Geography. Etruria, Padana region, Campania. In the VI century. move to the South and to the North => capture Rome (the last kings of Rome are the Etruscans), but the Hellenes drive them back to the North (524, 474 under Cumae), incl. in 510 Rome was liberated. By 400 the Gauls had ousted the Etruscans to the north, by 282 the Etruscans had been conquered by Rome and Romanized. Flourishing in the 3/4th century.
Meaning. One of the 2 cultures that greatly influenced the Roman one (until the 4th century BC). It stands out strongly against the background of all the Ligurians, Italics, and Illyrians with its development (there is a state).
Archeology. All Etruscan archeology proceeds without parallel written sources => beautiful, but not very informative. Necropolises of northern and central Italy with rich burials and wall paintings. City of the 5th century near Marzabotto. Regular layout. Port of Spina VI-IV centuries. (aerial photography). Port of Pyrga 5th century (remains of sanctuaries, tablets with sacred text in parallel in Etruscan and Phoenician languages). Etruscan residential buildings near Acqua Rossa. Up to 11,000 inscriptions, they are easy to read, but the meaning is unclear. Architecture. Regular plans (hence later the Hippodamian system). Fortification. Temples similar to Greek ones. Sarcophagi, frescoes, sculpture.
Economy.
Agricultural. The basis of everything, because good soils. Tendency towards waterlogging => drainage works for the first time.
Craft. Highly developed, because There are deposits of tin, copper, and iron. Bucchero ceramics. Sarcophagi and urns. Trade is well developed (Egyptian goods in tombs, ship remains).
Colonization. In the VI century. and mainly to Corsica and Sardinia. There the fight against the Greeks is on the side of Carthage.
Society. There is stratification. Patriarchal slavery. There are impoverished layers. The military-priestly elite. There are free artisans and farmers. Matrilineality along with patrilineality.
Policy. Initially they were ruled by kings and military-priestly nobility, but from the 6th century. - something like magistrates. There is no single state, but there are 3 leagues (Tuscan, Padanian, Campanian) - something like a confederation of cities. Each city has its own army (heavily armed infantry and nobles on horses and chariots).
Culture. It is highly developed and influences the Roman one. It is formed under the influence of autochthonous features, Greek, Carthaginian and Asia Minor factors. Developed mythology and pantheon (Tini, Uni Menrva, Herkle). The influence of the Hittites and Greeks on them is obvious. Haruspices. Feature – realism. turning into naturalism. In painting - the technique of continuous images (comics). The religion is much darker than the Roman one. There is eschatology. Demonology.
The Etruscan question in historiography. Several points of view on the origin and language of the Etruscans.
Etruscan language.
Pre-Indo-European origins of the Etruscan language. The oldest population of Asia and the Mediterranean.
Indo-European origins of the Etruscan language. Related to Hittite and Pelasgian.
Origin of the Etruscans.
Eastern theory. According to Herodotus. Dominates in the 17th century. Modestov adheres to it (XX century). Eastern origin of the Etruscans (according to Herodotus - from Lydia).
Alpine theory. It is based on the identification of two ethnonyms: Rasen (the self-name of the Etruscans) and Rhets (an Alpine tribe). Appears in the 18th century, in the 19th century. it is adhered to by Mommsen and Niebuhr in the 20th century. – racists (Nordic origin of the Etruscans => Romans => Krauts).
Autochthonous theory. Based on the news of Dionysius of Halicarnassus. It is no longer the Germans who are pushing it, but the Italian fascists in the 20th century.
Theory of M. Pallotino. Dominates. The point is that the Etruscans did not come from anywhere ready-made, and were not the original inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula, but formed there from heterogeneous elements.
The work consists of 1 file
Topic: The influence of Etruscan civilization on the formation of early Roman culture.
Roman culture developed under the influence of the cultures of many peoples, primarily the Etruscans and Greeks. Using foreign achievements, the Romans surpassed their teachers in many areas, raising the overall level of their own development to unprecedented heights.
The object of this study is the process of formation of early Roman culture. Within this process, elements of Etruscan civilization are identified that influence the formation of Roman culture, which is the subject of research. Let's denote the hypothesis. Let us assume that in different spheres of life of ancient Roman society, Etruscan influence was uneven, i.e. had different scales and content.
Accordingly, the purpose of the work is to identify the spheres of influence of Etruscan civilization on the formation of Roman culture, to determine the scale of this influence, the qualitative characteristics of its manifestation in the process of formation of Roman civilization.
Rome created its own civilization, based on a special value system. The question of whether it is possible to talk about the existence of an independent Roman civilization has been repeatedly discussed in science.
According to the History of Ancient Rome. ON THE. Mashkin”, such famous culturologists as O. Spengler, A. Toynbee, highlighting ancient culture or civilization as a single whole, denied the independent significance of Rome and believed that the entire Roman era was a crisis stage of ancient civilization. When her ability for Spiritual creativity comes to naught, only the possibilities for creativity in the field of statehood remain (the creation of the Roman Empire and technology). Yet, over the long centuries of Roman domination in the Mediterranean, everything that was done in science, philosophy, historiography, poetry, and art was borrowed from the Greeks, primitivized and relegated to a level accessible to mass consciousness, which never rose to the heights of the creators of Hellenic culture.
Other researchers (S.L. Utchenko did a lot in this direction in Soviet historiography), on the contrary, believe that Rome created its own original civilization, based on a special system of values that developed in the Roman civil community in connection with the peculiarities of its historical development. Such features include the establishment of a democratic form of government as a result of the struggle between patricians and plebeians and the victories of the latter, and the almost continuous wars of Rome, which turned it from a small Italian town into the capital of a huge power.
Rome begins its existence as the center of a new political force at a time when the founders of civilization - the Etruscans - suffer disaster in the bloody battles of the Greco-Etruscan War, which ultimately leads to the fall of Etruscan power.
The Etruscans are ancient tribes that inhabited in the 1st millennium BC. north-west of the Apennine Peninsula - a region called in ancient times Etruria (modern Tuscany). The Etruscans are the creators of a civilization that preceded the Roman one and had a significant influence on it. The origins of the Etruscans remain unclear. Herodotus' testimony about the Lydian origin of the Etruscans, and the similarity of geographical names in Etruria with those that we find in Asia Minor, indicate that the Etruscans came from the East, perhaps precisely from Asia Minor. Probably, the process of formation of the Etruscans was completed by the 8th century. BC. Their influence in the 6th century. BC. spread to almost all of Italy. But the period of Etruscan power was not long: the Greeks in 524 and 474 BC. defeated them at Cumae, putting an end to their naval dominance, the Romans expelled the Tarquins around 509. Then the Samnite tribes ousted the Etruscans from Campania (around the 5th century). Around 400, their Padanian possessions were invaded by the Gauls. The lack of political and military unity among the Etruscans led to the fact that in wars with Rome they gradually lost their cities (already in 396 Veii, a city once as powerful as Rome, fell; in 358 the city fell under Roman rule Cere; in 308 - Tarquinia). From 310 the Roman conquest of central and eastern Etruria began, and by 282 BC. All of Etruria found itself dependent on Rome.
In the VI century. BC e. In Rome, Etruscan influence noticeably increased. This is reflected primarily in the tales of the Etruscan Tarquin dynasty, to which the last Roman kings belonged. In the 19th century During excavations of the Etruscan city of Caere, from where, according to legend, Tarquinius arrived in Rome, the tomb of the Tarquin family was discovered and many Etruscan inscriptions were found. Taking into account that just in the 6th century. BC e. When the Etruscan federation flourished and became powerful, it is quite reasonable to assume that for some time Rome was subordinate to the Etruscans.
In addition, for the Romans the Etruscans were a model in the applied arts and construction. Firstly, the Romans borrowed high construction techniques and the original types of a number of structures. According to the “History of Culture of Ancient Greece and Rome” by K. Kumanetsky, the Etruscan features of the most ancient temples (for example, the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome, which was consecrated in 509 BC) - a three-part cella, podium, accentuation of the main facade with a portico and stairs - later became characteristic features of Roman religious architecture.
From them the Romans adopted a number of features of political organization, the structure and armament of the army, and insignia (signs of authority) of government officials.
Secondly, while spreading their style in the conquered provinces, the Romans at the same time easily assimilated the artistic principles of the Etruscans and Greeks. In the ancient period, the art of Rome developed within the framework of the Central Italian archaeological cultures of the Iron Age. At the time of the formation of the ancient Roman artistic culture itself, in the 8th - 4th centuries. Don. e. Roman architecture was enormously influenced by Etruscan architecture.
Another area of manifestation of Etruscan influence is religion and mythology. Thus, through Etruria, the legend about the wanderings of the Trojan hero Aeneas, the ancestor of the founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus, came to Rome. Subsequently, the mythology of the Romans was mainly associated with the legends about Aeneas, Romulus and the kings who replaced him. In “The Cultural History of Ancient Greece and Rome” by K. Kumanetsky, the historian Titus Livius directly reports that the Romans borrowed this from the Etruscans.
Note that there, in Etruria, they first began to use such emblems of patrician dignity as a golden ball, which was worn around the neck, and a toga with a purple border.
Close to the Etruscan cult of the city boundaries is the Roman cult of the god Terminus. In addition, the Romans had a god called Terminus, who was the patron of border boundaries, boundary stones between land plots, as well as the boundaries of the city and state. According to legend, the Etruscans were given the laws of land surveying by the nymph Vegoya, and these laws were considered the sacred basis of Etruria. Therefore, we have every reason to believe that the sacred rites of the Romans associated with the god Terminus were borrowed by them from the Etruscans, especially since the cult of the god Terminus and the sacred ceremonies associated with him were introduced in Rome by King Numa Pompilius, who was one of the first kings of Rome and although he was a Sabine, he was most likely familiar with Etruscan religious customs and rituals.
A clear demonstration of borrowings is the custom of magnificently celebrating military triumphs, because the Etruscans saw in the victorious commander the embodiment of their highest deity: like this deity - the sky god Tinu, the winner in a golden diadem, with an ebony staff, in a purple tunic embroidered with images of palm trees, rode into golden chariot in the sanctuary.
Another area of influence of the Etruscans was the development of crafts. Based on A.V. Podosinova N.I. Shaveleva “Introduction to the Latin language and ancient culture,” we can say that the Romans owe their skill in making weapons to the Etruscans, because The rich deposits of iron on the Elbe, the mining of copper, silver and tin were used by the Etruscans primarily for the manufacture of weapons, which had no equal.
The Etruscans were masters of jewelry, knew granulation and filigree, but were especially famous in bronze casting. It is the Etruscans who own the famous Capitoline She-wolf (early 5th century BC), which is preserved to this day in Rome as the greatest relic, because it resembles the famous legend about the creation of Rome.
However, as a result of the research, we found that Etruscan influence manifested itself in various spheres of ancient Roman society: construction, applied arts, legends, mythology, crafts, and the practice of triumphs. The most widespread in distribution and voluminous in content is the borrowing by the Romans from the Etruscans of the architecture of temples with cladding, handicraft techniques, and the practice of city construction.
In the literature, one can reveal the least degree of influence of the Etruscans on Roman civilization. The Greek influence is more pronounced here.
But in general, thanks to the intervention of Etruscan civilization, Roman culture formed a new system of thinking, in which aspirations to the sphere of spirituality, pragmatism, and rationality triumphed, thereby preparing the ground for the formation of both the culture of the Middle Ages and the culture of the New Age.
Bibliography
- Kazimierz Kumanecki. History of culture of Ancient Greece and Rome. 1990.
- History of Ancient Rome. ON THE. Mashkin. - M.: Higher school, 2006. - 751.:ill. - (Series "Classics of Historical Science")
- Cultural studies for technical universities. Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2001.
- Kravchenko A.I. Culturology. - M.: Academic Project, 2001.p. 231-251.
- Podosinov A.V., Shaveleva N.I. Lingua Latina: An Introduction to the Latin Language and Ancient Culture. T.1.
Description
Roman culture developed under the influence of the cultures of many peoples, primarily the Etruscans and Greeks. Using foreign achievements, the Romans surpassed their teachers in many areas, raising the overall level of their own development to unprecedented heights.
The object of this study is the process of formation of early Roman culture. Within this process, elements of Etruscan civilization are identified that influence the formation of Roman culture, which is the subject of research.
Let's reason based on facts.
Beautiful Russian word world . And how much is connected with it in history.
Everyone remembers our last orbital station World. The older generation of USSR citizens still remembers the slogans on the roofs of houses: Peace to the world, World peace.
The meaning of this word was well known to the communists, the church and the tsars. This word attracted people then and still does today.
Even in school history, we see how our princes strove for the peace of Byzantium. At first they raided, like boys who get to know a girl by slapping her on the head. Later, Rus' and Byzantium already consolidated the connection with dynastic marriages, and the princes did not resist the religious merger with Byzantium. Even the loss of their identity and part of their sovereignty did not stop them. The losses from , are obvious, but there was something that turned out to be more important than these losses.
