about. Lemnos (Aegean Sea), where inscriptions close to the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language were found.

Geographical position

It is not yet possible to determine the exact limits of Etruria. The beginning of the history and culture of the Etruscans was laid in the region of the Tyrrhenian Sea and limited to the basin of the rivers Tiber and Arno. The river network of the country also included the rivers Aventia, Vesidia, Tsetsina, Aluza, Umbro, Oza, Albinia, Armenta, Marta, Minio, Aro. A wide river network created conditions for developed agriculture, which was complicated in a number of places by swampy areas. Southern Etruria, whose soils were often of volcanic origin, had extensive lakes: Tsiminskoe, Alsietiskoe, Statonenskoe, Volsinskoe, Sabatinskoe, Trazimenskoe. More than half of the country's territory was occupied by mountains and hills. According to the paintings and reliefs, one can judge the diversity of the flora and fauna of the region. The Etruscans cultivated cypress, myrtle, and pomegranate brought to Italy from Carthage (the image of a pomegranate is found on Etruscan objects in the 6th century BC).

Cities and necropolises

Each of the Etruscan cities controlled a certain territory. The exact number of inhabitants of the Etruscan city-states is unknown, according to rough estimates, the population of Cerveteri during its heyday was 25 thousand people.

Cerveteri was the southernmost city of Etruria, he controlled the deposits of metal-bearing ore, which ensured the prosperity of the city. The settlement was located near the coast on a steep ledge. The necropolis was traditionally located outside the city. A road led to it, along which funeral carts were transported. There were tombs on both sides of the road. The bodies rested on benches, in niches or terracotta sarcophagi. Along with them were placed the personal belongings of the deceased.

From the name of this city (Etr. - Caere), the Roman word "ceremony" subsequently came - this is how the Romans called some funeral rites.

The nearby town of Veii was well protected. The city and its acropolis were surrounded by moats, making Veii almost impregnable. Here they found an altar, the foundation of the temple and water tanks. Vulka, the only Etruscan sculptor whose name we know, was a native of Vei. The area around the city is notable for the passages carved into the rock that served to drain water.

The recognized center of Etruria was the city of Tarquinia. The name of the city comes from the son or brother of Tyrren Tarkon, who founded twelve Etruscan policies. The necropolises of Tarquinia centered around the hills of Colle de Civita and Monterozzi. The tombs carved into the rock were protected by mounds, the chambers were painted for two hundred years. It was here that magnificent sarcophagi were found, decorated with bas-reliefs with images of the deceased on the lid.

When laying the city, the Etruscans observed rituals similar to those of the Romans. An ideal place was chosen, a hole was dug into which sacrifices were thrown. From this place, the founder of the city, with a plow harnessed by a cow and an ox, made a furrow that determined the position of the city walls. Wherever possible, the Etruscans used the lattice layout of the streets, orienting them to the cardinal points.

Story

The formation, development and collapse of the Etruscan state took place against the background of three periods of Ancient Greece - orientalizing or geometric, classical (Hellenistic), as well as the rise of Rome. The earlier stages are given in accordance with the autochthonous theory of the origin of the Etruscans.

Protovillanovian period

The most important of the historical sources that marked the beginning Etruscan civilization, is the Etruscan chronology saecula (centuries). According to him, the first century ancient state, saeculum, began around the 11th or 10th century BC. e. This time refers to the so-called protovillanovian period (XII-X centuries BC). There is extremely little data on protovillanovians. The only important evidence of the beginning of a new civilization is the change funeral rite, which began to be performed by cremating the body on a funeral pyre, followed by the burial of ashes in urns.

Periods of Villanova I and Villanova II

After the loss of independence, Etruria retained a cultural identity for some time. In the II-I centuries BC. e. local art continued to exist; this period is also called the Etruscan-Roman period. But gradually the Etruscans adopted the way of life of the Romans. In 89 BC. e. the inhabitants of Etruria received Roman citizenship. By this time, the process of Romanization of Etruscan cities was practically completed along with Etruscan history proper.

Art and culture

The first monuments of Etruscan culture date back to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th centuries. BC e. The cycle of development of the Etruscan civilization ends by the 2nd century BC. BC e. Rome was under its influence until the 1st century. BC e.

The Etruscans for a long time preserved the archaic cults of the first Italic settlers and showed a particular interest in death and the afterlife. Therefore, Etruscan art was significantly associated with the decoration of tombs, and based on the concept that the objects in them should remain connected with real life. The most notable of the surviving monuments are sculpture and sarcophagi.

Etruscan language and literature

Women's toilet articles constituted a special category. One of the most famous products of the Etruscan craftsmen were bronze hand mirrors. Some are equipped with folding drawers, decorated with high reliefs. One surface was carefully polished, the reverse was decorated with engraving or high relief. Bronze was used to make strigils - spatulas for cleaning off oil and dirt, cysts, nail files, chests.

By modern standards, Etruscan houses are rather sparsely furnished. As a rule, the Etruscans did not use shelves and cabinets, they kept things and provisions in caskets, baskets or hung on hooks.

Luxury goods and jewelry

For centuries, Etruscan aristocrats wore jewelry and acquired luxury items made of glass, faience, amber, ivory, precious stones, gold and silver. Villanovians in the 7th century BC e. wore glass beads, precious metal jewelry, and earthenware pendants from the Eastern Mediterranean. The most important local items were fibulae, made of bronze, gold, silver and iron. The latter were considered rare.

The exceptional prosperity of Etruria in the 7th century BC. e. caused the rapid development of jewelry and the influx of imported products. Silver bowls were imported from Phoenicia, the images on them were copied by Etruscan craftsmen. Caskets and goblets were made from ivory imported from the East. Most of the jewelry was made in Etruria. Goldsmiths used engraving, filigree and graining. In addition to brooches, pins, buckles, hair bands, earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, plates for clothes were widespread.

During the archaic, decorations became more elaborate. Earrings in the form of tiny pouches and disc-shaped earrings came into fashion. Used semi-precious stones and colored glass. During this period, beautiful gems appeared. Hollow pendants or bulla often played the role of amulets, they were worn by children and adults. Etruscan women of the Hellenistic period preferred Greek-type jewelry. In the II century BC. e. they wore a tiara on their heads, small earrings with pendants in their ears, clasps in the form of discs on their shoulders, bracelets and rings adorned their hands.

• The Etruscans all wore short hair, with the exception of the priests - haruspices [ ] . The priests did not cut their hair, but removed it from their foreheads with a narrow headband, a gold or silver hoop [ ] . In more ancient period the Etruscans cut their beards short, but later they began to shave them clean [ ] . Women loosened their hair over their shoulders or braided it into braids and covered their heads with a hat.

  Leisure

  The Etruscans loved to participate in combat competitions and, possibly, to help other people with the housework [ ] . Also, the Etruscans had a theater, but it did not become as widespread as, for example, the Attic theater, and the found manuscripts of plays are not enough for a final analysis.

  Economy

  Crafts and agriculture

  The basis of the prosperity of Etruria was agriculture, which made it possible to keep livestock and export surplus wheat to the largest cities in Italy. In the archaeological material, grains of spelt, oats and barley were found. High level Etruscan agriculture allowed breeding - an Etruscan variety of spelt was obtained, for the first time they began to cultivate cultivated oats. Flax went to sewing tunics and raincoats, ship sails. This material was used to record various texts (later this achievement was borrowed by the Romans). There is evidence from the ancients about the strength of linen thread, from which Etruscan artisans made shells (tomb of the 6th century BC, Tarquinia). Quite widely, the Etruscans used artificial irrigation, drainage, and regulation of the flow of rivers. Ancient canals known to archaeological science were located near the Etruscan cities of Spina, Veii, in the Coda region.

  In the bowels of the Apennines, copper, zinc, silver, iron were deposited, on the island of Ylva (Elba) iron ore reserves - everything was developed by the Etruscans. The presence of numerous metal products in the tombs of the VIII century. BC e. in Etruria is associated with an adequate level of mining and metallurgy. The remains of mining are widely found near ancient Populonia (Campiglia Marritima region). The analysis allows us to establish that the smelting of copper and bronze preceded ironworking. There are finds made of copper, inlaid with miniature iron squares - a technique used when working with expensive materials. In the 7th century BC e. iron was still a rare metal to work with. Nevertheless, metalworking in cities and colonial centers was revealed: in Capua and Nola, the production of metal utensils was developed, in Minturni, Venafra, Suessa, an assortment of blacksmith craft items was found. Metalworking workshops are marked in Marzabotto. For that time, the mining and processing of copper and iron was significant in terms of the scale of application. In this area, the Etruscans succeeded in building mines for the manual extraction of ore.

