Brief introduction of Etruscan civilization

From the 8th century to the 3rd century BC, Etruscan civilization flourished in central Italy. This culture was famous in ancient times for its rich mineral resources and the main trading power of the Mediterranean. Most of its culture and even its history were either destroyed or absorbed by Rome the conqueror. However, the surviving Etruscan tombs and their contents and murals, as well as the adoption of some Etruscan costumes, religious customs and buildings by Rome, convincingly prove the great prosperity of Italy's first great civilization and its great contribution to Mediterranean culture.

Wan Wen town

Villanova culture developed in the Iron Age in central Italy around 1 100 BC. The name is actually misleading, because this culture is actually an early form of Etruscan. There is no evidence of immigration or war that these two peoples are different. Villanova culture benefited from the extensive exploitation of natural resources in this area, which enabled the formation of villages. Houses are usually round, consisting of fences, painted walls and thatched roofs, decorated with wood and songkhla; The pottery model survived and was used to store the ashes of the deceased. With the guarantee of normal and well-managed crops, part of the community can devote itself to manufacturing and trade. The importance of horses can be seen in the position of many bronze horses in the large Villaneau Wan cemetery outside their residential area. Around 750 BC, villanova culture became Etruscan culture, and many villanova sites continued to develop into major cities in Etruscan. The Etruscans are now ready to become one of the most successful people in the ancient Mediterranean.

Etruscan is an independent city-state, only linked by the same religion, language and culture.

Etruria

Etruscan is an independent city-state, only linked by the same religion, language and culture. From the geographical distribution of the Tiber River, a part of the Nanbo River basin is in the north, and the main Etruscan cities are Cherveteri (Sisra), Clifton, Prunia (Prona), Tartiu (Weiyi), Vetulonia (Vitluna) and Woolwich (Velvet). Cities develop independently, and innovations in manufacturing, art and architecture, and * * occur at different times and places. Generally speaking, coastal sites with more contact with contemporary culture have evolved faster, but in the end, new ideas have spread to the hinterland of Etruscan. Nevertheless, Etruscan cities are still developing along their own routes, and the significant differences between cities are obvious.

Prosperity is based on fertile land and improved agricultural tools in order to make better use of land; The local mineral resources are rich, especially iron; Manufacturing metal tools, pottery and precious materials, such as commodity gold and silver; And the trade network connecting Etruscan cities with each other, the tribes across the Alps from northern Italy, and other maritime trading countries, such as Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and the Near East. Although slaves, raw materials and finished products (especially Greek pottery) were imported, Etruscans exported iron, as well as their own local Buchiero pottery and food, especially wine, olive oil, grains and pine nuts.

Historical overview

With the prosperity of trade in the 7th century BC, the cultural influence brought by the increase of cross-cultural contact has become more profound. Craftsmen from Greece and the Levant settled in Emporia, a semi-independent trading port on the first broad coast, the most famous of which is pilgrim, one of the ports in Cherveteri. Eating habits, clothing, letters and religion are just some areas where people in Greece and the Near East changed Etruscan culture during the so-called "Orientalization" period.

Etruscan cities joined forces with Carthage and successfully defended their trade interests against the Greek naval fleet that fought Alalia in 540 BC (also known as the Battle of Sardinia). The Etruscans controlled the sea and maritime trade along the coast of Italy, and the Greeks repeatedly called them rogue pirates. But in the 5th century BC, Syracuse was the main trading power of the Mediterranean, and Sicily and Kumai defeated the Etruscans in the Battle of Kumai in 474 BC. To make matters worse, in 384 BC, Dionysus I, the tyrant of Syracuse, decided to attack the Etruscan coast and destroy many Etruscan ports. From the 4th century BC to the 3rd century BC, these factors greatly led to the trade losses and subsequent decline of many Etruscan cities.

Inland, it seems that the Etruscan war initially followed the Greek principle, using heavy infantry-wearing bronze breastplates, Corinthian helmets, leggings and a large round shield-deployed in a static phalanx, but since the 6th century BC, the smaller the round bronze helmet, the more intense the mobile war. Although several chariots were found in the Etruscan tomb, they were probably only used for ceremonies. Mercenaries have been used in wars since the 5th century BC, just like in many contemporary cultures. In the same century, many towns built large fortifications with towers and gates. All these developments point to a new military threat, which will come from the south, where a great empire will be built, starting with the conquest of Etruscans. Rome is heading for war.

Since the 6th century BC, the more small round bronze helmets there are, the fiercer the sports war will be.