There is also a mysterious surprise in our history with which the philosophical idea “Moscow is the Third Rome” arose. It seems like there was nowhere for it to arise, but how clearly in the letter of the humble monk Philotheus it sounded: “Two Romes fell due to their sins, the third stands, and the fourth will not exist.”
Paris and London were not counted in Rus', but Rome was. This is curious. But they didn’t just count. They even connected their geography with Rome.
Let's read Tyutchev's little-known poem "Russian Geography", 1886. Try to see the hidden meaning in it.
Moscow and the city of Petrov, and the city of Constantine -
These are the treasured capitals of the Russian kingdom...
But where is the limit? And where are its boundaries?
North, east, south and sunset?
In the coming times, fate will expose them...
Seven inland seas and seven great rivers...
From the Nile to the Neva, from the Elbe to China,
From the Volga to the Euphrates, from the Ganges to the Danube...
This is the Russian kingdom... and it will never pass away,
Somehow the Spirit foresaw and Daniel predicted.
Let's leave Bible prophecy and look at city of Petrov , which for the poet is not Petersburg, but Rome! The city of the Apostle Peter is mentioned in the same line with the second Rome - Constantinople and the third - Moscow.
Many centuries before Christianity, the First Rome received its original first name - World , and the word is as you understand Russian. World in reverse reading it gives our same sound - Rome . And in any foreign language he - Roma.
An interesting problem “Rome = World” has become the subject of attention of scientists. And the revelation of this secret led to the discovery of perhaps more than just a page in history. Of course, this discovery is not allowed to proceed. Because “there is a Russian spirit here, it smells like Russia.”
It is the history of Rome that is the topic of our today's study.
When the country was baptized, and when the future Russia and the USSR were created, everyone, Vladimir the Baptist, Ivan III, and the communists acted in line with one idea. At all times, the country's leaders considered themselves the successors of the ancient Empire. There is plenty of evidence of this in history. So, for example, Prince Svyatoslav, the son of Grand Duchess Olga, believed. He declared: “I don’t like living in Kyiv. I want to live on the Danube, in Pereslavets. That city is the middle of my land...” And where do you think this land with its center in Pereslavets is? Ivan III thought the same thing, declaring himself the ruler of a state that does not exist, but a future one. He saw the Balkans and the Black Sea straits with the Holy Land as part of Rus'. Here is an excerpt from Easter to Ivan III in 1492. “God himself placed Ivan III - the new Tsar Constantine in the new city of Constantine - Moscow.” The communists did not lag behind them when they wrote about the World Socialist Soviet Republic in their Constitution of the USSR of 1924. In order to consider ourselves heirs of the Roman Empire, you need to have at least some reason for this. And it seems they had these reasons.
By the way, in those ancient times, historians counted as many as 16 Kievs. Adam of Bremen also said about one of them: “Kyiv is the rival of Constantinople, the most glorious decoration... Greece". Where has that geography gone from history?
Let's continue about the beginning of the Roman Empire.
In the article by V.A. Chudinov “Velitern cross - early Christianity or late Vedism?” reported:“On the left we read the word ROME, on the right - the word MIR, which once again convinces us that ROME = WORLD, that is, that the city of Rome was once called the Russian word Mir.”
The image shows enlarged fragments.
“When reading the Etruscan inscriptions, I realized that the city of Rome was named by the Russians, who founded and built it. WORLD, however, when reading from right to left, which was then becoming fashionable, they began to read ROME.”
What is this? Do the Etruscans, the predecessors of the Romans, turn out to be Russians according to their passport?
Let's start in order.
Historians know the so-called Velitern cross.
The cross as an artifact dates back to the 6th century AD, found in the center of the Apennine Peninsula.
In proportions this is a Christian Catholic cross! Pagan crosses are equal-ended, this one is elongated. But according to the images - a Slavic cross!
On the reverse side, all the faces are zoomorphic; in the center is the face of the Lamb-Yar, at the top is the face of the falcon-Yar, on the left is the face of the Lamb as the Asian Isa, on the right is the face of the Lamb-Christ, below is the face of the bear Mokosh.
So this is more likely the cross of Yar than of Christ.
Now about the name of the city.
The Slavic word MIR as the name of the city is not accidental. It is included in the nest of Slavic words for naming cities, for example, Vladimir = Owner of the World; Vladikavkaz = Own the Caucasus. And today Mir is known - a historical city in Belarus.
The short name World in Belarus is not at all accidental. As we will see later, this tradition belongs to the Belarusian Krivichi.
How the World became Rome and Roma.
The reverse pronunciation of the word reflects a real-life contradiction of someone’s interests. That’s why the word “Rome” lives only in Russian.
The canonical formula of Latin legislative decrees, expressed by the words “Urbis et orbis” - translated as “to the city and the world” has another literal translation - “to the city and its surroundings”. So the Latin decrees have the original Russian meaning “To Peace and Rome”, i.e. "to the Russian city and the surrounding Latin population."
At first there was ethnic confrontation, expressed in verbal form. Due to differences in languages, the Russian name of the city World by the surrounding Latins it was pronounced as A-more.
The emergence of the word Amor explained by V.A. Chudinov (“Gods change. My answers to Mikhail Zadornov”):
“...Well, you know, like the Abkhazians, they cannot say “shop,” they write “amagazin.” They cannot say “stall”, but write “alariok”. So it is here.”
The ethnic contradiction between Russian townspeople and the surrounding Latins also manifested itself in linguistic rearrangements. Russian World, pronounced by the Latins as A-mor, upon reverse reading turned into a well-known Roma.
So we have in history ROMAN or WORLD Rus' with its center in the city of MIR.
And this is not a beautiful fantasy with reverse readings. Similar metamorphoses surround us even now. In literature you can often find the word goy. But when we read it back according to the rules of Yiddish, we see the original sacred word yogi.
Before us is an unambiguous chain of reasoning. Russian World conflicted with Latin Rome And Rome eventually prevailed. The Etruscans, and now it seems after all the Russians, have lost control of the city. What happened next is still unclear. The Latins seemed to have become masters, but until the 6th century AD, Slavic-Christian crosses in the same territory were made according to Slavic mythology.
One thing is clear. (I quote Somsikov)
In the vicinity of the city of Mir there is Latin dominance. In the city, there is a change in the ratio of the Russian and Latin population towards an increase in the Latin component. The process ends with the Latin coup. From now on, the city bears its name from the winners. There is no more Amor, there is a purely Latin city of Roma.
This is supported by the metaphorical story of two twin brothers Romulus (Roma) and Rem (Rome). This reflects the traditional Russian attitude towards others as brothers. Russian princes addressed their equals and called each other brother. Let us remember the recently existing “brotherly” republics of the people's democracies. This is natural for Russian perception. Then “brother” Romulus (Roma) kills his “brother” Rem, i.e. the surrounding Latin population breaks into the city and exterminates the Russians. The Russians (or Etruscans) naturally disappear from the history of the Apennine Peninsula and are never mentioned again, but the “scientific mystery of the Etruscans” arises.
The predecessors of the Romans had a higher urban culture, and then, out of nowhere and how, they suddenly and forever “disappeared.” Similar “mysterious disappearances” can be observed in recent history in the city of Grozny, in which Russian residents also “mysteriously disappeared” after hostilities. The number of Russians in the once fraternal union republics of the former USSR is no less “mysteriously” declining.
As we see, the “scientific mystery of the Etruscans” is not so scientific and not at all mysterious.
How the term originated Etruscans.
Probably, Russians and Latins were confidently different in appearance. Presumably the Russians were taller and lighter-haired. It was not for nothing that the Romans arose a myth about the tall Atlanteans. Southern Latins are correspondingly shorter and blacker. Russians stood out in the crowd, which was indicated by indicative statements “this is Russian” and “this is Russian” - a combined reduced pronunciation gives “Eto-Russians”.
The choice between Latin and Byzantine.
So, our ancestors were defeated by the Latins, then supplanted by the Germans and Greeks. Other territories of Rus' were also “developed,” including the eastern Baltic states with its cities founded by Russian princes.
Our princely and royal ancestors knew about this. But for us all this is an amazing discovery and in some places even implausible. And now the motives of the princely actions, when establishing relations with Rome and Constantinople, become clear. Rome is our ancient historical enemy, and Constantinople is the antipode of Rome, and therefore our potential ally. That is why, in a situation of choice, they did not want to accept Latin Catholicism, but preferred the Byzantine rite - Orthodoxy.
Etruscans, who are they?
Directories and encyclopedias report the following.
“The Etruscans (lat. Etrusci, self-name Rasenna) are an ancient people who inhabited in the first millennium BC. e. northwest of the Apennine Peninsula. The Etruscans created an advanced civilization that preceded the Roman one. The Etruscans gave the world their art of engineering, the ability to build cities and roads, arched vaults of buildings and gladiator fights, chariot racing and funeral customs. In the 7th century BC. the peoples who inhabited Etruria owned writing."
Now look at the writings of the Etruscans. The letters don't remind you of anything? And before Cyril and Methodius there are still more than a thousand years. Not to mention the national holiday of the “creation” of Slavic writing by the Greeks. And here we clearly see a letter written from right to left. Take a look at the museum inventory numbers at the bottom of the photo. We have before us evidence of reverse writing and reverse reading among the Etruscans. Later, on the Veliternian Cross we see writing in Proto-Cyrillic from left to right. This example specifically confirms the existence of forward and backward writing in the same territory.
There is every reason to come to UNESCO with a proposal to establish a monument to the Slavs - the founders of European writing.
Rome was under Etruscan influence until the middle of the 6th century. BC. Around 510 BC Etruscan rulers were expelled from Rome, and at the same time from history.
For some reason, science does not know the exact evidence about the origin of the Etruscans, although archeology has a significant number of artifacts of the Etruscan culture, including written evidence. It is reported that the letters have not yet been read either. This happens in science whenever we actually talk about the Slavs and the ancestors of the Russians. There is only a modern “generally accepted” assumption, supported by Pope Pius II, that the Etruscans came from Lydia, a region in Asia Minor, forced to leave their homeland due to terrible famine and crop failure.
As stated in the 5th century BC. e. Herodotus, the Etruscans came to the Apennines from the north, when the Mycenaean civilization collapsed and the Hittite empire fell, that is, the appearance of the Etruscans can be dated back to the 13th century BC. The dating is connected with events that took place in countries neighboring the Romans and Greeks, where everyone knew each other well. But this does not at all prove that the Etruscans came to the future Italy from their neighbors in the Mediterranean. Strange, for some reason Herodotus pointed to the north. But the proud patricians of the Slavs did not recognize them as equals, which is still reflected in historical science.
From the version of Herodotus, a myth was created that the Roman state was founded by the hero Aeneas after the death of Troy and his flight to the west, and there were no Etruscan teachers of the Romans. But it's not that simple. From here it’s a stone’s throw from Aeneas to the Venedian Slavs. And the Wends were very prominent in the history of Rome. The Wends professed the cult of Venus-Lada, which they brought to the future Rome.
Venus in Ancient Rome was revered as the ancestor of the Roman people, and Rome was founded by the Trojan Aeneas, the son of Venus. Further, linguists lead us to the Latin reading of the name of the son of Venus. The syllable Aen in the Latin spelling of Aeneas - Aenea is read as Ven, in Russian transcription - Ven , and we get for Aeneas - Veney , for the Aeneas Aeneadae - Wends.
Today these legends are hidden in the shadows and, on the contrary, the story about the she-wolf who suckled the brothers Romulus and Remus is emphasized. But as we have already seen, the story of the brothers is a metaphorical reflection of that ancient confrontation between the Etruscans and the Latins.
So, the creation of the Roman state is connected with the previous civilization of the Etruscans and is intertwined with the Wends in the myths of the Romans themselves.
Let us quote a fragment of an interview with Academician V. Chudinov given to the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, April 18, 2007:
“The Etruscan language is a variety of the Belarusian language. They came from the Krivichi. As you know, the Krivichi lived in the east of Europe...” (but north of the Apennines, where Herodotus pointed out, note A.Sh.). Chudinov further reports: “When starting to decipher Etruscan writing, I proceeded from the hypothetical assumption that the Etruscans were Slavs, and then I realized that they were. These are Eastern Slavs from the Smolensk region.”
Here is a clear confirmation of the translation. The etymology of the name “Krivichi” is based on Sanskrit, an ancient version of the Russian language. In the Aryan language, “Kri” means writing, writing. And “vich” means “life”. Consequently, the term Krivichi can be understood as “living with writing,” or, in simple terms, literate people. Take another look at the column from Perugia with Etruscan Krivichi writing. And after this, do you still believe in the Etruscan riddle, and in the Greek written gift to the Slavs?
Let's continue quoting Chudinov. “Later it became clear that they not only created Rome, but were also its first inhabitants, that is, Slavic speech was the first to be heard in Rome.”
The terms Russian and Slav.
Let's define the terms. In the modern concept and Russians And Slavs there was none during the period under review. But there were peoples who accepted a common religious philosophy that determined their common way of life. Genetically the ancestors of those whom we today call Slavs And Russians this is a community of different peoples, but I repeat, they belonged to the same religious culture, and hence the commonality of language.