An ancient mysterious people who once lived on the Apennine Peninsula, on the territory of modern Italy. Etruria is a region of Tuscany located between the Tiber and Arno rivers. The self-name of the Etruscans - "rassenna" was preserved in the name of the mountain range near Arezzo (ancient Arezzium) in Tuscany. The Greeks knew the Etruscans under the name of the Tyrrhenians or Tyrsenes, and it is preserved in the name of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The mystery of the Etruscan people is manifested in almost everything.

Their language is unknown, their writing has not been deciphered, their origin and ethnicity are not clear. Surprisingly little has been written about this people, as if the Etruscans lived some kind of closed life and practically did not come into contact with their neighbors. The point, apparently, is that the way of life and worldview of the Etruscans were perceived by the majority of the peoples of the Mediterranean as something exceptional. Their way of life, customs and customs seemed to their contemporaries so incomprehensible and contradictory that, along with admiration, they aroused sharp rejection and even hatred.

In September 2013, archaeologists announced a stunning discovery - in the Italian region of Tuscany, they managed to find a completely sealed tomb carved into the rock.

The intact tomb contained what appeared to be the body of an Etruscan prince armed with a spear. He was buried in a crypt along with his wife's ashes. European media reported the discovery of the grave of a 2,600-year-old warrior prince. But it turned out that the crypt contains another surprise. An analysis of the bones showed that the warrior prince was actually a warrior princess.

Historians still know relatively little about Etruscan culture , which flourished in the territory of modern northeastern Italy and was absorbed by Roman civilization around 400 BC. Unlike their contemporaries - the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Etruscans left almost no historical documents that modern European science could unambiguously interpret.

The authors of Greek and Roman written sources most often either write about the Etruscans with condemnation, or simply hush up about them. But the Etruscans created an original civilization, amazing masterpieces of art, ecological and economic-social systems. They brought grapes and olives to Italy, founded Rome itself and ruled it for a hundred and fifty years, but disappeared as a people from the face of the planet as if overnight, taking their secrets with them. The most interesting thing is that they predicted their disappearance several centuries before.

“Etruscan is not readable,” they said in ancient Rome, and this point of view in the West is still adhered to, although quite interesting attempts have been made in Russia to decipher Etruscan inscriptions. Currently, there is no generally accepted point of view on the language of the Etruscans, their graves are a unique opportunity to look into the past and get acquainted with their culture.

Read also: Etruscan underground pyramids

New tombs discovered by archaeologists in Tuscany have been unearthed in the Etruscan necropolises of Tarquinia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 6,000 rock-cut crypts.
"In an underground chamber dating back to the early sixth century BC, there are two burial beds carved into the rock," said Alessandro Mandolesi, an archaeologist at the University of Turin who excavated the crypt.

When the team of archaeologists removed the slab sealing the crypt, we saw two large platforms. On one platform lay a skeleton, next to which lay a spear. On another platform lay the partially burnt parts of the skeleton. In addition, several ornaments and a bronze box were found, which may have belonged to a woman.

Initially, it was thought that the spear would offer a skeleton lying on a larger platform - a male warrior, possibly an Etruscan prince. And the jewelry, most likely, belonged to the wife of a warrior-prince, whose ashes rested nearby. But analysis of the bones showed that the prince holding the spear was actually a woman between 35 and 40 years old, while the ashes in the urn belonged to a man.

But why does a woman need a spear? As a scholar of the Western school, Alessandro Mandolesi suggested that most likely it was placed there as a symbol of the union of the two deceased. But his colleagues expressed a different opinion, it is possible that the spear shows the high status of a woman.

In this case, perhaps, the perception of the culture of the Etruscans was distorted by the images of the ancient Greeks and Romans. While Greek women were actually locked in their homes, Etruscan women, according to the testimony of ancient historians, were more independent, and led a rather free way of life. So historians, as often happens, rushed to conclusions, declaring the Etruscan princess a prince only on the basis of their ideas about which gender is more likely to use certain objects.

By the way, if Italian archaeologists had been more attentive in studying the ancient history and culture of our countrymen - the Sarmatians, then a woman with a spear would not have caused them so much surprise. And, perhaps, this is another argument confirming the closeness or even commonality of the cultures of our ancestors. It is possible that someday the world will know how to read Sarmatian correctly, sorry, Etruscan.

Who are they, the Etruscans? What did they believe in, how did they live?
Read most interesting book: Nagovitsyn A.E. Mythology and religion of the Etruscans , in which the author tries to figure out and trace what the ancient Slavs had in common with the Etruscans, and how they differed, and whether the Etruscans and Russians are actually close relatives:

“We will try to show that many similar mythological, religious and worldview ideas of the Slavs and Etruscans are not borrowing or heritage, but general ideas that have one root that goes deep into ancient history peoples of the Mediterranean region. In our opinion, the ancient peoples who inhabited the Mediterranean were the ancestors of both the Etruscans and the modern Russian people.

Chapter 2. The origin of the Etruscan people.

The Etruscans have always been considered a mysterious people who had little in common with the surrounding tribes. Quite naturally, both in antiquity and now they tried to find out where it came from. This is a subtle and complex problem, and to this day has not received a generally accepted solution. How are things in our time? To answer the question, it is important to recall the opinions of ancient authors on this matter, as well as the subsequent judgments of modern scientists. In this way we will find out whether the facts known to us allow us to come to any reasonable decision.

In ancient times, there was almost unanimous opinion on this issue. It was based on a story Herodotus, the first great Greek historian, about the adventures that brought the Tyrrhenians to the land of Tuscany. Here is what he writes:

“They say that in the reign of Atys, the son of Man, all Lydia was seized by a great famine. For a while the Lydians tried to lead an ordinary life; but, since the hunger did not stop, they tried to think of something: some suggested one thing, others another. They say that it was then that the game of dice, grandma, ball games and others were invented, but not the game of checkers, since the Lydians do not claim to have invented it. And this is how these inventions helped them fight hunger: out of every two days, one day was devoted entirely to the game, to forget about the search for food. The next day people interrupted the game and ate. So they lived for eighteen years.

But since the disaster not only did not subside, but, on the contrary, intensified, the king divided the Lydian people into two parts; one of them, by lot, was to stay, the second - to leave the country. The king led the group that was supposed to remain, and at the head of the second group he put his son Tyrrhenus. Those Lydians, who were ordered by lot to leave the country, went to Smyrna, built ships, loaded all their belongings on them, and sailed off in search of land and food. Having explored the shores of many countries, they finally reached the land of the Umbrians. There they founded cities where they live to this day. But they ceased to be called Lydians, taking a name for themselves by the name of the king who led them. Thus they received the name Tyrrhenians."

We do know that the inhabitants of Tuscia, whom the Romans called Tusci or Etruscans (hence the current name of Tuscany), were known to the Greeks as Tyrrhenians. Hence, in turn, the name Tyrrhenian Sea, on the banks of which the Etruscans built their cities. Thus, Herodotus paints a picture of the migration of the Eastern people, and in his presentation the Etruscans turn out to be the same Lydians, who, according to the chronology of Greek historians, left their country quite late - in the XIII century BC. e. and settled on the shores of Italy.

Consequently, the entire Etruscan civilization comes directly from the Asia Minor plateau. Herodotus wrote his work in the middle of the 5th century. BC e. Almost all Greek and Roman historians accepted his point of view. Virgil, Ovid and Horace often refer to the Etruscans as Lydians in their poems. According to Tacitus ("Annals", IV, 55), during the Roman Empire Lydian city of Sardis retained the memory of his distant Etruscan origin; the Lydians even then considered themselves brothers of the Etruscans. Seneca cites the Etruscans as an example of the migration of an entire people and writes: "Tuscos Asia sibi vindicat" - "Asia believes that she gave birth to the Tusks."