In the 6th century BC, some early kings of Rome, though legendary from Tachynia, by the late 4th century BC, Rome was no longer the second neighbor of Etruscans and began to show its strength. Moreover, the Etruscan cause was not helped by the Celtic invasion from the north, even though they sometimes became their allies against Rome. Then there were intermittent wars for about 200 years. Peace treaties, alliances and temporary truce were interrupted by battles and sieges, such as Rome's 10 attack on Vie in 406 BC and the battle between Chuxi and Sentinum in 295 BC. In the end, Rome's professional army, stronger organizational ability, excellent manpower and material resources, and the serious lack of political unity between Etruscan cities mean that there can only be one winner. 280 BC is an important year, which witnessed the downfall of tarquinia, oviedo and Woolsey. Cerveteri, who died in 273 BC, was one of the last people who insisted on opposing the ruthless expansion that quickly became the Roman Empire.

Romans often slaughtered conquered and established colonies, resettled veterans in some areas and sold them as slaves. Finally, when many Etruscan cities supported Marius to win Sura in the civil war, Sura fired them in 83 and 82 BC. Etruscans were romanized, their culture and language were replaced by Latin, their literature was destroyed and their history was obliterated. It took 2500 years for people to find a complete tomb almost miraculously, which was filled with exquisite handicrafts and decorated with vibrant murals, and then the world realized what it had lost.

* * * and society

The early Etruscan cities were based on monarchy, but later developed into oligarchy, which supervised and controlled all public positions and people who owned them. The only evidence of political ties between cities is the annual meeting of the Etruscan Union. This is an institution we know almost nothing about. Except for 12 or 15, the most important cities will send elders to meet, mainly for religious purposes, in a refuge called Fanum Voltumnae. The location is unknown, but it may be close to oviedo. There is also ample evidence that Etruscan cities occasionally fight with each other and even transfer population in a smaller area. There is no doubt,

Etruscan society has different levels of social status, from foreigners and slaves to female and male citizens. Men in some clan groups seem to dominate politics, religion and justice, and clan membership may be more important than which city a person comes from. Compared with most other ancient cultures, women enjoy more freedom, for example, they can inherit property in their own right, although they are still unequal to men and cannot participate in public life outside social and religious occasions.

Etruscan religion

Etruscan religion is polytheistic, and all important places, objects, thoughts and events that are considered to influence or control daily life have gods. The head of the Pantheon is Christine, although he, like most such figures, may be considered as not paying much attention to worldly affairs. To this end, there are various other gods, such as Tanur, the goddess of birth; Aita, the god of the underworld; And Usher, the sun god. The god of Etruscan countries seems to be Veltha (also known as Veltune or Voltumna) closely related to vegetation. Smaller figures include winged women called Vanth, who seem to be messengers of death, and heroes, including Hercules, who, like many other Greek gods and heroes, were adopted, renamed and adjusted by Etruscans to sit on their own gods.

The two main features of this religion are divination (reading omens from weather phenomena such as birds and lightning strikes) and haruhishi (examining the internal organs of sacrificed animals to cope with future sacred events, especially the liver). Etruscan people are particularly pious, paying attention to fate, fate and how to have a positive impact on them, which was pointed out by ancient writers such as Li Wei, who described them as "a country that transcends all other religious ceremonies" (Haines, 268). The priest will consult a set of religious documents called Etruscan Disciples (now lost). These documents are based on the knowledge given to the Etruscans by two gods: the clever baby Tagis, the grandson of Tin, the miraculous appearance of the land in Quinia, Dantard, and the fairy Vikuy. Etruscan disciples decided when certain ceremonies should be held and when the significance of signs and omens should be revealed.

Sacrificing animals, sprinkling blood on the ground, music and dancing are usually held outside temples commemorating specific gods. Ordinary people will leave offerings in these temples to thank the gods for their services or websites that hope to get services in the near future. In addition to food, vows and sacrifices usually take the form of pottery and figurines engraved with inscriptions or bronze statues of humans and animals. For the same reason, especially children wear amulets to resist evil spirits and bad luck. The existence of precious daily objects in Etruscan tombs shows that they believe in the afterlife, and they believe that the afterlife is the continuation of human life in this world, just like the ancient Egyptians. If the murals of many graves are an indicator, then the afterlife, at least for those residents, begins with family reunion, and then involves endless happy banquets, games, dances and music.