Speaking of language. The Etruscan Wends left a whole heap of monuments to the Romans. Here are just a few of them. The Latin word temple will sound like Vedes (aedes), famous Latin ether (aether) - how wind . And we will no longer be surprised why in ancient Roman ax is ax from a familiar verb flog , and the shepherd - pastor from our own verb graze ; Latin ophthalmologist - from the word eye , A justice - from the word charter , mouth . It’s worth wondering if it’s so Roman Roman law on which modern justice is based. "Myths of the ancient Slavs". M., 1993
To be continued.
Etruscans - the mysterious predecessors of Rome
Mysterious, mysterious, unknown - such epithets are usually awarded to the Etruscans - the people who inhabited the territory of the modern Apennine Peninsula in ancient times. To some extent, this is true, since, despite the fairly large number of material remains of their culture that have survived to this day - cities, tombs, household and religious items, this people largely remains an unsolved mystery. Even the civilizations of Egypt and the Ancient East seem to modern science to be more understandable and studied than the Etruscans. We can say that the Etruscans continue to be a blank spot on the map of History along with the civilizations of Minoan Crete, the Mayans, the Incas or the builders of Stonehenge in prehistoric England. In many ways, this position of this ancient European people is due to the lack of modern researchers the key to deciphering their writing, as well as a clear idea of where the Etruscans came from. This led to the emergence of a large number of more or less plausible theories, which often contradict each other, and sometimes are completely fantastic, attributing almost alien origin to the Etruscans. The eminent ancient Roman historian Polybius said: “The historian should not amaze his readers with stories of extraordinary events.” Therefore, we will try, following his advice, to understand the intricate issues of Etruscan studies, avoiding speculation as much as possible and using only verified facts. But since, in general, there are not many verified facts, it probably won’t work out completely without speculation...
So, today it is known that the people whom the Romans called Etruscans or “Tusci”, and the Greeks called “Tyrrhenians” or “Terseni”, called themselves “Rasna” or “Rasena”. It is believed that it appeared in Italy in the 11th century BC. e. This is followed by a break of several centuries, when nothing was heard about the Etruscans. And suddenly, by the end of the 8th century BC. e. it turns out that the Etruscans are a people with developed agriculture and crafts; their cities conduct extensive overseas trade, exporting grain, metal, wine, ceramics, and tanned leather. The Etruscan nobility - the Lucumoni - builds fortified cities, seeks glory and wealth in continuous campaigns, raids and battles. Two peoples fought at this time for supremacy at sea - the Greeks and the Carthaginians. The Etruscans took the side of the Carthaginians in this struggle, their pirates dominated the Mediterranean, so much so that the Greeks were afraid to even go into the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the 7th–6th centuries BC. e. Large city-states arise in Etruria: Veii, Caere, Tarquinia, Clusium, Arretius, Populonia. Etruscan influence spread from the Alps to Campania. In the north they founded Mantua and Felsini (present-day Bologna), and twelve other cities in Campania. The Etruscan city of Adria in the northeast of the Apennine Peninsula gave its name to the Adriatic Sea. By the 6th century BC. e. The Etruscans controlled a territory of 70 thousand square kilometers, their number exceeded two million. Thus, we can say that in the Mediterranean part of the ancient world, the Etruscan civilization occupied a dominant position. Much of what we consider primordially Roman was born not on the hills of Latium, but on the plains of Etruria. Rome itself was created according to the Etruscan rite and built according to the Etruscan model. The ancient temple on the Capitol and a number of other sanctuaries in Rome were built by Etruscan craftsmen. The ancient Roman kings from the Tarquin family were of Etruscan origin; many Latin names have Etruscan roots, and some historians believe that it was through the Etruscans that the Romans borrowed the Greek alphabet. The most ancient state institutions, laws, positions, circus games, theatrical performances, gladiator fights, the art of fortune telling and even many gods - all this came to the Romans from the Etruscans. Symbols of power - fasces (bundles of rods with axes embedded in them), which were carried in front of the king, a senatorial toga trimmed with a purple border, the custom of triumph after victory over the enemy - and this is the inheritance of the Etruscans. The Romans themselves admitted: triumphal and consular decorations were transferred to Rome from Tarquinia. Even the word “Rome” itself is of Etruscan origin, as are other words considered purely Latin - tavern, cistern, ceremony, persona, litera.
How did it happen that the more developed Etruria was defeated by almost barbaric Italian tribes? What is the mystery of such a rapid rise and no less rapid decline of this mysterious civilization? As many modern scholars believe, the reason for the decline of the Etruscans was that they, like the Greeks of the era preceding the great Alexander the Great, were unable to create a unified state. Only a federation (union) of self-governing cities arose. The heads of the Etruscan cities, who gathered in Volsinia in the sanctuary of the deity Volumna (Voltcumna), alternately chose from their midst the chief Lucumon, who could only conditionally be considered a king, and the priest-high priest. For the Etruscan, the concept of “Motherland” was limited to the city walls, and his patriotism did not extend beyond them. The capture and destruction of one Etruscan city by the growing Roman state did not at all worry the inhabitants of another, and often the fall of a competitor even caused undisguised joy. But as it usually happens: “He who laughs last laughs best,” the joy was short-lived. And now this city became the prey of a young predator. As a rule, Rome laughed.
The power and influence of the Etruscans reached their zenith in 535 BC. e. Then, at the Battle of Alalia in Corsica, the combined Carthaginian-Etruscan fleet inflicted a crushing defeat on the Greeks, and Corsica came into the possession of the Etruscans. But just a few years later, the Etruscans began to suffer defeats from the Greeks and previously conquered Italian tribes. Around this time, Rome was also liberated from Etruscan rule. In the 5th century BC. e. The territory of Etruria is greatly reduced, the connection between the cities, already fragile, is collapsing. As already mentioned, cities do not come to each other's aid. Experienced farmers and builders, skilled metallurgists, cunning inventors of anchors and sea rams, fearless and fierce warriors found themselves powerless before young Rome and its united allies. Having subjugated all of Etruria, the Romans continued to remain under the influence of Etruscan culture, which slowly faded as Roman civilization flourished. By the middle of the 1st century BC. e. The Etruscans lost all significance in the culture of Rome. Only a few amateurs remembered the Etruscan language. One such lover was the Emperor Claudius (10 BC – 54 AD). He wrote an Etruscan history in Greek in twenty volumes and ordered that every year on set days, readers should publicly read it from beginning to end in a building specially built for this purpose. “Tirrenica” - “The History of the Tyrrhenians”, or, as we would say now, “The History of the Etruscans”, Claudius considered his greatest achievement, along with another multi-volume opus “Carphadonica” - “The History of Carthage”. What made Claudius study the history of these two ancient peoples? Was his interest in the Carthaginians and Etruscans accidental, or did it reflect a desire to look deeper into that historical period when Rome stood modestly at the very beginning of its journey and was forced to gain ground in the struggle against the Etruscans and Greeks, and, outside Italy, against the Carthaginians? Unfortunately, we can only guess about this, since Claudius’s books have not reached us.
In all likelihood, Claudius' twenty books about the Etruscans were a kind of encyclopedia of knowledge about this people. Judging by the impressive volume of work, the emperor had no reason to complain about the lack of sources. In the 1st century AD e. There is still a lot of evidence that has not survived to this day. Claudius could still see monuments of Etruscan culture, which were subsequently destroyed. He heard the speech of the Etruscans. True, in his time it sounded less and less, but was still heard in Etruscan cities. He could meet with the Etruscans, not only in Etruria, but also directly in the imperial palace. Few non-specialists know that his first wife, Plautia Urgulanilla, belonged to this mysterious people. Claudius met her relatives and thanks to this was relatively closely connected with the Etruscan world. Or rather, with what was left of him. The works of Claudius were already an exceptional phenomenon at that time. The emperor systematized information that had not been summarized in any independent study before. It may also seem strange that they belonged to the pen of a Roman, and not an Etruscan. This is all the more surprising since during the era of the Empire there were many educated Etruscans who often occupied a high position and could, if they wished, themselves write a work similar to the treatise of Claudius, if not better.
An example is Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, an outstanding politician and confidant of Emperor Augustus. His name became a household name: using his influence, Maecenas supported gifted poets and artists with money. The famous Roman lyricist Horace was one of them. From his poems it became known that Maecenas had aristocratic ancestors in one of the Etruscan cities. Despite the fact that Maecenas, an Etruscan by birth, was close to art, no information has been preserved that he was interested in the past of his people. The same can be said about another highly educated Etruscan - the satirist and fabulist Aulus of Persia Flaccus, a native of the Etruscan city of Volaterra, who lived in the 1st century AD. e. And he showed much more interest in the problems of Rome than in the history of the Etruscans. His satires were aimed at ridiculing Roman morals. Some interest in the history of his people was shown by a friend of Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero - an outstanding Roman orator and politician of the 1st century BC), the Romanized Etruscan Aulus Caecina, who carefully studied the Etruscan science of interpreting lightning. It was probably from him that Cicero learned information about the Etruscan predictions of the future, which he refers to in his work “On Fortune-Telling.” Marcus Tullius, a very pragmatic man who received an excellent education, treated the studies of his Etruscan friend with the greatest respect. Even at the beginning of Cicero's career, Caecina predicted that, despite the fame achieved by the young orator, the people would one day turn away from him and sentence him to exile. And so it happened. When in 58 BC. e. Cicero was expelled, Caecina again predicted that he would soon return. The prediction came true.
Other historical figures known to us, Etruscans by origin, did not look back and, unfortunately, did not consider themselves among the people who had already left the historical scene of ancient Italy. This is an undeniable sign of the decline of the Etruscans. Due to the lack of interest among the Etruscans themselves in their past, it fell to the lot of the Greeks and Romans to summarize everything that was known about their history. But the history of the Etruscans interested them only insofar as it was connected with the history of their own peoples.
The most complete description of the Etruscans belongs to Diodorus Siculus, a Roman historian of the 1st century BC. e., who wrote in Greek. However, the information about the Etruscans presented in his work is not the fruit of his own research. He borrowed them from the works of the Greek historian Posidonius, who lived a century earlier. This is what he says about the Etruscans:
“They were distinguished by their courage, captured vast territory and founded many glorious cities. They also stood out for their naval forces and ruled the sea for a long time, so thanks to them the sea adjacent to Italy received the name Tyrrhenian. To improve their ground forces, they invented a forge, which was very helpful in waging war and was named Tyrrhenian in their honor. They awarded the highest military commanders the title of lictors, giving them the right to sit in ivory chairs and wear a toga with a red stripe. They built very convenient colonnades in their houses to muffle the sounds made by their servants. The Romans adopted most of this, introduced it into their settlements and improved it. They eagerly studied, first of all, writing, the science of nature and the gods; They were more involved in the science of lightning than any other people. Therefore, they are still admired by the rulers of almost the entire world and used as interpreters of omens sent by the gods with the help of lightning. And since they live on the land, which, when cultivated, gives them everything, the harvest of their fruits is sufficient not only for food, but also brings a rich income, allowing them to live with excesses. Twice a day they force them to prepare rich dishes and other things common to a luxurious life. They acquire sheets embroidered with flowers, and many silver bowls, and slaves to serve them; Some slaves are distinguished by beauty, others are dressed in clothes more expensive than befits a slave. And not only their servants, but also the majority of free citizens have spacious homes. They completely squandered their strength, which had long been the envy of others.
It is clear that they have lost the fighting prowess of their fathers if they spend their time in orgies and in entertainment unworthy of men. Their extravagance was facilitated, not least, by the rich land. For they live on a very rich land, on which everything can be cultivated, and they reap a rich harvest of all fruits.
There is always a good harvest in Etruria, and there are vast fields spread across it. It is divided by steep hills, also suitable for cultivation. There is a sufficient amount of moisture not only in winter, but also in summer.”
In the work of Diodorus there are other references to the Etruscans, but mainly when describing any events (the approach of many other ancient authors is similar). Most often, such events were wars in which the Etruscans constantly clashed with Rome. Given the patriotism of Roman authors, the Etruscans are often shown in black. The only exception may be the description of their religious rituals. Believing in the mysterious abilities of the Etruscans, the Romans were in awe of their knowledge in the field of fortune telling and predictions.
An even more sparse description of the Etruscans was given by the Roman historian Titus Livius, who lived during the reign of Emperor Augustus, in his extensive work “History of Rome from the Founding of the City.” Here's what he reported:
“The Tusci, even before the founding of Rome, owned vast areas on land and sea. The names of the lower and upper seas, washing Italy like an island, indicate the past power of the Tusks, because the Italian peoples called one sea Tuscus, after the name of this people, and the other Atriatic Sea, after the name of Atria, a colony of the Tusks; The Greeks call these very seas one Tyrrhenian and the other Adriatic. And, stretching from one sea to the other, the Tusks populated both regions, founding twelve cities there, formerly on this side of the Apennines to the lower sea, and over time, sending colonies on the other side of the Apennines, in the same number as the metropolises , and occupying with these colonies all the areas beyond the river Padom up to the Alps, with the exception of the land of the returnees, who inhabit the corner of the sea bay.”