So, the classical authors did not doubt the truth of the ancient traditions, which, as far as we know, were first announced by Herodotus. However, the Greek theorist Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who lived in Rome under Augustus, declared that he could not adhere to this opinion. In his first work on Roman history, he writes the following: “I don't think the Tyrrhenians came from Lydia. The language of them and the Lydians is different; and it cannot be said that they retained any other traits that would bear traces of descent from their supposed homeland. They worship other gods than the Lydians; they have different laws, and, at least from this point of view, they differ from the Lydians more than even from the Pelasgians. Thus, it seems to me, those who claim that the Etruscans are an indigenous people, and not those who came from across the sea, are right; in my opinion, this follows from the fact that they are a very ancient people, who neither in their language nor in their customs resemble any other peoples.

Thus already in ancient times there were two opposing opinions about the origin of the Etruscans. In modern times, the discussion flared up again. Some scientists follow Nicola Frere, who at the end of the XVIII century was the permanent secretary of the Academy of inscriptions and belles-lettres, proposed a third solution in addition to the two already existing. According to him, the Etruscans, like other Italic peoples, came from the north; Etruscans had Indo-European roots and were part of one of the waves of invaders that successively fell upon the peninsula starting from 2000 BC e. At present, this thesis, although not completely refuted, has very few adherents. It does not stand up to scrutiny by facts. Therefore, we must immediately discard it in order to avoid unnecessarily complicating the problem.

This nordic hypothesis based on an imaginary connection between the name retov, or the Raetians, with whom Drusus son of Augustus fought, and named "rasena", which, according to classical authors, called themselves the Etruscans. The presence of the Rhaetians supposedly constitutes historical proof that in ancient times the Etruscans came from the north and crossed the Alps. And this opinion seems to be confirmed by tita Libya, which notes: "Even the Alpine tribes, especially the Rhaetians, are of the same origin as the Etruscans. The very nature of their country had turned the Rhaetians into a savage state, so that they retained nothing of their ancient ancestral home, with the exception of dialect, and even then in an extremely distorted form" ( V, 33, II). Finally, in the areas where the Rhaetians lived, inscriptions were indeed found in a language similar to Etruscan.

In fact, we have an example of how false conclusions are drawn from true facts. The presence of the Etruscans in Rhaetia is a reality. But this happened relatively recently and has nothing to do with the hypothetical transition of the Etruscans through the Alpine valleys. Only in the IV century BC. e., when, due to the Celtic invasion, the Etruscans had to leave the Padana Plain, they took refuge in the Alpine foothills. Livy, if you carefully analyze his text, has nothing else in mind, and the inscriptions of the Etruscan type found in Raetia, created no earlier than 3rd century BC e., are excellently explained precisely by this movement of Etruscan refugees to the north.

The thesis about the eastern origin of the Etruscans has much more grounds. It seems to be unambiguously supported by a lot of data. linguistics and archaeology. Many features of the Etruscan civilization closely resemble what we know about the civilizations of ancient Asia Minor. Although the various Asian motifs in Etruscan religion and art can ultimately be explained by coincidence, supporters of this thesis believe that the eastern features of Etruscan civilization are too numerous and too noticeable; therefore, they point out, the hypothesis of pure coincidence should be ruled out.

The self-name of the Etruscans - "rasena" - can be found in numerous very similar forms in various dialects of Asia Minor. Hellenized name "Tyrrhenians" or "Tyrrhenians" also apparently comes from the Anatolian plateau. This is an adjective, most likely derived from the word "tirrha" or "tirrah". We know about the area in Lydia, which was precisely called Tirra. One is tempted to see the relationship between the Etruscan and Lydian words and to ascribe some meaning to this curious parallel. According to the Latin word turris - "tower",- undoubtedly derived from this root, then the name "Tyrrenians" literally means "people of the citadel". The root is very common in the Etruscan language. Enough to remember Tarhona, brother or son of Tyrrhenus, who founded Tarquinia and the dodecapolis, a league of twelve Etruscan cities. Or Tarquinia itself, the sacred city of ancient Etruria (Tuscia). However, names derived from the root tarch, often found in Asia Minor. There they were given to gods or rulers.

In 1885 two young scientists french school in Athens, Cousin and Dürrbak made a major discovery on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea. Not far from the village of Kaminia, they found a funerary stele with decorations and inscriptions. We see it depicted in profile the face of a warrior with a spear and two carved texts: one around the warrior's head, the other on the side of the stele. This monument, a creation of local archaic art, was created no later than 7th century BC uh., that is, much earlier than the Greeks conquered the island (510 BC). The inscriptions are in Greek letters, but they language is not Greek. Very quickly, the similarity of this language with the language of the Etruscans was noticed. Here and there the same endings; It seems that word formation is carried out according to the same rules. Thus, on the island of Lemnos in the 7th century BC. e. spoke a language similar to Etruscan. And the stele is not the only evidence. Shortly before the Second World War, researchers of the Italian school found other fragments of inscriptions on the island in the same language - apparently in the language used by the inhabitants of the island before its conquest by Themistocles.

If the Tyrrhenians came from Anatolia, they could well stop on such Aegean islands as Lemnos, leaving small communities there. The appearance of the stele from Caminia, more or less coinciding in time with the birth of the Etruscan civilization, is quite understandable from the standpoint of the hypothesis of the eastern origin of the Etruscans.

Rice. 5. Funeral stele from Kaminia on the island of Lemnos. National Museum, Athens.

Trying to solve this problem, the researchers turned to anthropology. A systematic study of about forty skulls found in Etruscan graves by the Italian anthropologist Sergi did not give convincing results and did not reveal any significant difference between data from Etruria and from other regions of Italy. Sir Gavin de Veer recently came up with the idea of ​​using genetic evidence based on blood types. The proportion in which there are four blood types more or less constant in every nation. Therefore, by studying blood types, one can learn about the origin and degree of kinship of peoples who are not too separated in time.

Since the population of Tuscany has remained relatively stable over the centuries, modern Tuscans must save genes inherited from the Etruscans (Etruscan haplogroup G2a3a and G2a3b found in Europe; haplogroup G2a3b went to Europe through Starchevo and further through archaeological culture Linear-band ceramics, was discovered by archaeologists in the center of Germany)

On maps showing the distribution of blood types in modern Italy, an area stands out in the center of the peninsula with clear differences from the rest of the Italian population and similar to the eastern peoples. The results of these studies allow us to assess the possible signs of the eastern origin of the Etruscans. However, the greatest caution should be observed, since this phenomenon can be explained by the influence of completely different factors.

It would take too much space to list all the Etruscan customs, religious beliefs, and artistic techniques that are often and rightly associated with the East. Let us mention only the most notable facts. Etruscan women, as in, occupied a privileged position that had nothing to do with the humiliated and subordinate position of the Greek (and Eastern) woman. But we observe such a sign of civilization and in the social structure of Crete and Mycenae. There, as in Etruria, women are present at plays, performances and games, without remaining, as in Greece, recluses in the quiet chambers of the female half.

We see Etruscan women at a feast next to their husbands: Etruscan frescoes often depict a woman reclining next to the owner of the house at the banquet table. As a result of this custom, the Greeks, and then the Romans, groundlessly accused Etruscan women of immorality. The inscriptions give yet another confirmation of the apparent equality of the Etruscan woman: often the person dedicating the inscription mentions the name of the mother along with the name of the father or even without it. We have evidence of the spread of such matronymy in Anatolia, especially in Lydia. Perhaps this shows traces of the ancient matriarchy.

Rice. 6. A married couple at a funeral feast. From an engraving by Byres in the Hypogea of ​​Tarquinia, part IV, ill. 8.

In the field of art and religion, there are even more points of convergence. Unlike the Greeks and Romans, like many Eastern peoples, the Etruscans professed a religion of revelation, whose commandments were jealously guarded in sacred books. The supreme gods of the Etruscans were a trinity, which was worshiped in the triple temples. This Tinia, Uni and Menerva, whom the Romans, in turn, began to revere under the names of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.

Trinity cult, which was worshiped in sanctuaries with three walls - each dedicated to one of the three gods - is also present in the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization. Etruscan tombs often surround cippi - low pillars with or without decorations that are a symbol of the divine presence. They are carved from local stone - either from nefro, or from volcanic rocks - diorite or basalt. This is reminiscent of the Asia Minor cult, in which the deity is often represented in the form of a stone or a column. egg-shaped Etruscan columns they also depict the deceased in a schematic and symbolic form as a deified hero.

Even the ancients were struck by the unhealthy and manic attitude of the Etruscans towards the deities, their constant desire to know the future by studying the omens sent to people by the gods. Such pernicious religiosity, so great interest in divination inevitably brings to mind similar sentiments among many Eastern peoples. Later we will take a closer look at the divination technique, which was unusually common among the Etruscans.

