The Etruscans

The origins of the Etruscans are a mystery [see sidebar, “The Shadowy Origins of the Etruscans”], though it appears likely they settled on the northwest portion of the Italian peninsula some time between 1200 and 1100 b. c. Part of this region is today called Tuscany (TUHS-kuh-nee), its name a reference to its Etruscan past and its ancient name of Etruria (eh-TROO-ree-uh). There were already people living there, a group known as the Villanovans (vil-uh-NOH-vuhns), who eventually emerged as an Iron Age culture before being absorbed in the Etruscan population.

From an early time, the Etruscans developed links with Greece, from whom they adopted the alphabet that would become Rome's as well. They also adopted gods closely related to those of the Greeks, gods the Romans themselves would adopt. It should be noted, however, that the earliest Romans did not worship anthropomorphic (an-throh-poh-MOHR-fik) deities—that is, gods who looked like human beings. Like the Jews, they did not believe the gods could be depicted, but eventually they accepted the Greeks' image of their deities. The distinctions between Greek and Roman mythology would blur so much that the Romans' gods became more or less exact equivalents of the Greeks'.

The Etruscans also took on Hellenic forms of city organization, electing magistrates (MAH-jis-trayhtz) to run their cities from about 550 b. c. onward. There were plenty of distinctly Etruscan aspects to their culture as well, however, and

Tomb of the Reliefs.

Corbis-Bettmann. Reproduced by permission.

These too were passed on to the Romans. One of the Roman symbols of authority came from the Etruscans, the fasces (fa-SHEEZ), a bundle of sticks with an axe head protruding. Later the fasces would become an emblem of absolute authority displayed by Roman magistrates.

Engineering and architecture were another important Etruscan legacy. Given the local problems with swamps, which bred mosquitoes and with them disease, removal of water was a serious issue in central Italy. The soil of southern Etruria made the digging of tunnels easy. The Etruscans developed an elaborate network of channels for removing excess water. Among their developments was the Cloaca Maxima (kloh-AY-kuh MAK-sih-muh), which drained the site that became the Forum at the center of Rome. The Etruscans also developed an architectural style that influenced the building of temples in Rome for years to come. In their artwork, particularly their vases, they revealed a degree of refinement far beyond that of their crude neighbors in Rome.