At the same time as Livy lived two famous scientists who wrote in Greek - the geographer Strabo and the historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Both of them mention the Etruscans in their writings. Strabo wrote:
“As long as the Etruscans had one ruler, they were very strong. But over time, their organization probably disintegrated, and they split into separate cities, yielding to pressure from the neighboring population. For otherwise they would not have left the rich land and would not have embarked on robbery at sea, some on these waters, others on those waters. After all, they were capable, united, not only of repelling an attack, but also of attacking themselves and undertaking long-distance expeditions.”
Dionysius of Halicarnassus created an extensive work dedicated to the history of Rome. Naturally, the Etruscans could not help but appear in his work. The description of Etruscan customs proposed by Dionysius is interesting in that it directly indicates where the Romans got many of their seemingly primordial traditions from. For example, Dionysius describes the emergence in Rome of a tradition according to which the chief official was entitled to an honorary escort in the form of twelve lictors:
“As some say, they brought Tarquin (meaning Tarquin the Ancient - the Etruscan king who ruled in Rome) twelve axes, one from each Etruscan city. It seems to be an Etruscan custom that each ruler is preceded by a lictor, who, in addition to a bundle of rods, also carries an axe. And every time these twelve cities undertook a joint action, they handed over these twelve axes to one ruler, who was entrusted with the overall command.”
Information about the Etruscans, their history and life, given by Greek and Roman authors, sometimes coincide, sometimes complement each other, and sometimes are in contradiction. These contradictions further thickened the shroud of mystery enveloping the Etruscans. Let us try to solve the mysteries of this mysterious people.
So, riddle number one is “Who are the Etruscans, and where did they come from to Italy?”
Even the ancient authors did not have a clear answer to this question. In the 5th century BC. BC, when the Etruscan civilization was still flourishing, the Greek historian Herodotus, who is called the “father of history,” recorded interesting evidence. In his famous “History,” dedicated mainly to the Greco-Persian Wars, he reported a lot of valuable information about the life of other peoples. Among the tribes drawn into the cycle of events around the Greco-Persian Wars, Herodotus also mentions the inhabitants of Asia Minor - the Lydians. “During the reign of Atis, son of Maneus, there was a great need for bread throughout Lydia. At first the Lydians patiently endured the famine; Then, when the hunger did not stop, they began to invent means against it, and each came up with his own special one. It was then, they say, that games of cubes, dice, ball and others, besides the game of chess, were invented; The Lydians do not take credit for the invention of chess. These inventions served as a remedy for them against hunger: one day they played continuously so as not to think about food, the next day they ate and left the game. They lived in this way for eighteen years. However, the hunger not only did not abate, but intensified; then the king divided the entire people into two parts and cast lots so that one of them would remain in their homeland, and the other would move out; He appointed himself king of the part that remained in place by lot, and appointed his son, named Tyrrhenus, over those who evicted. Those of them who were destined to move out went to Smyrna (an ancient city on the coast of Asia Minor), built ships there, put the items they needed on them, and set off to find food and a place to live. Having passed through many nations, they finally arrived at the Ombrics (tribes who in ancient times inhabited the region of Italy called Umbria), where they founded cities and live to this day. Instead of Lydians, they began to call themselves by the name of the son of the king who forced them to move out; They took his name for themselves and were called Tyrrhenians.”
This is the very first and most coherent story that has reached us about the origin of the Etruscans, whom the Greeks called Tyrrhenians. Herodotus, like many ancient scientists who followed him, believed that the Etruscans were an alien people and did not belong to the indigenous population of Italy. The version of the eastern origin of the Etruscans seems even more convincing, since over the centuries, Greek and Roman, and after them Byzantine authors, retold Herodotus' story with various variations. During the Roman Empire, according to the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, the ambassadors of two Lydian cities - Sardis and Smyrna - argued about who would have the honor of erecting a temple in honor of Emperor Tiberius. Sardis won because they were able to prove to the Senate of Rome that it was from their city that King Tyrrhenus went in search of a new homeland and that they were closer in blood to the Romans. This story is interesting in that instead of Smyrna, the city of Sardis is named as the place of departure of the Tyrrhenians. The version of the origin of the Etruscans expressed by Herodotus has not lost its relevance today.
Another version of the origin of the Etruscans, which has existed since antiquity, is autochthonous. This means that the Etruscans did not come from anywhere and did not go anywhere, but lived in Italy from ancient times. It was first expressed by the already mentioned outstanding Roman historian of the 1st century BC. e., Greek by origin, Dionysius of Halicarnassus. He argued that the Etruscans had nothing in common with either the Lydians or the Greeks. In his work “Roman Antiquities,” dedicated to the history of Rome from the founding of the city to its first clash with Carthage, Dionysius wrote: “Closer to the truth are those who believe that the Etruscans did not come from anywhere, but that they are a native people in Italy, since this the people are very ancient and are unlike any other either in language or customs.” The testimony of Dionysius is of particular interest because he knew the Etruscans and could hear their speech. Some modern scholars call Dionysius of Halicarnassus the creator of the “Etruscan problem.” But even if the quoted passage from the work of this author had not survived to this day, the Etruscan problem would still have arisen, one way or another. The originality of the Etruscan language, Etruscan art and the entire Etruscan civilization itself raises the question of the sources of its origin.
There was also a third version of the origin of the Etruscans. We first meet her in Titus Livius:
“And the Alpine tribes, undoubtedly, are also Etruscan in origin, especially the Raetians, who, however, under the influence of the surrounding nature became wild to such an extent that they did not retain anything from the old customs except the language, but they were not even able to preserve the language without distortion.” . Livy was referring to the population of ancient Rhenia, an area stretching from Lake Constance to the Danube and including what is now Tyrol (Austria) and part of Switzerland. As for the origin of the Etruscans, this passage is still not fully understood and allows for various interpretations. For example, it can be assumed that some Romans considered the Etruscans to come from somewhere in the north, and Retia served them as a kind of transit base. From there the Etruscans moved to the Apennine Peninsula. This theory was developed in later times.
So, in the Ancient world there were at least three points of view on the origin of the Etruscans. They have reached our time practically unchanged. Moreover, during certain periods of the development of Etruscology, one version became the most popular. In addition to these three, the most famous, many new, sometimes convincing, and sometimes even fantastic assumptions about the ancestral homeland of the Etruscans have appeared recently. But we'll talk about them later.
Let's start with the theory of the origin of the Etruscans, proposed by the “father of history” Herodotus. In modern historical science it has been dubbed the “Asia Minor theory”, or “Herodotus theory”. Many outstanding Etruscan historians adhered to the Asia Minor theory, complementing and expanding it, in which archeology greatly helped them. For example, the Englishman Conway defends Herodotus’ version. He suggested that at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e.
gangs of Lydian pirates began to land on the western coast of Italy, north of the Tiber. Here they displaced the Umbrians, and then settled further along the peninsula. A similar opinion was expressed by the Italian Ducati. He believed that the Tyrrhenians-Etruscans came from Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean Sea. In search of fertile lands, small groups of conquerors landed in the Tuscany region, where they subjugated the local Umbrian tribes, and over time merged with them into one people - the Etruscans. The first city they founded in Italy was Tarquinia (late 8th - early 7th century BC). The settlers gave the local population their own language, alphabet, utensils and weapons, religion, etc.
An interesting version of the Eastern theory is proposed by the Bulgarian scientist V. Georgiev. He claims that the Etruscans are none other than the inhabitants of Troy known from the poems of Homer and Virgil - the Trojans. Based on the legend of the resettlement of the Trojans led by Aeneas to Italy, which is found in both Roman and Greek epics, he supports his theory with linguistic data, proving the similarity of the names “Etruria” and “Troy”. This theory is also supported by the fact that in the Iliad and Odyssey there is no mention of the Etruscans, who played one of the leading political roles in the Aegean world. According to V. Georgiev, they are presented in these works under the name “Trojans”. An inscription discovered in 1885 on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea speaks in favor of Herodotus’ theory of the Asia Minor origin of the Etruscans. Two French archaeologists, Cousin and Durrbach, found a tombstone near the village of Caminia - a stele on which a warrior with a spear and a round shield was depicted in strokes. Next to the drawing on the stele was an inscription made in Greek letters, but not in the Greek language, although the main population of the island were Greeks. By comparing the text with Etruscan writings, it was proven that the language in which it was written has common features with Etruscan, if not entirely Etruscan. The Lemnos stele, like the Etruscan inscriptions themselves, still cannot be deciphered, but the conclusion suggests itself that the stele is related to the Etruscans, and, therefore, the Etruscans lived on the island for some time. The island of Lemnos could have been an ideal transit point for people crossing the Aegean Sea and heading from Asia Minor to Italy. If we talk about the theory of the origin of the Etruscans from the pirates of Asia Minor, then a more convenient place for establishing pirate bases cannot be found throughout the Mediterranean. There are a lot of other facts that would seem to support Herodotus' theory. The tombs in Asia Minor are very similar to those of the Etruscans; Asia Minor roots can be traced in the Etruscan language and proper names; the similarity of Etruscan religious rites and fortune-telling with those carried out in the Ancient East (for example, fortune-telling by the liver of a sacrificial animal was practiced in ancient Babylon). Ancient Egyptian texts mention the “Turshu” people (isn’t it very similar to the word “Tuski” - the Roman name for the Etruscans), who were part of the hordes of the “Sea Peoples” who plundered Egypt in the 14th–12th centuries BC. e. But the Asia Minor theory still leaves a number of unresolved questions. If the Etruscans were pirates, then how were they able to capture and subjugate such a powerful tribe of the ancient inhabitants of Italy - the Umbrians, about whom almost all ancient authors speak with respect? Moreover, how were the wild and half-starved settlers of Asia Minor able to create such a high culture? And if we assume that it was a whole people, then how could they move to Italy by sea? It is known that all the great migrations of peoples in ancient times took place exclusively by land, because you had to carry all your belongings on yourself, and you couldn’t load much on the ships of that time. And even if we assume that numerous Asia Minor settlers arrived by ship, then why did they choose places north of the Tiber for their settlement, ignoring the much more convenient, fertile and less populated areas of Sicily and Campania, because the Greeks and Phoenicians who occupied these areas appeared there at the same time , if not later than the Etruscans? And if we talk about the elements of eastern culture, then they can be fully explained by borrowings that were found everywhere from peoples living next to the developed civilizations of Egypt and the Ancient East: the Greeks, Minoans, Hittites, etc. So it is too early to talk about the exclusively Asia Minor origin of the Etruscans. At the very least, other theories are worth considering.
The theory of the northern origin of the Etruscans, put forward by Titus Livy, found its supporters in the 18th–19th centuries. They emphasized two things. The first is the similarity in the sound of the words “Retia” and “rasena” - that’s what the Etruscans called themselves. The second is the fact that in the Danube Rhaetian region inscriptions were discovered made in Etruscan letters in a language not only similar to the Etruscan language, but, according to some scientists, identical to it. The authority of Livy thus increased even more, and the theory of the northern origin of the Etruscans seemed to be proven. But it “seemed” that way only initially. In fact, the problem was far from completely resolved, and Livy’s point of view did not triumph for long. As a matter of fact, from the very beginning it was refuted by the data of another ancient historian - Pliny the Elder. He writes that the Etruscans were called reta, who in the 4th century BC. e. driven out of the Po River valley by the invasion of the Celts. This explains the origin of Etruscan finds in the Danube region.
The outstanding German historian B. G. Niebuhr (1776–1831), the first major expert on Ancient Rome, did not agree with Pliny’s opinion. He rejected Pliny's opinion as unsubstantiated. Niebuhr argued that the areas from which the Etruscans were supposedly driven out under the pressure of the Celts were not yet inhabited at that time and, therefore, the Etruscans did not come from Italy to Raetia, but rather from Raetia to Italy.
Niebuhr's point of view on the northern origin of the Etruscans was supported by the famous Italian scientists de Sanctis and Pareti. De Sanctis considered the tribes that came to Italy from the north around 1800 BC to be Etruscan. e., who built their houses on stilts. In 1926, Pareti published a work in which he argued that the Etruscans were newcomers from the north, who at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. penetrated Italy and created the Villanovan culture. However, such identification of the Etruscans with the bearers of ancient cultures is not supported by convincing evidence. Therefore, the theory of the northern origin of the Etruscans remains unproven and even somewhat outdated.
The theory of the local origin of the Etruscans is not in a good position either. Its supporters, who include the famous Italian Etruscologists Alfredo Trombetti and Giacomo Devoto, draw their main evidence from the field of linguistics. They emphasize that the Etruscan language does not belong to the Indo-European languages spoken by the settlers who entered Greece and Italy in the 2nd millennium BC. e. The population who lived in Italy before their arrival spoke a different language, which should be considered the ancestor of the Etruscan language. But if the Etruscans really represent an autochthonous (local) population of Italy, then how can we explain the fact that the finds associated with them date back to a relatively late period - more precisely, to the 8th century BC? e.? How can we explain that the language of the ancient Italic population turned out to be so resilient that it became the basis for the Etruscan language, while no other reliable information about the Italic tribes has survived?