Etruscan priests - haruspices- other peoples of antiquity had a reputation as masters in the art of divination. They excelled at interpreting signs and wonders. The analytical method of the haruspices has always been based on incredibly intricate casuistry. The clap of thunder, so strongly associated with the Tuscan skies, where terrible and violent thunderstorms often rage, has been the subject of studies that amaze us with their detailed and systematic nature. Haruspex, according to the ancients, knew no equal in the art of fulgurature. However, some Eastern peoples, for example, Babylonians, long before they tried to interpret thunderstorms in order to guess the will of the gods. We have reached babylonian texts, which explains the meaning of thunder depending on the corresponding day of the year. They have an undeniable similarity with the Etruscan text, which is preserved in the Greek translation of John of Lydia and is nothing more than thunderstorm calendar.

The haruspex's favorite pastime was the study of the liver and entrails of animals sacrificed to the gods; the very name of the haruspex seems to derive from this rite. We see on Etruscan bas-reliefs and mirrors images of priests performing this strange operation, which also reminds us of ancient Assyro-Babylonian customs. Of course, this method of divination was known and used in other countries. For example, there is ample evidence that it was practiced later in Greece. But nowhere else was it given such colossal importance as in some countries of the ancient East and in Tuskia. In the course of modern excavations in Asia Minor and Babylonia, many terracotta models of the liver. They are carved with prophecies based on the configuration of the depicted organs. Similar objects were found in the Etruscan land. The most famous of them - bronze liver discovered near Piacenza in 1877 From the outside, it is divided into several parts, bearing names of the Tus gods. These deities occupy certain areas in the sky, which correspond to well-defined fragments of the victim's liver. Which god sent the sign was determined by which part of the liver the sign was found; in the same way, lightning was sent by the god who owned that part of the sky from which it struck. Thus, the Etruscans, and before them the Babylonians, saw a parallelism between the liver of the sacrificial animal and the world as a whole: the first was just a microcosm, reproducing the structure of the world on a tiny scale.

In the field of art, the connection with the East is indicated by the outlines of certain objects and specific gold and silver processing methods. Etruscan objects made of gold and silver were made with great skill. in the 7th century BC e. Treasures from the tomb of Regolini-Galassi amaze with perfection and technical ingenuity. While admiring them, we involuntarily recall the fine technique of the jewelers of the Middle East.

It is clear that such a coincidence of well-known facts only reinforces the conviction of the supporters of the "Eastern hypothesis". And yet, many scientists are inclined to accept the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe indigenous origin of the Etruscans, which was put forward almost two thousand years ago by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. They never deny kinship linking Etruria and the East, but explain it differently.

Prior to the Indo-European invasion, the Mediterranean region was inhabited by ancient peoples connected by numerous ties of kinship. The invaders who came from the north in the period from 2000 to 1000 BC. e., destroyed almost all of these tribes. But here and there inevitably remained some elements that survived the general cataclysm. Etruscans, proponents of this hypothesis tell us, represent exactly one of these islands of ancient civilization; they survived the catastrophe, which explains the Mediterranean features of this civilization. In this way one can explain the indisputable relationship of the Etruscan language with some pre-Hellenic idioms of Asia Minor and the Aegean, such as those depicted on the Lemnos Stele.

This is a very attractive point of view, which is held by a number of linguists– apprentices of an Italian researcher Trombetti. Two recently published books Massimo Pallottino and Franz Altheim provide a scientific basis for this thesis. Both authors emphasize one essential point of their argument. In their opinion, up to the present time, the problem has been extremely incorrectly formulated. We always wonder where did the Etruscans come from as if it were the most natural thing to happen when a whole nation unexpectedly appears in some region, which later becomes its homeland. The Etruscans are known to us only from the Apennine Peninsula (and the islands of the Aegean Sea?); actually unfolds here all their history. Why, then, should we ask the purely academic question of their origin? The historian should rather be interested in how the Etruscan nation was formed, its civilizations. To solve this problem, he it is not necessary to postulate an eastern origin of the Etruscans, which is impossible to prove and which is highly improbable in any case.

Herodotus' story should be taken as a variety of those numerous legends that ancient authors refer to when telling about the origin of peoples. The Etruscans, apparently, came from a mixture ethnic elements different origin; it is from this mixture that an ethnos emerges, a nation with well-defined characteristics and physical traits. Thus, the Etruscans again become what they never ceased to be - purely Italian phenomenon. Therefore, without regrets, we can part with the hypothesis of their migration from another country, the source of which in any case requires an extremely cautious attitude towards itself.

This is the essence of the new doctrine, which denies the semi-historical-semi-legendary tradition and strangely repeats the conclusions Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the first to attempt to refute this tradition. So people with a reputation in modern etruscology declared themselves to be autochthonous, or at least partial autochthonous Etruscan people, denying the traditional hypothesis, although it continues to be supported by a significant number of researchers.

We must admit that it is not easy to make a choice in favor of one theory or another. Attempts by Altheim and Pallottino to prove the Italic origin of the Etruscans rely on a series of observations that are unquestionably true and stand up to scrutiny, whatever we may think of their idea as a whole. Of course, it is much more important to follow strictly the historical evolution of the Etruscan people in Tuscany, rather than wasting energy trying to figure out where it came from. In any case, no doubt the diversity of the roots of the Etruscan people. It came into being through the fusion of various ethnic elements, and we must abandon the naive idea of ​​a people who suddenly, as if miraculously, appears on Italian soil. Even if there was a migration and invasion of conquerors from the east, they could be quite small groups that mixed with the Italic tribes that had long lived between the Arno and the Tiber.

So the question is whether to stick to the idea of ​​navigators from Anatolia who arrived in the Mediterranean and were looking for a place on the shores of Italy where they could live.

It seems to us that from such a clearly defined point of view, the tradition of aliens from the East retains its significance. Only it allows us to explain the emergence at a particular moment in time of a civilization that is largely completely new, but possessing many features that connect the Etruscans with the Cretan-Mycenaean and Near Eastern world. If autochthonous theory brought to its logical conclusion, it will be difficult to explain the unexpected birth of crafts and arts, as well as religious ideas and rites that were not previously known on Tuscan soil. It has been suggested that there was some kind of awakening of the ancient Mediterranean peoples - an awakening caused by the development of maritime and trade links between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean. at the beginning of the 7th century BC. e. But such an argument fails to explain what caused such a rapid development of culture in Italy, whose civilization was at a backward and in many respects primitive stage.

Of course the migration cannot be dated, as Herodotus claims, to 1500-1000 BC. BC e. Italy enters history at a later stage. Throughout the peninsula, the Bronze Age continued until about 800 BC. e. And only by the VIII century. BC e. we can attribute two events that were of the greatest importance for the history of ancient Italy, and, accordingly, for the entire Western world - the arrival of the first Greek colonists on the southern shores of the peninsula and to Sicily ca. 750 BC e. and the first flowering of the Etruscan civilization in Tuscany, which, according to indisputable archaeological data, did not occur before 700 BC. e.

Thus, in central and southern Italy, two great centers of civilization developed more or less simultaneously, and both contributed to the awakening of the peninsula from a long sleep. Previously, there was nothing comparable to the brilliant civilizations of the Middle East - Egyptian and Babylonian. This awakening is marked the beginning of Etruscan history, as well as the arrival of the Hellenes. Tracing the fate of Tuscia, we see the introduction of Italy to the history of mankind.

Raymond Block Etruscans. predictors of the future.
| | Chapter 3

“Craniometric data from Etruscan tombs provide information that they were a non-Indo-European and non-Semitic people, but typical inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean of the early Bronze Age. Like the earlier representatives of El Argar from Spain, the mesocephalic values ​​of the cranial index dominate over the dolichocephalic and brachycephalic values, forming equal proportions with these extreme values. It is worth noting that the metric characteristics of both series are very similar, but the Etruscan skulls are slightly larger, which is not surprising.

On the Etruscan turtles, the eyebrows are strongly smoothed; the walls of the cranium are not parallel, as in the classical Mediterranean forms, but widened at the back of the head and tapering in the front of the skull; forehead - narrow; the orbits are high and round; nose is narrow. The Etruscans, with a typically Near Eastern skull, resemble the Cappadocian type found in the Hittite period at Alishara and the planocyptal brachycephals found in the tombs of Cyprus. In Roman times, these two variations were mixed, resulting in various mesocephalic forms, which also included the Phoenicians.