Etruscan architecture

The most ambitious architectural project of the Etruscans is to build a temple in a sacred place, where they can make sacrifices to their gods. From the dry mud brick building with wooden poles and thatched roofs to 600 BC, it gradually evolved into a stronger and more spectacular structure using stones and Tuscan columns (with bases but no flutes). According to Etruscan rules, every town has three main temples. It is very similar to the Greek temple in design, but the difference between them is that usually only the front porch has columns, and they extend further than the columns designed by Greek architects. Other differences include a higher pedestal platform, an internal three-bedroom cellar, a side door and a large Songkhla roof decoration. The latter first appeared in the architecture of villanova culture, but now it has become more luxurious, including life-size sculptures, such as those of Apollo strode in the 10 century. In 5 10 BC, at the temple of Na Qiao in Veibotto.

In the early 6th century BC, private houses had many interconnected rooms, sometimes a hall and a private courtyard, all on the first floor. The roof has gables and is supported by columns. They have an atrium with a hall leading to the sky in the middle and a shallow basin on the floor in the middle to collect rainwater. Opposite is a large room with fireplace and reservoir, and the next room includes servants' accommodation.

Some circular tombs are very huge, up to 40 meters in diameter.

The burial custom of Etruscan people is not uniform throughout Etruscan, even with the passage of time. The general preference for cremation eventually gave way to burial and then returned to cremation during the Hellenistic period, but some websites changed slowly. In fact, this is the greatest architectural heritage of the Etruscan people, burying several generations of members of the same family in a big tomb covered with mud or a small square building on the ground. Some circular tombs can reach 40 meters in diameter. Rooms have vaulted or domed ceilings and are usually accessible through stone corridors. This cubic structure is most obvious in the Banditaccia cemetery in Cerveteri. Every door has an entrance with stone benches, carved altars and sometimes stone chairs for the dead. The orderly arrangement of tombs showed greater concern for urban planning at that time.

Etruscan art

Undoubtedly, the greatest artistic heritage of the Etruscans is their magnificent tomb murals, which give people a glimpse of their lost world. Only 2% graves are painted, which shows that only the elite can afford such luxury. These paintings are either painted directly on the stone wall or on a thin layer of plaster. The artist first draws the outline with chalk or charcoal. Shadows are rarely used, but the colors are many shadows, so the pictures are full of vitality. It can be traced back to the middle of the 6th century BC, but people's love for dance, music, hunting, sports, * * and dining scenes has been consistent for centuries. Sometimes there are historical scenes, such as the battle depicted in the tomb of Francois in Vulci. These paintings not only let us know about Etruscan people's daily life, eating habits and clothes, but also reveal social attitudes, especially towards slaves, foreigners and women. For example, the appearance of married women at banquets and cocktail parties (with inscriptions) shows that they and their husbands enjoy more equal social status than other ancient cultures of the same period.

Ceramic art is another professional field. Bucciero is a native Etruscan pottery with a unique almost black luster. Since the beginning of the 7th century BC, this style has often imitated embossed bronze vessels. Popular shapes include bowls, pots, cups, utensils and anthropomorphic devices. Buccero utensils are usually placed in graves and are widely exported to Europe and the Mediterranean. Later, the other one mainly produced clay urns, with a half-life-size statue of the dead on the circular carved lid. These are paintings. Although they are sometimes a little idealistic, they present realistic portraits. The sides of these square urns are usually decorated with reliefs to show mythical scenes.

Bronze ware is another Etruscan specialty that can be traced back to villanova. All kinds of daily necessities are made of this material, but it is best to see the artist's hand on the figurine, especially the bronze mirror decorated with carving scenes. Similarly, it usually comes from myths. Finally, a large metal sculpture with excellent quality was made. Few examples survived, but those who survived, especially Chimera of arezzo, proved the imagination and skill of Etruscan artists.

Etruscan heritage

The Romans not only seized the land and treasures they could get from their neighbors, but also stole many ideas from the Etruscans. The Romans adopted the practice of divination in Etruscan (itself an adaptation of the practice in the Near East) and other features of Etruscan religion, such as the ceremony of establishing new towns and dividing territories. With the expansion of their empire, they will get a lot of practical opportunities. In addition, Etruscan soothsayers and soothsayers became the main members of elite families and armies, and they were recognized as experts in this kind of affairs in the Mediterranean region.

Tuscan columns, arched doors, private villas with atriums, tombs with many urn niches, and large temples on impressive terraced platforms are all Etruscan architectural features that the Romans will adopt and adapt to. Other cultural influences include the victory of Rome and Etruscan robes with white, purple or red edges, which will become Roman robes. Finally, in terms of language, the Etruscans passed many characters on to their successors in Italy, and through their alphabet (itself adapted from Greek), they will influence the Nordic languages by creating runes.