Thus, the theory about the local origin of the Etruscans has its shortcomings, and its arguments are not entirely convincing.
An interesting approach to the problem of the origin of the Etruscans was proposed by the most famous and erudite Italian historian-Etruscologist Massimo Pallotino. He insists that the main thing is not whether the Etruscans came to Italy and, if they came, then from where, but how the Etruscan people formed on the territory of Italy and thanks to which they achieved such successes. Pallotino proceeds from the fact that the Etruscans undoubtedly existed in Italy from the 8th century BC. e. and that from this moment it is possible to trace and describe the process of development of the Etruscans and the creation of their culture. The scientist correctly notes that the development of the Etruscans did not occur in “airless space.” This process was influenced not only by the Italian environment of that time - primarily the carriers of the Villanovan culture - but also by the surrounding world, especially Greece and the eastern regions of the Mediterranean. Thanks to the maritime connections of Etruria with other countries and the resettlement of foreigners in the Etruscan colonies, their civilization developed under the strong influence of Greek and Oriental cultures.
This circumstance creates the impression that Etruscan culture is an integral part of Eastern civilization. The German F. Altheim also agrees with Pallotino’s opinion. He thoroughly studied the early history of ancient Italy and also considers the Etruscans a purely Italian phenomenon. Based on information obtained from ancient sources, he concluded that the urban population was not purely Etruscan, that the Etruscan people in the form in which we imagine them arose through the merger of several peoples.
But there are counterarguments for this theory too. Can the originality of the Etruscan civilization be explained only by the fact that the nation, in the process of its development, accepted one thing from one people, and another from another? Shouldn’t this people have brought a lot of their own in order to create from a mixture of heterogeneous elements a culture that not only delighted contemporaries, but also amazes people of our time? Pallotino attaches great importance to the influence on the Etruscans of the East, Altheim - Greece. Both points of view are valid. But the main question remains: why exactly were the Etruscans so susceptible to Greek and Eastern influences? Were there not connections between the East and Etruria (or between Greece and Etruria) that were closer than the simple borrowing of cultural elements?
If we are already talking about theories of the origin of the Etruscans, we cannot ignore one more theory. Namely, about the Slavic roots of this ancient people. This theory, although widespread among researchers from exclusively Slavic countries, is nevertheless interesting and original. According to scientists who adhere to the Proto-Slavic theory of the origin of the Etruscans: Slavic pagan rituals, the holidays of Christmas (December 25), New Year (Generous Evening), Kupala and others, preserved on the Dnieper to this day, were invariably performed in Troy, Phrygia, and among the Etruscans of Italy , and many were inherited by Rome.
For more than five thousand years, proverbs, sayings and national features of Etruscan life have been preserved in Rus'. There are a lot of these relics. For example, researcher Snegirev attributes such well-known traditions as “sprinkling salt means a quarrel”, if a person sneezed, you need to say “bless you” - to those preserved from the Etruscans. Even the food: borscht, sausage, fried beans were both Roman and Russian national dishes, borrowed from their common predecessors with Russia - the Etruscans. The main pagan gods of Rus' and the Slavs: Svarog, Perun, Stribog, Month, Lada, Kupala, etc. were also the main gods of the Etruscans. The rites and rituals were the same. The Etruscan holiday of the god of the lunar sky - Janus, which is identical to the holiday of the birth of the Month on the Dnieper (the holiday of the Generous Evening), became under Julius Caesar in 46 BC. e. the beginning of the new year according to the new calendar (January 1). The people in Rome, as in Rus' to this day, have maintained the tradition that any work begun on the feast of the birth of the Month (Generous Evening) will be successfully completed.
This outraged some conservative researchers, for example A. M. Kondratov, who wrote that such a formulation of the question looks “completely humorous, parody.”
However, supporters of the Slavic theory are not appeased. They prove that the main god of Rus' and the Slavs, Perun, was also the god of the Etruscans. The Etruscan god of thunder and lightning was called Stri, and in Rus' he was revered under the name Stribog. Another argument in favor of the Slavic origin of the Etruscans is that the name of the Slavic peoples (until the 6th century) - the Wends (Veneti) connects the Slavs with Troy: according to the World History of Pompey Trogus in the processing of Justin: “... the Wends were expelled by Atenor from Troy.”
Thus, modern Russian Etruscan scientists conclude that the Trojans were Etruscans, and ancient authors report that the Wends were Trojans. The Etruscans, brought out of Lydia by Tyrrhenus (according to Herodotus), were close to the Trojans, and the Wends, according to Scandinavian chroniclers and Slavic ethnography, were associated with Phrygia and Troy. The Carpathians were called the Venedian Mountains, and it was in Rus' that the homeland of the goddesses was located: Tana, Lada, Artemis. The Etruscans called themselves Rasen; According to Herodotus, the territory of future Rus' was occupied by the Tirsaget tribe, but Tirsa is the Greek name for the Etruscans. Herodotus wrote about the Getae (Thracians) tribe - Etruscans by origin. All of the above allowed scientists who take the position of the “Slavic theory” to even conclude that some tribes of the descendants of the Etruscans survived until the 19th century: Rasen - Rusyns, Wends - Slovenes - Rets (Eastern Antes), Tirsagetae, etc. Of course, The theory is very interesting, but at the same time very controversial. We will return to this theory once again when we move on to the problem of unraveling the Etruscan language.
Thus, even well-thought-out and seemingly convincing theories of the origin of the Etruscans are not free from aspects that raise doubts. This is especially noticeable in cases where the arguments are not very well founded, and the connection between them is not sufficiently proven.
The heavy gates guarding the Etruscan secret are still closed. Etruscan sculptures, staring numbly into space or plunged into introspection with a dreamy smile, show with their entire appearance that they have nothing to say to researchers. The Etruscan inscriptions still remain silent, as if asserting that they are not intended for anyone except those who created them, and will never speak again.
But even if the inscriptions gave up their secret, would they shed light on the history of the Etruscans?
Perhaps the deciphering of the Etruscan inscriptions would be of great historical significance, since they could perhaps reveal the relationship of the Etruscans with the rest of the ancient world and would bring new data about their origins. It is possible, however, that these inscriptions would not have given us anything new, but only confirmed one of the existing theories of the origin of the Etruscans. But the Etruscan language tightly holds its secrets, and more than one generation of scientists around the world has been struggling to decipher it. Sometimes it seems that success is close and ancient Etruria is about to reveal its secrets. But, alas, there is no grand opening. And this is especially striking considering that all Etruscan texts are very easy to read, since they are all written in Greek letters. That’s it – we know the letters, we know the phonetics, but we can’t read it! Hence the next big (and probably the most significant) mystery of the Etruscans is their language.
As Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote: “Their language is not similar to any other people.” And indeed it is. Among the languages that were once spoken in Italy, the Etruscan language occupied a special place. It is known that it was widespread not only in Etruria itself, but also in the areas that the Etruscans owned in the north, as well as in the provinces of Latium and Campania. The speech of Etruscan sailors was heard in the port cities of Greece, and in Iberian Spain, on Crete, in Asia Minor and in Carthage. Based on this, it can be assumed that many people knew the Etruscan language. However, their language is the most difficult problem facing Etruscologists.
Some scientists believe that back in the 1st century BC. e. The Etruscan language was a living language, that is, one that was widely used in everyday life. However, already in the previous century it was significantly supplanted by Latin, which spread uncontrollably along with the political power of Rome. And by the 1st century AD. e. There are almost no people left who speak Etruscan. Soon the Etruscan language was generally consigned to oblivion, so complete that several generations of scientists have been making truly titanic efforts to at least partially understand the meaning of Etruscan words. As we noted above, reading Etruscan inscriptions is relatively easy, because the Etruscan alphabet is based on ancient Greek. But although Etruscologists can read Etruscan texts, they are nevertheless in the position of a person who, not knowing, for example, the Hungarian language, holds a Hungarian book in his hands. He knows the letters, so he can read words and entire phrases, but their meaning remains a mystery to him.
The only consolation is that etruscologists, unlike specialists in other dead languages (for example, the Mayan language or ancient Crete), do not have to solve the problem of reading the text. Etruscologists could even trace the development of the Etruscan alphabet, since among the archaeological finds there are several objects with a list of letters - the alphabet. They date from different eras, and some of the letters are slightly different from each other. The Italian scientist A. Minto discovered in one of the Etruscan burials near the city of Marsiliana de Albegna, next to three human skeletons, a large cauldron filled with items made of gold and ivory. The most valuable was an ivory plate measuring 5 by 9 centimeters. There are remains of wax on it, in which letters were squeezed out with a special stick - a stylus. On one edge of the plate were written 26 letters of the Etruscan alphabet of the 8th century BC. e. Scientists have different opinions about the purpose of the tablet. Some believe that it was an ABC book for those who learned to write and read, while others believe that this is a kind of evidence that its owner was a literate person. Literacy in those days was a rare phenomenon, and such a person was highly respected among his fellow tribesmen, who considered it necessary to emphasize the importance of the deceased even after his death by burying a similar tablet with him. Another discovery of the alphabet was made in the Etruscan city of Caere (present-day Cerveteri) in the famous “Tomb of Regolini-Glassi”. Here the alphabet was applied to the lower rim of the vessel, which, apparently, was an inkwell. This alphabet is a hundred years “younger” than that found in Marsilian. Scientists date it to the 7th century BC. e. The characters of both alphabets are very similar.
It remains unclear why all the alphabets were discovered in burials and even on the walls of crypts. The French scientist J. Ergon suggested that these alphabets could serve completely different purposes. He proceeded from the fact that ancient peoples endowed writing with magical powers. It is likely that the Etruscans also placed tablets with alphabets in their graves precisely because they attributed to letters the power that could free a person from the power of time, and that for them writing was inextricably linked with the concept of immortality and eternity.
In addition to primers, a huge number of Etruscan inscriptions found on tombstones, urns, sculptures, tiles, vessels and mirrors have survived to this day. The largest number of inscriptions was found in Etruria itself. In the areas located to the south and north of it, there are already fewer of them. Some finds have also been made outside Italy. Similar finds include a small ivory tablet with an Etruscan inscription found in Carthage.
It is often difficult to determine which century the products and the inscriptions on them belong to. When determining the chronology of an inscription, an experienced etruscologist can tell a lot about the shape of the letters and even the sound of the written word. So, for example, the Greek name Clytimnestra in ancient Etruscan sounds like Klutumustha, and in later Etruscan it sounds like Klutumsta. The earliest Etruscan inscriptions known to us date back to the 8th century BC. e., the latest - by the 1st century BC. e. Then they disappear completely, and their place is taken by inscriptions in Latin. The number of Etruscan inscriptions that have reached us is quite large - more than ten thousand. However, they cannot significantly make life easier for researchers, since ninety percent of them are short gravestone inscriptions containing only the name of the deceased, his age, and only occasionally meager information about the positions he held during his lifetime. For example: Alethnas Arnth (name of the deceased Arnt Aletna), Larisal (father's name - son Larisa), Zilath (position - was a zilator), Tarchnalthi (city - in Tarquinia), Amce (was).
Due to the similarity of the inscriptions and their meager vocabulary, most of them do not provide anything in deciphering Etruscan texts. And although Etruscologists have analyzed many inscriptions, their knowledge is nevertheless limited to a very small number of expressions. The situation did not change after the discovery of the largest handwritten Etruscan monument, which experts called Liber Linteus - “Linen Book”. Linen - because it is written on linen fabric. It is a rare stroke of luck that of the ancient books written on textiles, it is the Etruscan text that has survived, for, judging by the mentions of ancient authors, books of this kind were most widespread in Rome. From them we learn that such books were either of an official or religious nature.
This unique literary monument was found under very mysterious circumstances.
In the mid-19th century, a Croatian tourist traveled through Egypt. Being a passionate collector, he bought a mummy of a woman there and brought it to Vienna, where it became an adornment of his collection of rarities. After the collector's death, his brother, not knowing what to do with the mummy, donated it to the Zagreb museum. They noticed that on the strips of fabric in which the mummy was wrapped, traces of inscriptions were visible, and only then did they finally pay attention to the “packaging” of the mummy. True, at that time no one knew that we were talking about an Etruscan text, and they believed at first that the inscription was made in Arabic, then in Ethiopian, and only the Austrian Egyptologist J. Krall established that these were Etruscan inscriptions. He was the first to publish the text of the “Linen Book” in 1892.
Liber Linteus, or, as it is also called, “the book of the Mummy,” originally took the form of a scroll about 35–40 centimeters wide and several meters long. The text on the scroll was written in columns, of which less than twelve have survived on several strips ranging in length from 30 centimeters to 3 meters.
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The influence of Etruscan civilization on the formation of Roman culture (essay, coursework, diploma, test)
INTRODUCTION Roman culture developed under the influence of the cultures of many peoples, primarily the Etruscans and Greeks. Using foreign achievements, the Romans surpassed their teachers in many areas, raising the overall level of their own development to unprecedented heights.