“... The structural features of the face included the famous “Roman” nose, which may have had partially Etruscan origin»

K. Kuhn about the population of north-central Italy

“In the population of Bologna, a significant predominance of the Alpine and Dinaric types is noticeable, especially in the past, but one third of the population is dolichocephalic. Among this third, the Nordic type is not uncommon, but a more significant element is the tall, thin-boned, dark-pigmented, long-faced type, with a thin, straight or prominent nose and thin lips. This is a variant of the Atlanto-Mediterranean type, with some Cappadocian features brought from Western Asia by navigators, including the Etruscans. This type is combined with the slope of the palpebral fissure, which is very long, high arched arched eyebrows ... The beauty of the Bolognese women, which has become a household name, is associated with the above type, which is responsible for this reputation. This type is common in other regions of Northern Italy, and was also often depicted in the paintings of Renaissance painters. This type is also found as an insignificant element in Tyrol ... "

The above Central Italian type:

An excerpt from work J. Sergi, "Mediterranean Race" (1895)

« Etruscans. The Etruscan question is a polyhedron various aspects, among which the question of the origin of civilization and physical characteristics, chronology, the origin of the language, as well as Italic and extra-Italic influences. I am not going to solve this problem completely in a few pages, in which the Etruscans will be only briefly considered, and not considered as the main object of my work.

In the Italian version of this book, I designated the Etruscans as "Late Pelasgians", as a separate Asia Minor branch of the Pelasgians, who migrated by sea to Italy, similar to the Pelasgians who inhabited Greece and part of Italy. I fully accepted the traditional version of Herodotus, opposite to the opinion of the Germans that the Rassenes were Alpine Raets who moved to Central Italy. This later [Germanic] version was cast aside because of its absurdity, like the argument that the sun rises in the west. According to Brisio, who has collected considerable evidence for his theories, the Etruscans are of Eastern Mediterranean origin; another well-known researcher, Montelius, having considerable authority, confirmed the same theory. I do not agree with the chronology of Montelius, in which the appearance of the Etruscans dates back to the 11th century. BC. - I still support my old opinion that this event cannot be dated earlier than the second half of the 8th century. BC, with which Arthur Evans also agrees. Although the problem of chronology requires further discussion.

When studying, over the past time, the anthropological characteristics of the Etruscans, I noted that the presence in the Etruscan graves of two racial types is related to the mixture of the early inhabitants of Umbria, in the burials of which almost only Mediterranean types are represented, as well as the late Aryan conquerors. I also noted that the "fat Etruscans" of Catullus refer to a foreign element that is not Etruscan. Interestingly, this element is still present among the population of Etruria, at the same time, as I noted, that the true Etruscan type absolutely predominates in images from older tombs and on some terracotta sarcophagi. The great tombs in the Chiusi region are undeniably Etruscan, and there we can find various scenes from life and many human figures. I did not find fat figures there, but only slender and delicate forms, with elongated faces of the Mediterranean type. The corpulent figures, with larger heads and broader faces, are a foreign element, not Etruscan.

The physical features of the Etruscans were Mediterranean, they were true Italics, and certainly they belonged to the Pelasgian branch.

Among other arguments supporting this position are inscriptions from Lemnos related to the Etruscans. I have to say that Etruscan is Pelasgic and is a branch of the Mediterranean languages, now dead and, according to Brinton, related to the Libyan languages.

The surviving ideas of Corssen and the more recent Deccas and Latte, that Ario-Italic similarities exist, are called into question, due to the fact that the Etruscans lived apart among the Aryan population, and changes took place only in a few cases. Etruscan will always be a problem for Ariophile linguists who cannot find a way to interpret it.

It is worth noting that the Etruscan colonies that occupied the territory of Umbria could not be very numerous, but given their civilizational superiority, they dominated the surrounding population in a moral and material sense, and therefore could change the system of customs, including the method of burial, which almost always mixed, combining both burial in tombs and cremation, which I personally observed with the help of excavations of poor and traditional graves.

True Etruscan graves are divided into chambers and are more or less rich and spacious. Hollowed out in the rocks or dug into the ground, although divided into chambers, they still belong to the local people who were Etruscanized. Consequently, not all burials on Etruscan soil are Etruscan, and most of them must belong to the population that preceded the Etruscan colonization, although they were influenced by newcomers.

This influence, however strong it was, was still insufficient to transform the language of the conquered into the language of the conquerors; after the elimination of Etruscan dominance, the Etruscan language disappeared forever, remaining only on stone inscriptions, incomprehensible and undeciphered, despite the fact that they are sometimes bilingual.

The true primary influence of the Etruscans is the civilization that became " Starting point"for the development of Latin civilization, as well as the expansion of Eastern Mediterranean civilization into Italy, and also into Central and Northern Europe."

Etruscan skulls from the above book by Sergi:

Images from Etruscan tombs:

Summing up all of the above (descriptions of Kun and Sergi, as well as images from Etruscan tombs), we can distinguish the following anthropological features that were originally characteristic of the Etruscans (the original type of the Etruscans, later partially changed as a result of the assimilation of the autochthonous):

Height - medium / medium-high
Cranial index - mesocephaly/sub-dolichocephaly
Hair form - curly
Skull - long medium-wide
Build - thin-boned; long legs combined with a relatively short torso
The size of the skull - medium-large
The height of the vault of the skull - medium
Hair color - dark (brown or black)
The bridge of the nose is straight or convex; bridge - high.
Eyebrows - smoothed
Forehead - low, narrow

Eastern Mediterranean forms of modern Italy:

A few examples of modern Tuscans, remotely similar to the ancient images of the Etruscans:

As a conclusion...

As already noted by Sergi, the ethnogenesis of the population of Etruria was closely connected with the Etruscanization of the autochthonous population of Tuscany, Umbria and Latium by newcomers from Asia Minor, as well as with the homogenization of the new population that appeared as a result of the above processes. The original Etruscan element could become dominant only in southern Tuscany (actually, Etruria). In northern Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria, the expansion of the Etruscans and the Etruscanization of the local population led to the formation of many new forms - both in anthropological terms (influence on the specifics of the racial genesis of the population of Central Italy) and in cultural and civilizational terms (formation of the civilizational basis of the Roman (Latin) civilization) .

P.S. An article confirming Sergi's conclusions (i.e., the theory of Herodotus) about the origin of the Etruscans:

"The mystery of Etruscan origins: novel clues from Bos taurus mitochondrial DNA"

Conclusions on the article:

“We assume that the end of the Bronze Age is a period that is closely associated with the arrival of new settlers from the east in Central Italy. These people, along with their cattle, sailed and settled in Tuscany. This may have been due to the consequences of catastrophic events such as the tsunami that occurred in the late Bronze Age in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean (Noor and Kline, 2000). The mixing of these people and their animals with indigenous Italic populations sowed the seed of Etruscan culture and also shaped the genome of local cattle breeds.”

The Etruscans are considered the creators of the first developed civilization on the Apennine Peninsula, the achievements of which, long before the Roman Republic, include big cities with remarkable architecture, fine metalwork, ceramics, painting and sculpture, an extensive drainage and irrigation system, an alphabet, and later coinage. Perhaps the Etruscans were aliens from across the sea; their first settlements in Italy were flourishing communities located in the central part of its western coast, in an area called Etruria (approximately the territory of modern Tuscany and Lazio). The ancient Greeks knew the Etruscans under the name of Tyrrhenians (or Tyrsenes), and the part of the Mediterranean Sea between the Apennine Peninsula and the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica was called (and is called now) the Tyrrhenian Sea, since Etruscan sailors dominated here for several centuries. The Romans called the Etruscans Tusks (hence the modern Tuscany) or Etruscans, while the Etruscans themselves called themselves Rasna or Rasenna. In the era of their highest power, ca. 7th–5th centuries BC, the Etruscans extended their influence to a significant part of the Apennine Peninsula, up to the foothills of the Alps in the north and the environs of Naples in the south. Rome also submitted to them. Everywhere their dominance brought with it material prosperity, large-scale engineering projects and achievements in architecture. According to tradition, there was a confederation of twelve main city-states in Etruria, united in a religious and political union. These almost certainly included Caere (modern Cerveteri), Tarquinia (modern Tarquinia), Vetulonia, Veii and Volaterra (modern Volterra) - all directly on the coast or near it, as well as Perusia (modern Perugia), Cortona, Volsinii (modern Orvieto) and Arretius (modern Arezzo) in the interior of the country. Other important cities include Vulci, Clusium (modern Chiusi), Falerii, Populonia, Rusella and Fiesole.