The object of this study is the process of Etruscan influence on Roman culture. Within this process, elements of Etruscan civilization are identified that influence the formation of Roman culture, which is the subject of research. Let's denote the hypothesis. Let us assume that in different spheres of life of ancient Roman society, Etruscan influence was uneven, that is, it had different scales and content.
Accordingly, the purpose of the work is to identify the spheres of influence of Etruscan civilization on the formation of Roman culture, to determine the scale of this influence, the qualitative characteristics of its manifestation in the process of formation of Roman civilization.
Rome created its own civilization, based on a special value system. The question of whether it is possible to talk about the existence of an independent Roman civilization has been repeatedly discussed in science.
Who are they, the Etruscans? What did they believe in, how did they live? To answer this and other questions, we will have to dive into the wisdom of the religion and mythology of this people. It's no secret that mythology reflects the soul of the people, their ideas about happiness, the laws of the world and the social laws of society. Therefore, we will try to reconstruct these ideas on the basis of archaeological and epigraphic material. Looking ahead, we will say that this reconstruction will unexpectedly lead us to an understanding of some dark and unclear places in the mythological, folklore and ritual representations of the Russian and other Slavic peoples.
Currently, many publications have appeared indicating that the Etruscans are, if not the direct ancestors of the Russian people, then at least their closest relatives. The basis for this is sometimes speculative conclusions from the consonance of the Etruscans’ own name “Rassenna” and the words “Rus”, “Rus”, “Russians”. It is very tempting to link one to the other.
CHAPTER 1. POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF THE ETRUSCANS ON THE ROMAN CIVILIZATION
1.1 THE ETRUSIAN VERSION OF THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS IN ROME Thus, the rather long presence of the Etruscans on Roman soil, apparently due to the inscriptions in this language alone, explains the diversity of influences that is evident at the beginning of Roman civilization. However, we return to the original question: was this simply the result of simple proximity, peaceful in nature, and trade contacts, as evidenced by such finds as the ivory sculpture of a lion? Texts and archeology superbly show us that in the archaic era there was an important phenomenon of geographical mobility: in Etruria itself in the necropolis of the late 6th century. BC e. Crocefisso del Tufo in Orvieto, several foreign names of Celts and Italics who settled in the Etruscan metropolis were discovered. It is not surprising that this happened in Rome. Note that although the Romans borrowed the Etruscan alphabet, they continued to speak Latin in Rome, and, despite all the borrowings and influences, the city was still not completely Etruscanized, which could and should have happened in the event of military occupation and political influence during one century. The Etruscan kings were thus only a "natural" manifestation of this Tuscan presence in Rome. However, a number of sources dating back to the reign of Servius Tullius may lead us to a different vision of the situation.
Our main “guide” here will be Emperor Claudius, who reigned from 41 to 54. n. e. This emperor wrote in Greek, as Suetonius testifies in his work “The Lives of the Twelve Caesars,” the history of the Carthaginians and the history of the Etruscans. Why exactly the Etruscans? Of course, for family reasons, since he was married to a certain Urgulanilla, a representative of one of the largest Etruscan families. Thanks to her, Claudius undoubtedly had the archives necessary to realize this goal. Although, alas, this work was lost, the Etruscan theme in one of the emperor's most famous speeches was preserved on the so-called tablet of Claudius of Lyons - a magnificent Latin inscription engraved on a bronze plate. In this speech Claudius sought to persuade the senators to open the doors of their assembly to the noble Gauls, and for this he cited historical precedents illustrating that Rome had always been able to receive, even at the highest level, the best among foreigners (after they had, of course, been conquered ). And this took place from the very beginning of Rome, since some kings were Sabines (Numa Pompilius, Ancus Marcius) and Etruscans (Tarquinii). As for Servius Tullius, undoubtedly it was a similar case.
Of course, Roman historians such as Titus Livius turned him into the son of a slave and a Latin aristocrat from Ocriculum, which was captured by the Romans. However, Claudius knew the Etruscan version: according to Etruscan historians, Servius Tullius was an Etruscan, and his name was Mastarna (obviously an Etruscan name with the characteristic suffix -pa). This Mastarna was something of a condottiere who participated in military operations throughout Central Italy in the 6th century. BC e. with two brothers, Aulus and Caelius Vibenna, his companions. At the end of his campaigns, Mastarna, and perhaps the Vibenna brothers before him, reigned as the sixth king of Rome under the Latin name Servius Tullius.
Another text, written by Verrius Flaccus, a historian of the Augustan era, clarifies that the Vibenna brothers came from the city of Vulci, one of the large cities of the Dodecapolis. However, some Etruscan sources provide different information and allow us to start a discussion and this is an exceptional overlap, since we have practically no sources that contradict each other. The first source is an inscription engraved on the base of a bucchero cup from the mid-6th century. BC e. and presented as a votive gift in the sanctuary of Portonaccio in Veii. This sanctuary, famous for its terracotta acroteria, like Apollo of Veii, was dedicated to various deities, in particular Minerva, and for a certain time must have played the role of a pan-Etruscan temple, since the Neveans could present dedicatory gifts there. The inscription was read as “mine muluvanece avile vipiiennas”, translated “I was dedicated (to the deity) by Avile Vipiiennas.” And remembering some phonetic phenomena, such as syncopation, as well as the fact that the Etruscan language did not have voiced consonants, for example b (but only p), we can conclude that Avil is an archaic name corresponding to the Latin Aulus, and that “vipiiennas » very similar to Vibenna. So, it was our Aulus Vibenna who brought this kylix in the bucchero style as a gift to Veii. Of course, the case of homonymy cannot be completely ruled out, but this happened in the middle of the 6th century. BC e., that is, during the reign of Servius Tullius, moreover, near Rome, where, as it was believed, our character performed part of his exploits. Thus, without any doubt we can talk about the reality of the existence of this ally of Mastarna-Servius Tullius.
We find our three heroes even in Vulci. In the rich necropolises of this city, which gave thousands of Attic vases from the 6th to 5th centuries. BC BC, discovered during excavations by Lucien Bonaparte, a unique painted tomb of Francois was discovered. It should be said that the long dromos, characteristic of the tombs of this era, went straight into the rock, which in itself is very impressive. The tomb dates from the third quarter of the 4th century. BC e. This is a real series of drawings, divided into three main plots. Let's start with the very last one, where the owner of the tomb is depicted: we are talking about a certain Vela Saties, who is depicted in a laurel wreath, dressed in an embroidered toga and, apparently, preparing to tell fortunes by the flight of a bird. The child releases a green woodpecker in front of him, whose flight will be watched by its owner.
The earliest image refers to the Trojan War. An artistically magnificent scene shows Achilles about to sacrifice Trojan prisoners at the funeral of Patroclus; the presence of the deities Sharun and Vantus gives Etruscan specificity to this remarkable fresco. Strictly symmetrical to this “Greek” image follows a third plot, chronologically located between the first two, and it directly interests us: this time we are dealing only with the Etruscans, as evidenced by the inscriptions next to the characters. This is a series of fights that ended with the beating of the vanquished. The winners were the heroes of Vulci, the origin of their opponents is unknown. Among the winners, the names of Mastarna, Aulus and Caelius Vibenna stand out. And one of the victims was “cneve tarchunies rumach”, which can be translated as “Tarquin from Rome”.
Let's consider the concept of this series of drawings. The Trojans, according to legend, were the founders of Rome, while the Etruscans identified themselves with the Achaeans. In the images of the tomb we thus see the following idea: just as the Greeks defeated the Trojans, so the Etruscans defeat the Romans. And finally, Vel Saties is a representative of one of the largest Etruscan families leading a victorious struggle with Rome: we know that during this period there were extremely violent clashes between Etruscan cities (especially Tarquinia and Veii) and the Romans. In this series of historical precedents, it is necessary to take into account the views of the Etruscans, who believed in the repetition of events through the centuries and by the force of fate: if the ancestors of the Etruscans defeated the Romans during the siege of Troy, the same should happen in the 4th century. BC e., and Vel Saties, an aristocrat from Vulci, could be the winner at the moment when he guessed by the flight of a bird. Well, the Vibenna brothers became real legendary heroes for the Etruscans: they were also depicted on a mirror engraved from Bolsena and on two urns of the Hellenistic era as having caught a deity with the features of Apollo, who was supposed to predict their future according to a myth known in the Greek world. On the famous cup of Elder Nestor of the 5th century. BC e., stored in the Rodin Museum in Paris, the name of Aulus Vibenna is also inscribed.
However, what interests us most is the role of these three heroes from Vulci in their confrontation with Tarquin of Rome, as evidenced by the inscription in the tomb of François. Roman sources give another version of the end of the reign of Tarquinius Priscus: since Servius Tullius was his son-in-law, after his death he was elected to the kingdom. However, one may wonder: did the frescoes of the tomb of François of Vulci not reflect historical reality more accurately? Modern researchers doubt that only seven Roman kings ruled for two and a half centuries: what exceptional long-livers each of them must have been.
The version that Aulus and Caelius Vibenna could have been Roman kings is also confirmed by the topography of Rome - two large hills in the city are named after them. The Christian author Arnobius knew a version from this royal period, according to which Aulus was killed by his brother's slave ("a germani servulo"). At the same time, the proper name Servius Tullius was always compared with the Latin noun denoting a slave (“servius”), hence the legends about his origin. However, one may wonder here whether Arnobius's phrase refers to the death of Aulus Vibenna at the hands of Mastarna-Servius Tullius, a slave or perhaps assistant of Caelius Vibenna.
The thesis of Etruscan hegemony in Rome and power obtained by force is confirmed by what we know about Porsenus, king of Clusium. Titus Livy and other Roman authors turned him into an ally of Tarquin the Proud, who besieged Rome in order to restore Tarquin to the throne. After a long siege, Porsena, admiring the courage of the Romans, according to the traditional version, made peace with the city. However, other sources, such as Tacitus, do not hide the fact that Rome was taken by Porsena's troops. The city of Clusium itself in this era was the ruler of all Tiberian Etruria and, undoubtedly, the Volsiniae.
It seems quite logical and plausible to accept that Rome was for some time an Etruscan city, or at least under the political control of the Etruscans. Roman historians tried in every possible way to downplay the importance of the Etruscan dynasty and veil the defeats of Rome, turning the Etruscan kings into an insignificant episode. However, additional sources helped us clarify the picture.
1.2 THE INFLUENCE OF THE KINGS ON THE ETRUSIAN CIVILIZATION The city communities were initially led by kings. Over time, as in Greece, with the collapse of the tribal system, the power of the tribal kings weakened - the reins of government passed into the hands of the aristocracy. The functions of the king were divided between two high officials, one of whom resembled the later Roman aedile. All the insignia, symbols of their power, such as bundles of rods with hatchets stuck into them - fasces, a folding curule chair lined with ivory, as well as the institution of 12 lictors who marched before the head of state - we will find all this later in Rome. The historian Titus Livia directly reports that the Romans borrowed this from the Etruscans. Let us note, by the way, that there, in Etruria, they first began to use such emblems of patrician dignity as a golden ball, which was worn around the neck, and a toga with a purple border. From the Etruscans the Romans also took the custom of magnificently celebrating military triumphs, because the Etruscans saw in the victorious commander the embodiment of their highest deity: like this deity - the sky god Tina, the winner in a golden diadem, with an ebony staff, in a purple tunic embroidered with images of palm trees, rode on a golden chariot in the sanctuary. The political and religious center of the traditional confederation of twelve Etruscan cities, each ruled by a lucumo, was their common sanctuary of Fanum Voltumnae near modern Bolsena. Apparently, each city's lukumon was elected by the local aristocracy, but it is unknown who held power in the federation.
The royal powers and prerogatives were disputed from time to time by the nobility. For example, by the end of the 6th century. BC. The Etruscan monarchy in Rome was overthrown and replaced by a republic. Government structures did not undergo radical changes, except that the institution of annually elected magistrates was created. Even the title of king (lucumo) was preserved, although it had 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, its lack of cohesion and inability to resist with a united front both Roman expansion in the south and Gallic invasion in the north.
During the period of Etruscan political dominance in Italy, their aristocracy owned many slaves who were used as servants and in agricultural work. The economic core of the state was the middle class of artisans and traders. Family ties were strong, with each clan proud of its traditions and jealously guarding them. The Roman custom, according to which all members of the clan received a common (family) name, most likely dates back to Etruscan society. Even during the period of decline of the state, the scions of Etruscan families were proud of their pedigrees. Maecenas, friend and adviser to Augustus, could boast of descent from the Etruscan kings: his royal ancestors were Lukomons of the city of Arretium.
In Etruscan society, women led a completely independent life. Sometimes even the pedigree was traced through the female line. In contrast to Greek practice and in keeping with later Roman customs, Etruscan matrons and young girls of 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 morals of the Tyrrhenians.