ORIGIN, HISTORY AND CULTURE

Origin.

The earliest mention of the Etruscans we find in Homeric hymns(Hymn to Dionysus, 8), which tells of how this god was once captured by the Tyrrhenian pirates. Hesiod in Theogony(1016) mentions "the glory of the crowned Tyrrhenians", and Pindar (1st Pythian ode, 72) speaks of the war cry of the Tyrrhenes. Who were these famous pirates, obviously widely known to the ancient world? Since the time of Herodotus (5th century BC), the problem of their origin has occupied the minds of historians, archaeologists and amateurs. The first theory defending the Lydian, or eastern, origin of the Etruscans goes back to Herodotus (I 94). He writes that during the reign of Atys, a severe famine broke out in Lydia, and half of the population was forced to leave the country in search of food and a new place of residence. They went to Smyrna, built ships there, and passing through many port cities of the Mediterranean, finally settled among the Ombrics in Italy. There the Lydians changed their name, calling themselves Tyrrhenians in honor of their leader Tyrrhenus, the son of the king. The second theory is also rooted in antiquity. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, an Augustan rhetorician, disputes Herodotus, stating ( Roman antiquities, I 30) that the Etruscans were not settlers, but a local and most ancient people, differing from all their neighbors on the Apennine Peninsula both in language and in customs. The third theory, formulated by N. Frere in the 18th century, but still having supporters, defends the northern origin of the Etruscans. According to her, the Etruscans, along with other Italic tribes, entered the territory of Italy through the Alpine passes. Archeological data, apparently, speak in favor of the first version of the origin of the Etruscans. However, Herodotus' account must be approached with caution. Of course, the Lydian alien pirates did not settle the Tyrrhenian coast at once, but rather moved here in several waves. Around the middle of the 8th c. BC. the culture of Villanova (whose bearers had been here earlier) underwent changes under a clear oriental influence. However, the local element was strong enough to have a significant impact on the process of formation of a new people. This allows the messages of Herodotus and Dionysius to be reconciled.

Story.

Arriving in Italy, the aliens occupied the lands north of the Tiber River along the western coast of the peninsula and founded stone-walled settlements, each of which became an independent city-state. There were not so many Etruscans themselves, but superiority in weapons and military organization allowed them to conquer the local population. Leaving piracy behind, they established a lucrative trade with the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Egyptians and were active in the production of ceramics, terracotta, and metalware. under their control through the efficient use of work force and the development of drainage systems, agriculture has been significantly improved here.

From the beginning of the 7th c. BC. The Etruscans began to expand their political influence in a southerly direction: the Etruscan kings ruled Rome, and their sphere of influence extended to the Greek colonies of Campania. The coordinated actions of the Etruscans and Carthaginians at this time in practice significantly impeded Greek colonization in the western Mediterranean. However, after 500 BC. their influence began to wane; OK. 474 BC the Greeks inflicted a major defeat on them, and a little later they began to feel the pressure of the Gauls on their northern borders. At the very beginning of the 4th c. BC. wars with the Romans and a powerful Gallic invasion of the peninsula forever undermined the power of the Etruscans. Gradually they were absorbed by the growing Roman state and dissolved in it.

Political and public institutions.

The political and religious center of the traditional confederation of twelve Etruscan cities, each of which was ruled by a lucumon (lucumo), was their common sanctuary of Voltumnae (Fanum Voltumnae) near modern Bolsena. Apparently, the lukumon of each city was elected by the local aristocracy, but it is not known who held power in the federation.

Royal powers and prerogatives were challenged from time to time by the nobility. For example, by the end of the 6th c. BC. The Etruscan monarchy in Rome was overthrown and replaced by a republic. State structures did not undergo radical changes, except for the fact that the institution of annually elected magistrates was created. Even the title of king (lucumo) was preserved, although it lost its former political content and was inherited by a minor official who performed priestly duties (rex sacrificulus).

The main weakness of the Etruscan alliance was, as in the case of the Greek city-states, the lack of cohesion and the inability to resist with a united front both Roman expansion in the south and Gallic invasion in the north.

During the period of the Etruscan political supremacy in Italy, their aristocracy owned many slaves who were used as servants and in agricultural work. The economic backbone of the state was middle class artisans and merchants. Family ties were strong, and each clan was proud of its traditions and jealously guarded them. The Roman custom, according to which all members of the genus received a common (generic) name, most likely dates back to Etruscan society. Even during the decline of the state, the offspring of Etruscan families were proud of their genealogies. Patron, friend and adviser of Augustus, could boast of descent from the Etruscan kings: his royal ancestors were lukomons of the city of Arretia.

In Etruscan society, women led a completely independent life. Sometimes even the pedigree was conducted along the female line. In contrast to Greek practice, and in keeping with later Roman customs, Etruscan matrons and young girls from the aristocracy were often seen at social gatherings and public spectacles. The emancipated position of Etruscan women gave rise to Greek moralists of subsequent centuries to condemn the mores of the Tyrrhenians.

Religion.

Livy (V 1) describes the Etruscans as "a people more than all others committed to their religious rites"; Arnobius, Christian apologist of the 4th c. AD, stigmatizes Etruria as the "mother of superstitions" ( Against the pagans, VII 26). The fact that the Etruscans were religious and superstitious is confirmed by literary evidence and monuments. The names of numerous gods, demigods, demons and heroes have been preserved, which are basically analogous to Greek and Roman deities. Thus, the Roman triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva among the Etruscans corresponded to Tin, Uni and Menrva. Evidence has also been preserved (for example, in the paintings of the tomb of Orko), indicating the nature of ideas about the bliss and horror of the afterlife.

In the so-called. Etruscan teaching(Etruscan discipline), several books compiled in the 2nd c. BC, the content of which we can judge only on the basis of fragmentary indications of later writers, information and instructions were collected regarding Etruscan religious beliefs, customs and rituals. Here were: 1) libri haruspicini, books about predictions; 2) libri fulgurales, books about lightning; 3) libri rituales, books about rituals. Libri haruspicini taught the art of ascertaining the will of the gods by examining the viscera (primarily the liver) of certain animals. A soothsayer who specialized in this type of divination was called a haruspex. Libri fulgurales dealt with the interpretation of lightning, their redemption and propitiation. The clergyman responsible for this procedure was called the fulgurator. The libri rituales discussed the norms of political and public life and the conditions of human existence, including in the afterlife. These books were in charge of a whole hierarchy of experts. Ceremonies and superstitions described in Etruscan teaching, continued to influence Roman society after the turn of our era. The last mention of the use of Etruscan rituals in practice we meet in 408 AD, when the priests who came to Rome offered to avert the danger from the city from the side of the Goths, led by Alaric.

Economy.

When the Roman consul Scipio Africanus was preparing to invade Africa, i.e. to the campaign that was to end the 2nd Punic War, many Etruscan communities offered their help to him. From the message of Livy (XXVIII 45) we learn that the city of Caere promised to provide grain and other provisions for the troops; Populonia undertook to supply iron, Tarquinia - canvas, Volaterra - details of ship equipment. Arretius promised to provide 3,000 shields, 3,000 helmets and 50,000 javelins, short lances and javelins, as well as axes, shovels, sickles, baskets, and 120,000 measures of wheat. Perusia, Clusius and Ruselli promised grain and timber for ships. If such commitments were made in 205 BC, when Etruria had already lost its independence, then during the years of Etruscan hegemony in Italy, its agriculture, craft and trade must have truly flourished. In addition to the production of grain, olives, wine and timber, the rural population was engaged in cattle breeding, sheep breeding, hunting and fishing. The Etruscans also made household utensils and personal items. The development of production was facilitated by the abundant supply of iron and copper from the island of Elba. One of the main centers of metallurgy was Populonia. Etruscan products penetrated into Greece and Northern Europe.

ART AND ARCHEOLOGY

Excavation history.