In the 7th-6th centuries. BC. The Etruscans established their dominance in Northern and Central Italy. Rome also fell into their sphere of influence. It is unknown whether Rome was conquered by the Etruscans; most likely in the 7th century. BC e. There was peaceful interaction between them and the Latin-Sabine community. In the VI century. BC.
Rome developed as a city-state. According to legend, seven kings ruled in Rome; the last three were Etruscans. Scientists consider these three kings - Tarquin the Ancient, Servius Tullius and Tarquin the Proud - to be real historical figures.
Under the Etruscan rulers, Rome became a significant center of crafts and trade. At this time, many Etruscan artisans settled in it, and Etruscan Street arose. Rome was surrounded by a stone wall, and a sewer system was installed in the city; The so-called Great Cloaca, a wide underground sewer lined with stone, was built under Tarquin the Ancient and is still in use in Rome today. Under Tarquin the Ancient, the first circus for gladiator games, still made of wood, was built in Rome. On the Capitol, Etruscan craftsmen erected the Temple of Jupiter, which became the main shrine of the Romans. From the Etruscans, the Romans inherited a more advanced type of plow, craft and construction equipment, and a copper coin - ass. The Etruscans also borrowed the attire of the Romans - the toga, the shape of a house with an atrium (an interior room with a hearth and a hole in the roof above it), writing, the so-called Roman numerals, methods of fortune telling by the flight of birds, by the entrails of sacrificial animals.
The royal period in the history of Rome (VIII-VI centuries BC) was the era of the decomposition of primitive relations and the emergence of classes and the state in Rome. The “Roman people” (populus Romanus) at the beginning of its history was a tribal association. According to tradition, there were 300 clans in Rome, which made up 30 curiae (10 clans each) and 3 tribes (10 curia each). True, this tradition cannot be considered completely reliable. The Roman tribe, to a certain extent corresponding to the Greek fillet, was the Roman Curia, which was an association of closely related tribes. Each clan supposedly consisted of ten families. The strict correctness of the Roman clan-tribal structure bears the stamp of a later artificial reinterpretation or traces of state intervention in the original structure of ancient Rome. However, as F. Engels emphasized, “it is not excluded that the core of each of the three tribes could serve as a genuine old tribe” (F. Engels. The origin of the family, private property and the state. - K. Marx and F. Engels. Works 2nd edition T. 21, p. 120.) Perhaps the ancient tribal organization of Roman society was transformed by the numerical equalization of clans and curiae in each tribe in order to streamline the army and government.
According to the theories of some modern scientists, the tribal division of the Roman people very early began to be supplemented, and subsequently supplanted by territorial communities - pagi; As a result of the unification of these pagi, Rome arose. Ancient authors consider the pag to be a basic unit, headed by some magistrate who ensured that the inhabitants of the pag cultivated the land well and did not leave their community.
During the royal period in Rome, relatives were bound by the customs of blood feud and mutual assistance. Members of the clan descended from a common ancestor and bore a common family name (for example, Julia, Claudius).
Within the clans there were family communities. The Roman patriarchal family was called a "family" (familia). During the tsarist period, it was usually a large-family household community, similar to the ancient Eastern “house” and including children, grandchildren, wives of sons and grandsons, as well as slaves. The head of the patriarchal (agnatic) family community was called pater familias - “father of the family” or dominus - “lord, master” (from the word domus - “house, household”). When women got married, they lost contact with their family community and joined the patriarchal family of their husband, but not his clan, and therefore retained their premarital family name (Women in the archaic period had no personal names (apart from nicknames); the eldest daughter in the family bore only a family name, subsequent numbers (“Second”, “Third”, etc., occasionally - “Elder”, “Younger”)). Each family community had its own cult of household deities, including the cult of family ancestors. Family cults were intertwined with cults performed by the pagi. The most characteristic of family and territorial communities was the cult of the Lars.
The patriarchal family owned a house, livestock, weapons, household items, jewelry and a small plot of land. Arable land was divided among family communities by lot. Land redistributions were made from time to time. The pastures were used collectively by members of the neighboring (territorial) community. The empty land remained public - ager publicus.
In Roman society, the community-state was the supreme owner of all land.
Land ownership (with the exception of the collective use of communal lands - forests, pastures, etc.) was private. Social production existed in the form of private farms of patriarchal families. The right to participate in the communal ownership of land was inextricably linked with citizenship in the community: only Roman citizens could own land and rent plots ager publicus in the Roman state. The communal, state nature of land ownership also determined the collective nature of public administration. The political bodies of the civil community in Rome were the king, the senate and the people's assembly.
The oldest Roman families were united under the name of patricians. Of these, a clan aristocracy emerged, consisting of the heads of the most noble families. This nobility is subsequently most often called patricians in the narrow sense of the word. They seized into their hands a significant share of the property of the disintegrating clan community, primarily land, as well as a large share of military booty.
Newcomers and people who have lost their ancestral ties find themselves in the position of clients dependent on the patricians. They are drawn into patrician families as patriarchally dependent persons. Here there is an analogy with the ancient Eastern patriarchal dependent workers drawn into the farms of rich and noble “houses”. Both in Western Asia and in Rome, not only impoverished relatives, but also strangers, including freedmen, could become patriarchally dependent. Clients bore the family names of their patrons - patrons, and participated in general holidays in the name of their patron; buried clients in the family cemetery.
It is assumed that the plebeians are the descendants of the ancient population of Latium conquered by the Romans; Subsequently, the mass of plebeians was probably replenished by newcomers who had broken away from their communities, who, on their own initiative or under compulsion, moved to Rome and received land there. Modern scholars suggest that these people received allotments either from the royal land, the existence of which is mentioned in sources, or from the ager publicus, since the public land fund was not yet all occupied (From such an assumption it would follow that the land allotments of the plebeians were not theirs private property, but there is another opinion; the legal basis for the acquisition of land by plebeians remains unclear for the early period of Roman history.). There is reason to believe that in ancient Rome part of the ager publicus was assigned to certain pagi, and part remained in the common property of all the united pagi. From such a fund, plots could be provided to settlers, from which the plebs were replenished.
The division of citizens according to property was used primarily for the distribution of military service. The entire free population, including patricians and plebeians, was obliged to serve in the militia. The first class fielded 98 centuries (hundreds), including 80 centuries of heavily armed infantry and 18 centuries of cavalry; all other classes, taken together, fielded 95 centuries of light infantry and auxiliary units (If these figures are reliable, this means that the city-state of Rome already had over 100 thousand inhabitants, not counting slaves. But most likely these are traditional data cannot be considered accurate.) The armament and maintenance of soldiers fell on the citizens themselves, and not on the state.
Tradition ascribes to Servius Tullius the creation of a new national assembly - the comitia comitia. Voting in this assembly took place by centuries, and during the general counting of votes, each century had one vote. The first class was guaranteed a majority of votes: 98 against 95 votes from all other classes combined. Patricians and plebeians participated in the comitia centuriata without distinction of their class status, but taking into account only the property qualification and the military service determined by it. The reason for the reforms of Servius Tullius was rooted in the struggle between the plebeians and the patricians. These reforms dealt the first blow to the original class system of Rome and contributed to the further formation of a class, slave-owning society.
As an approximate chronological boundary between the royal and republican periods of Roman history, modern science recognizes the traditional date - 510 BC. According to legend, Etruscan rule and at the same time the royal period in Rome ended due to the uprising of the Romans against the Etruscan king Tarquinius the Proud. According to Roman legend, the impetus for the uprising was that the royal son Sextus Tarquinius dishonored a woman of the patrician family, Lucretia, and she committed suicide. The movement against the king was led by patricians who sought to seize power into their own hands. The uprising that broke out forced Tarquin the Proud to flee with his family to Etruria, where he found shelter with the king of the city of Clusium, Porsena.
The Etruscans made an attempt to restore their dominance in Rome. Porsena besieged Rome. According to legend, the young man Mucius went to the Etruscan camp with the goal of killing Porsena. When captured, he burned his right hand in a fire to show his contempt for torture and death. Amazed by the fortitude of the Roman warrior, Porsena not only released Mucius, but also lifted the siege from Rome. Mucius received the nickname “Scaevola”, which means “Left-handed”, which began to be inherited. The name Mucius Scaevola has become a household name: it means a fearless hero who sacrifices everything for the fatherland.
CONCLUSIONS TO THE FIRST CHAPTER Etruscans are not a self-name. That's what the Greeks called them. Strabo, who made a “journey to the west of Armenia up to the regions of Turrenia, lying opposite Sardinia, and to the south, from the Euxine Pontus to the borders of Ethiopia,” speaks of them as follows: “The Romans call the Tyrrhenians Etruscans. The Greeks, as they say, called them that by the name of Tyrrhenus, son of Atys...” It was under these names that these people went down in history. First of all, the whole problem is the question of the origin of the Etruscans. For several centuries, even before Rome began to claim primacy in Italy, the Etruscans dominated most of the Apennine Peninsula. Therefore, in the works of Greek and then Roman historians there is information about the Etruscans. The question of the appearance of this people in Italy interested the ancient tradition. Turning to the information of antiquity, one can encounter, first of all, the firm and widespread conviction that the Etruscans were a people who arrived in Italy from the east, from Asia Minor, in particular from Lydia. Such was the almost universal opinion or conviction of Greek and Roman writers and non-historians when they had occasion to touch upon the origin of this people; This was the belief of the Etruscans themselves.
For the first time, the “father of history” Herodotus spoke about the circumstances of the appearance of this people in Italy. This is what he says: “The Lydians invented these games precisely at the very time, as they say, when they moved to Tyrsenia. They tell about themselves this way: under King Atis, son of Makis. A severe famine occurred throughout Lydia (due to a shortage of bread); at first the Lydians patiently endured the need, and then, when the hunger began to intensify more and more, they began to seek deliverance, inventing more and more new means. The Lydians lived like this for 18 years. Meanwhile, the disaster did not subside, but intensified even more. Therefore, the king divided the entire people into two parts and ordered the casting of lots: who would stay and who would leave their homeland. The king himself joined those who remained in their homeland, and put his son, named Tersen, at the head of the settlers. Having passed through many countries, the settlers arrived in the land of the Ombiks and built a city there, where they live to this day. They changed their name, calling themselves by the name of their king, who led them overseas, Terseni.”
The above passage clearly indicates the homeland of the Etruscans - Lydia, as well as the time of resettlement - “under King Atis.” Thus, Herodotus laid the foundation for one of the theories of the origin of the Etruscans - the eastern one.
Almost all historical writers of the ancient period adhered to this same point of view, and Herodotus was almost always the source of information for them. Postin, for example, in the processed “world history” of Troga writes: “For just as the Tuscan people, living on the coast of the Tuscan Sea, came from Lydia, so the Veneti, known as the inhabitants of the Jadran Sea, were expelled from Troy captured by Atinor.” . The historian Velius Paterculus writes similarly: “During this period, two brothers, Lydius and Tyrrhenus, ruled in Lydia; and after there were crop failures, they cast lots to see which of them, together with part of the people, should leave their homeland. The lot fell on Tyrrhenus. He sailed to Italy and gave the land, population and sea his name, which became famous and is still preserved.”
During the Roman period, the hypothesis of the Eastern origin of the Etruscans was sometimes used for certain practical purposes. This is evidenced by one of the most famous historians, Cornelius Tacitus. In the Annals he says about the Emperor Tiberius: “But Caesar, to ward off this rumor, often being present in the Senate, for many days listened to the ambassadors of Asia arguing about the city in which, now, a temple was erected in his honor. This dispute involved 11 cities, which had a debate about the advantage, their forces were not equal, but their rights were the same.” The following are the cities' reasons for achieving the goal. Finally, only two cities remain - Sardis and Smyrna. “The inhabitants of Sardis announced the decision of the Etruscans, who recognized them as their blood relatives: after all, Tyrrhenus and Lid, the sons of King Atys, due to the large number of their fellow tribesmen, divided them among themselves. Lid remained on the land of his ancestors, and Tirren was given new lands by lot, so that he could establish settlements on them; these peoples were given the names of their rulers - one in Asia, the other in Italy.”
CHAPTER 2. CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF THE ETRUSCANS ON THE ROMAN CIVILIZATION Etruscan civilization Roman culture
2.1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA ABOUT THE ETRUSIAN INFLUENCE Roman historiography, represented by Titus Livy, recognized that the Etruscans settled in Rome, and some of them got into the ruling elite of the state. Having difficulty accepting Servius Tullius, to whom the Latin genealogy was attributed, ancient authors were forced to leave two Etruscan Tarquins in the list of seven kings. Archeology fully confirms the Etruscan presence in Rome, in whatever form it appeared. Numerous fragments of bucchero pottery have been discovered in various parts of Rome, and not only in the center, in the Forum or in the Boarium. For example, you can pay attention to the amazing ceramics made using the thin bucchero technique, discovered near Saint-Jean-de-Latrand. However, the discovery of Etruscan or Greek pottery, even in large quantities, is not enough to speak with certainty of an Etruscan or Greek presence on Roman territory: one can always assume that it was just an import. But it is also true that this indicates active trading activity.
The Etruscan inscriptions found leave no doubt that speakers of the Etruscan language were present on Roman territory. So, about ten inscriptions engraved on bucchero ceramics were found in Rome. For example, the name "Uqnus" can be read on a bucchero fragment from the Forum Boarium, and in this name one can recognize the Latin name Ocnus, who was considered the founder of Bologna (Etruscan Felsina).
But the longest and most revealing Etruscan inscription is engraved on a small ivory figurine of a lion: it was discovered during excavations at Sant'Omobono, in the Forum Boarium, a place of market trade on the banks of the Tiber. On this product of the second half of the 6th century. BC e. three names are engraved - "araz silqetenas spurinas". The first of these is the well-known Etruscan name Arat, and the replacement of the aspirated t by z in final position is very characteristic of the Roman version of the Etruscan language. The third name “spurinas” is also very famous and belongs to the aristocratic family of the city of Tarquinia. This surname appears many times in inscriptions, in this form or in the form "spurinna", better known in Latin. Much later, in the 1st century. n. e., Latin inscriptions give us information about acts committed, perhaps, in the 5th or 4th centuries. BC e. representatives of the Spurinna family. One of them took part in the expedition to Sicily, during which the Etruscans assisted Alcibiades. This large Etruscan family from the Tarquinii did not disappear along with the independence of Etruria: Caesar chose a native of the Spurinna family as his personal haruspex, because to fulfill this role an Etruscan of noble birth was needed. Later, Pliny the Younger corresponded with another person from this family - the military leader Vestrius Spurinna.
The second word in the inscription from Sant Omobono, “silqetenas”, although it does not remind us of anything at first glance, we can determine from the suffix -nas that this is a proper name. There was an assumption that this word was somehow connected with a geographical name, in this case with the city of Sulci in Sardinia. Indeed, the Etruscans had trade relations with this large island, located opposite their main territory. As for the name Arat Spurinna, the study of a small ivory figurine of a lion, of which only one half has reached us, leads to the conclusion that this object was a kind of “passport” allowing the identification of its owner abroad: the second half of the lion figurine should have been applied to the first, like a banknote torn in half. We know of another example of such an Etruscan “identity card” from Carthage, also often visited by Etruscan merchants, who brought there a lot of ceramics. In any case, a small ivory figurine with an inscription from the Forum Boarium perfectly shows that Rome was of great interest to one of the largest Etruscan families.
As for the Tarquins, it is necessary to quote the last inscription, although it was written in Latin and not in Etruscan. At the bottom of a bucchero style bowl dating from the last third of the 6th century. BC e., the inscription “geh” was made. The exceptional position of the inscription indicated that this item was not used in everyday life, but was intended for a ritual action, possibly related to the priests of the early Republic. However, we cannot exclude the fact that we could be talking about the king himself.
Spurinna, obviously, was not the only Etruscan in Rome. One of the streets in Rome, located between the Temple of the Dioscuri and the Basilica Julia, is named after them. This narrow street - only 4 meters wide, like all the streets of the Forum - has had a bad reputation since the Republican era, because, according to Plato, it was there that male prostitutes could be found. But there were also perfumers' shops there, and Horace tells us that the famous bookstore of Sosiev was located there. In this street also stood a statue of Vertumna, the god of orchards and fruits, whom Varro spoke of as the chief god of Etruria, and Propertius described him at length in one of his elegies.
The influence of the Etruscans on Roman civilization, according to ancient sources, was numerous and varied - in political, religious, and cultural life. It is enough to read Titus Livy once to realize the scope of urban planning work undertaken by the Etruscan kings and, above all, Tarquinius Priscus. The Roman historian identifies three major types of work: the drainage of the lowlands and marshy areas of Rome, the construction of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and the construction of the Circus Maximus (hippodrome).
Regarding the first point, already in Antiquity there was a unanimous opinion that the Etruscans were “masters of hydraulics.” They installed a whole network of drains and sewer ditches in their cities. Most impressive are the Marzabotto drainages, which run along the main axes of the city. The Etruscans also managed to drain the volcanic and water-impermeable soils of southern Etruria using a network of underground canals. It was in this way that they were able to resist the malaria epidemic that devastated the outskirts of Rome - this disease recurred again and again until modern times. There is no doubt about the Etruscan origin of the delightful well in Perugia, which has a depth of 37 m and a width of 5.6 m. After some controversy, it is now believed that the "Ponte Sodo" ("Strong Bridge") in Veii was also Etruscan: this tunnel dug in the tuff , made it possible to pump out water from the territory of Valchetta, part of the land of which was constantly flooded and, therefore, unsuitable for agriculture.
In Veii and in many other cities of southern Etruria there is no doubt that the cuniculi, underground channels (1.70 m high and 60 cm wide) through which stagnant water coming from vertical wells were pumped, were created in the Etruscan era . It is known that the Romans, during the siege of Veii, used one of these cuniculi to penetrate the Etruscan city. During the same siege, the Etruscans managed to create a drainage canal from Lake Alben to avoid flooding the surrounding areas during floods. Let us not leave the territory of the city of Veii without noting the presence of a huge reservoir of the Archaic period on the acropolis of Piazza d'Armia, which was located in the open air. It is necessary to clarify that the tuff in this region was very easy to dig, and it was possible to compare these drainage works with road works: in many cities west of Lake Bolsena, the Etruscans dug very picturesque roads into the tuff at many meters in height.
However, the Forum was not the only swampy lowland in Rome. The same problem existed in the Murchi valley, between the Palatine and Aventine, where a stream flowed. To build the Circus Maximus here, it was necessary to carry out drainage work to remove standing water into the Tiber. It was the Etruscans who were able to accomplish this. The description of this archaic circus with its wooden stands for the nobility, covered with an awning, given by Titus Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, is fully confirmed by the Etruscan frescoes from the Tarquins. They can be seen in the Tomb of the Chariots (Fig. 14), dating from about 500 BC. BC: spectators sit on high benches, watching various athletic competitions and chariot races (the latter gave the name to this tomb, discovered in the 19th century). In this Etruscan fresco, spectators sometimes appear in places of honor, and one cannot help but note the heterogeneous nature of the audience, which is typical of Rome, at least in the circus. For Ovid, during the Augustan era, the circus remained an ideal place for attempts at seduction. The Greeks had a different attitude towards athletic and equestrian competitions, and the Etruscans were probably privy to the privileged position accorded to the Roman woman, at least as far as performances were concerned.
The Etruscan influence on Roman games and cultural life was not limited to buildings and equipment alone. The entire program and technical elements of horse racing were the merit of the Etruscans, and all this already in the era of the kings. And when Tarquin the Elder, according to Titus Livy, organizes luxurious games in Rome after the victory over the Latin peoples, he orders fist fighters and horses to be delivered mainly from Etruria. It is very interesting that one of the painted tombs of the Tarquins, the Tomb of Olympias (c. 530 BC), seems to illustrate this event: one wall shows a boxing match and chariot racing. However, the details are even more revealing: the technique of Etruscan and Roman charioteers was the same; they tied the reins in a knot around their waist so as not to drop them during the races. A very dangerous technique if it falls (breaks), which was not used at all by Greek charioteers. The equipment of Etruscan and Roman charioteers is also very similar - a short tunic, different from the long toga worn by their Greek counterparts, in particular the charioteer from Delphi. Naturally, circus performances were not the only ones to bear an Etruscan imprint: it was believed that stage performances also appeared in Rome with the arrival of the Etruscan histrioni, who were mostly dancers. However, this probably happened around 367 BC. e., that is, no longer in the era of the Etruscan kings, as in the case of equestrian competitions.
Among the large-scale works of King Tarquin, not the least was the construction of the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. The temple, in terms of its impressive size and decoration, was the largest in Central Italy in its era. It has been revived in all its grandeur thanks to modern excavations carried out as a result of the reconstruction of the Capitoline Museums. It is curious that for a long time the most “Etruscan” feature was the one that nowadays we would rather call “Roman”: this temple, dedicated to the triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, is characterized by the presence of a three-nave cella located behind the pronaos, a frontal colonnade. Vitruvius, the architect of the Augustan era, described this triple cella as typical of a Tuscan temple. However, researchers are now well aware that few Etruscan temples have this characteristic feature. It is found only in the Belvedere temple in Orvieto and in the temple of A in Pyrgi (c. 470 BC).
However, the existence of this type of layout in Etruria cannot be denied. Triple elements can also be found in funerary architecture (Caere - tomb of Armchairs and Shields, tomb of Greek Vases), as well as in domestic architecture (Aquarossa). As for Etruscan triads in religion and culture, researchers often want to see them everywhere, even where they may not exist. For example, in Poggio Civitat (Murlo), where American archaeologists saw not one, but two divine triads on terracotta architectural slabs: the celestial triad, which included Tinia (Jupiter), Yuni (Juno) and Menerva (Minerva), and the chthonic triad , consisting of Ceres, Libera and Libera. As long as this question, architectural and religious at the same time, remains open, it is undeniable that the archaic Roman temple retained the imprint of Etruscan culture in its general layout, podium and, in particular, decoration. The impressive size of the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter proves, by the way, that Rome in the 6th century. BC e. in no way inferior to other Etruscan cities. It can be assumed that Rome was not just an Etruscan city, but one of the largest Etruscan cities.
Public and sacred architecture was not the only area where the Etruscan contribution was emphasized by tradition. This trend has spread to private housing: atriums, widespread in Italian house-building, are considered Etruscan in origin. The word itself was compared by Varro with the port of Adria: definitely a famous toponym, since it gave the name to the Adriatic. It is known that the ancients adored words of fantastic origin, and yet it is strange that the atrium was compared, in general, with a secondary and distant city of Padan Etruria. There is also the concept of a “Tuscan atrium”, in which there are no columns. The absence in some cases of a central body of water leads some modern researchers to believe that it was simply a covered courtyard, and not a real atrium. Currently, a dwelling excavated on the southern slope of the Palatine has given us an excellent example of an aristocratic dwelling with an atrium from the last third of the 6th century. BC e.
The cultural influences on Rome from the Etruscans do not stop there. Many ancient authors considered the very symbols of Roman power (insignia imperii) to be Etruscan. Strabo writes quite definitely about this: “They say that the symbols of victory, the insignia of consuls, and in general the insignia of magistrates were brought to Rome from the Tarquinians along with the fasces, axes, trumpets, religious ceremonies, the art of fortune telling and the musical accompaniment of Roman public events.” . This list includes a scepter, a curule chair, a purple robe and one of the most important symbols of power - the fasces (tied bundles of rods, which were originally an indispensable attribute of the highest magistrates).
In one of the works of the Latin poet of the 3rd century. BC e. Silius Italicus states that it was in Vetulonia that fasces first appeared. In one of the tombs of the 7th century. BC BC, opened in 1898, a fascia, or its model, made of iron rods and a double ax was discovered. This type of ax is very common in Etruria, for example, double-edged axes are found in Tarquinia, and in Vetulonia a famous stele depicts the silhouette of the warrior Avel Feluske holding a double ax in his right hand. The tomb of Lictor at Vetulonia seems to confirm the unexpected assertion of the Latin writer; but sometimes the reality of this discovery is questioned, since at the time of the discovery of this tomb, real scientific recording of the finds had not yet been carried out. By the way, in Etruria, fasces combining rods and axes were found practically nowhere, neither among archaeological sources nor among iconographic ones: each time these two symbols of power were discovered separately and did not constitute a fasces in the Roman meaning. If we ignore the Etruscan influence on Rome, it should be noted that in addition to the above examples, we found many symbols of power in the Etruscan burials themselves. Mention may be made of the stunning bronze axes found in the royal burials of Casale Marittimo, near Volterra, and the iconography of funerary frescoes, especially at Tarquinia, often depicts symbols of power, axes, spears, wands, musical instruments and numerous corteges accompanying the deceased magistrates.
One modern theory is that the Etruscans actually mentored the Romans in hoplite tactics, a revolutionary invention in the art of war that ended Homeric aristocratic chariot combat. But special attention is paid to military music, which in Rome was also considered music of Etruscan origin. This concerned the horn and trumpet. The Etruscans knew two types of the latter instrument: a straight trumpet, in Latin "tuba", and a trumpet with a curved end and a flared mouthpiece, which in Latin was called "lituus". A bronze pipe of this shape was found in Cerveteri. During excavations recently carried out in the most ancient Tarquini settlement, on the Civita plateau, in a burial from the beginning of the 7th century. BC e. a very beautiful bronze “lituus”, bent in three, was discovered. It was located on a bronze ax and shield - the combination of objects undoubtedly had a sacred character. The most frequently depicted instrument was undoubtedly the Greek "auloi" or the Latin "tibiae", with two trumpets, which we often translate as "flute", since it is a reed instrument closer to the haboe or clarinet. It seems that the list of things that the Etruscans did without musical accompaniment, in particular without these “tibiae”, is small, as if silence were the rarest phenomenon in an Etruscan city! Some Greek authors, including the great Aristotle, for example, stated with surprise (and sometimes with indignation) that the Etruscans made bread, beat and whipped their slaves to music (images confirm the first two types of activities).
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