The Etruscans were assimilated by the Romans during the last 3 centuries BC, but because their art was highly valued, Etruscan temples, city walls and tombs survived this period. Traces of the Etruscan civilization were partly buried underground along with Roman ruins and in the Middle Ages basically did not attract attention (however, a certain influence of Etruscan painting is found in Giotto); however, during the Renaissance they were again interested and some of them were excavated. Among those who visited the Etruscan tombs were Michelangelo and Giorgio Vasari. Among the famous statues discovered in the 16th century are the famous Chimera (1553), Minerva from Arezzo (1554), and the so-called. Speaker(Arringatore) - a portrait statue of some official, found near Lake Trasimene in 1566. In the 17th century. the number of excavated objects increased, and in the 18th century. the widespread study of Etruscan antiquities generated great enthusiasm (etruscheria, i.e. "Etruscan mania") among Italian scientists who believed that Etruscan culture was superior to ancient Greek. In the course of more or less systematic excavations, researchers of the 19th century discovered thousands of the richest Etruscan tombs filled with Etruscan metalwork and Greek vases - in Perugia, Tarquinia, Vulci, Cerveteri (1836, Regolini-Galassi tomb), Veii, Chiusi, Bologna, Vetulonia and many other places. In the 20th century especially significant were the discoveries of temple sculptures at Veii (1916 and 1938) and a rich burial at Comacchio (1922) on the Adriatic coast. Significant progress has been made in the understanding of Etruscan antiquities, especially through the efforts of the Institute of Etruscan and Italian Studies in Florence and its scientific periodical, Etruscan Studies (Studi Etruschi), published since 1927.

Geographical distribution of monuments.

The archaeological map of the monuments left by the Etruscans reflects their history. The oldest settlements, dating from about 700 BC, were found in the coastal zone between Rome and the island of Elba: Veii, Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Vulci, Statonia, Vetulonia and Populonia. From the end of the 7th and throughout the 6th c. BC. Etruscan culture spread to the mainland from Pisa in the north and along the Apennines. In addition to Umbria, the Etruscans included cities that now bear the names of Fiesole, Arezzo, Cortona, Chiusi and Perugia. Their culture penetrated south to the modern cities of Orvieto, Falerii and Rome, and finally beyond Naples and into Campania. Etruscan artifacts have been found at Velletri, Praeneste, Conca, Capua and Pompeii. Bologna, Marzabotto and Spina became the centers of Etruscan colonization of the regions beyond the Apennine mountain range. Later, in 393 BC, the Gauls invaded these lands. Through trade, Etruscan influence spread to other areas of Italy.

With the weakening of the power of the Etruscans under the blows of the Gauls and Romans, the zone of distribution of their material culture was also reduced. However, in some cities of Tuscany, cultural traditions and language survived until the 1st century. BC. In Clusia, objects of art belonging to the Etruscan tradition were produced until about 100 BC; in Volaterra until about 80 BC, and in Perusia until about 40 BC. Some Etruscan inscriptions date from the time after the disappearance of the Etruscan states and possibly date back to the Augustan era.

Tombs.

The oldest traces of the Etruscans can be traced through their burials, often located on separate hills and, for example, in Caer and Tarquinia, which were real cities of the dead. The simplest type of tombs, which spread from about 700 BC, are depressions carved into the rock. For kings and their relatives, such graves, apparently, were made more extensive. Such are the tombs of Bernardini and Barberini in Praeneste (c. 650 BC) with numerous ornaments of gold and silver, bronze tripods and cauldrons, as well as objects of glass and ivory brought from Phoenicia. Starting from the 7th c. BC. characteristic was the method of connecting several chambers to each other so that whole underground dwellings of various sizes were obtained. They had doors, sometimes windows, and often stone benches on which the dead were laid. In some cities (Caere, Tarquinia, Vetulonia, Populonia and Clusius), such tombs were covered with mounds up to 45 m in diameter, erected over natural hills. In other places (for example, in San Giuliano and Norcia), crypts were cut into sheer cliffs, giving them the appearance of houses and temples with flat or sloping roofs.

The architectural form of the tombs built of hewn stone is interesting. For the ruler of the city of Caere, a long corridor was built, above which huge stone blocks formed a false arched vault. The design and construction technique of this tomb resembles the tombs in Ugarit (Syria) belonging to the era of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture, and the so-called. the tomb of Tantalus in Asia Minor. Some Etruscan tombs have a false dome over a rectangular chamber (Pietrera in Vetulonia and Poggio delle Granate in Populonia) or over a circular room (the tomb from Casale Marittimo, reconstructed in the Archaeological Museum of Florence). Both types of tombs date back to architectural tradition II millennium BC and resemble the tombs of the previous time in Cyprus and Crete.

The so-called "Grotto of Pythagoras" in Cortona, which is actually an Etruscan tomb of the 5th century BC. BC, testifies to the understanding of the laws of interaction of multidirectional forces, which is necessary for the construction of genuine arches and vaults. Such constructions appear in later tombs (3rd-1st centuries BC) - for example, in the so-called. the tomb of the Grand Duke in Chiusi and the tomb of San Manno near Perugia. The territory of the Etruscan cemeteries is crossed by regularly oriented driveways, on which deep ruts left by funeral carts have been preserved. The paintings and reliefs reproduce the public mourning and solemn processions that accompanied the deceased to his eternal abode, where he will be among the furnishings, personal items, bowls and jugs left for him to eat and drink. The platforms erected over the tomb were intended for funeral feasts, including dances and games, and for a kind of gladiator fights, presented in the paintings of the tomb of the Augurs in Tarquinia. It is the contents of the tombs that give us most of the information about the life and art of the Etruscans.

Cities.

The Etruscans can be considered the people who brought urban civilization to central and northern Italy, but little is known about their cities. Intensive human activity in these areas, which lasted for many centuries, destroyed or hid many Etruscan monuments from view. Nevertheless, quite a few mountain towns in Tuscany are still surrounded by Etruscan walls (Orvieto, Cortona, Chiusi, Fiesole, Perugia and probably Cerveteri). In addition, impressive city walls can be seen at Veii, Falerii, Saturnia and Tarquinia, and later city gates dating from the 3rd and 2nd centuries. BC, - in Falerii and Perugia. Aerial photography is increasingly being used to discover Etruscan settlements and burial grounds. In the mid-1990s, systematic excavations began on a number of Etruscan cities, including Cerveteri and Tarquinia, as well as a number of cities in Tuscany.

The Etruscan cities in the mountains do not have a regular layout, as evidenced by the sections of two streets in Vetulonia. The dominant element in the appearance of the city was the temple or temples built on the most elevated places, as in Orvieto and Tarquinia. As a rule, the city had three gates dedicated to the intercessor gods: one - to Tin (Jupiter), the other - to Uni (Juno), and the third - to Menrva (Minerva). Extremely regular building in rectangular quarters was found only in Marzabotto (near modern Bologna), an Etruscan colony on the Reno River. Its streets were paved and water was drained through terracotta pipes.

Dwellings.

In Veii and Vetulonia, simple dwellings such as log cabins with two rooms, as well as houses of an irregular layout with several rooms, were found. The noble lucumons who ruled the Etruscan cities probably had more extensive urban and suburban residences. They, apparently, are reproduced by stone urns in the form of houses and late Etruscan tombs. The urn, kept in the Museum of Florence, depicts a palace-like two-story stone building with an arched entrance, wide windows on the first floor and galleries on the second floor. The Roman type of house with an atrium probably goes back to the Etruscan prototypes.

Temples.

The Etruscans built their temples of wood and mud brick with terracotta lining. The temple of the simplest type, very similar to the early Greek one, had a square room for a cult statue and a portico supported by two columns. The complex temple described by the Roman architect Vitruvius ( About architecture IV 8, 1), was divided inside into three rooms (celles) for the three main gods - Tin, Uni and Menrva. The portico was the same depth as the interior, and had two rows of columns, four in each row. Since an important role in the religion of the Etruscans was assigned to observations of the sky, temples were erected on high platforms. Temples with three cellae are reminiscent of pre-Greek sanctuaries in Lemnos and Crete. As we now know, large terracotta statues were placed on the ridge of the roof (as, for example, in Veii). In other words, Etruscan temples are a variety of Greek ones. The Etruscans also created a developed road network, bridges, sewers and irrigation canals.

Sculpture.

Early in their history, the Etruscans imported Syrian, Phoenician, and Assyrian ivory and metal products and imitated them in their own production. However, very soon they began to imitate everything Greek. Although their art reflects mainly Greek styles, there is a healthy energy and earthy spirit in it that is not characteristic of the Greek prototype, which is more restrained and intellectual in nature. The best Etruscan sculptures, perhaps, should be considered those made of metal, mainly bronze. Most of these statues were captured by the Romans: according to Pliny the Elder ( Natural history XXXIV 34), in one Volsinii, taken in 256 BC, they got 2000 pieces. Few have survived to our time. Among the most remarkable are the sheet-forged bust of a female from Vulci (c. 600 BC, British Museum), the Monteleone chariot richly decorated with relief mythological scenes (c. 540 BC, Metropolitan Museum of Art); Chimera from Arezzo (c. 500 BC, Archaeological Museum in Florence); a statue of a boy from the same time (in Copenhagen); god of war (c. 450 BC, in Kansas City); a statue of a warrior from Tudera (c. 350 BC, now in the Vatican); the expressive head of a priest (c. 180 BC, British Museum); head of a boy (c. 280 BC, Archaeological Museum in Florence). Symbol of Rome, famous Capitoline she-wolf(dated approximately after 500 BC, now in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome), already known in the Middle Ages, probably also made by the Etruscans.

A remarkable achievement of world art was the terracotta statues and reliefs of the Etruscans. The best of them are the statues of the archaic era found near the temple of Apollo in Veii, among which there are images of gods and goddesses watching the struggle of Apollo and Hercules because of a dead doe (c. 500 BC). A relief depiction of a lively battle (probably from a pediment) was discovered in 1957-1958 in Pirgi, the port of Cerveteri. In style, it echoes the Greek compositions of the Early Classical era (480-470 BC). A magnificent team of winged horses was found near the temple of the 4th century. BC. in Tarquinia. Interesting from a historical point of view are the live scenes from the pediments of the temple in Civita Alba, where the plundering of Delphi by the Gauls is depicted.

Stone Etruscan sculpture reveals more local originality than metal. The first attempts to create stone sculptures are the pillar-shaped figures of men and women from the tomb of Pietrera in Vetulonia. They imitate the Greek statues of the middle of the 7th century. BC. The archaic tombs at Vulci and Chiusi are decorated with the figure of a centaur and various stone busts. Images of battles, festivities, games, funerals and scenes of women's life were found on tombstones of the 6th century. BC. from Chiusi and Fiesole. There are also scenes from Greek mythology, such as relief images on stone slabs set above the entrance to the tombs in Tarquinia. From the 4th century BC sarcophagi and urns with ashes were usually decorated with reliefs on the themes of Greek legends and scenes of the afterlife. On the covers of many of them there are figures of reclining men and women, whose faces are especially expressive.

Painting.

Etruscan painting is especially valuable, since it makes it possible to judge Greek paintings and frescoes that have not come down to us. With the exception of a few fragments of the picturesque decoration of the temples (Cerveteri and Falerii), Etruscan frescoes have survived only in the tombs - in Cerveteri, Veii, Orvieto and Tarquinia. In the oldest (c. 600 BC) tomb of Lions in Cerveteri there is an image of a deity between two lions; in the tomb of Campana at Veii, the deceased is represented as riding out to hunt. From the middle of the 6th c. BC. scenes of dances, libations, as well as athletic and gladiatorial competitions (Tarquinia) predominate, although there are also images of hunting and fishing (the tomb of Hunting and fishing in Tarquinia). The best monuments Etruscan paintings are dance scenes from the tomb of Francesca Giustiniani and the tomb of Triclinius. The drawing here is very confident, the color scheme is not rich (yellow, red, brown, green and blue colors) and discreet, but harmonious. The frescoes of these two tombs imitate the work of Greek masters of the 5th century. BC. Among the few painted tombs late period by right, the large tomb of François in Vulci (4th century BC) is singled out. One of the scenes discovered here - the attack of the Roman Gnaeus Tarquinius on the Etruscan Caelius Vibenna, who is assisted by his brother Aelius and another Etruscan Mastarna - is probably an Etruscan interpretation of a Roman legend on the same topic; other scenes are taken from Homer. The Etruscan afterlife, with an admixture of individual Greek elements, is presented in the tomb of Orc, the tomb of Typhon and the tomb of the Cardinal in Tarquinia, where various frightening demons (Haru, Tukhulka) are depicted. These Etruscan demons were apparently known to the Roman poet Virgil.

Ceramics.

Etruscan pottery is technologically good, but mostly imitative. Black vases of the bucchero type more or less successfully imitate bronze vessels (7th-5th centuries BC); they are often decorated with figures in relief, usually reproducing Greek designs. The evolution of painted pottery, with some delay in time, follows the development of Greek vases. The most peculiar vases depict objects of non-Greek origin, such as ships of the Tyrrhenian pirates or following the manner of folk art. In other words, the value of Etruscan ceramics lies in the fact that through it we trace the growth of Greek influence, especially in the field of mythology. The Etruscans themselves preferred Greek vases, which have been found by the thousands in Etruscan tombs (approx. 80% of the Greek vases known today come from Etruria and southern Italy. Thus, the François vase (in the Archaeological Museum of Florence), a magnificent creation of the master of the Attic black-figure style Clytius (first half of 6 century BC), was found in an Etruscan tomb near Chiusi.

Metalworking.

According to Greek authors, Etruscan bronze items were highly valued in Greece. Probably of Etruscan origin is an ancient bowl with human faces discovered in the necropolis of Athens, approximately dated to the beginning of the 7th century BC. BC. Part of an Etruscan tripod found on the Acropolis of Athens. At the end of the 7th, in the 6th and 5th centuries. BC. a large number of Etruscan cauldrons, buckets and jugs for wine were exported to Central Europe, some of them even reached Scandinavia. Bronze Etruscan figurine found in England.

In Tuscany, reliable, large and very spectacular coasters, tripods, cauldrons, lamps and even thrones were made of bronze. These items also formed part of the furnishings of the tombs, and many were decorated with relief or three-dimensional images of people and animals. Bronze chariots with scenes of heroic battles or figures of legendary heroes were also made here. The engraved design was widely used to decorate bronze toilet boxes and bronze mirrors, many of which were made in the Latin city of Praeneste. Both scenes from Greek myths and major and minor Etruscan gods were used as motifs. The most famous of the engraved vessels is the Ficoroni cyst in Rome's Villa Giulia Museum, which depicts the exploits of the Argonauts.

Jewelry.

The Etruscans also excelled in jewelry. A remarkable set of bracelets, plates, necklaces and brooches adorned a woman buried in the tomb of Regolini-Galassi in Caere: apparently, she was literally covered with gold. The granulation technique, when figures of gods and animals were depicted with tiny balls of gold soldered onto a hot surface, was nowhere used as skillfully as in decorating the bows of some Etruscan brooches. Later, the Etruscans made earrings of various shapes with amazing ingenuity and care.

Coins.

The Etruscans mastered the minting of coins in the 5th century. BC. Gold, silver and bronze were used for this. The coins, decorated according to Greek patterns, depicted seahorses, gorgons, wheels, vases, double axes, and profiles of various patron gods of cities. They also made inscriptions with the names of Etruscan cities: Veltzna (Wolsinia), Vetluna (Vetulonia), Hamars (Chiusi), Pupluna (Populonia). The last Etruscan coins were minted in the 2nd century BC. BC.

contribution of archeology.

Archaeological discoveries made in Etruria since the middle of the 16th century. to the present day, recreated a vivid picture of the Etruscan civilization. This picture was greatly enriched by the use of such new methods as photographing tombs that have not yet been excavated (a method invented by C. Lerici) using a special periscope. Archaeological finds reflect not only the power and wealth of the early Etruscans based on piracy and barter, but also their gradual decline, due, according to ancient authors, to the relaxing influence of luxury. These finds illustrate the Etruscan warfare, their beliefs, entertainment and, to a lesser extent, their labor activity. Vases, reliefs, sculpture, painting, and small-form works of art show a surprisingly complete assimilation of Greek customs and beliefs, as well as striking evidence of the influence of the pre-Greek era.

Archeology has confirmed literary tradition who spoke of Etruscan influence on Rome. The terracotta decoration of the early Roman temples is in the Etruscan style; many vases and bronze objects from the early Republican period of Roman history are made by the Etruscans or in their manner. The double ax as a symbol of power, according to the Romans, was of Etruscan origin; double axes are also represented in Etruscan funerary sculpture - for example, on the stele of Aulus Veluscus, located in Florence. Moreover, such double hatchets were placed in the tombs of the leaders, as was the case in Populonia. At least until the 4th c. BC. the material culture of Rome was entirely dependent on the culture of the Etruscans